There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in celebration of their 20th anniversary, in front of a packed and enthusiastic audience. The 12-strong group still boasts four founder members, but this was swelled to 10 for the final item, as a swarm of alumni joined in a beautiful rendition of Gibbons’ The Silver Swan.
Stile Antico specialises in music of the 16th century, in all its variety – from Byrd to Palestrina – sung with rich-hued warmth in the vocal sound, animation and vigour in the rhythms and an almost superhuman responsiveness between the singers. They masterfully covered the textural spectrum, from the fruity bottom-heavy chords of Clemens non Papa’s Ego flos campi to the stratospheric heights of the anonymous upper-voice Sicut lilium inter spinas.
The concert was hosted by Radio 3’s Hannah French, who provided links and short interviews with the singers. Her tone was witty and appropriately celebratory, but, like all the best compères, she didn’t try to make it about herself. Instead she gave space to the singers to speak about what they love about working with the group.
There was also a nod towards Stile Antico’s tradition of commissioning new work. We heard Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s ingenious setting of Palestrina’s words of dedication in a publication, with an expressive solo for tenor Jonathan Hanley (pictured right by Joel Rodriguez) and a wonderful moment of piling-up in the middle. And I really loved Huw Watkins’ brisk setting of Shakespeare’s The Phoenix and the Turtle, which has real rhythmic impetus, the singers giving life to every consonant and revelling in the astringent harmonic world.
But for the most part, we were on home territory in Renaissance repertoire. Vivanco’s Veni dilecte mi (which featured on Stile Antico’s first every programme) was high-spirited and lithe, while Tallis’s O sacrum convivium had a touching simplicity. Thomas Tomkins’ distinctive personality shone through the springy lines and harmonic byways of O praise the Lord, while Palestrina’s Exultate Deo exultate’d and jubilate’d with unconstrained joy. For me, the highlight was the fabulous reading of Giaches de Wert’s Gaudete in Domino, which was followed by a rousing Gibbons O clap your hands.
The concert was certainly long – with two intervals – but there was a lot of ground to cover, and you got the feeling they could have gone on all night, singing their favourite pieces together, a group of singers clearly enjoying each other’s company.
