We were thrilled to receive five stars from MusicOMH.com reviewing The First Nowell with Britten Sinfonia at Cadogan Hall on 4th December.
"A perfect start to the round of 2024’s Christmas themed concerts.... City of London Choir acquired a new director this year in the form of Daniel Hyde... CLC seem to have a new spring in their step, as Wednesday evening’s concert was the best I have ever heard them sing. Co-ordination was absolutely spot-on throughout; balance was immaculate, and Hyde coaxed some splendid dynamic subtleties out of them, as well as some deliciously warm homogenous timbres (a good quantity of which this repertoire demands).
[Finzi Magnificat] ...both choir and instruments, under Hyde’s meticulous direction, delivered with exactitude (a solid – but not overblown – forte for ‘he that is mighty’; crisp triplets for ‘he hath scattered the proud’; a nicely observed diminuendo on ‘holy is His name’).
[Finzi In Terra Pax] ...CLC and the orchestra brought all of their skill to the work, turning in a peerless performance full of subtle fervour and carefully controlled timbres.
[Britten A Ceremony of Carols] ...it would be difficult to match Sally Pryce’s account here: every note was judged for volume, placing and timbre to provide the perfect atmosphere. The choir, in spite of being numerous, turned in a nuanced performance, handling those breathless swaps of material with panache: the contrast between the upper voices’ quiet fluidity and the lower voices’ percussive quality in There is no Rose was special indeed.
[Vaughan Williams The First Nowell] ...both choir and strings gave it a superlative account, and brought out all of its small subtleties (for example: precision for the dotted homophony over elegant little string interludes in The Salutation Carol; tip-top co-ordination between energetic strings and the legato unison melody in How brightly shone)."
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