Past Performances


Messiah with Instruments of Time & Truth

Sat, 16 Dec 2023
 

Winter Concert 2023

Sat, 25 Nov 2023

Summer Concert 2023

Sat, 17 Jun 2023


Read the review of the concert in the Henley Standard here

Spring Concert 2023

Sat, 18 Mar 2023
Our spring concert was the first under our new music director, Steven Grahl - a performance of Elijah by Mendelssohn. West Forest Sinfonia and a superb quartet of soloists together with the Frideswide Voices joined the choir in a thrilling rendition of this great music. Read the review of the concert in the Henley Standard here.


 

Winter Concert 2022

Sat, 12 Nov 2022

Summer Concert 2022

Sat, 25 Jun 2022



Spring Concert 2022

Sat, 19 Mar 2022



Winter Concert 2021 - Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle

Sat, 6 Nov 2021


What a delight to be singing, before an audience in our favourite venue - Dorchester Abbey.  The Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle was originally scored for Harmonium and Piano and so we were doubly delighted to perform in the same way adding our excellent accompanists to the fine soloists.  A truly memorable return to music making after the 'lockdowns' and Covid severe restrictions.

A Sea Symphony

Sat, 14 Mar 2020
Anita D'Attellis gave a wonderful performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto and the choir really enjoyed singing Vaughan Williams' exciting Sea Symphony with Steven Gadd and Lorena Paz Nieto as excellent soloists, superbly conducted by Richard Laing. You can read the review in the Henley Standard here


Baroque Bouquet

Sat, 30 Nov 2019
The incomparable combination of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi featured in our concert on Saturday 30 November in Dorchester Abbey. All composed within a 10-year span between 1713-1723, Bach's glorious Magnificat was the headline work. Handel's O praise the Lord with one consent is one of his Chandos anthems which give a foretaste of the riches to come in his later oratorios. Vivaldi's  setting of Psalm 112 Beatus Vir RV598 demonstrates his typical pace and energy, as does his short Concerto for Strings RV157.


Summer concert 2019

Sat, 15 Jun 2019
We had a lively triple bill for our summer concert and the large audience were highly appreciative both of our 'normal' forces but, in particular, of the excellent children's choir conducted by Judith Ward.

You can read the review in the Henley Standard
here


Elgar's The Kingdom

Sat, 30 Mar 2019
Along with the Elgar Orchestra and our conductor Chris Walker, we have a strong affinity with Elgar's great oratorios. For this performance of The Kingdom  we left our traditional venue of Dorchester Abbey and moved to the Oratory School in Woodcote.

The Henley Standard's John Burleigh concluded his review with "Elgar's The Kingdom is not as popular nor performed as frequently as his Dream of Gerontius, though some congnoscenti claim that the former is the greater work. Perhaps people haven't heard a really definitive performance. They should have come to hear Benson at The Oratory." You can read his full review here



A Plea for Peace

Sat, 1 Dec 2018
For our programme to commemorate the centenary of the ending of the First World War we chose Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, an amazing piece which is disturbing, compelling yet hopeful in equal parts. The more familiar Fauré Requiem completed the bill.

You can read John Burleigh's review from the Henley Standard
here


 

Mozart Masterpieces

Sat, 16 Jun 2018
Mozart’s amazing Mass in C minor was the centrepiece of our summer concert. To start the programme, our accompanist Anita D’Attellis, who is building her solo career to great acclaim, played Piano Concerto no 21 in C K467. The poetic eloquence of the slow movement was used in the film ‘Elvira Madigan’ .

You can read the review in the Henley Standard
here


Brahms German Requiem

Sat, 24 Mar 2018
The review in the Henley Standard can be found here


A Reflection of Perfection

Sat, 25 Nov 2017
The review in the Henley Standard of our concert can be read here


Byways of Beethoven

Sat, 10 Jun 2017

For our summer concert, we delved into some of Beethoven’s lesser known choral works – his Mass in C, his Choral Fantasia which featured a piano solo for our accompanist, Anita D'Attellis, and a Hallelujah chorus – not from Handel’s Messiah, but from Beethoven’s oratorio ‘Christ on the Mount of Olives’.

You can read the review from the Henley Standard
here


Bach St John Passion

Sat, 25 Mar 2017
The review in the Henley Standard can be read here


Verdi Requiem

Sat, 26 Nov 2016

Copyright © 2024 Benson Choral Society