Elgar's oratorio The Kingdom is a demanding prospect for any group of musicians. In presenting it at the NCH on Wednesday night, Our Lady's Choral Society was being doubly adventurous, for this work, one of Elgar's most elaborate, was conceived for forces considerably larger than this choir of around 100 voices plus the 56 players of the RTE Concert Orchestra.
Nevertheless, the performance came across rather better than several I have heard. The choral sound was sometimes strained in tone and in accuracy of pitch, especially in the more complex textures and when sections were divided. Yet the singing was always alert and purposeful.
The orchestra played its socks off for music which always gives the players something meaningful. And the well-chosen line-up of soloists - Lynda Lee (soprano), Bridget Knowles (alto), Justin Lavender (tenor) and Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone) - delivered most of what was required.
Conductor Proinnsias O Duinn let this flawed yet substantial music speak for itself. The result was often a little short on finesse; but it was full-blooded, as it should be.