John Quinn was full of praise in his review of the combined Chamber Choir & St Cecilia Singers performance of Ian Venables’ Requiem in Great Malvern Priory as part of the 2023 Elgar Festival.

He believes this work to be “one of the most significant recent English choral compositions and a work of great emotional depth”. He goes on to say, “I admired the performance very much. I thought Stephen Shellard conducted the score with evident belief – which he communicated to the performers – and with great understanding.”

You can read the full review of the whole concert here.