On the 11-March Derby Hospitals Choir presented cheques to not one but FOUR good causes!!
The main presentation was a cheque for £6500 raised from the December-2015 Cathedral concert to SANDS, the selected charity.
Following the successful repeat concert at Broadway Baptist Church, three cheques were also presented from money raised in the Broadway concert: £300 to Umbrella (the selected charity), £300 to the Derby Hospitals Band (who played at that concert) and £300 to Broadway Baptist Church (who host all the choir’s rehearsals).
The presentations were made in Broadway Baptist Church by Louise Hill after a well attended AGM following which everyone sat down to a tasty 2 course meal and party to unwind after the stress of seeing so much money…
At today’s AGM the Treasurer reported that the 2014 Christmas Concert and Prize Draw had raised the tremendous sum of £8000 for Sight Support Derbyshire. Claire Winfield (CEO) and Eileen Bagguley (Fundraising Manager) of Sight Support Derbyshire were presented with a (very large) cheque by Gill O’Halloran at the party on 27-February, which will enable them to replace their aging and much used transport van. Congratulations to all those in the Choir (singing and non-singing), in Sight Support and in the audience who helped raise this sum. Another successful year for Derby Hospitals Choir!
This year’s concert was held in Derby Cathedral because the Assembly Rooms were closed, providing both challenge and opportunity – sightlines were less clear, seats less comfortable and facilities more limited – but for me these were more than outweighed by the splendid acoustics – and the Cathedral staff had worked hard to ensure that the Cathedral looked a splendid setting for such a concert.Popular local celebrity Charles Hanson compered the evening, keeping us entertained between items with a mixture of bonhomie and cracker jokes! After the opening carol, the concert began with a controlled performance of Harold Darke’s In the Bleak Mid-winter including a gentle solo from Gillian von Fragstein and some nicely balanced unaccompanied choral singing.This was followed by You Raise Me Up with a haunting flute solo by Julia Auer (one of the highlights of the evening, though the MD could have taken this a little quicker) – congratulations also to the semi-chorus who at one point sang over the rest of the choir.
Derwent Brass reminded us how skilled they are with a well thought out selection of items – some lively and syncopated, others smooth and mellow.They handled the Jazz Suite’s complex rhythms effortlessly under Keith Leonard’s polished direction.It was a pity we could not see the band more clearly – it was always going to be a squeeze to get 160 performers in – but actually you did not need to see them – just to close your eyes and listen.Likewise It came upon a Midnight Clear and Good Swing Wenceslas had a good contrast of styles.
Two sacred choral pieces– How Can I Keep from Singing & For the Beauty of the Earth – followed, with clear diction in both and a particularly fine ending to the former, aided by Tom Corfield’s sensitive organ accompaniment.The foot-tapping The Lion Sings Tonight gave the choir their first opportunity to let their hair down –performed with bounce and obvious enjoyment. Adiemus had a sense of growth from the lower parts coupled with exciting interjections from the 1st Sopranos and another opportunity to hear Julia Auer’s spine tingling flute playing.The first half closed with a tremendous performance of Every Time I Feel the Spirit; the choir particularly excelled themselves in the driving, rhythmic A-Capella section, leaving everyone feeling upbeat for the interval.
Jingle Bell Rock was given a new lease of life as it gradually got faster and faster, contrasting nicely with the laid back jazzy Come Emmanuel containing some great dynamic contrast and reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas. The Band then played The Wonder of Christmas – a lively compilation of Christmas tunes, and Sweet Little Jesus Boy – performed with a beautifully tranquillity.
The Rose was sung with delicacy and pathos, sensitively accompanied with a “hear-a-pin-drop” ending.Though there was a moment in this piece when the men got a little ahead, generally credit should go to the men throughout the concert in overcoming the imbalance of forces with the ladies. More men please!Bridge over Troubled Water was an enjoyable arrangement written for the choir and was much appreciated by the audience.All greatly enjoyed the Wartime Sing-Along and the audience seemed unfazed at being asked to reprise two of the tunes simultaneously…
The final section comprised a lively arrangement by the M.D. of Cantemos a Maria sung with great joy, and the uplifting O Holy Night in which Gillian von Fragstein soared over the choir aided by the splendid acoustic of the Cathedral.A fine way to end what I overheard many saying was their best concert yet.Fabulous!
There will be three rehearsals prior to the Service as follows:-
– Wednesday 30th April 2014
– Wednesday 7th May 2014
– Wednesday 14th May 2014
All rehearsals will be held in the Broadway Baptist Church and will commence at 7.30pm
Please try to arrive at 7pm on 30th April in order to give time for signing in and collecting music folders.
MUSIC We shall be singing the following pieces:-
– For the Beauty of the Earth – Rutter
– How can I keep from singing – Lowry
– God be in my head – Walford Davies
David H will be producing a couple of descants for the congregational hymns which we shall also perform.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND TIMINGS
9.00 Arrive at Cathedral and deposit coats, bags etc in Beddoes Room
9.25 Proceed upstairs to the Retro Choir stalls for seating allocation and to receive an Order of Service
9.40 Procession Practice for the Choir
10.15 Rehearsal of our three pieces with accompaniment from Peter Gould, Master of Music at the Cathedral.
10.35 Return to the Beddoes Room for a comfort break
10.50 Gather in Beddoes Room in preparation for processing into the Cathedral
11.00 Process into the Cathedral singing the first congregational hymn, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
The service begins at 11.00 am sharp and will last for one hour.
The Assembly Rooms venue itself, beautifully decorated and professionally set out for the evening and packed with choir, band and audience, had an air of warmth and expectation. The concert was introduced by Thomas Plant who stepped in at short notice due to Charles Hanson’s illness. Thomas proved to be an excellent compere and jollied the concert along with humour & sparkle, never forgetting the fund-raising objective of the evening.
The choir opened the concert with two Rutter items; Jesus Child and What Sweeter Music – What Sweeter Music contained some particularly tender and balanced singing. This was followed by the first of four Derwent Brass slots. This article is primarily a review of the choir, but it is impossible to review the concert without noting what an excellent, professional sound the band produced under their conductor Keith Leonard, with both Christmas and non-Christmas music well chosen to fit the themes of the evening. Congratulations also to David Johnson for an accomplished and balanced choir accompaniment throughout.
The second choir set was film music: Walking in the Air had good sustained singing with some nice swells on the phrase ends, a dramatic “suddenly” and a good pianissimo ending; Hallelujah – one of the highlights of the evening – gave the choir an opportunity to sing with confidence, good diction, punctuation and a lovely closing crescendo & decrescendo; lastly Bare Necessities was the most foot-tapping piece of the evening, sung with enthusiasm & energy – helped to romping conclusion by piano & drums – impossible to sit still listening to this one! The choir concluded the first half with the Lion King Medley – though this could have had clearer syncopation in “Can you feel” – it was an enjoyable performance and ended the first half with a fabulous crescendo on the final chord of the Circle of Life.
Thomas Plant
The second half began with the rousing Grand March from Aida for Band, Piano & Choir – the overall effect was a grand and balanced sound with the choir entry living up to the band’s introduction and coping well with the particularly high operatic setting – here some of the tempo changes were not quite together between band and choir – but an impressive sound nevertheless – and what a super march tune! A big contrast then with the following unaccompanied Gabriel’s Message – where gentle expression, clear words, balanced harmony and real sense of meaning created a little gem. This was coupled with ‘All things Bright & Beautiful’ which was sung well – just lacking the resonant acoustic it enjoyed earlier in the year at the Cathedral’s Florence Nightingale memorial service!
The next choir set included David Johnson’s lovely setting of Silent Night – another highlight – I particularly enjoyed the control the choir exhibited here, especially in the final verse. This was followed by David Henshaw’s contrasting arrangement of the lively Calypso Carol which bounced along with confidence and good rhythmic drive. The choir’s final pair comprised the unusual, jazzy arrangement of Follow that Star, sung with appropriately laid back yet rhythmic panache, and the classic Holy City– sung perhaps with most positive force of the evening, with the final sustained chord a great way to end a concert.
But wait! – the choir had not finished – what a glorious descant rang out over the top of the concluding audience carol – Titled: Hark the Herald Angels Sing – Yes, they did & I heard them that evening.
