Vespers. The word conjures an intoxicating aura of twilight and incense. Liturgically, it’s an opportunity for Christians to sanctify the day’s end as the sun is setting, but its roots are deeper, stretching back to first-century Judaism. Its name, from the Greek Hesperus, hints at darker pagan origins. This semi-staged concert located Vespers as it might have been heard in Vivaldi’s Venice, within the broader and more ancient cultures of the Mediterranean.
Entering to the sound of bells, the audience was seated either side of a raised platform. At one end were string players from Figure, a historical performance orchestra, crisply led by Frederick Waxman. At the other was countertenor Iestyn Davies, a troubled figure staring at a laptop and lit by a single candle. As he donned headphones, an otherworldly Kyrie drifted down from a balcony. The voices were Idrîsî Ensemble, a choral collective specialising in the performance of Old Roman chant, the music of the early Christian Church in Rome. It was a haunting sound, open throated and ornate, its vinegary harmonies peppered with ululating decorations.
Threaded through the hour-long programme was Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus, a vibrant, multimovement setting of Psalm 127 for alto, strings and chamber organ. The text implies that all human effort – whether building a house, defending a city or toiling for wealth – is in vain without God’s blessing. Davies’s richly cushioned voice brought lyrical warmth and fluid phrasing to this elaborate music, even as his anxious character sought deeper meaning in his mundane life.
At the heart of Sam Rayner’s resourceful staging was an arresting clash of cultures. Approaching the platform, Isadora Pulman regaled the world-weary Davies with Morenica, a traditional Sephardic song about a woman who playfully rejects the calls of passing sailors as she waits for the son of a king. Accompanied by Balkan flute and Middle Eastern zither, and with the light glinting off her bejewelled ears and throat, Pulman’s smoky vocals seemed to suggest that those in search of a more purposeful future could do worse than embrace the example of a less inhibited past.
