Magic of Christmas in St Thomas’s Church, 20th Dec 2023
Our Spring concert in the very warm and comfortable Methodist Church on March 9th was well supported and coffee, tea and cakes contributed to a satisfying interval break. We sang the wonderful service music of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, in his centenary year, some of his motets, and the supremely peaceful "Blue Bird. ÂŁ700 was raised for Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital.
The 2023 Magic of Christmas concert sold every ticket and lifted everyone's spirits for the final week before the big day. The audience enjoyed singing traditional carols to fantastic fanfares and spine tingling accompaniments, provided by Ben Mills on the organ and Gallery Brass. Our guest artist, Mary Chelu, played some lovely flute solos. ÂŁ5000 was raised for Alabare, who kindly provided wine and mince pies for the interval.
Our 2023 Summer Concert entertained a large audience in St Thomas’s and we hugely enjoyed singing with an outstanding orchestra led by Daphne Moody, under the direction of Steve Abbott, our Musical Director. The concert opened with Hear My Prayer by Mendelssohn with Susannah Groome and Rosanna Wicks sharing the sublime solo passages and Sam Bristow on the organ. This was followed by Haydn’s Saint Nicholas Mass for which Susannah and Rosanna were joined by Clement Hetherington and Robert Blakey together with the choir and orchestra.
After an interval glass of wine, Malcolm Archer’s Vespers was the newest and most keenly anticipated work of the evening. Challenging to learn, the choir reaped the reward in its performance and it was well received both by a very appreciative audience and the composer, who attended the concert. Malcolm wrote warmly to Steve commenting on “beautiful shaping” and that “the choir and orchestra were so well integrated”.
Last Lent, we sang at St Andrew's Church, Great Durnford on Friday 7th April when we sang Music for Holy Week and Compline. The pieces were appropriate to Good Friday, followed by a short plainsong service of Compline.
"Magic of Christmas" photos by kind permission of Ash Mills