Testimonials

More comments from an audience member about out Vigils and Vespers concert:
"I'd been looking forward to this concert since Collegium Singers' Christmas gig at St John's in Welly. 'Vigils and Vespers' was another selection of truly beautiful music from 16th C to contemporary, beautifully and movingly performed. One of my favorites of this concert was the Thomas Luis de Victoria 'Salve Regina', which created audible gasps of delight from those around me in the audience, I kid ye not. We were also in agreement that the cake was very, very good too ?" A.R.

Comments from audience members about our Vigils and Vespers concert 25/2/24

"This was the finest concert I can remember by the group in the last 20 years! The dynamic contrasts were formidable and the choir's tuning was a pleasure to listen to. Elinor is to be congratulated on making such an enjoyable event." GB

"I absolutely loved Sundays performance. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it and how uplifting the whole experience was. Fantastic…" KP

"it was [the choir's] best performance yet, one of my friends was moved to tears at one stage" JM

"one of the very best concerts of the last few years, an older couple from our village were quite overwhelmed" ST

Some comments from our Facebook posting on 30/5/2022 about our Gloriana concert on 28/5/22

“Absolutely beautiful! It's amazing how relatively few voices can produce such a full sound. Well done!!”

“Wonderful Sound!”

“It was a truly wonderful concert”

“Beautiful, Well done”

“Marvellous”

Sea Fever 19/3/2022
With numbers diminished by COVID but enthusiasm undimmed, Collegium Singers distinguished themselves and rewarded the inspiration of their talented Director Elinor Cooper in their concert at North Curry Church - ‘The Cathedral of the Levels' - on 19 March. The theme of water and the sea - in all its guises, and its effect on people's lives - was the unifying factor of an imaginative, varied and consistently absorbing programme of choral pieces from the last 150 years. Folk song settings by Vaughan Williams, Holst and others enabled the choir to demonstrate precise tuning, crisp ensemble and mellifluous vocal blend and balance, as well as a wide and flexible dynamic range. Particularly impressive was a piece by Kerry Andrew in which tide and wind were unforgettably recreated in sound - although not notes! But perhaps the centrepiece of the concert was an extended work by Finnish composer Mantyjarvi about the wreck of MS Estonia in 1994, setting words from the Requiem, the Psalms and Radio Finland's Latin (yes, Latin) news broadcast. The mixture of styles and textures had a strong emotional impact. Settings of spirituals, and a remarkable virtuoso miniature by Elgar encompassing calm and tempest in a few bars, added diversity. Various pieces required soloists from the ranks of the choir; while all were excellent, especial mention should be made of Catherine Bass and Matthew Jelf. All in all this was a challenging and rewarding concert of high musical quality: if standards faltered slightly during pieces by Parry and Whitacre , this only emphasises how much the choir achieved.

- Andrew Carter

A Christmas Celebration 13/12/2021
Delightful subtle dynamic, growing gloriously with their new conductor who is a nonpareil