Photos by Phil Cody. Left click to enlarge.
On Saturday 26th October, continuing its tradition of supporting local as well as national charities, over forty choristers and the Musical team of Siân Hatton, Shirley Ann James and Stephen Berry, braved the fearsome gales and stormy rain to perform at the new Magor Church in Wales primary School. The concert was arranged to raise funds for both Magor primary and Undy Church funds.
The choir produced a mixed programme ranging from close to home, the spiritual to the secular, from Africa to America and from film to musical theatre. The Choir’s programme included Welsh hymns Rachie, Laudamus and Llanfair and the Welsh love song Yfory, telling of a young man’s return from his travels to see his loved one ‘tomorrow’. Ever popular American Trilogy was followed by the foot tapping rhythms of African Trilogy which included an arrangement of the South African National Anthem. From Les Misérables’ ‘Bring Him Home’ to Queen’s ‘Find Me Somebody to Love’; Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, Bizet’s operatic duet ‘The Pearl Fishers’; our version of West Life’s ‘You Raise Me Up’ to the romantic ‘Somewhere Out There’ from the Spielberg cartoon ‘An American Tail’. More film and theatre music was presented in the form of ‘Can You Feel the Love tonight’ from Disney’s the Lion King and finally including spiritual ‘De Animal’s a’ Comin”, the audience was treated to a wide range of wonderful male choral music to suit all tastes.
The concert was fittingly augmented by the musical talents of the soloist, Caldicot sixth-former Tom Carron who skilfully accompanying himself on the piano, delighted the audience by opening with ‘Chasing Cars’ made famous by Snow Patrol and following with three pieces from Les Miserables; ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, ‘Stars’ and ‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’. Tom hopes to study English at Bristol University next year and he can be seen playing the starring role of Jean Valjean in the forthcoming Caldicot Musical Theatre Society’s presentation of Les Misérables at Caldicot School between 30th November and 2nd December.
All this to the rhythmic accompaniment of the downpour bouncing off the School roof! Perhaps somebody didn’t like our version of the Lord’s Prayer! Maybe we should have sung the José Feliciano hit ‘Listen to the Pouring Rain, Listen to it Pour’? Or to carry on the Les Misérables theme – ‘A Little Fall of Rain’?
Following the concert, the choir bravely, with heads facing into the storm, fought its way against the elements, to the warming comforts of the nearby ‘Wheatsheaf’ hostelry for well deserved and heart warming (if not body) refreshments.