The Apex Singers – Live Review

Friday 24 May 2024

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, Greater Manchester

*****

A delightful evening of gorgeous a cappella singing

The Apex Singers are a Manchester-based chamber choir of eight voices, founded and directed by Ollie Lambert. Unfortunately, one of the tenors was ill at short notice so last Friday’s stunning a cappella performance at Waterside Arts Centre in Sale was given by seven singers. This meant a lot of last-minute re-arranging and rehearsing to close the gap, but it was done so seamlessly that it was impossible to tell what musical surgery had been done. The choir was helped by the fact that many of the arrangements are for smaller forces, but more importantly by the fact that all the singers are confident soloists who can easily hold a line.

One of the most striking aspects of the performance was that Lambert wasn’t in evidence on stage, but the choir was able to start each song without a conductor or even a starting note. It turned out that Lambert himself was still in control, like some benign deus ex machina from an ancient Greek drama, providing a feed into each singer’s ear with the starting note of each piece, a short click track count-in and even the name of the song to avoid accidents. Each singer was amplified, so he was also providing a well-balanced sound mix. But the singers themselves did most of the work, singing all the complex arrangements without music (although some of the arrangements have been published), listening intently to each other to create superb ensemble singing.

It’s difficult to categorise the Apex Singers, which is perhaps the point. There’s sometimes an element of the Swingle Singers in the arrangements, but Lambert tends to focus more on the folky aspects of the original songs while adding some lovely ornamentation. It’s fascinating to compare the Apex Singers’ version of The Wayfaring Stranger with the much more florid version by The Swingle Singers:

Lambert’s arrangements retain the songs’ emotional honesty and directness, while tickling the intellect with their imagination and musicality. The singers tread a course between a classical chamber choir and folksingers, limiting the amount of vibrato in each voice and not venturing into historically informed folk performance, creating a thoroughly engaging listen.

Most of the songs came from the choir’s first two studio albums, Hiraeth (2020) and Stravaig (2022), although there were a few tasters from the Singers’ forthcoming album Woven, the first of entirely original compositions. The choir’s aim is to bring lesser-known repertoire to the public, which they certainly achieve, but highlights from the first half included a gorgeously chromatic arrangement of Scarborough Fair, opening with a honey-voiced solo from tenor Matthew Burns. There was beautiful close harmony in The Banks of The Roses, and an amusing debate after the song as whether the Scottish or Irish version of the song had more bloodshed! In Down to the River to Pray, Katie Emanuel revealed a soulful voice with a gospel tinge. The first half ended with a moving sequence, starting with a new composition, Hollow, a collaboration between Lambert and alto Niamh Feeney drawn from their shared experience of sadly losing grandparents. This was followed by the contemplative, folky Twenty Bold Mariners. The final song was another new piece by Lambert, Da la Da, a song without words using phonics only. The Singers were joined for this by several singers from the audience who had taken part in a workshop earlier that day. The soprano Lydia Wonham introduced it as a piece for ‘dancing in a meadow’. The new song had a lovely, lilting falling melody and chromatic harmony, making it a perfect fit for the folk song arrangements we heard earlier.

The second half began with a lively version of Leaving of Liverpool with an appealing solo from George Lowe. At one point the singers sang in unison which was an almost visceral shock after hearing their voices weave around each other. The singers also began to relax more in the second half, chatting to the audience and with each other, talking about fish and chips and asking if anyone was from Urmston. It became increasingly difficult to pick out highlights from the 10-song set. But of particular note was the French Love Song Montagne Que Tu Es Haute sung in immaculate French by the four sopranos and altos, passing the melody around, with achingly beautiful harmonies, and – appropriately – a touch of the French composer Francis Poulenc. The next song Homeward Bound – the first arrangement Lambert completed for the choir – had a touch of the English composers of the choral tradition such as Vaughan Williams. The choir ably negotiated the twisting harmonies and key changes, remaining in perfect tune. A new version of Golden Slumbers featured a looping technique. The perfect loop has to be recorded, via the mixing desk, so the singers can accompany themselves – even the slightest glitch can ruin the loop. Apparently, it took three attempts to create a loop in Lancaster earlier in the week, but this time it passed without incident, turning voices into electronic instruments. The set ended with an elegiac farewell, the poignant song The Parting Glass leaving us with a pensive final chord. Fortunately there was a very ‘unexpected’ encore, a jolly version of The Rambling Rover which brought enthusiastic applause. The only slight disappointment was that the venue wasn’t full – the choir deserve to be playing to packed houses. They deliver Lambert’s attractive arrangements of memorable melodies with excellent choral ensemble work, warmth and chemistry between the singers, lovely solos and an engaging sense of humour. This was a delightful evening, the end of their latest tour – hopefully we will get to hear them performing live again soon.

Performers

Lydia Wonham, soprano

Sophie Proctor, soprano

Katie Emanuel, alto

Niamh Feeney, alto

Matthew Burns, tenor

George Lowe, bass

Elliot Maxwell-Hodkinson, bass

Ollie Lambert, founder, artistic director and arranger