'Twas The Night Before Christmas

The spicy aroma of mulled wine gently simmering was very welcoming on a cold afternoon as I entered the church for this Christmas Concert, raising funds jointly for Curtain Up! and the church. The concert was split into two distinct parts: the first half traditional carols and festive songs interspersed with Christmassy readings; the second half a presentation of the Nativity musical Mary Did You Know?, which I had never encountered before.

One always expects good choral singing from Curtain Up! and they did not disappoint. Diction and volume were excellent as were the precision and dynamics of the singing under the assured baton of Lou Bundy.  The carols and songs of the first half were well chosen to engender the Christmas spirit and they were enhanced by apposite readings of familiar and some not-so familiar pieces of prose and poetry, performed by members of the chorus. I particularly enjoyed the excerpt from ‘A Yorkshire Nativity’ by Gervaise Phinn, read with great panache by Joy Day, which inspired me to go and buy the book. Act One ended with Glory Glory, a wonderfully exuberant gospel song that was sung with such enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment by the chorus, it couldn’t fail to lift your spirits.

Mary Did You Know?, by Joel Lindsay, Sue C. Smith and Russell Mauldin is a powerful retelling of the Christmas story interwoven with familiar carols and hymns together with some new stirring songs and music written especially for it. The choir more than did it justice and I was left wanting to hear it all over again. The work lasts about thirty minutes and would be a great piece for church and school choirs to perform at this time of the year. It might have been the effects of the mulled wine during the interval, but did I hear a snatch of New Moon from Titanic The Musical woven in there somewhere?

As a bit of a bah-humbug when it comes to Christmas, I was left feeling very festive, which is a great tribute to everyone who took part in this well-structure concert. Congratulations must go to Jill Race on the keyboard, Lou Bundy, wielding the baton and Ian Clark, director, for their hard work - a major factor in the success of the concert.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.