Music matters

Anakrouze

This evening we went to a double charity performance for the Human Rights League. First up was Anakrouze, an all-female a capella choir. They treated us to a whistle-stop tour around the world, with songs from Corsica to the Congo, from Bulgaria to Togo, Lithuania to Zimbabwe. This was followed by a performance of Bach’s mass in B minor, performed by a largely amateur choir (Andantino) and a mixture of amateur and professional musicians (the Acanthe Orchestra). The performance was to a high standard and the more enjoyable for the fact that it was probably performed in conditions that Bach would have known well – in a church, with amataeurs and professionals. The conductor, Samir Bendimered, summed up the spirit of the evening; a Belgian, of Algerian origin, born in Morocco, performing for free for a common cause.