Dual approach to performance of choral works

"A camel is a horse designed by a committee,” goes the rather unkind expression. But plainly conductors Janet Lincé and Sarah Tenant-Flowers had no such negative thoughts when they decided to form a new Oxford choir which would have a mini-committee of the two of them in charge.

“Sarah and I first met in conjunction with the ABCD, the Association of British Choral Directors, some years ago,” Janet explained. “We hit it off very well, both socially and musically, and just realised that we had so many ideas in common. One of them was that there are perhaps fewer opportunities for female conductors than we would like, and another was that there are hardly any occasions when people in our profession really collaborate in a practical and useful way.

"We have so many complementary skills, and as the result of a one-off remark, we thought: ‘Why don’t we form a choir that we both conduct?’ The idea was to stage two performances of every concert that we do, with each of us conducting one concert. So the singers get two totally different interpretations of each programme.”

Sarah Tenant-Flowers has recently had the interesting experience of mentoring comedian and ex-Coronation Street star Bradley Walsh in the BBC2 series Maestro, which aimed to turn a celebrity into a fully-fledged conductor. Contrasting ways of conducting have, therefore, been much in her mind of late.

“Janet and I could not be more different in our styles of conducting,” Sarah revealed. “This is difficult because it’s quite a personal comment, but I would say that probably I’m more extrovert than Janet, and she’s more disciplined. The singers get radically different experiences, so we are not trying to create one mushy, welded compromise of a performance. We put the basic breaths in — we agreed we had to do that — but otherwise the singers are forced to watch us, or they would not know what was happening.”

Sarah and Janet’s choir is named Encoro, and was launched with a concert in St Martin in the Fields, London, in January last year. It went on to give two performances of Rachmaninov’s Vespers, one at Douai Abbey, the other in Keble College Chapel, Oxford. Now the choir is presenting a multi-work programme called The Spacious Firmament — the title of a rarely heard anthem by Bernard Rose, former director of music at Magdalen College, which will be sung during the concert. Also included will be a brand new piece commissioned, with financial support from the PRS Foundation, from present-day Oxford composer Andrew Gant. It’s called Excellently Bright, a cheerful title in these drab times.

“The credit for the title belongs to Janet, not to me,” Andrew explained. “Those familiar with English literature will know it from a poem by Ben Jonson — it’s a hymn to Diana. The piece is about the moon and the stars, which is the theme of the concert. As a student, I studied music and English, and I have always been interested in the way the two things fit together. I hope this piece will fit into the tradition of composers who have drawn a lot of inspiration from English literature.

"Also, my early career was as a professional singer, so I’ve always been very keen on the way that the human voice can relate words to music. The words give the structure, and the style of a piece, of course, so you’re working with a framework, as opposed to using a purely abstract musical structure.”

We were all talking in Andrew Gant’s North Oxford home, and as I arrived he was playing part of the score over to Janet. Already she was making mental adjustments to the concert running order, as Excellently Bright was turning out to be longer than expected.

I asked Janet whether she’d given Andrew a brief, like a client instructing an architect.

“We obviously have various practical issues to bear in mind. We want to challenge the singers, and go as far as possible from what you might call the format of a traditional piece of music — a piece that follows the same tempo throughout, and where all the performers are situated together in the same position. On the other hand, we need to bear in mind that we have very little rehearsal time, for a very wide-ranging programme. So when we talked to Andrew, we did say that some of the musical ideas would have to be something that we could assimilate quickly.”

Andrew Gant has sung with top professional groups — the Monteverdi Choir, the Sixteen, and the Tallis Scholars, among others. So, I suggested, he should certainly know about tight rehearsal schedules as well as setting enjoyable challenges for singers.

“Absolutely. One of the things that irritates me is the sort of composer who writes something that is not suitable for the circumstances in which it is to be performed. It is part of my job to provide something that is interesting, but also practical. In order to be interesting and novel, it isn’t necessary to be desperately avant-garde in terms of musical style, and make everything terribly hard.”

With preparations for Encoro’s second concert rapidly coming to fruition, the choir’s two-headed artistic approach seems to be working well. Or are there hidden disagreements behind the scenes?

“We have very different ideas that we bring to the party,” Sarah replied. “We do have disagreements — I think I’ve suggested a piece and Janet’s said: ‘Oh no,’ and vice versa. But it’s good at our stage in life and careers to be challenged!”

Encoro’s concert The Spacious Firmament takes place in Merton College Chapel on Sunday, October 5. Tickets in advance from Newbury Corn Exchange (01635 522733, online at: www.cornexchangenew.com) or on the door.