Soprano Helen-Jane Howells performs in Messiah with St Albans Choral Society and Orchestra Nova
THE PERFORMANCE of Handel’s Messiah in a packed St Albans Cathedral on 21st April was vivid, dramatic and confident, writes James Francis Brown, co-artistic director of the Hertfordshire Festival of Music, in his review of the concert for the Herts Advertiser.
Brown praises conductor George Vass’s interpretation of the much loved oratorio, the pace and articulation of Orchestra Nova and the contrasting deliveries of the four outstanding soloists, Helen-Jane Howells, soprano (pictured above), William Purefoy, countertenor, Christopher Bowen, tenor, and Alexander Ashworth, baritone.
He describes the choir’s ‘excellent diction and rhythmic precision’, confidence and stamina, saying the singers ‘held their own with these excellent soloists and instrumentalists’.
The review appears below, and you can also read a fuller review by Brown here.
