"It was a real privilege to work with you towards a performance of such integrity and musicality, the like of which I have not experienced before ...
I am not surprised you have had such fantastic feedback - [it] was the best I have ever heard of that work
and I have twice done it with Farnham Youth Choir ... Neither had the depth and sincerity of Saturday's performance." |
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"... wonderful and very moving performance of the St Matthew Passion last night. The choir, as usual, sang superbly ...
We have been attending [your] concerts for several years but we have to say that last night will long remain in our memories as one of the best." |
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"I thought the St Matthew Passion was the best performance I have been to ... The choir was excellent throughout
and the dramatic moments created were both moving and spiritual - for example the choir's cry of Barabbas! was blood curdling and the moment of silence
after Christ's death was very moving." |
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"[The] Choir did very well - consonants clear and distinct, clean entries and good blended sound ... a very enjoyable evening - well done WCS!" |
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"We thought the choir was magnificent -
the last chorus particularly was so poignant with strong sound from all parts and beautiful diction." |
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"I thought it was an amazing concert ... choir seemed really well rehearsed, completely on top of everything,
and with Neil [Ferris] all the way. Some beautifully crafted moments, including the chorale just after Jesus dies which had a lump in my throat ...
You all deserve enormous credit for a marvellous performance." |
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"When the voices sang unaccompanied, and there is a great deal of a cappella music in the work,
the sound was full and rounded and beautiful to hear." |
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"The very best concerts leave me thinking about them for days. The Kingdom has been one such.
Everything about it was 'live' music at its very best. I congratulate WCS for being ambitious and bringing it off!
" |
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"[The concert] was an absolute joy to attend. ... next time Wimbledon Choral Society
run a concert within 50 miles of you, go out of your way to go to it [as] you will come away with a smile on your face having had a wonderful fulfilling evening." |
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"We very much enjoyed the variety of the programme which must have been quite a challenge
for the choir - the quiet passages were very poignant and the 'roof-raising' climaxes most impressive! Congratulations to Neil [Ferris] - he is certainly off to a good start!" |
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"I chatted to the choir who were all very friendly ... The Cathedral was full to bursting
including the gallery ... Singing with the WCS was a great and daunting experience and I would love to have the chance to do it all over again." |
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"We come to most of the concerts at the Cathedral, especially the
choral ones, but this was one of the best in recent months by a long way. The choir was excellent. Very enjoyable indeed ......
Your Elijah soloist [James Rutherford] in particular was very good." |
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"No-one was more thrilled than me at Saturday's performance. I have to agree
that the Orchestra was magnificent but I wonder if the players’ contribution would have been quite as splendid had the choir
not matched them at every point. Every time we give one of these big shows with the WCS, your singers seem to excel
all previous efforts. What stamina they showed!" |
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"I thought the overall sound was spectacular and, above all,
the balance was superb. Your choir was on extra special good form and your soloists were so good - a very well
matched quartet. ...... It is a great piece of choral writing but last night the combination
of the fabulous music, the choir so competently in full voice and the thrilling sounds from all over the orchestra,
backed up by the organ, just did it for me!" |
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"We so loved the concert in Southwark Cathedral.
The choir sounded amazing - really professional dynamics, beautiful crescendos and shapes ... I just wanted
to write to say that the Brahms Requiem was MAGNIFICENT and you should all know it!
Keep performing!" |
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"What a moving experience
it was to hear the concert last night, particularly the Rachmaninov Vespers
... The
singing, I thought, was matchless ... This was concentrated
choral sound ... All of it was impeccably done and the most intense moments
truly unforgettable." |
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"I wanted to say how much we enjoyed EVERY
aspect of the concert. We were made to feel most welcome (judging from the warm comments before and after),
and we particularly appreciated the masterly handling of the rehearsal, the tight choral ensemble,
the focused sound of the choir, and the smooth logistical running of the whole enterprise." |
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"I must say that I applaud
WCS for having the guts to put on concerts such as this as many choirs
take the safer route and think ‘smaller’." |
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"Please pass on my sincere
thanks and congratulations to all the members of the Wimbledon Choral
Society for their work. They were professional and committed
and they can be rightfully proud of their contribution to what was
a most successful and enjoyable Festival." |
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"I thought the concert
would be good, but never realised how good!! ..... both the Faure
and the Howells were divine and moved me to tears. ..... this standard
does not come without lots of real musicianship ..... It
is a bit unusual for me to be quite so impressed, but this is a
concert that I shall remember for a very long time to come. There were no egos, just
lovely musicians listening to each other." |
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"Numerous thrilling moments from the choir .... this was a concert of real people making real music and a great joy to witness. Considering the difficulty of
the work, the Wimbledon Choral Society delivered the sense of the
piece [Howells
: Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing] with
ease .... .... .... the [choir] certainly
did it [Finzi : Lo, The Full Final Sacrifice] justice
under Ashcroft’s
direction, with a skilful control of dynamics that found no one pushing
through
his
or her tone in pursuit of sheer volume." |
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| "The already very high standard
of this choir just gets better and better. The precision and
passion of your singing under the inspired baton of Michael Ashcroft
justifiably
places you amongst the best choirs in the country. Again
this winning combination of Wimbledon Choral Society and the splendid
New Queen’s Hall Orchestra has shown they can put on a really
first class concert and fill the cathedral." Sophie Maunier 1 April 2006 / Guildford Cathedral / Berlioz Te Deum & Saint-Saens 'Organ' Symphony No.3 |
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| "I thought your Verdi Requiem
concert two years ago was magnificent but the Berlioz Te Deum was even
better – it was outstanding. A huge, stunningly powerful
and exciting performance." Philip MacIntyre 1 April 2006 / Guildford Cathedral / Berlioz Te Deum & Saint-Saens 'Organ' Symphony No.3 |
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| "I had a particular interest
in the Berlioz, having been a member of the Wandsworth School Choir
... who of course were part of the highly acclaimed recording back
in the late 60s under Sir Colin Davis. I have often listened
to the record/CD and found your performance equally exciting and I
greatly appreciated the very high standard that you achieved, both
with the choir and orchestra." Ray Pritchard 1 April 2006 / Guildford Cathedral / Berlioz Te Deum & Saint-Saens 'Organ' Symphony No.3 |
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| "...
my first visit to Cadogan Hall ...... the splendid venue and
almost 200 performers on the stage [...] produced a highly enjoyable
concert ...... choir delivering a thoroughly professional and
crisp performance ...... accompanied by the quite fabulous New London
Soloists Orchestra whose young players were a real delight to listen
to
...... I look forward to hearing these two excellent groups again
- hopefully together." Michael Whittaker 19 November 2005 / Cadogan Hall / Mozart Mass in C Minor ('Great') |
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| "Your
performance of the Wesley was a triumph ...... the lines of Mandavit
in Aeternum [...] which I thought you interpreted marvellously,
gradually leading to a pretty shattering build up at the final
pages! You carried everyone along with it, and they
all responded to your lead marvellously, particularly the choir
who really are an excellent ensemble ...... performances like
yours make it all worthwhile." Francis Routh, composer 19 March 2005 / Cadogan Hall / Wesley Confitebor (ed. Routh), Handel Messiah (Pt. 2) |
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"The Wimbledon Choral Society is a wholly excellent group; unanimity, balance and commitment is first-class, and the Society’s members tackled this ambitious pairing of works .... with devotion. This concert scored
successes for the hall, the chorus and orchestra, the composer
of the new work [Tim Sutton], and for the genius of Haydn ......
this ultimately was an inspiring team effort under the vital
baton of Michael Ashcroft, his choir both buoyant and sensitive,
a ‘real’ performance ......" |
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"Saturday night's concert was the best I have ever heard from the Wimbledon Choral Society and the [New Queen's Hall] Orchestra. The combination of the choir's excellence and the colour and fibre of the NQHO's instruments and players revealed Verdi's great work as can rarely have happened in sixty or seventy years. I cannot think of a choir since the days of Pitz and the old Philharmonia of such focused sound and delivery. I can promise you that there
was no wishful thinking in overhearing the many spontaneous comments
on the artistic and spiritual integrity of the evening: one
which like all great musical occasions must have left the audience
changed and very different from the complacency of their arrival
two hours earlier." |
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| "I have to admit that I
have never heard a choir, anywhere, sing with such unity of purpose
and I yearned to be part of it. The opening was like
dark, soft velvet and the 'Libera Me' was spine-tingling, while
the discipline of the choir in the dynamic contrasts and word endings
was stunning." Lesley Clarke 27 March 2004 / Guildford Cathedral / Verdi Requiem |
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| "A packed cathedral
to witness a superb performance. We were
totally spellbound from the hypnotic opening to the tremendous
walls of sound that hit us during the many climaxes throughout the
piece." Philip MacIntyre 27 March 2004 / Guildford Cathedral / Verdi Requiem |
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| "Requiem performed
to a packed cathedral ... Conductor Michael Ashcroft coaxed the
orchestra and the 180-strong choir to dramatic heights, producing a
performance of great sensitivity. The performances of this amateur
choir are of an astonishingly high standard ... provided a truly memorable
evening." Surrey Advertiser 27 March 2004 / Guildford Cathedral / Verdi Requiem |
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| "With the rare strength
of the voices that make up the Wimbledon Choral Society, the audience
is always sure of an artistic and exciting performance of the highest
quality." Ian Partridge CBE, Lyric Tenor |
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| "The Croydon Philharmonic
Choir and Wimbledon Choral Society sang splendidly throughout ... they
never flagged. ...the chorus elevated, enriched and crowned every bar.
... a memorable evening." Brian Hunt, London Evening Standard 16 November 2002 / Fairfield Halls / Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise, Walton Belshazzar's Feast |
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| "The concert ... was a huge
triumph of local musicmaking. The immense exuberance of the performances
could hardly have been bettered whatever the forces engaged. ... An
evening to remember." Donald Madgwick, The Croydon Advertiser 19 May 2001 / Fairfield Halls / Orff Carmina Burana, Coleridge Taylor Hiawatha's Wedding Feast |
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| "I think the BBC's 1998
theme tune was the best ever used for a football tournament ..." Arshad Isakjee "Our favourite World Cup theme has to be the stirring, slow-build of Pavane by Gabriel Faure that the BBC judiciously used during France '98." Colin Terrace "It was done by the Wimbledon Choral Society - the single got to no.16 in the charts. This is the best recording of this piece of music ever ..... they sounded really good." Kevin Dragon May 1998 / Recording of adaptation of Faure's Pavane by Elizabeth Parker for BBC Worldwide Television World Cup 1998 coverage |
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"Michael Ashcroft is a conductor of huge experience and his direction of this
rather somnolent work lacked nothing in reverence and understanding." Adam Matthews March 1998 / Guildford Cathedral / Faure Requiem |
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| "We
were in absolute awe from your performance of Dvorak’s Requiem
this evening. Your inspired interpretation enchanted the listener
and in those two hours one was forced to remember that there
exists nothing more wonderful than music." Nina Rautio November 1997 / Fairfield Halls / Dvorak Requiem |
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| "The work is gargantuan in conception and scale,
and the performance resulted in 500 performers on stage at the Royal Festival Hall as the Dulwich College Choir
and Orchestra joined forces with the Wimbledon Choral Society, London Mozart Players,
and soloists under Michael Ashcroft ... Both the Dulwich College Choir and the Wimbledon Choral Society managed
an unusual and challenging work with skill. And all credit to Michael Ashcroft for his enterprise in re-discovering
the work and directing it with conviction and understanding." Michael Burnett (The Times) May 1990 / Royal Festival Hall / Pierné Les Crusades des Enfants |
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| "Michael Ashcroft’s RFH performance mustered over
500 performers and was partially costumed and excellently presented." David Brown (Musical Times) May 1990 / Royal Festival Hall / Pierné Les Crusades des Enfants |
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| "It
was a most excellent performance and I think the sound that your
choir produces is absolutely wonderful. It seems
like floating on a deep velvet cushion..." Peter Bagnall-Oakeley |
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| "When
the choir opens up for a dramatic moment the result is nothing
less than thrilling." Ian Partridge CBE, Lyric Tenor |
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| "Your
highest level of musicianship, your wonderful handling of the
choir and the orchestra, and most of all, your soul - these were
the reasons for your huge success today." Sergei Burov |