10th Anniversary Fauré Requiem – reflections

An event with many layers of signifcance, Epiphoni’s 10th anniversary concert marked the most ambitious performance in the ensemble’s short history and was deeply affecting to all present – performers and audience alike.

This commentary of thoughts, photos and videos attempts to bring the occasion to life for those who couldn’t make it (or indeed those who could!).

The Grand Hall in the Battersea Arts Centre is breathtaking. Upon entering it feels somewhere between a black-box theatre studio and a cavernous cathedral.

Lighting options, so rare in our typical performing spaces, helped create our intended theatrical atmosphere. Our ‘gobo’ – a stencil that enables a shape to be projected via a spotlight – of the Epiphoni ‘E’ was money well spent, and a small touch that created a fresh setting.

If there was a more conventional segment to this concert it was the opening part of five a cappella pieces. Although even then we had some surprises in store…

Bernard Hughes’s Epiphany, a piece about music and song, opened proceedings – unconducted, with the on-stage tenors and basses, followed by a mezzo soloist on the podium, with the rest of the choir filing on stage as the music builds to a climax. Midway a fanfare (“Sudden burst of soul, a gift!”) is sung from the balcony by some ‘off-stage’ tenors and basses.

In three “halves”, the concert was divided into themes: The Old, the New, the Eternal. Starting with the new, everything in the opening half was either new to us, written recently (the last 30 years or so) – or both. The second item Media Vita by Kerensa Briggs we learned specially for the London International Choral Conducting Competition the previous weekend, from which the video below is taken (conducted by a participant of the competition).

Similarly the filmic Prometheus by Kristopher Fulton featured at LICCC and was caught on video with a guest conductor. This seems to be a hit so we look forward to repeat performances in coming years!

We closed the first part with two pieces about Stars – Sean Doherty’s It’s Strange about Stars with modest but effective movement whereby the singers perform scattered round the stage as though a constellation and look upwards as though contemplating the stars in the night sky.

We then merged into Stars by Esenvalds to the accompaniment of tuned wine glasses (really). Our dress rehearsal that afternoon was captured on video:

To our second most ambitious part of the concert where we sang Strauss’s epic Deutsche Motette in 16 choral parts and for 4 soloists. Pictured: Helen Stanley, Ben Vonburg Clark, Roderick Williams.

For the third and final part of the performance – the Immersive Fauré Requiem from memory, directed by Helena Raeburn – we switched the hall’s configuraton such that we were performing ‘in the round’ with audience both sides of the action. The singers sang variously in procession around the hall, encircling and amongst the audience, whilst some solo voices came from the balcony or out the shadows. The soloists Hilary Cronin and Roderick Williams inspired with their characterisations in the Pie Jesu and Libera Me respectively:

Closing the Requiem is the ineffable soprano-led In Paradisum – “May the angels lead you into paradise”. The following video is taken from our promotional shoot – combine in your imagination this with the photos and videos above and you’ll be about where we were by this point!

And from our lovely harpist (and former choir member) Cecily Beer, the whole day in 1 minute! Below that a few lovely things people said about it all.

“What a choir – that was truly impressive”

Member of BBC Singers

“Huge congratulations for last night. You put on a spectacular concert. Every piece of music was well chosen and perfectly judged. Prometheus was a wonderful find. I’d never heard the Strauss live before, and never thought I would – your transcendent performance of it confirmed my lifelong love of the work. I’ve never been to an immersive performance before, but the Fauré worked well without a feeling of gimmickry.”

Russell Pascoe, Composer

“Thanks again for inviting me to be part of the performance, it was such a privilege. The choir were absolutely phenomenal in the Strauss, and the Collier at the end will stay with me for a very long time, it was so beautiful to be surrounded by the voices for that final verse. The most massive of congratulations for creating something really magical!”

Helen Stanley, Strauss soloist

“…the Faure was just so effective, new found excitement in that piece … I wept during the Strauss … It was just an utterly stunning concert and I hope you’re so proud”

Helena Cooke, professional singer and photographer of this event

“Unforgettable… surrounded by light projections and movement, this reimagined masterpiece created such an ethereal atmosphere – I’ve not been part of a performance quite like it before and it worked SO well for this amazing work … a magical evening”

Cecily Beer, Harpist