Australia Tour, Aug 2010 - North Shore Times, Australia

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Extraordinary ensemble cohesion was the hallmark of the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge during its concert at Angel Place. Singing without scores, the 30 choristers never missed a trick while negotiating 15 items by as many composers.

The first half of their August 30 concert was devoted to an illuminating juxtaposition of short pieces by English baroque composers and Baltic modern composers, with a common theme of times of trouble: a change of emphasis brought longer items after interval commencing with a substantial offering by Musica Viva’s featured composer for 2010, Paul Stanhope.

In the Deserts of Exile, the middle movement of a triptych called Exile Lamentations dating from 2007, is a rewardingly varied piece featuring unusual sounds and rhythmic chanting as well as more conventional choral devices: the Trinity choristers responded to its challenges with enthusiasm and great skill.

They went on to impress for their marvellous clarity in Herbert Howells’s Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing of 1964 and for the sense of wonder they evoked in Morten Lauridsen’s Nocturnes of 2005, particularly in the segment entitled Sure on this Shining Night.

The choristers put the cap on a memorable concert with an enthusiastic and light-hearted encore reading of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.