On a sunlit summer evening on 1 July, 2023 an attentive audience were treated to an innovative
concert by the Dorking Choral Society at St Paul’s Church, Dorking. The first half of the concert was
devoted to a celebration of part-songs by four 20 th century composers, and the second half to the
mid-world wars work Dona nobis pacem by the choir’s own eminent founder, Ralph Vaughan
Williams. The choir were conducted by their musical director, Daniel Mahoney, and accompanied at
the piano by the distinguished pianist and choral director, Mark Shepherd, and by the rising young
soloists, the soprano, Emily Beech, and baritone, William Harmer.
The concert began with a setting by Gerald Finzi of four poems by Robert Bridges, in which the choir
captured both the life and lyricism of My spirit sang all day with the contrasting smooth and
soothing comfort of Clear and gentle stream. Their sensitive performance would have pleased the
(thankfully saved!) BBC Singers who gave the first performance of these songs. The remaining three
songs, composed by Piers Maxim, Stephen Paulus and Jake Runsted respectively, each presented
particular emotional challenges to the choir especially as the first and third were composed in
memory of the deaths of individuals well known to the composers (in the case of Our revels now are
ended, a former member of the Dorking Choral Society), and required a controlled combination by
the choir of grief, hope and celebration. They were, however, able to relax a little in a warm and
nostalgic rendering of the near spiritual song, The road home, by Stephen Paulus.
The second half of the concert was devoted to the major work, Dona nobis pacem, by Vaughan
Williams. Although this is normally scored for a large orchestra, this was a more intimate
performance supported by Mark Shepherd’s sensitive and accomplished piano accompaniment.
Combining the war poetry of Walt Whitman, words from the Bible and Vaughan Williams’ own
experience of the horrors of the first world war, it required the choir to portray both the despair and
cruelty of war, the need for reconciliation and restrained hope for peace and better times in the
future. They rose superbly to the occasion, aided in no small measure by William Harmer’s moving
and mellifluous rendering of The angel of death has been abroad, and the sweet and gently
persistent prayer of Agnus dei by Emily Beech at both the beginning and end of the work. Although
the emotional power of this piece perhaps overtook the memory of the lyricism and colour of the
part songs in the first half of the programme the choir’s sensitive and controlled performance
reminded the audience of the war in Ukraine and the many other problems we face in our
contemporary world.
Brian Unwin
