Review: Voces8Voces8 chose an ecclesiastical programme spanning half a millennium for their concert at the Earl Cameron Theatre at City Hall.The award-winning group was founded by choristers from Westminster Abbey. Today they are especially well-loved for their performances of a cappella arrangements of contemporary songs such as ‘Mrs Robinson’ by Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Slap that Bass’ by George Gershwin and ‘Twist and Shout’ by the The Beatles.There were two concerts scheduled featuring this aspect of their repertoire, but for their opening night performance for the Bermuda Festival, they returned to their ecclesiastical beginnings.A Choral Tapestry explored the rich timbres of sacred vocal music spanning five centuries. The programme added that this interweaving of genres creates an “ethereal sonic tapestry”.It was an extensive look at ecclesiastical music in a cappella form from composer William Byrd, who wrote in the 1500s, to the 20 Century’s Gustav Holst.The voices of Voces8 are a balance of bass, baritone, tenor and counter tenor, along with their two sopranos who provided a richer quality of sound at the top end of the vocal range. The soprano voices threw the counter tenor voices into strong relief in a way that a traditional church choir’s bright, clear boy soprano voices would not the effect for many of the pieces performed in this concert would instead have been a smooth blend of sound. It did create, in my view, a really modern quality to Voces8’s interpretation of the traditional music they performed. To carry the idea of a tapestry further, the embroidery was gros pointe rather than petite pointe, particularly in the first half.At least two of the pieces including the very early composition by Hieronymus Praetorius, ‘Magnificat Quinti Toni’ were composed for two choirs and threw the music back and forth between them to tremendous effect. On the other hand, ‘Cantate Domino’, by Claudio Monteverdi, for six voices was a beautiful setting which really did demonstrate the interest of those soprano voices.Voces8 came to their own in the second half of the programme. It opened with ‘Steal Away’, one of the two spirituals the vocal group themselves had arranged; the harmonies were especially melodious with lively dynamics and pace. Voces8 clearly had thought particularly carefully about their interpretation and dynamics.We were promised that Sergei Rachmaninov’s ‘Bogoroditsye Dyevo’ would be very romantic, and it was indeed an effect that showed how beautifully their voices can meld. Voces8’s ‘The Lamb’ by John Taverner was a highlight of the evening; this modern piece was bright and melodious.The evening concluded with Holst’s extraordinary ‘Nunc Dimittis’, a futuristic piece of church music demonstrating that the mass continues to be a musical inspiration, and that ecclesiastical music as a genre continues to give rise to stirring music and exhilarating performances of that music.