Amid scenes of almost unbearable tension the final of the inaugural London International A Cappella Choral Competition came to a climax in St John's Smith Square last Saturday with choirs from the UK, Spain, Estonia and Italy competing for the coveted first prize. In his review of the Tallis Scholars concert which opened the week, the Times’ Richard Morrison had predicted that the competition would be ‘red-hot’ - how right he proved to be.  After a series of intense evening heats, eleven accomplished ensembles from around the world had been whittled down to just four, who then presented diverse programmes combining English-renaissance masterworks with a rich selection of music from their respective traditions and pieces by John Tavener, the week’s featured composer.

 A distinguished panel - comprising Dame Emma Kirkby, Peter Phillips, James O'Donnell and Mark Williams –named El León de Oro from Asturias, Spain as the winners. This forty-strong group directed by Marco Antonio García de Paz won over the judges with a performance which was described as ‘the perfect combination of passion and discipline’.  Second prize went to the Erebus Ensemble, an exciting young vocal consort from the UK under the direction of Tom Williams. The evening also featured a stirring performance from the recipients of the audience prize, New Dublin Voices directed by Bernie Sherlock, after which the prizes were presented by Lady Maryanna Tavener.

The other finalists - Voces Musicales from Tallinn and Costanzo Porta from Cremona - were highly commended by judges and press alike; blogger Robert Hugill described the Estonians’ rendition of a MacMillan motet as a ‘tour de force’ and found the Italians’ performance ‘vibrant and intense’.

The evening was the culmination of a week of music making in which choirs - in addition to the competition heats at St John’s - performed lunchtime and evening concerts at a number of historic churches across London and participated in masterclasses with Peter Phillips and vocal coach Ghislaine Morgan.

Peter Phillips writes:

“For me personally this grand final was the realisation of a dream I had long cherished: to bring the best foreign choirs to London, to compete with our best, and hope for a good contest. In the event the standard surpassed all expectations.”