Testimonials

2007	Imperial Voices in the Festival of Song. Around 400 people stood singing le Vieux Chalet in le Temple de Vallorbe (Switzerland) on Thursday. They had come to participate in a choral concert of great quality. The public were captivated by the imperious voices of the London singers and the young Neuchatel soprano Leana Durney. (Nord Vaudois Broye) My wife and I were at the concert you performed in at Uckfield on Sunday evening and I write to say how very much we enjoyed it and most particularly the overall performance of the choir. Everything about you all was so very impressive and the quality and balance portrayed was outstanding. As for the 'Three Tenors' - they were absolutely superb. Congratulations come in abundance to the choir, conductor and accompanist. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful evening - we now have both of your 'CD's' - and when they are played we will be able to reminisce on the happy occasion we so much enjoyed. Best wishes - Terry & Janice Morford CORNWALL INTERNATIONAL MALE VOICE CHOIR FESTIVAL 2007 (COMPETITION 1 - 40 VOICES AND UNDER) ADJUDICATIONS DRINKING SONG (HOLST) Very beautiful clear sound, good phrasing and dynamic, homogeneous sound. This established an excellent communication with the audience from the very opening. Excellent attention to detail. This is a really substantial choice of opening piece. The bass line was suitably stentorian. Phrasing was very musically conceived with real impact! A splendid start. FOUR HUNGARIAN FOLK SONGS 1 & 2 (BARTOK) Difficult piece, but you did it! Very exciting performance, and again splendid diction and commitment. A telling contrast – neat precise and athletic throughout. Speeds were managed with consummate skill and the flow was impressive. Loved the Hungarian! Quite right! QUATRE PETITES PRIÈRES Seigneur, je vous en prie, O Proles (POULENC) Problems with ensemble and intonation. Good character in second part. A beautiful start was then badly marred by the very challenging harmonic writing which resulted in bad loss of pitch and internal tuning. A very tricky dualogue of pieces, which stretched your resources rather more. Credit for choosing it, but individual lines were rather exposed at times.. IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN'T MA BABY? (ARR. W. WHITE) Forced sound in some places. Good character and dynamic. Much more secure once again. Lots of communication. Very enjoyable. This was a powerful and pulsating contrast. Diction e.g. “catch you crying” was telling. Communication was telling – lovely “niente”ending – but avoid over-enthusiasm vocally. RIO GRANDE (TRAD. ARR. S. JACKSON) 1. Nice sound, especially in piano – homogeneous and soft. Don’t force!. 2 There were one or two tiny problems of ensemble between singers and piano, but again, dynamic and exciting singing. 3 An excellent choice for finale. S.J.’s arrangement is colourful and always interesting. You clearly enjoyed the piece! A very enjoyable recital from a dynamic and colourful choir. The Poulenc pushed your abilities one stage too far but the Drinking Song was magnificent. A well-balanced programme, full of substantial and varied material. It was always polished and musically conceived. Adjudicators: 1. Hirvo Suva, 2. Robert Sharpe, 3. Jeffrey Wynn Davies Marks: 87 (£rd out of 12, best British choir)
2006	I need to thank you for the invitation to the concert. It was splendid. Also my niece Sabina enjoyed it very much and she said to me that I need to tell you that you are really a top choir (Andrej Paulin, Slovenian Imperial College Alumnus) Dear Roger, The Choir raised £302 for The Children's Society on London Bridge Station. Please pass on sincere thanks to all your singers. (Ted Salmon on behalf of The Children's Society)
2005	CORNWALL INTERNATIONAL MALE VOICE CHOIR FESTIVAL 2005 (COMPETITION 1 - 40 VOICES AND UNDER) ADJUDICATIONS WHEN THAT I WAS (DAVIDSON) The sound was clear and well defined. Good dynamics and articulation. Good male voice tone. Musical performance. There are very good voices in the choir. The sound is good. The balance of the voices could be better. Good start. Nice sound in 2nd Tenors. Good arrangement. Good intonation, good dynamics, good speaking, friendly singing. Good! Good style here and a good sound. Tenors need to think about blend and balance though. Tenor 1 pitch suspect in bar 62. A promising start! THE WANDERER (ELGAR) Interpretation was lively (filled with life) and nice forte without forcing. Differentiated dynamics. Smooth choral sound. Effective performance. Be more careful about articulation (staccato, legato….) Well-balanced choir. Very musical. Ditto 5 above. Rather unsophisticated start from such a good choir. I love your full sound. At times a touch over-enthusiastic, i.e. molto allargando p.5 . Well done. BY GEORGE (GERSHWIN ARR. DMJ) Trying to find different colours in the sound and you succeeded in finding them! Good soloists. Performance with style. Good character. Good soloists. Effective performance. You must balance f and ff better. Quite enjoyable arrangement. Performed in style-vocally rather rough! Performance with very good sound surprises. A well-trained choir with a very good conductor. Again, good style and accent! Maybe a more relaxed approach would help in places. Balance in Embraceable You needed care. Great solos!
2004	St Aubin (Baroches) Critique from local newspaper. Aficionados of choral singing who made the effort to go to the Temple at Saint Aubin last Saturday were not disappointed. In their 125^th anniversary year, the men’s choir L’Helvétiennne of Gorgier, directed by M. Ian Woods, invited a renowned men’s choir from London, the Imperial Male Voice Choir, which itself is celebrating its 25^th anniversary. The Temple rediscovered the atmosphere of its greatest days for this marvelous concert. Everyone was able to discover and appreciate the diverse repertoire of this English choir as well as the magnificent voices of the singers under the dynamic and polished direction of Deborah Miles-Johnson. The performances of the singers Gilliane Lehmann and Deborah Miles-Johnson stood out, as did those of the accompanist Cecily Nicholls and the young violinist Helena Nicholls. The progress of L’Helvétienne under the baton of its new director and accompanied by Mme Woods was evident, as gauged by the great delight exhibited by the singers of this group in interpreting the various ensemble pieces with the English choir. Congratulations to all, singers local and from England, and to the various musicians. The public demands more concerts of this standard.
2004	Richard Bourne (ex-BBC Singer and organiser of Lamberhurst Festival) writes: `Thank you so much for the (exhaustion of superlatives) concert on Saturday night. It was enjoyed and appreciated by all - most of all by me. I was astounded, both by the ability of individuals, and the cohesion and choral discipline of the group as a whole.` `It was a great evening, made all the more enjoyable for us by seeing such a body of men obviously enjoying themselves. Please pass on my thanks to each and everyone.`
2003	Dear Roger, The Imperial MVC CD just arrived. I've just listen (sic) to the music and I was impressed by the high quality of the singing. I would like to broadcast some tracks from the CD on the 1st of January! Best regards, Ion-Cristian Nitu ("Musical Itinerary" on Romanian Music Radio)
1999	The unique and exciting style of the Imperial Male Voice Choir and its conductor, Deborah Miles-Johnson, was a great success last Saturday. Add to this the wonderful voice of Susan Heaton-Wright and the formula for this truly memorable evening was complete. From the outset, their well-balanced blend of voices established the quality of this choir. (Hertford Mercury)
1998	It must be us who thank you for what was a superb evening. The Vicar gave it out that you raised £400 for the Church and a third world country. (Hon Sec Budleigh Salterton Male Voice Choir)
1994	Dear Roger I am writing to thank you for all the support you gave to the Annual Carol Concert at Horniman Gardens. It proved to be a very successful evening and raised £578 for MIND. (Gardens Manager, Horniman Museum)
1994	It was a pleasure to be entertained on a warm summer evening by The Imperial Male Voice Choir, under its director, Deborah Johnson. This charming lady had the men well and truly under control and provided us with a programme of varied music, ranging from English folk songs to a selection from Paint Your Wagon. The soloist, soprano Robina Vallence, in addition to her solo items, joined a small group of gentlemen in a dramatic rendering of some songs from Les Miserables. It was obvious the gentlemen really enjoyed singing together as they joined the choir while studying at Imperial College. It was a family affair for them, as wives and children came to support them-the youngest was just three weeks old! The choir obviously holds its MD in high esteem and sang her praises with There’s Nothing Like a Dame. (St Mary’s Beddington Magazine - £295 raised for organ repair and YMCA)
1993	It was a wonderful concert and a perfect evening. I know all those who attended (Clavering Church) thoroughly enjoyed it. (Anne Rouse, Action Aid - £182 raised)
1992	May I thank all the members of Imperial Male voice Choir for the splendid concert you gave in the Horniman conservatory on 27^th June. We were all delighted with it. You certainly gave pleasure to many people in the Gardens as well as those actually in the conservatory. A lot of complimentary remarks were made to us.
1992	Worcester 2nd Elgar Festival adjudication: A resonant account, with a fine degree of expressive nuance throughout- though not without blemish at the edges. The parts listened well - the poco piu tranquillo especially effective. (Feasting I Watch, Elgar) A committed and very well projected account, with vivacious onomatopoeic chording well contrasted with expressive cantabile melodic lines. (The Song of the Blacksmith). A fine rhythmic consensus and admirable unanimity of drive within well-focussed tone, which made the best of the numerical and youthful resources. (Dr. Havelock Nelson)
1990	South Woodham Ferrers Festival adjudication: A good forthright approach to the singing and a very confident account of this tricky piece. Rhythmically it was very sound and only occasionally did the pitch encounter a little vagueness (Drinking Song, Holst) A too uniform and rushed performance, a shame because I am sure the voices could cope with this 5-part work. However, all in all this is a very competent group of singers whose confidence, whilst entirely suitable on most occasions, needs sometimes to be replaced with a little more subtlety (Sehnsucht, Schubert). (Alwyn Humphries)
1989	South Woodham Ferrers Festival adjudication: Bright diction, good ensemble, sung with great conviction. Perhaps if any criticism sung with too much brightness. A delightful convincing performance (Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill) Good blend most of the time but one tenor was tending to come through. Dynamics carefully observed. A compelling and pleasing performance. (The Wanderer, Elgar). Following their excellent rendition of the test piece (Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill) and Edward Elgar’s The Wanderer, the judges awarded the Morriston Orpheus Trophy and the £200 first prize to the Imperial Male Voice Choir. (Woodham Chronicle, May 10th)
1986	Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year adjudication: A very solid rich sound, surprising for such small numbers. A tour de force of rhythm and precision, but don’t clip word endings. Some nice phrasing but could be more lyrical. You’ve got a very high standard of voices and I’m sure you have the potential for an enormously wide range of styles and expressiveness. Congratulations on your tenor section! (Elaine Padmore). A very bright sound with a good edge, which is not unpleasant. The quieter sections need to be gentler. and more legato. Don’t be afraid to vary tempo. Vive L’Amour excellent. (Fraser Goulding)
1985	Blackpool Festival adjudication: Young voices very well handled, but be careful that the brightness of the top tenors does not eclipse the lower parts. Good vigorous march rhythm and vigorous words. Very good choral discipline and plenty of expressive variety but there could be a little more subtlety. (King Charles, Noble) This was sung with great intensity and good precision. It was better suited to your young voices and we had a fine climax when your “bright” tenors came into their own. (Lost Chord, Sullivan).
1985	Bath (Mid-Somerset) adjudication: Vivacious singing-perhaps a bit overdone in rubato but clearly exciting and in character. And what splendid bass support you have. Just be careful that your excitable tenors do not compress the time too much. The big crescendos you make are not in the copy but I like them (in moderation!) (Kalinka) A splendid ‘oak-like’ sonority in this 4-part texture, but I think your ff sound is a bit hard and steely. Very musical presentation of the tune when it goes from part to part. I loved the real grip on the harmony though the tenors were still forcing a bit. (Arise O Sun). A splendidly disciplined group who sing from their hearts. (Noel Cox)
1983	Croydon Festival Adjudication: A good blend, the timing was good. The melody was well taken between the baritones and tenors; it could at times have been a little more pointed (Thou Must Leave Thy Lowly Dwellings, Berlioz). Rhythmic, exciting. Dynamics very managed. Words strong and clear. Most enjoyable. (Vive L’Amour)
1983	Cheltenham Festival adjudication: A most interesting timbre of the sound. However, do take care the tenors do not completely drown the lower voices (Callao, Noble). Rhythmic and vital but again lacking in bass resonance. However this is a group of considerable potential ability if the blend and balance can be worked upon (Marching Song, Seiber). Excellent bright solo and unison. Most dextrous accentuation. Don’t let it dash away. Very good shades of barbershop with rubato. Excellent top tenors (Vive L’Amour). Again excellent tone. Some very good diminuendos to pp. Words together as one voice. Excellent phrasing.
1982	Croydon Festival adjudication: Very pleasing legato, there was always a good line. Blend so well managed. Words always clear (Feasting I Watch, Elgar). Good, fine tone and rhythmic opening. Tone in soft singing always round and velvety. Words so good (The Seeds of Love, Vaughan-Williams). A most enjoyable performance.
1979	Lewisham Festival adjudication: Vocal quality and blend of voices in this ensemble is very good. This performance communicated very well. Diction was clear and intonation and chording excellent. Dynamic variety was well achieved and teamwork excellent. (The Lord is my Shepherd, Schubert) A difficult song to bring off and considerable success achieved here. The complex rhythms were well mastered and this was a splendid and enjoyable performance from an excellent group of singers. (For You and Me, Ives). Long may you make such splendid sounds (89 marks).