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Review of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, November 2009 by Roger Jones

Ben Nicholas brought two choirs, a strengthened Regency Sinfonia and an elite quartet of soloists to the Town Hall stage for Beethoven's mighty Missa Solemnis.

This is no work for the faint-hearted, but from the initial Kyrie it was evident that singers and instrumentalists felt secure in their roles. The Christe Eleison introduced the four excellent soloists whose voices blended superbly.

The Gloria started with a vigorous outburst from the choirs, which then made way for a lilting Gratia agimus from the soloists. Later a thunderous introduction from the orchestra heralded a grand and solemn Quoniam and the Amen which never seemed to end.

There was a strong affirmative start to the Credo which had a number of high points, such as Et Incarnatus est introduced with tenderness and awe by the male chorus and then taken up by the soloists. The latter's singing of the Crucifixus was imbued with a sense of sorrow and desolation, but joy returned with the resurrection theme.

After the complexity of the Credo the Sanctus, with its wonderful orchestral interludes, seemed to inhabit a different, calmer world. The controlled playing of the woodwind and lower strings set the tone for this movement, which later featured a sublime solo from the Sinfonia's leader, Simon Chalk.

Bass Julian Empett's reverential singing opened the Agnus Dei, and the mood was continued by soprano Emma Brain-Gabbott, mezzo Anna Wall and tenor Justin Lavender. The vigour of the earlier movements returned in Beethoven's highly symphonic conclusion involving all the musical forces, and the audience left the hall with the word "peace" (pacem) ringing in their ears

Ben Nicholas is retiring from the conductorship of these two choirs, and this magnificent performance of Beethoven's greatest choral work will serve as a lasting testament to his fruitful association with them.

Roger Jones

Review of Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony, May 2008 by Helen Sims

Tewkesbury Abbey had an excited buzz from the assembling audience, anticipating the first combined concert by the Stroud Smphony Orchestra and the Stroud Choral Society. A harpist playing softly in the background added a refinement to the normal melee of people in an abbey that few of them knew as a concert hall ......

Sharing its musical themes between orchestra and chorus, Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony enthralled the audience transporting us into the power and compelling pull of the sea and then out to ethereal themes. Stroud Choral Society performed this demanding work, with its dramatic changes of mood, very well. Although at times the words were lost when the orchestra was at full strength, overall the diction and clarity of the chorus was good. The soloists, Julian Empett (Baritone) and Susan Young (Soprano), both sang with warmth and depth, their duet in the fourth movement was exquisitely matched by the senstive playing of the orchestra. Benjamin Nicholas conducted the orchestra, chorus and soloists masterly, from the dramatic opening bars through the stillness of the night and into eternity capturing the attention of the audience until the final bar died away, no one moved, suspended by the power of music, only broken when the applause began to congratulate all the performers.

Stroud Symphony Orchestra and Stroud Choral Society on the night formed an alliance that should be repeated again. They both showed their versatility and professionalism. They should not be deterred by distance to obtain a venue to match their ability. Congratulations to all involved in both societies on a truly memorable concert.