Ireland is a country whose
breathtaking beauty is matched by the richness of her heritage and traditions,
St Patrick’s Day celebrations being high on the list. Though this day had passed, the Esk Community
Choir and a whole host of concertgoers were not about to let the occasion slip
away without notice. And so it was that with the colours and sounds of Ireland,
the Somerset Civic Centre was the scene for an abundance of green, delicious food,
beverages and the musical sounds of Ireland brought to concert goers at the
choir’s Opening Concert With a Dash of Irish.
The stirring sounds of pipers from Lockyer’s Celtic Pipe Band and two of the Choir’s tenors in dulcet duet greeting concertgoers as they spilled through the doors was a mere whisper of what was to follow.
To an audience predominantly
dressed in green, a warm welcome by Choir President, Marina Crichton preceded
the handover to our eminent emcee, Sean Choat and then, it was on with the
show! While it is safe to say that Michael Flatley can sleep peacefully in the
knowledge that the skill and popularity of his ‘Lord of the Dance’ troupe will
remain unchallenged, there were some pretty impressive dance moves by Helene
Hawes’ eye-catching dance ensemble comprised of Eric and six sparkling danseurs
who tapped their way through the choir’s A Little Dash of Dublin to open
the show with flare.
The soulful singing of Men’s
choirs has been a long-held tradition in Ireland, and this it was again in Esk when
the men of the choir told in song the story of The Black Velvet Band. Ruth Skippen’s hypnotic solo entre to the
altos’ moving rendition of Galway Bay gripped the attention of concert
goers and when, in a rare moment of acquiescence, Alexis combined in perfect
harmony with Roland Cox for the emotional opening verse of Danny Boy, climaxing
in an uplifting chorus of choral singing, many could be forgiven for reaching
for their tissues.
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| Lloyd, Trevor, Roland, Denis |
Variety was the word when the
harmonious singing duo, Never Two Late took to the stage with their
bracket of popular songs from the decades.
Then followed that beaut little Uke group, Glen Rock Players in a
showcase of the talents that appear to thrive within the choir as they plucked,
strummed, and sang their way through that song about the tart with the cart…Molly
Malone and that shameless Drunken Sailor.
Though somewhat of a break away
from the songs of Ireland, the choir’s own Kathleen, in duet with Elaine Coates
and the audacious ally cat, aka Doug Brown, presented a brilliant arrangement of Alley
Cat Love Song bringing enthusiastic audience applause.
The Civic Centre
then rang with the multicoloured sounds of the Lockyer Celtic Pipe Band boys on
bagpipes as they heralded in sound the break for an intermission and the
drawing of some amazing raffle prizes.
Shepherding the afternoon’s
proceedings with a transition to its climactic conclusion, emcee de jour, Sean
brought to the stage the choir’s little instrumental ensemble The
Accidentals with flautists Suzanne and Ruth together with Margaret, Nola
and Ruth Wyatt on keyboard and in cohesion with a small combo of choir singers,
inspired all with the sounds of What a Wonderful World.
He has portrayed many things on
stage from a defendant in court, a Sea Witch, to a Gnu and this day Eric von
Nida, swathed in sleepwear, was an out- of- luck tenant in desperate need of a
Gasman. Again, never failing to entertain along with his motley team of trades
people from the choir The Gasman Cometh was yet one more irrepressible
performance.
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| Matthew with Margaret and Ruth |
Matthew Lukritz has since 2006
when just knee high to a grasshopper, been sharing the choir stage giving
stellar performances both vocally as a solo artist and with his instrument of
choice, trumpet. His prodigious talents have grown on a par with his gracious
demeanour and on this day his trumpet accompaniment alongside Margaret and Ruth
on piano was that extra level of loveliness when the choir sang their
penultimate piece,
Love is a Song.
Not simply as a beautiful tune
synonymous with Ireland and the world over, Amazing Grace was also an unplanned
homage to the events in Europe during these last weeks, a deeply moving finale,
its prophetic words sung by the entire audience as they joined with the choir
to the strains of the Celtic Band on bagpipes. ‘’tis grace has brought (us) safe thus far,
and grace will lead (us) home’.
There are times, usually only a
matter of days prior to performance day when, to choir members, a successful
concert seems like its own form of miracle.
To Alexis, without whom we would be completely adrift; who challenges
but never stops believing in her choir; for her patience, time, and knowledge
we of the choir give our deepest gratitude.
To Margaret whose talents at the piano must
often sit in the shadow of the singers but are no less vital to a successful
performance, we are also indebted. To
the choir volunteers, the unsung heroes who prepare the venue, the stage and
afternoon teas; to the Editors of the Somerset Newspaper who never fail to
spread the word each week in their brilliant publication and to all our
faithful supporters and others who have so recently hopped aboard the choir
bandwagon, we of the choir give our sincere thanks.
By: Sue Walker
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| The Accidentals |
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| Amazing Grace with the Lockyer Celtic Pipers |
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| Helene, Lloyd, Eric, Grace, Caitlin, Christine - The Gasman |
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| Never Two Late |
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| Suzanne Clemence |
