Photos by Colleen Gauntlett. Left click on images to enlarge
Caldicot Male Voice Choir has sung in many prestigious events and venues including many International Sports Stadia, The Royal Albert Hall, huge Cathedrals and Churches and Concert Halls throughout this country, the US, Canada and across Europe, not to mention the National Eisteddfod stage, but few of these compare to the wonderful welcome and enthusiasm for our singing given by the villagers of Catbrook, high up and hidden in the dense forests of the nearby Wye Valley. Venues such as these remind us of the humble roots of the great tradition that is Welsh male voice singing.
Every eighteen months or so we wind our way through the narrow forest roads (usually in the dark and rain) to arrive at the small Catbrook Memorial Hall to once again entertain the small group of about sixty who always greet us with a warm and encouraging welcome, not to mention the copious amounts of food so generously donated and appreciated.
Conducted by Siân Hatton and Shirley Anne James and accompanied by Stephen Berry and John Nicholson, the programme not only included traditional songs such as Laudamus, O Gymru, Yfory and Rachie as well as Somewhere Out There, Calm is the Sea, The Rhythm of Life and Ride the Chariot but also included the première performances of ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘The Lady is a Tramp’ showing the versatility of our Choir’s singing repertoire.
The concert was followed by a fabulous traditional ‘Afterglow’ in which choristers and the audience are entertained by a wide mix of unaccompanied choir singing to keep all amused until the end of the evening. To add an unusual, fun aspect to the evening five choristers Alyn Dawe, Mark Stocker, Dave Gould, John Nicholson and Steve Davies, led by Siân Hatton and joined in by the audience, gave us a fabulous and highly amusing (if not perfectly timed) performance of ‘If I were not upon the stage, something else I’d rather be’ to round off a perfect night. Unfortunately the beer ran out and the choristers had to resort to drinking wine. Life is hard, isn’t it lads?
Once again, the choir left to the plaintive strains of ‘On the bus, on the bus’ with the only regret that it will be another eighteen months before we return.