The
weather had been good during the day and the church community had enjoyed a
good fete, accompanied by a brass band. So the evening was not too cold at 7pm,
the start time. Indeed, the church was almost filled to capacity with an
appreciative audience.
They
choir began with their theme song, written by Jen some seven years ago – Cantamus Cantabile. No choral concert
would be complete without including something by the prolific John Rutter, so
they began with his Dancing Day, a
traditional Christmas song he arranged. This was followed by Charles Villiers
Stanford’s beautiful setting of Mary Coleridge’s short poem: The Blue Bird. Alicia Muddle sang the
solo soprano line.
Over
a decade ago, when Jen was in a choir in Lee on Solent, one of her fellow
choristers was Peter Wilson, who composed a Requiem as well as many other works
for their choir. He gave her permission to use his Here’s a Baby, a Christmas song in the Caribbean style.
Here
in Spain we’ve met a host of nationalities all who tend to rub along together.
So it seemed apt for Jen to feature a piece by Jay Althouse and Sally Albrecht,
I am a Small part of the World. Jan
Robson sang the soprano solo.
Two
solos followed. The first was written by Francesco Durante, who was born in
Naples in 1684 and was considered one of the best church composers of his time;
he only ever wrote sacred music. His song Virgin
May, Fount of Love is a prayer by a sinner who begs for compassion and
grace. Margaret Jennings sang this, Vergin
Tutto Amor in Italian.
Pat
Yardley chose to sing a traditional Russian song with the rather unassuming
title of Polka a la Russe; however,
she has renamed it more appropriately as The
Little Russian Snow Girl, and she sang it unaccompanied.
Following
immediately was Andrew Carter’s setting of a traditional French melody, A Maiden Most Gentle.
John
Rutter’s Distant Land was next. Among
his hundreds of works are carols, choral pieces, anthems, a Requiem, a
Magnificat, a Mass to the Beatles, no less, and a concerto.
American
composer John Peterson, as prolific as Rutter, has written over a thousand
songs and 35 Cantatas. From his Christmas Cantata, Born a King, the choir sang Born a King, with Pat Yardley singing
the introduction, and this was followed immediately by his Hail to Thee.
Two more solos followed: the prayer Ave Maria from Verdi’s Otello, sung by Alicia Muddle, and then La Vergine degli Angeli from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino was sung by Jennifer.
Then
the choir sang a piece by American musical director and teacher Michael
Clawson, expertly and intriguingly combining two pieces: The First Noel and Pachelbel’s Canon (which has sold over 600,000
copies).
Maintaining
the winter ambiance, the choir sang Blow,
Blow, Thou Winter Wind by John Purifoy and The Snow, a beautiful piece written by Sir Edward Elgar to words by
his wife Alice.
Back
in 2008, Jen was asked to write a carol for Cantabile. Quite a task; which part
of the Christmas Story should she go for, it’s all so wonderful: the
annunciation, no room at the inn, shepherds, ox and ass, wise men, the flight
into Egypt? Too hard to choose, so she opted for the whole thing: Nativity!
The
concert concluded with Handel’s Joy to
the World, also sung by the audience.
There
was a retiring collection for the upkeep of the church.
An excellent night for all concerned.
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