View from the Green Room: Ad Hoc Chorale’s summer concert

Review: Ad Hoc Chorale at the Cathedral, Barronstrand Street

Ad Hoc Chorale teams up with the SETU Lumine choir as part of the Symphony Club of Waterford’s 2026 programme.

Ad Hoc Chorale comes with an impressive resumé. The choir was established in 2003 by conductors and singers to bring quality singing to Waterford. Over the years they’ve won numerous prizes at the Cork Choral Festival, including ‘National Choir’.

The choir now concentrates on concert performances and loves to support emerging choristers and organists in the Cathedral.

Tonight’s conductor is Pamela Harrison and our accompanist for the performance is Una Connery.

Ad Hoc opens tonight’s concert with three of those pieces that we recognise on hearing but always fail to identify. Arvo Part’s ‘Bogoroditse Djevo’ is short and concentrated in phrases that range from whispered reverence to a single shout out for ‘joy’ in this hymn to the Blessed Virgin.

Louise O’Carroll is an informed host that shares information on all the pieces with us. She reminds us that May is the ‘Month of Mary’ and that much of tonight’s concert is informed by that theme. I love Anna Lapwood’s ‘Irish Blessing’. It’s a beautifully crafted melody with flowing piano accompaniment that’s written in mostly two-part harmony that repeats the well-known blessing: 

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.M ay the sunshine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

The SETU Lumine choir is made up of alumni from the SETU choral programmes and has clocked up numerous awards at various choral competitions, including ‘Choir of the Festival’ at the AIMS Choral Festival for the last two years. It’s conducted by Niall Crowley with accompanist Niamh Crowley.

Gaude Virgo Mater Christi (Rejoice, Virgin, Mother of Christ) is classic Renaissance polyphony and the performance of the choir here is a delight. Mitte Maneum Tuam (Stretch forth your hand) is an invitation to touch the crucified Jesus’s hands and a swirl of melody.

Ad Hoc and Lumina combine for a very special Bruckner 1879 sacred motet ‘Os Justi’ (The mouth of the righteous). It’s a delightful A Capella choral masterpiece that’s just crammed with lush and flowing polyphony that brings out the stamp of class of both choirs.

Michael John Trotta’s ‘Requiem’, with David Forde as accompanist on the massive cathedral organ and Ad Hoc as choir, is a composition of sacred music that is passionate and lyrical but, just somehow, never really catches the imagination. Early Renaissance flavours the work that’s full of harmony and layered entries and exits that Ad Hoc pull off splendidly but somehow or other the Requiem just doesn’t seem to land and the lack of balance between the organ and the choir certainly didn’t help.

Nevertheless, a splendid evening’s singing from two quality choirs performing challenging works.