The latest concert by Harlow Chorus was a veritable travelogue of wonders taking the audience from the evergreen melodies of Bernstein’s West Side Story to the eclectic mix of Constant Lambert’s Rio Grande.

On the way the journey took in the spiritual rhythms of Elijah Rock and Randall Thompson’s Alleluia and, as the evening sun faded from the rose window of All Saints Church, the simple, unaffecting beauty of Give us this day.

The intoxicating melodies of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess preceeded the interval leaving everyone wondering if summer would get any better than this and, as always, there was room for the unusual, and none more so than David del Tredici’s delightful Acrostic Song. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass the composition introduced, across the development of a simple, almost familiar tune, the whispered letters of Alice Pleasance Liddell, the real Alice. 

The ebb and flow of the river’s journey was perfectly evoked by the continuum of the marimba in Rhythm Song, played to perfection by guest soloist Daniella Ganeva and percussionist Graham Instrall. Ganeva’s seductive playing further enthralled the enormously appreciative audience with an arrangement of a Piazolla tango and a prelude by Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro.

Concluding the evening Rio Grande perfectly summed up the mixing pot that is America, both North and South, and how our culture is the richer for it. Lambert seemed to throw everything at it but the kitchen sink and how the Chorus, in fine and confident voice throughout the evening, revelled in its performance.

The enthusiasm of the audience alone was proof that this was a journey well worth taking.

Laurence Sach