Concert Reviews

Celebrating December's Musical Calendar

Saturday 13 December 2025
St Peter's Church, Budleigh Salterton

What a creatively designed programme, celebrating twelve occasions in December’s musical calendar – ‘12 Days’.

Andrea Brown (musical director) led the evening with warmth and encouragement to both the singers and audience alike. She was joined, as usual, by the multi-talented Peter Adcock (accompanist) who added support and moments of light with organ, piano and djembe accompaniment. In addition, we welcomed the fantastic string quartet Divertimento, providing accompaniment for some items, as well as presenting some instrumental moments, which I hugely enjoyed. 

Advent included Matthew Martin’s O Oriens, including the well-known melody Veni Emmanuel provided a great opening to the concert, followed by one of several a cappella performances, the popular There is no rose of such virtue by John Joubert. World AIDS day provided a distinct change when the choir performed Seasons of Love from Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent. There were some wonderful solo passages in this piece. The programme continued with celebrations of St. Nicholas, The Immaculate Conception, Human Rights Day, Votes for Women and the Wright Brothers achieving flight; a whistlestop tour of a variety of styles and works. The pedal note of Tavener’s Apolytikion of Saint Nicholas, the Macoronic writing (using more than one language) of Personent Hodie, the energy of Cecilia McDowell’s Now may we singen, and the sheer drama of Eric Whitacre’s Leonardo dreams of his Flying Machine all gave the choir much to get their teeth into. The audience carol In the bleak midwinter was a highlight because of the obbligato organ part from Peter Adcock. Poignancy, joy, innovation and festivity in the first half. 

The second half allowed more time to linger as we travelled through the final days of the twelve. Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Songs (Hannukah) with melodious warmth and love, punctuated with dance-like sections, accompanied by pizzicato strings, along with choir vocalisation provided a beautiful start to the second half. Then we were treated to two folk melodies, arranged by the Danish String quartet, played superbly by guests, the Divertimento String Quartet (Yule). The performance included audience whistling and the most wonderful virtuosic violin playing – a real highlight of the concert. Another highlight was Susa Ninna by Peter Louis Van Dijk (Day of Reconciliation); this jaunting, moving performance was sublime. As Andrea Brown said, no Christmas concert like this would be right without some Bach. The choir were at their best in Jauchzet Frohlocket! from J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Christmas Day). The performance demonstrated precision, enjoyment and inspiration. A semi-chorus sang This Marriage by Ed Newton-Rex (Rajab) very well, in a brilliantly co-ordinated a cappella performance. 

What better way to round off the concert but Bob Chilcott’s The Twelve Days of Christmas? The choir evidently thoroughly enjoyed performing this exciting piece which, in a way, was a symbol of the journey we had been on, as each Five Gold Rings features a different style. This was very well performed with great solos. 

Thank you to Andrea, Peter, Divertimento and Exeter Festival Chorus for including us on this journey – many styles and genres, many combinations of voices and instruments, music spanning many eras, singing in many languages – with joy, exuberance, and moments of reflection demonstrating how much there is to celebrate in December.  

Paul Stock

Saturday 12 July 2025
Exeter Cathedral

What a creative, imaginative, logistically challenging and experiential programme!

Saturday 5 April 2025
St Peter's Church, Budleigh Salterton

Qui sedes ad dexteram patris. Ever since Exeter Festival Chorus’ concert last Saturday
in Budleigh Salterton, this phrase from Poulenc’s Gloria has been bouncing around my
brain.

Saturday 14 December 2024
Exeter Cathedral

A packed cathedral enjoyed a wonderful evening of seasonal music and readings performed by Exeter Festival Chorus

Saturday 16 November 2024
St David's Church, Exeter

Rossini was such a tease!  His Petite Messe Solennelle was neither little (about the same length as Verdi's Requiem), nor especially solemn.  

Saturday 6 July 2024
Exeter Cathedral

A memorable and uplifting performance
Yesterday evening Exeter Cathedral welcomed a large audience to hear Exeter Festival Chorus perform Bach’s magnificent Mass in B minor, directed by Andrea Brown, with the Devon Baroque orchestra and five soloists. This is a monumental work, with about two hours of choral singing, arias, duets and orchestral marvels.

Saturday 23 March 2024 
St. Peter’s Church, Tiverton

Where, one might ask, could you go to learn a lot about Leonardo da Vinci and choral music old and new in one hit? The answer is St, Peter’s Church, Tiverton last Saturday evening. In a cleverly-constructed programme entitled Of Music and Invention, Exeter Festival Chorus presented an appreciative audience with the answer. 

Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 February 2024
Theatre Royal, Plymouth

In celebration of his 50th birthday, the iconic Carlos Acosta has come out of retirement to tour the On Before medley originally devised in memory of his mother.

Saturday 16 December 2023
St. David's Church, Exeter

Exeter Festival Chorus’ Christmas concert was a skilfully designed programme of music to represent the mysterious and ethereal qualities of the Northern Lights.

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS
EXETER  CATHEDRAL
15 July 2023

What a splendid concert!  Well worth struggling through the rain and hurricane wind to join an immense sell-out audience in one of England’s most beautiful cathedrals.