The Northern Sinfonia and Chorus attracted a capacity audience when they presented a varied programme of Baroque music at The Sage Gateshead. The evening started with a crisp rendition of Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins in E minor, under the seasoned leadership of first violin Kyra Humphreys. A buoyant first movement featured wonderful harmonising, followed by keenly driven rhythms in the allegro. Stephen Cleobury, director of music at King's College, Cambridge, then took to the podium to shape an impeccable account of Allegri's Miserere mei Deus. Once the preserve of the Vatican, before being famously transcribed and introduced to world by Mozart, it is known for its haunting top Cs. And sopranos Hannah Reynolds and Fiona Gill were spot on in their delivery. Thrown into the mix was Pachelbel's short, but very sweet, Canon in D and Gibbons' Silver Swan. The second half of the evening was devoted to Vivaldi, opening with his Ostro Picta, Armata Spina. Guest soprano Mhairi Lawson's ravishing voice negotiated its arias with muscular agility. A rousing Gloria ensued, with the chorus clearly savouring every moment. Lawson's voice was well matched by the resonant tones of mezzo soprano Anne Marie Gibbons in an exquisite Laudamus te. Another highlight was the Domine Deus, with Gibbons's voice wonderfully coupled with Stephen Hudson's mellifluous oboe. The whole was sung with an expressive warmth and sense of drama and crowned by a triumphant Cum Sancto Spiritu. An uplifting experience.
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