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On the evening of Tuesday 29th April an audience of about 70 was entertained at St Peter’s by the Lyra Vocal Ensemble. This was part of their nationwide tour lasting a total of 5 weeks, in which they were giving concerts in places ranging from Manchester down to Kent. In St Petersburg the ensemble is in effect a chamber choir, with several singers to a part, but foreign tours normally take place with just four singers performing together. On this particular tour they were down to three, however, as the bass had had a snowboarding accident back in Russia and it wasn’t possible to obtain a visa in time for a replacement to come. We were, nevertheless, very well entertained by Natalia, Zlata and Andrey as they adapted their programme to suit the reduced forces. It was perhaps disappointing not to hear the low, rich bass notes that are legendary among Russian choirs, but there was still something unique about the tone quality of the singers that sets this sort of music apart from the rest.
The first half (with the performers dressed in black) featured mainly Russian church music, but also the deeply emotional ‘Lilac’ by Rachmaninov. In the second half the costume changed to something more colourful and some enchanting Russian folk music was heard, with the singers introducing the items in a charming way. A number of solo items were included in the concert and in these the soprano in particular revealed a very fine vocal technique. Rossini’s Cats’ Duet, an old favourite, went down well with the audience, and what Russian concert would be complete without a performance of ‘Kalinka’, which ended the programme in great style?
This was an enjoyable evening for all who attended, and it brought a number of visitors into St Peter’s.