EIF: National Youth Choir of Scotland

Usher Hall - 13/08/23

Royal Scottish National Orchestra | Christopher Bell, conductor | Catriona Morison, mezzo soprano | Paul Grant, baritone 

The National Youth Choir of Scotland give a dazzling display of their talents in two works from the 1940s, Britten’s ‘Rejoice in the Lamb’ and Durufle’s ‘Requiem’, both rarely performed with orchestral accompaniment, here provided by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, leader Maya Iwabuchi.  NYCOS director, Christopher Bell conducts the large forces in Sunday afternoon’s Usher Hall concert. 

Only Stalls and Grand Circle seats are in use, but they are almost full, with many arriving early to hear Christopher Bell describe and the choir enact (with audience participation!) the Kodaly method used in NYCOS education. This twentieth century Hungarian method, based on the older sol-fa system, incorporates games, hand-movements and clapping so children from an early age learn musicianship. A fascinating 40 minutes. 

Britten wrote ‘Rejoice in the Lamb’ in 1943, after his return from America, and based it on ‘Jubilate Agno’ , a 1700 line text written by poet Christopher Smart, then an asylum inmate, around 1760, but only rediscovered in 1939.  Its repetitive form with each line in the sequence beginning with the same word, appealed to Britten as a suitable text to set.  He chose 48 lines from the original, (displayed on surtitles, but not printed in the programme) including the most famous sequence beginning “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.”   Imogen Holst later arranged the work, originally written for organ, for small orchestra, and today, the RSNO strings, four woodwinds, a trumpeter, timpani and percussion play the evocative music.  

Chorister, Emily Kemp is the soprano soloist in the gentle appraisal of that cat.  Alto Olivia Mackenzie Smith and tenor Euan McDonald also shine in solos from the front of the stage, while Joshua McCullough possesses the splendid bass which resonates from the choir stalls. Well done to all of them!  Much of the chosen text relates to music, and lines such as: 

‘For the trumpet rhimes are sound bound, soar more and the like’ 

‘For the flute rhimes are tooth youth suit mute and the like’ 

are wonderful to sing as well for orchestral setting.  NYCOS put their own stamp on the music with their rhythmic precision and their ability to build up crescendos and then reduce their sound to a fine line, while the orchestral winds and timpani add to the effects. 

The Durufle ‘Requiem’ (1947) requires a full orchestra. Durufle attempted to merge plainchant with modernist writing, and also wished to make the work a contemplative piece about death, reflecting a post-war sensibility, so the ‘Pie Jesu,’ tenderly sung by Catriona Morison, with solo cello and lower strings accompaniment is at the heart of the work.  Nevertheless, there are many stirring moments especially when the choir soars to its full volume with brass and timpani during the Libera Me, a glorious sound. ‘In Paradisum’ with women’s voices, accompanied by harp, ends the work. Christopher Bell, resplendent in red jacket and shoes, is an astute and inspiring conductor. 

What a fine example of Scotland’s fine musicians taking their place on an international stage!