Audlem Voices perform Handel's Messiah

It's well known that I am not particularly musical. I could be described as a bit of an Audlem Voices groupie I suppose, however, I know how music can make me feel and great music can transform an ordinary day into something magical, even spiritual.

It can provide solace, release, strong sensations and positive stimulation, and Sunday night's performance of Handel's Messiah by Audlem Voices allowed the audience to engage with the music, rather than allowing it to wash over us, giving the experience extra emotional power.

Music is a social activity, therefore the choir's performance last night was enhanced by the audience of over 70 people who turned out, warmly dressed, on a Sunday evening, foregoing their TVs to swell the musical experience. Thank you so much for attending, you made it all the more worthwhile for our choir.

Some of the listeners carried their own musical scores so that they could intimately follow the performance and it was a delight to see such a large audience in our village church, combined with the resonant acoustics bouncing around the stonewalls and filling the auditorium.

None of this could happen if it were not for the passion of our Musical Director Jenny Collis-Smith and the strong commitment of her choir members.

Most people join a choir because they want to enjoy themselves and have a good time. However a good Musical Director needs to have an enthusiasm for choral singing, for song, and for music in general. But more than this, their enthusiasm needs to be infectious and inspirational. They need to sweep the whole choir along with their enthusiasm, excitement and vision and this was evident in Sunday night's performance of Handel's Messiah.

It would be difficult to pick out any particular piece, but as a member of the audience I felt that Handel's famous Hallelujah chorus was one of the main contenders for the highlights of the evening with the choir's voices climbing to dizzying heights and never have I seen the first tiers of the audience rise at the start with such alacrity!

The whole performance gripped because the dramatic and reflective sections of the music were strongly contrasted. It was a huge and successful performance for a talented village choir.

After such a mesmerising performance, our Chairman Jon Richardson gave thanks to all of the audience, the choir, soloists Jane Johnson – Soprano, Pamela Clarke – Alto, Philip Cartwright – Tenor and the Reverend Lars Peterson – Bass, our accompanist Treona Holden and Musical Director Jenny Collis-Smith.

Sadly he omitted to thank Ian Jones who manfully blocked the church entrance to ensure all tickets and payments were dutifully received and all the backroom staff – that would be me – who
ceaselessly work, unpaid and unnoticed to ensure the smooth running of the concert!

Don't worry folks, revenge will be sweet!

Audlem Voices next performance will be at the Audlem Music and Arts Festival on Saturday May 23rd in St James's Church.

This will be a combined performance with The Gallery Singers who are essentially a group of friends from Shropshire who love making music together, so this should be a fun evening!

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