Not being affiliated to a choir, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra does not have too many opportunities to perform choral repertoire. So the orchestra has taken full advantage of the BBC Singers' visit to Glasgow, programming Debussy's Nocturnes, with scoring for orchestra and wordless female chorus in addition to Haydn's Mass in C, with scoring for orchestra and wordless female chorus.
In a programme that seemed designed to demonstrate the versatility of the orchestra and chief conductor Ilan Volkov, Debussy turned out to be the highlight. There is an ideal balance to be struck between revelling in the sheer sonorities of Debussy's orchestral writing and in injecting a measure of cool objectivity. Volkov found it unerringly, reaching beyond the shimmering surface delicacy to expose the music's multi-layered interior. Overall, this was no less effective for its clarity; the otherworldly female chorus in Sirènes at once part of the orchestral texture while simultaneously floating above it.
Debussy was preceded by Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments and here again Volkov's approach was one of poise and lucidity. This was exquisitely textured and polished Stravinsky, though it lacked the pungency of a more visceral account. Nor was the performance of Haydn's Mass in the Time of War entirely effective, as the large body of strings effectively obscuring the intricate woodwind writing, as well as, at times, the chorus.
The music zipped on with plenty of energy, but where Debussy and Haydn had been multi-faceted, this was rather two-dimensional, with the same bright, full tone used in all the upbeat major-key movements. Also somewhat disappointing was a quartet of soloists that never seemed to gel. The performance, however, had its moments; particularly the Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi, a star turn for bass James Rutherford and cellist Sian Bell.
