The
church of St. James the Great in Dursley welcomed the Cappella Singers on
Saturday, September 16th.
The concert, in aid of the church restoration fund, attracted a good audience,
especially some younger members. After two early motets by
Guerrero and Lobo,
the singers then
performed a beautiful composition of Beati Quorum Via
written
especially for them by Mark Blatchly
– a long term
supporter and friend of the choir – in memory of Ruth Worsfield, an alto who
recently died of cancer. Having got into their stride, the choir sang two
madrigals by John Ward
and
Thomas Tomkins.
Then came a group of spirituals. The performance of Shenandoah
left the audience spellbound, the overlaying voices perfectly moderated and
controlled for such a haunting piece. The layering of voices continued in an
arrangement of three spirituals sung at the same time – a Quodlibet,
in which the audience clicked and clapped to the beat. Two more spirituals,
equally well and sensitively sung, ended the first half of the concert. The
audience, settling down for the second half (many with wine glasses still in
hand), were jolted awake by thunder and the “Voice of God”. Special effects
introduced a dialogue between God and Noah, by Bill Cosby,
telling Noah to build an Ark. This was followed by the exciting Captain
Noah and his Floating Zoo, by Michael Flanders
and Joseph Horovitz.
It had everything: a trio of
bass, percussion and piano, brilliantly played by Peter
Martin, Mark Coldrick
and
Andrew Gunning. Unfortunately, they were obscured
from the audience by the pulpit. The story told of how Noah, sung ably by
Geoff March, built the Ark and filled it with all
the animals, before the coming of the flood. The rhythms of the piece alternated
rapidly from rocking three/four time to jazz beat and marching time. The singers
and audience all enjoyed this immensely, especially the younger members of the
audience. The contrast of the ladies’ sensitive rendering of Sondheim’s “Send in
the Clowns” calmed us all down before the final Rhythm of Life
set
our feet tapping again.
The contributions of readings by Frankie March,
Peter Farley and Vernon
Harwood added a third dimension to the programme, linking the themes of
the music.
Philip Colls has pulled it off again, widening the
repertoire of the choir - a challenge they all fulfilled.
JG.
The Cappella Singers: Registered Charity no 262530