Caldicot Male Voice Choir was delighted to welcome St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir to its Choir Hall on Sunday 17th May for a joint concert. This was the final concert of St Edmundsbury’s short tour of South Wales which included singing with Brecon Male Choir in Brecon Cathedral and with Mynyddislwyn Male Choir in Blackwood. The choir also sang emotionally at the Aberfan Memorial.
In a mixed and varied programme, conducted by Sian Hatton and Shirley Anne James and accompanied by Olivia Dance, Caldicot included ‘Rachie’, ‘Sixteen Tons’, the lullaby prayer ‘Y Darlun’, ‘Seventy Six Trombones’ from the Musical The Music Man and the romantic Welsh song ‘Anfonaf Angel’.
In an equally varied programme, St Edmundsbury, conducted by Leslie Olive and accompanied by Jill Garett, continued the first half with the rousing ‘Rhythm of Life’, Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, the Dionne Warwick hit ‘Walk on By’, the haunting poem ‘Seal Lullaby’ and finalizing with ‘When the Saints’ which had the audience foot tapping to the rhythm.
St Edmundsbury included in the second half ‘The Rose’ famously sang by Bette Midler, ‘My Kind of Girl’ which included saxophonist Julian Wiggins and the tumultuous ‘One Day Like This’. The presentation also included a firm favourite with Caldicot ‘What Would I Do Without My Music’.
Caldicot opened its second performance with a premiere performance of ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ and included ‘California Dreamin’ featuring Nigel Keen on flute. Safwn yn y Bwlch’ and Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ before finalising with ‘This is the Moment’ from the musical Jeckyl and Hyde.
Finally the two choirs combined to present ‘Morte Criste’ and the foot tapping traditional ‘Everytime I Feel the Spirit’.
The evening closed with a presentation of a commemorative slate plaque by Caldicot Chairman Leon Jones to St Edmundsbury’s chairman Mark Whitehead. In return Mark Whitehead presented an appreciated inscribed plaque to Caldicot’s chairman Leon Jones.
Following a tremendous ‘Afterglow’ and refreshments St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir returned to Suffolk knowing that they’d had a wonderful friendly welcome by all they met during its South Wales Tour. Let’s hope they can return again soon.