A fantastic Night before Christmas
What an absolute treat this was! David Murray pulled out all the stops for this beautifully uplifting concert by the Bishopwearmouth Choral Society and chamber ensemble, alongside the exceptionally talented soprano, Anna Dias. David has worked with the choral society for well over twenty years, and he brought them together with the impressive chamber ensemble, for an evening of Christmas music to warm our hearts and lift us into the season.
What an absolute treat this was! David Murray pulled out all the stops for this beautifully uplifting concert by the Bishopwearmouth Choral Society and chamber ensemble, alongside the exceptionally talented soprano, Anna Dias. David has worked with the choral society for well over twenty years, and he brought them together with the impressive chamber ensemble, for an evening of Christmas music to warm our hearts and lift us into the season.
The concert opened with the choir singing John Rutter’s What Sweeter Music, accompanied beautifully by the ensemble, who then took a breath to allow the choir, a cappella, to treat us to My Lord has Come by Will Todd, a successful local composer. Raising the Christmas spirit up a notch, Anna Dias gifted the eager audience with Bethlehem Down and, a personal favourite, O Holy Night with piano accompaniment by Eileen Bown.
Pens at the ready, we were then challenged to furiously scribble down all 27 excerpts from well known carols and songs within David’s very clever and entertaining composition: A Christmas Medley. The piece was so tightly packed with so many favourites; neat handwriting was not an option!
Before the interval, the musicians guided us through Bob Chilcott’s Christmas story, On Christmas Night, interspersed with readings. This was beautifully performed, with intertwining melodies and accompaniment from choir, strings, piano and soloists. A truly magical performance.
Once back in our seats, the choir performed Holst’s beautiful Four Old English Carols, which had been rewritten to include strings. We then heard something quite unusual by Bob Chilcott: traditional carols recreated with fascinating layers, textures and rhythmic nuances to captivate the audience.
The final two performances had the audience singing and toe tapping along, with David exclaiming, “You can join in as long as you can keep up!”; and who could resist this challenge?! Anticipating this evening of Christmas music had the audience wondering what to expect; and it certainly did not disappoint: There was love, warmth, joy, beauty, good fun and humour. Congratulations to all involved with this fantastic evening.
(The above is a crit of the Night before Christmas concerts performed by Bishopwearmouth Choral Society at St.Mary’s Church, Whitley Bay on the 3rd December 2022 and at Sunderland Minster on the 10th December 2022 – and submitted to the Sunderland Echo for publication)
