Stabat Mater
Vox Anima Chamber Choir was delighted to be invited to St Mildred’s Church in Tenterden on Saturday 28th February, to perform a programme featuring Kim André Arnesen’s beautiful and poignant Stabat Mater. The Choir was conducted by Artistic Director James Meaders, and joined once more by Richard Hammond-Hall on piano, and Floriane Peycelon on violin - their inimitable talent, musicianship, and sensitive collaboration shining throughout!
Following the successful performance of Arnesen’s Stabat Mater in February last year, members of the Choir have spent much time reflecting on their emotional connection to the music, and how it resonates with us all in different ways. Rehearsals have focused on fine-tuning nuanced phrasing, building profound connection, and the importance of communicating the composer’s emotional and empathetic writing. For this performance, the Choir were incredibly proud to perform the whole work from memory, demonstrating the singers’ commitment to the music, to their Artistic Director, and to each other. Huge congratulations to the Choir for this successful and moving performance, and to Laura Fowler and Hannah Pinney-Thomson for their stirring and memorable solos.
In the second part of the concert the Chamber Choir performed four pieces, beginning with Eleanor Daley’s The Lake Isle of Innisfree, which was dedicated by James Meaders to his good friend and Friends of the Vox supporter Elizabeth Bloom. This was followed by a composition that won an honourable mention in our Emerging Composers competition in 2024, David W Brewer’s Loving Soul, which is being published by Alliance this year, with the Chamber Choir’s performance now available to listen to on his YouTube channel.
B. E. Boykin’s beautiful, lyrical setting of a Langston Hughes poem, Silver Rain, was then followed by an energetic new addition to the Choir’s repertoire, Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down, arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory.
The Chamber Choir was warmly welcomed by the St Mildred’s team, and a full and appreciative audience for the evening. Our heartfelt thanks goes to everyone at St Mildred’s for their help in making the concert a huge success, and to all who attending for their support and appreciation.
The concert raised funds in aid of the St Mildred’s Church Transformation Fund, which has already helped make some spectacular and much needed changes to this beloved medieval church, including new flooring and heating. Friends of the Vox is delighted to have played a part in supporting this valuable community project.
