Sing Noel

How do you present a Christmas concert that combines traditional and modern music, the familiar with the unfamiliar and seriousness with silliness and fun? Well the Downland Singers must know the recipe because they served up a joyful helping of Christmas spirit in their concert, Sing Noel, that was guaranteed to satisfy all tastes.

There were plenty of traditional carols mixed with modern songs and music, all beautifully sung, with perfect diction by the well balanced choir. Musical Director Avril Pinkney conducted the singers with great precision and the dynamics were all well controlled – especially important with the quiet sections of some of the carols. Good use was made of the central stage by reducing the size of the choir for some numbers or just featuring the soloists, so that there was no loss of focus for the audience.

The choir had some fun throwing cotton wool snowballs at the audience (returned with a vengeance) and presenting some very amusing numbers, including “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”, “If I Were Not Upon This Stage” (with hilarious actions) and Dominick the Donkey. I never thought I’d see a hall full of people waggling their fingers for ears and braying like donkeys – now I have!

Roger Rixon and Jane Curd provided interesting introductions to the pieces, allowing the evening to flow nicely and helping to engender a friendly, family atmosphere, which made me feel very Christmassy. Congratulations must go to accompanist Chris Hyson who worked really hard at the piano throughout the evening.

From the applause at the end and talking to other members of the audience, I know I was not alone in finding this a most enjoyable evening: a varied and interesting programme presented with great professionalism and style.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.