Christmas is Back! with a brassy bang!
4 December 2021
Following the huge success of Messiah just one month ago we were
straight back at it with our “Fanfares and Carols” concert with the
wonderful Adele Hudson and her Rushden Town Band. It was a-ma-zing!
Covid continued to have an impact, with over two dozen choir members
pinged, isolating, or at home with a sniffle (the new normal is -
anything even approaching a sniffle - stay away!).
Our first rehearsal with
Rushden Town
Band
|
|
The View from the Tenors
|
Despite that, we had a blast. We could have done with those extra
28 singers to help get our sound out over the powerful brass (and
having the compere mic “on” throughout the concert only amplified
the balance problem (!!!), but once again we rose to the challenge.
We were once again in a new venue, The Cripps Hall Theatre, and were
assisted by their team. What a great venue it proved to be - super
lighting, comfortable seating, plenty of room at the interval, even
a lift up to the gallery.
The View from the Gallery
Our appointed photographer was also pinged (just as at Messiah -
argh!), but audience members (and what a large audience it was -
brilliant) and others rallied round and took some great shots. There
are more shots, including 360 degree panoramas, on our
Facebook page - do take a look.
Choir and Band in Full Flight
We were especially delighted to give the first performance of
Paul Truman’s brass band arrangement of the late Malcolm Tyler’s
Mary had a baby - written for us many years ago, with organ
accompaniment in mind. There were so many highlights, but O holy
night had the magical sound of choir and vibraphone (possibly a
first for us) and the stunning tuba solo in Frosty the Snowman.
We loved it, we think the band loved it, too, and with a few tweaks
it will be perfect for the audience this time next year.
|
