NCH, Dublin: Handel — Zadok the Priest; Water Music Suite No 2; Utrecht Jubilate. Mozart — Requiem

On the surface, Tallaght Choral Society’s concert looked like an evening that was to bebased on contrasts. The choral works by Handel in the first half are upbeat and celebratory. Mozart’s Requiem, undertaken in the last months of his life and left incomplete at his death, is an altogether darker, sometimes even lugubrious creation.

The evening’s performances conducted by Mark Armstrong concentrated on a lusty delivery that, which it suited Handel’s

Zadok the Priest

and

Utrecht Jubilate

, brought moments of buoyancy that seemed excessive in the Mozart.

It’s not that Armstrong didn’t ever relax the sense of drive, or ask his choir to tone down their contributions. It’s just that the energy, expressed through brisk speeds and bright, often whitish tone, seemed to become a little undiscriminating.

The team of soloists was a good one. Soprano Lynda Lee showed some moments of unwonted fragility, but tenor John Elwes and mezzo soprano Alison Browner were both in commanding form.

Baritone Philip O’Reilly may have been a bit stretched in the lowest passages, but his singing carried an intentionality that compensated well. And, most importantly, the four worked effectively as a team to create an outcome that was more than the sum of its parts.