Press and Praise
NOVember 2021
From Martin Dryer’s review of the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem concert in York Minster
On the eve of Remembrance Sunday, there could be no more perfect choice of repertory than A German Requiem, Brahms’ non-liturgical memorial to the dead.
Like so many performers during lockdown, Chapter House Choir under Benjamin Morris has struggled to stay together and survive. So this was a test of its mettle, as well as being the first post-lockdown ticketed musical event at York Minster itself.
The Chapter House Choir is back and in fine fettle.
Brahms “Ein Deutsches Requiem”, with pianists Eleanor Kornas and Polly Sharpe, in York Minster, November 2021
December 2018
From the York Press review of the Christmas Mirabile Mysterium concert in St Michael-le-Belfrey Church
“FOR their candlelit carol concert, The Chapter House Choir were on fine form on Friday, calmly led by their director Benjamin Morris. Many stylish moments of great beauty atmospherically underlined the evening’s theme, Wondrous Mystery.
At their communicative best in Andrew Carter’s joyful Mirabile Mysterium and Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium, the singers also brought out the good humour in Warlock’s Benedicamus Domino. Morten Lauridsen’s radiant O Magnum Mysterium was deeply felt, secure in execution and organic in effect.”
…”Christmas properly begins with the choir’s Handbell Ringers. Their unpretentious virtuosity is a delight, as is the resounding transparency of the musical arrangements they inspire.”
Sharing the billing was the Chapter House Youth Choir … Singing from memory, these accomplished teenagers showed sure-footed composure in the awkward rhythms of Barnum’s Sweeter Still and Snyder’s medley Fum Fum Fantasy.
March 2018
From the York Press review of the Voices from the East concert, featuring music from Russia, Poland and the Baltics to celebrate the unveiling of the Great East Window of York Minster
… The choir emphasised the delicious melodic interplay of Vytautas Miškinis’ Angelis Suis Deus, and both the singers and the audience demonstrated visible enjoyment during Górecki’s Amen. Lydia Eyre’s solo in Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Only in Sleep was tantalising…
Under the assertive direction of Benjamin Morris, the repertoire was handled impressively by the Chapter House Choir, who maintained clarity and balance throughout the entirely a capella programme.
December 2017
From the York Press review of the Carols by Candlelight concert conducted by Andrew Carter
… Variation of vocal colour was abundant: intimate in Shaw’s Lute-book Lullaby; deftly playful in Walford-Davies’s The Holly And The Ivy; sinuous and serene in Howells’s A Spotless Rose; rich and warm for Howells’s Sing Lullaby.
The Handbell Ringers performed magical, surprisingly delicate, festive carol arrangements, making the evening, if possible, even more Christmassy.
Carter’s deceptively simple yet ravishing arrangement of Stille Nacht was a delightful encore. It was a privilege to be there.
Carols by Candlelight in the Chapter House of York Minster, December 2017
November 2016
Jonathan Howard, writing on the King’s Singers blog
Last night’s concert in York Minster was a real joy. Both the Chapter House Choir and the Chapter House Youth Choir are exceptional groups – full of excellent singers, but hugely successful as ensembles too. It was a privilege to share the stage with both of them.
February 2016
From the York Press review of the concert featuring Daniel in Babylon by Francis Jackson and William Walton’s The Twelve
The choir was keenly theatrical, too, often a cappella; several triumphal moments were balanced with a beguiling serenity, notably in the lovely harmonies of Motet V (By His Name All Storms Are Quiet). The whispered prayer to archangel Michael followed by wordless evocation of the heavenly choir and thunderous organ provided a potent finale.
Helen Blythe and Ruth McConnell rehearse their duet in The Twelve, Quire of York Minster, February 2016
December 2015
An extract from the York Press review of Carols by Candlelight in St Michael-le-Belfrey Church
…the variety of their sound quality, their excellent diction, and the purity and unanimity of the upper voices demonstrated some of the attributes that account for the Chapter House Choir’s longevity.
The choir’s handbell ensemble punctuated the programme with a visual and aural spectacle: their ingenious carol arrangements mingled festively with the distant bells of St Wilfrid’s across the road.
November 2014
An extract from the York Press review of our For the Fallen remembrance concert
A PROGRAMME entitled For the Fallen was always going to be sombre, but it was absolutely in tune with this year’s centenary Remembrance commemorations. Significantly, all but one of the pieces was by a British composer. Douglas Guest’s chorale-like setting of Binyon’s For the Fallen, Edward Bairstow’s honest arrangement of Gibbons’s Jesu, Grant Me This, Francis Pott’s impressionistic The Souls of the Righteous (with tenor soloist Dan Hunt), and Alexander L’Estrange’s close harmony setting of Thomas’s Rain, were especially effective in this moving anthology.
Chapter House Choir in St Olave’s Church
June 2014
An extract from Martin Scheuregger’s review of Song Cycle: vive la vélorution! featured in the York Press
Saturday night’s concert in York Minster was a true celebration of cycling, singing and Yorkshire… From the heartfelt to the hilarious, each of the assembled choirs had their moment to shine, with highlights including the assembled children for Fine And Dandy and the men taking the fore in The Men Who Ride For Fun. Congratulations must go to the Chapter House Choir for this ambitious commission and welcoming Le Grand Départ with singing and smiles.
Chapter House Choir members on wheels for Song Cycle
April 2014
Concert for Clare at St. Luke’s Chelsea, in collaboration with Coro London
Terrific singing tonight from The Chapter House Choir and Coro London in a very special memorial concert.
Denise Redding, Mark Latham and Clare Latham – York Minster
November 2013
An extract from The York Press review of our Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil, performed as part of the Illuminating York festival
…The overall effect was immensely satisfying. Phrases were shaped with tender consistency. Straight tone made for very accurate tuning. Above all, there was an awareness between the voices of where the focus should be, so that lines ebbed and flowed seamlessly in and out of the texture. There were forceful Alleluias aplenty, but balancing moments of lovely restraint. Illuminating, indeed.
June 2012
An extract from The York Press review of our concert, featuring the premiere of our commission from Bob Chilcott: Marriage to My Lady Poverty
The Chapter House Choir purred into fine form [for the concert] with a moving performance of Elgar’s As Torrents In Summer. The composer’s My Love Dwelt proved to be another choral gem and the choir clearly relished the beautiful sound world – the call and response motif staying long in the memory… The choir sang…[with] clarity and balance, a real mark of quality…The part-singing and interweaving of lines was delicious, the tenors a massive bonus to the choir’s balance… The Bob Chilcott commission, Marriage To My Lady Poverty, had a lovely haunted quality with hypnotic ostinato patterns supporting the work’s flowing melodies, the delivery was both poignant and assured.