Lichfield Cathedral Chorus
Lichfield Cathedral
Saturday 3rd December 2011

Beethoven’s huge Missa Solemnis attempts the impossible – and so does
any amateur choir that tackles it. It’s nothing less than one of the
greatest creative minds in human history talking directly and
intimately to his God. Even the most perfect performance is unlikely
to do it justice.

So this attempt by the Lichfield Cathedral Chorus, conducted by Ben
Lamb and supported by the expanded Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra,
deserved respect. The Chorus has some clear weaknesses, principally an
underpowered tenor and bass section. But it also has some real
strengths; most notably a general spirit of real musicianship and
commitment.

Unsurprisingly, Beethoven’s insanely difficult choral writing claimed
a few casualties – at the end of the Gloria, it sounded like the
chorus was hanging on for dear life. Yet there were moments of real
hushed beauty, and in the opening Kyrie, warm lyrical waves of
expressive sound.

With a well-matched team of soloists - Soprano Rowan Baker, Mezzo
Ailsa Cochrane, an impassioned Hugh Hetherington (tenor) and a
sonorous Fran Ambrose (bass) - the spirit of this extraordinary work
shone through regardless. And when the flutes swirled around Alex
Laing’s heartbreakingly pure violin solo in the Sanctus, it came very
close to transcendence.

Richard Bratby

Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra
Lichfield Cathedral
Saturday 29 October 2011
 
There’s always a buzz at any concert by the Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra but even so, this concert felt special. No question: in bringing the Classical Brit Award-winning violinist Jack Liebeck to Lichfield, DECO had scored quite a coup. But in the event, Liebeck’s performance of the Mendelssohn violin concerto, under conductor Philip Scriven, might just have been the best thing we’ve yet heard from this spirited and resourceful ensemble.
 
Liebeck isn’t an overtly glamorous performer; the star-quality is in his playing. His sound is generous and lustrous, yet charged with real imaginative fire. It made for a passionate, sometimes dazzling, but always gloriously songful reading of the Mendelssohn – and the DECO players were with him every note of the way, accompanying with both precision and imaginative flair. It drew a standing ovation from a well-filled Cathedral.
 
The concert had opened with a deft performance of Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte” overture, and continued after the interval with another jolt of musical energy – Beethoven’s barnstorming Seventh Symphony. It’s a demanding play, but DECO went at it “con brio”; the sound of those horns blasting their high notes into the vaults of the Cathedral was like a musical firework display, a week early.

You could have heard a pin drop.  Where? In Lichfield Cathedral during Saturday’s performance by the star of the sound track of the new Holywood version of Jane Eyre.  Winner of the 2010 Classical BRIT award for “Young British Performer of the Year”, Jack Liebeck found time in his hectic schedule to treat concert goers in Lichfield to a stunning performance of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto.

DECO performed polished music with emotion

A SCALED-DOWN Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra took the platform at Lichfield Cathedral – but there was nothing small about the performances.

At the heart of the programme were two of Bach's most gloriously inventive masterpieces: the Double Violin Concerto and Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, music that demands both technical polish and total emotional commitment.

And that's exactly what it got.

 Lichfield Cathedral, 14^th May 2011 Reviewed by Christopher Arnold

 “Our region has enjoyed a wonderfully rich musical weekend.  On Friday, the Dresden Staatskapelle founded in 1548, one of the oldest orchestras in the world, performed in Symphony Hall and on Saturday the Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra, one of the youngest orchestras in the world performed in Lichfield Cathedral.  Both evenings were delights.

DECO excel with thrill after spine-tingling thrill

Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra
Lichfield Cathedral
Saturday 19 February 2011

The Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra has more than established its
credentials in music from the classical period. So this latest concert
marked a welcome evolution: a programme of late-romantic repertoire
under the baton of regular conductor Philip Scriven.

Christopher Arnold writes in the Lichfield Express and Star for the concert on 19th February 2011:

“This ambitious group offered a welcome departure from the more well-known classics popularised by frequent radio broadcasts.  The proximity to Valentine’s Day presented the opportunity for a programme of romantic music in the majestic setting of Lichfield Cathedral.

Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra

Lichfield Cathedral

Saturday 2 October 2010

It’s time to stop referring to the Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra as a new venture.  With this concert at Lichfield Cathedral – smartly played, in front of a large audience, and recorded for national broadcast by Classic FM – it’s safe to say that DECO has arrived.  This locally-based chamber orchestra, founded and run by violinist Alexander Laing, is a Lichfield success story on a national scale.

“Unfinished Business”

Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra (DECO)

Conductor: Philip Scriven with Rowena Calvert: Cello.

Saturday 2^nd October 2010  Lichfield Cathedral

Reviewed by:   Christopher Arnold - Express and Star

“Classic FM has broadened the range of people enjoying mainstream classical music, often by presenting highlights or single movements of symphonies deemed too long to hold the attention of busy people.  But nothing can compare to the excitement and energy of top class live performances of entire works.

Just such an experience was provided by Lichfield’s Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra with their conductor Philip Scriven who accompanied the brilliant young cellist, Rowena Calvert in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C.