Music review: Edinburgh Royal Choral Union

EDINBURGH ROYAL CHORAL UNIONUSHER HALL, EDINBURGH***

BEETHOVEN and Haydn shared the billing in this programme of music written in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Beethoven's 1801 ballet overture, The Creatures of Prometheus, marked his introduction to the Viennese stage, and Edinburgh Pro Musica Orchestra's limber string section led by Greg Lawson captured the lively aspirations of the piece.

Seven years later, Beethoven was again eager to impress with his Fantasie for Pianoforte, Choir and Orchestra, but misjudged things completely in a curious work which begins as a piano concerto and ends as a choral piece. Apart from a few interactions with the orchestra, pianist Edward Cohen was left to meander for 20 unfocused minutes, before the music burst into life with the entry of the soloists and choir in the last few minutes to deliver the rousing tune which was to become the finale of Beethoven's ninth symphony.

There was more confidence in Haydn's 1799 Te Deum in C major with conductor Michael Bawtree moving things along at a cracking pace, although often at the expense of clarity in the vocal phrasing and pronunciation. In Haydn's joyful Mass in B flat Major (Harmoniemesse) the ERCU was joined by soloists soprano Rachel Wheatley, mezzo Brynne McLeod, tenor Stephen Chambers and baritone Nicholas Morris for what was the most integrated and coherent performance of the evening. The music bounced along and at last the choir sang as though they meant every word.