Saturday 16 July 2011
Dorothy Davey, Chairlady of Pontyclun Ladies Choir was in the congregation at the Choir's concert in Crieff. She writes.......
On a recent trip to Scotland , I had the pleasure of attending a concert given by Bridgend Male Choir at the beautiful Crieff Parish Church of Scotland, Perthshire.
It was an impressive start with the choir being piped in by Pipe Major David Boyle, followed by a rousing rendering of Flower of Scotland. It was a wide repertoire which included Welsh Hymns, Songs from the Shows and Spirituals. Musical Director, John Jenkins raised a chuckle and a round of applause when he announced that there may be an addition to "This little Light of Mine", as due to the difficulties of accommodating the choir , he had to conduct whilst standing on a pew which he said might result in him performing a backward somersault. His energetic conducting had us holding our breath until the final note , but luckily he managed to stay on the pew safely.
The Choir gave its first performance of "Hava Nagila" , which included some choreography. Look out – Only Men Aloud! You could have heard a pin drop during the performances of each of the soloists, Bass soloist Gethin Williams' “In Cellar Cool”; tenor soloist Gwyn Williams chose a very apt piece with “Serenade” from the Fair Maid of Perth and another tenor, Paul Carter with his solo “Bui Doi” from the musical Miss Saigon.
Guest artist , Soprano, Elizabeth Boyd enthralled us with Scottish folk tunes “Dark Island” and “Highland Cathedral” and later with items from Phantom of the Opera and its sequel, Love Never Dies.
The Church rang with the sound of the excellent playing of Choir organist Scott Williams and piano accompanist, Laura Smith. Scott's solo items proved popular & Laura again showed her talent in accompanying Elizabeth, never having met her before and without warm up opportunity.
It was a very enjoyable and successful concert , the Choir receiving wonderful compliments from a very appreciative audience with a request to return as soon as possible.