If proof were needed that Britain loves a good sing, this Proms Choral Day was it. Across three events, plus a free vocal workshop, the Royal Albert Hall went from decently filled to jam-packed.
The thousands who turned out at 10:30am on a Saturday were treated to an hour of Edwardian choral music. Not exactly top of the pops, but in the experienced hands of the Sixteen (by a syntactical sleight of hand, weighing in here at 26 singers), it showed British composers competing successfully with the progressive voices coming out of the continent. Parry’s I Was Glad was the vigorous opener, clarion voices glad indeed as valiant choir held its own against thundering organ.
Among a string of back-to-back hits, William Henry Harris’s Faire Is the Heaven, here receiving its first Proms performance, deserves a shoutout. The double-choir depiction of angels and archangels calling back and forth was stylishly done with consonants crisp as a bright spring morning. Ditto six works by Stanford. From the butter-smooth balm of Beati Quorum Via to a trio of evocative settings of Mary Coleridge, this was scrupulously crafted music free from any suggestion of Victorian fustiness.
On paper, the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers are the polar opposite of the Sixteen, yet in technique, zeal and musical exactitude the two have much in common. Ferdinand created his choral supergroup during the pandemic, with core members drawn from a Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. Its aim is to provide sanctuary amid the word’s storms, and the message is hope. Two hours of soul-revivifying musicianship later… well, mission accomplished.
A gleaming account of Lift Every Voice and Sing showed off their bold, impassioned sound. There are some big voices in there, heard in a series of classy solos, yet the blend was spotless with floated pianissimos to die for.
Wide-ranging repertoire showed off their versatility, breathing new life into the fugal finale of Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives and savouring the harmonic challenges of Ken Burton’s A Prayer. From their spirited take on the gospel standard Didn’t It Rain? to the crunchy close harmonies relished in Erroll Garner’s Misty, they didn’t miss a trick. To wrap things up, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier arrived on stage to pay homage, before stepping back into the choir for a performance of his anthemic World O World.
The grand finale was Handel’s Messiah, though in the 1789 arrangement by Mozart. True to the original, yet reupholstered with trombones, horns, clarinets and flutes, it’s a darker, more sober work and full of interest. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was joined by six choirs – including the visiting Americans, a youth choir, two community choirs, and an LGBTQ+ choir – all pulling together in an astonishing display of vocal coordination.
At first it seemed as if the sheer scale of the forces involved might push conductor John Butt to adopt the odd stodgy tempo, but by the second half they were firing on all cylinders. Benjamin Hulett shone brightest among the the soloists, singing with supple strength and palpable enthusiasm, but the night was always going to belong to the choirs. With the enthusiastic audience joining in the Hallelujah Chorus, the message was loud and clear: in choral singing, inclusiveness is everything.
• The BBC Proms continue until 14 September
