The Watford Observer - Friday, March 21st 2003

Watford Philharmonic celebrated the bicentenary of Hector Berlioz's birth at The Colosseum on Saturday evening.

There was an excited buzz in the packed auditorium, as the audience waited for the performance of the Grande Messe des Morts.

The combined choirs of Watford Philharmonic Society, Chipperfield Choral Society, The Chiltern Choir and the augmented orchestra, spilled into the main body of the hall, with two sets of percussion, four sets of brass on either side and, from my vantage point, was an impressive sight.

Written to commemorate the victims of the 1830 French Revolution  this was an adventurous production giving justice to a hall renowned for its acoustics.

A hush fell over the audience prior to the entrance of leader Rebecca Boyle and conductor Stuart Dunlop - and so this rarely performed work of grand proportions and emotional impact began.

Although the piece must be one of the noisiest ever written, there are moments of peace and tranquility, such as the opening Requiem and Kyrie being one.

In contrast, the great explosion of the Dies Irae at the "tuba mirum spargens sonum" or "a trumpet, spreading a wondrous sound" may not have had 76 trombones but it certainly sounded like it.

Having recently seen Tinteretto's vast painting The Last Judgement in Venice I found the combination of musical and visual imagery was overwhelming as the four brass bands, ten timpani and percussion overwhelmingly symbolised the wrath to come on the Day of Judgement.

Contrastingly, the Quid Sum Miser was quiet, featuring the beautiful cor anglais, presaging the pastoral movement of the Symphonie Fantastique, which was followed by the unaccompanied chorus with Quaerens Me.

The Lacrymosa ended the first half with another impressive percussion display.

The opening Offertorium depended mainly on the orchestra; sadly the strings sounded a little thin here.  Similarly, the Hostias for male voices sounded a little strained.

Tenor soloist Jeffery Stuart made his only appearance during the Sanctus.

The hesitant Agnus Dei, with slow woodwind chords, seemed to urge the composer to get a move on but the strings, back on form, were ravishing in moments of great beauty, the quiet Amens in a variety of different chords, bringing a prayerful conclusion, the soft drumbeats emphasising the solemnity of the work.

This concert was a tremendous logistical undertaking, with rehearsals of three separate choirs and all the guest musicians.

This was a triumph and great tribute to Stuart Dunlop who received a justified and well deserved ovation.

by Wendy Keeling Taylor

The Watford Observer - Friday February 14th 2003

Mass cast a dream for Requiem fans

Two hundred singers and more than 120 musicians are to take part in a Watford performance of Hector Berlioz's spectacular Grande Messe des Morts.

The Watford Philharmonic Society is to join forces with the Chipperfield Choral Society and the Chiltern Choir for a performance of the work, otherwise known as the Requiem, to mark the composer's bicentenary.

The concert at The Colosseum in Watford on Saturday, March 15, promises to be a night to remember, although organisers admit it will be a bit of a squeeze.  As well as a huge choir and orchestra, the piece requires four brass bands to represent the sounding of the Last Trump on Judgement Day.

The work was a great success when it was first performed in Paris in 1837, at least according to Berlioz himself, whose memoirs contain a detailed account of the bureaucratic intrigues surrounding the commissioning and performance of the work.  It was only after a determined struggle that he got the fee he had been promised.

There were problems with the conductor at the premiere, Francois Habeneck, whose abilities did not impress the composer.  Indeed Berlioz though he might be involved in a plot to wreck the work's premiere.

His memoirs describe how, at a crucial moment in the score, just before the entry of the four brass bands when the conductor needs to be very much in control, Habeneck "laid down his baton and, calmly producing his snuff-box, proceeded to take a pinch of snuff."

"In a flash", wrote Berlioz - who'd always wanted to conduct the performance himself - "I sprang forward in front of him and, stretching out my arm, marked out the four great beats of the new tempo. The bands followed me and everything went off in order.

"I conducted the piece to the end.  When Haneneck saw that the piece was saved he said, 'God!  I was in a cold sweat.  Without you we would have been lost'."

Conductor Stuart Dunlop is hoping things will run more smoothly for the Watford Philharmonic Society and friends when the work is staged featuring the talent of tenor soloist Jeffrey Stewart.

The society's vice-president Richard Baker, the veteran broadcaster and classical music expert, said he was looking forward to the occasion.  He said: "I'm proud of them for making this very bold and ambitious choice of repertoire.  It will be a great night and deserves a suitably large audience to match the vast musical forces engaged."

Tickets are £12 and £10 (children half price), can be booked at The Colosseum box office on 01923 445000 or by writing to Anthony Pyne, 6 Garden Close, Watford WD17 3DD.

by Jo Stephenson

On Saturday 15th March, the Watford Colosseum will resound to a performance of the mighty Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts.

The Watford Philharmonic Society will be joined by Chipperfield Choral Society and The Chiltern Choir. The orchestra will also be augmented and Jeffrey Stewart, an accomplished operatic singer who has performed regularly with English National Opera and in many European opera houses, will be the tenor soloist.

It will be one of only two performances of Berlioz’ Mass in this country this year, to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth.

The work was written in 1836 to commemorate those who died in the 1830 revolution in France. It was conceived on a monumental scale which Berlioz himself realised was ground-breaking. The original concert is said to have required hundreds of voices and a large symphony orchestra which included 108 violins, twelve horns, sixteen pairs of timpani and four brass bands strategically placed around the auditorium. It is because of these large practical demands that the work is so rarely heard live.

Watford Philharmonic Society was founded in 1935 by Sir Henry Wood and is now in its sixth-eighth season. They give four concerts annually at the Watford Colosseum. Anthony Hopkins, the distinguished pianist, who is the Society’s President and the well known broadcaster, Richard Baker, its Vice President, take a keen interest. Stuart Dunlop, the Assistant Director of Music at Warwick University, is resident conductor.

On March 15th, at 7.30 pm, Stuart will be lifting his baton to the three choirs and a huge enlarged orchestra. All will be meeting the challenges of Berlioz’ great work in a hall known for its acoustic excellence. It promises to be a spectacular occasion no music lover should miss.

Tickets, priced £12 and £10 (children half price) are obtainable from the Watford Colosseum Box Office (01923 445000) or from Anthony Pyne, 6 Garden Close, Watford WD17 3DD.

Jeffrey Stewart was born in Surrey England and began his professional studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he completed the Performance Course and the Opera Course, winning the Harold Rosenthal Award for outstanding achievement. He them went on to study at the National Opera Studio.

Among the wide variety of roles which Jeffrey has performed are Ferrando (Cosi fan Tuttte), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte),Gianetto (The Thieving Magpie),Stêva (Jenufa),Walther (Tannhäuser) and Matteo (Violanta) for Opera North, Conte Ivrea (Un Giorno di Regno) and Fanninal’s Haushofmeister (Der Rosenkavalier) for the Royal Opera Covent Garden, 1st Jew (Salome) and 1st Pastore (Orfeo) for English National Opera, Ernesto (Don Pasquale) for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and The Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) for the Komische Oper in Berlin.

Other appearances in Britain include The Duke of Mantua and Nadir (Pearl Fishers) for English Touring Opera, Federico (L’Arlesiana), Nemorino (Elsir D’Amore), Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Edgardo,Daniele (Betly) and Beppe (I Pagliacci) in the Holland Park Festival, Lionel (Martha) and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) for Castleward Opera, Tamino for Opera Northern Ireland, Pinkerton for Raymond Gubbay Ltd. at the Royal Albert Hall, and Don José (Carmen) and Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) for the Dartington International Festival.

In 2000 Jeffrey joined the ensemble of the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater in Schwerin where his appearances have included Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Pinkerton, Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Ismaele (Nabucco), Cassio (Otello), Chateauneuf (Zar and Zimmermann), Walther (Tannhäuser), Don Narciso (Il Turco in Italia) and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Jeffrey Stewart regularly appears in concert and recital throughout Britain and Europe. He has performed most of the great oratorios including Bach’s “B minor Mass” and “St Matthew Passion”, Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius”, Handel’s “Messiah”, Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”, Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” and Mozart’s “C minor Mass”. He has also appeared as the first tenor in Kurt Weil’s “Seven Deadly Sins” with John Elliot Gardiner and at the BBC Proms.

Forthcoming appearances include his first Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Sevilla) at the Komische Oper in Berlin and Andres (Wozzeck) in Schwerin.