National Youth Choirs of Great Britain
in the press
2013
Sunday 14 April, Royal Albert Hall
Mark Simpson Exile (world premiere)
Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine of 1610
Combined National Youth Choirs of Great Britain
Matthew Long, Benjamin Hulett and Mark Dobell, tenors
La Serenissima leader Adrian Chandler
Ben Parry conductor
'Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 is one of those pieces of Renaissance music of which performance practices are still the subject of debate. It is an astonishing work of virtuosity but with sections of plainchant of lesser difficulty. I have seen it performed by professional choirs with perhaps fewer than 20 singers.
'In a brilliant concert put on by National Youth Choirs of Great Britain around 600 singers from Boys' Choir, Cambiata Voices, Girls' Choir (Senior), Girls' Choir (Junior) Training Choir North, Training Choir South, National Youth Choir and Chamber Choir together with soloists Mark Dobell, Benjamin Hulett, Matthew Long and orchestra La Serenissima conducted by Ben Parry the piece came to life in The Royal Albert Hall on 14 April.
'In the other work in the programme, no less challenging, Exile by Mark Simpson, the singers showed what can be achieved by giving full value to the swirling chord changes very much in the modern idiom, painting the emotional power of Harold Hart Crane's poetry.
'The performance of the Vespers was beautifully judged. With the mighty forces at his disposal, Ben Parry brought out the different sections of the piece to perfection. The simple but very effective "Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis" the younger members sang with skill and confidence. In the more complex fast moving passages the accomplished soloists and chamber choir handled the ever moving, complex writing with great skill.'
Mark Windisch, Chairman, National Early Music Association
DVDs of this performance can be ordered from Black Swan Film and Video: www.bsfv.co.uk for £16
2012
BBC Prom 18, Friday 27 July 2012
Beethoven Symphony 9
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
Daniel Barenboim conductor
‘…there can be no gainsaying the tremendously fresh contribution of the National Youth Choir, whose members delivered an encounter with Beethoven's hymn to the intoxications of freedom that none of them should ever forget.’ Guy Dammann, The Guardian *****
'Not only did they sustain Beethoven’s cruelly high lines, they also sang them beautifully in tune, something that seems to tax even the best adult choruses... if the Divan players needed a lift at the end of their exhausting week with Herr Ludwig and Maestro Danny, these teenage British choristers must have supplied it in spades.’ Richard Morrison, The Times ****
‘…the splendid National Youth Choir of Great Britain, a match for the best of their orchestral counterparts, never faltered.’ Richard Fairman, Financial Times
‘…the outstanding contribution came from the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.' Mark Pullinger, ClassicalSource.com
'As for the choir... they were vibrant, disciplined and alert. A frisson of excitement spread throughout the entire Hall when they all shot to their feet in the space of semi-quaver. Their performance was energised, at times utterly exhilarating and wonderfully alive to Beethoven’s song and Schiller’s explosive spirit of joy.' Adrian Hilton, Mail Online
‘It was the chorus that stole the show, though, with impeccable control at “Ihr stürzt neider, Millionen”.' Colin Clarke, Seen and Heard International
Full reviews:
Beethoven Symphony 9/Barenboim/BBC Proms 2012 [258 KB]
BBC Prom 30, Sunday 5 August 2012
Bob Chilcott The Angry Planet
Ben Parry Flame
Bach Choir, BBC Singers, Children's Choirs from London Boroughs, National Youth Choir
Laura Ashworth soprano David Hill conductor
'One joy was constant: the sound of 550 voices – the Bach Choir, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, plus children’s choirs from three London boroughs – singing unaccompanied at epic length without losing pitch. But the richest sounds came in the four-minute curtain-raiser, Ben Parry’s Flame, a gorgeously handled crescendo of warmth and bliss.' Geoff Brown, The Times
'The three adult choirs could easily have repeated Flame at the end of the concert, so impressive was it in its Buddhist ideal of a single candle becoming more powerful in spreading light by the number of people that see it.' Nick Breckenfield, Classicalsource.com
Full reviews:
Chilcott and Parry/David Hill/BBC Proms 2012 [137 KB]
BBC Prom 29, Friday 5 August 2011
Mahler Symphony 2
Simon Bolivar Orchestra
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
conductor Gustavo Dudamel
Watch the performance on YouTube
