"The
compliments have been flying ever since your visit here
last weekend. There have been so many comments about
the wonderful quality of your singing, and what a
fantastic sound you made in the Cathedral... Thank you
again, and if you would like to come back at some
point, do please let me know."
Sue Armstrong, Choirs Administrator,
Winchester Cathedral
"We had a choir from [Belfast] at Winchester yesterday,
Melisma... Only 8 of them but what a sound! Really
impressed... Hope we get them back again when our choir
is on holiday."
Radio 3 Message Board
"Melisma were absolutely superb. I wish I could sing
like that. Made me feel like hanging up my larynx with
immediate effect! I'll look out for the new cd."
Radio 3 Message Board
OH WHAT A NIGHT!
The Studio, Waterfront Hall, Saturday 26 January 2008
In a packed Waterfront Studio last night an
enthusiastic audience gave a standing ovation to
Melisma and their musical collaborators Hooker and
Sinfonietta at the end of a unique evening's
music-making that truly deserved the title ECLECTION.
Melisma sang audience favourites such as "Sure on this
Shining Night" and "Sleep" alongside Beatles and ABBA
covers and joined forces with Hooker and Sinfonietta to
perform ELO's "Mr Blue Sky" and a medley from the
Beatles "Abbey Road" album. Jenny wowed the audience
with a performance of Gershwin's "The Man I love"
whilst Mark's stunning rendition of Queen's "Somebody
to Love" went down a storm.
Choir shows off its versatility in action
Belfast Newsletter, Tuesday January 8 2008
On Friday, December 21, the eight-voice choir Melisma
gave a concert in St George's Church, Belfast, proving
beyond doubt that small is indeed beautiful. The theme
was, of course, Christmas, with works as varied and
colourful as the season itself. They began at the back
of the church with Eric Whitacre's Lux aurumque, an
unaccompanied piece that used the confined space under
the overhang of St George's balcony to create an
amazingly intense sound. Then Philip Lawson's Veni,
veni Emmanuel was sung as a processional to the front
of the church.
The programme continued with the oblique power of
Palestrina's Hodie Christus Natus Est, a delicate Byrd
Lullaby and some Howells - two pieces that wove an
intricate cloth using the warp and weft of Melisma's
accomplished voices The choir was formed in 2004 by
Londonderryman Geoffrey Moore and is currently directed
by Philip Stopford who is also a composer of interest
and skill. His Celtic Christmas setting of four
well-known carols finished the first half of the
concert, with the slightly swingle-esque "ba ba ba"
treatment of I saw three ships - a fun and effective
take on an otherwise prim carol.
The concert continued with Stopford's Alleluia, as well
as an arrangement of The First Noel sung from the back
balcony. Melisma's three female singers sang Rutter's
Christmas Lullaby and there were attractive settings of
other poular carol texts, each with an individuality
that showed this choirs versatility. Tenor Andrew Smyth
[sic] did double duty on sleigh bells and glockenspiel
in a funky Hark the Herald Angels sing.
The title of the concert was Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas and Melisma sang a setting of this
with languid presision, ending on a note that
positively glowed. Much of this concert had a lovely
lustre including their encore of Philip Stopford's
beautiful new version of In the Bleak Midwinter.
Soloist Lynda Barrett's singing of Mary's maiden bliss
was indeed blissful, and Melisma had given us much to
think about, with music that lasted in the mind right
through the holiday season.
Andrea Rea
REVIEW OF OUR SUMMER CONCERT FROM THE NEWSLETTER, 5
JUNE 2007
Melisma is a small choir with a huge
voice
The Greek word Melisma means "music", and also the
singing of a group of notes on one syllable of text.
After Saturday night's concert, Melisma could also be
defined as an excellent choir with a mastery of many
kinds of music.
With just eight singers, Melisma is smaller than many
church choirs, but their accomplishment lies in having
experienced musicians who obviously fit well together.
Singing their first two numbers from the back gallery,
Melisma set the bar very high with Latin texts by
Tallis and Andrew Parnell, followed by a setting of Ave
Verum by Karl Jenkins for soprano and alto duet.
Following that, four songs from Parry's Songs of
Farewell were a highlight, although truthfully, it
would be very hard to choose a high point from this
varied, skilful concert.
One of the most important features of this evening of
choral delights was the carefully constructed
programme. It was roughly in chronological order, with
a set of two works by choir member Philip Stopford at
the end of the first half.
More importantly, the choice of music was grouped in
various ways by theme, and applause was held back until
the end of each group. Two Beatles numbers, I'll Follow
the Sun and Yesterday might have been placed at the end
by another choir, but Melisma's splendid final set was
among the most rewarding music of the night. Two
wonderful pieces by Eric Whitacre and then Sure on this
Shining Night, the chosen title of the concert, by
Morten Lauridsen, made for an exquisite closing.
To my mind, the encore, Summertime, was less polished
than what came before but, in such a stunningly
presented concert, there was very little in it.
Melisma can make an extraordinarily full sound for such
a small group, but their real gift is in the lightness
and detail of rhythm and sure-footed harmonic changes.
Also refreshing is a clean but unexaggerated approach
to text.
In short, this is a choir to look out for.
Hear them whenever you get the chance, and hope also
that they do decide to make a recording so you can hear
the best of choral singing and repertoire whenever you
like.
Andrea Rea