COMMUNITY CHOIRS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28700, 25 September 1958, Page 7

COMMUNITY CHOIRS

“Standard Very

Commendable”

A choral concert, arrartged by the Civic Music Council, was given in the University Hall last evening. The choirs taking part were Risingholme (conducted by Mr Albert Wilson), Addington Workshops Male Voice Choir (conducted by Mr D. Sloane), Hay’s, Ltd. (conducted by Mr Clifton Cook), the Aeolian Choir (conducted' by Mr Eric Voyce), and the South Brighton Choral Society (conducted by Mr Victor Ellena). The accompanists were Miss Eileen Smith, Mrs J. Burke, Mr Brian Kinley, Miss Barbara Collins, and Miss Averil Brown. There was a large audience of friends and supporters, who enjoyed the varied programme. Much careful preparation had obviously been given by all concerned, and there is no doubt that the standard of each choir has risen considerably since the concert of a year ago. While it is inevitable that there should be varying standards between the choirs, all the choirs kept up a very commendable standard of performance. Pitch was, on the whole, well maintained; every choir sang expressively; there was a marked improvement in phrasing, and at no time was it necessary to strain to hear the wovds. Tonally the singing was always pleasant and, more often than not, it was even remarkably good. The accompaniments were all efficiently played, Such playing makes a great difference to performances such as this. Too often the good work of a choir can be marred by unimaginative playing. It , was a very long programme, and mention cannot be made of all items, but these were some of the highlights: Risingholme Choir sang “The Lowlander’s Plaint” and ‘’Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron” with good tone and clear rhythm; the Addington Male Voice Choir produced good tone in Calcotfs “To All You Ladies Now on Land” and in “Sheep Shearing,” arranged by Mr J. A. Ritchie. It is always a pleasure to hear this choir.

The Hay’s, Ltd. Choir contains some very good voices, which were heard to advantage in Mr Cook’s arrangement of “Melodies of Britain” and in Longmire’s “Golden Slumbers.” The Aeolian Choir made a good job of “Go Lovely 'Rose,” by Markham Lee, and the South Brighton Choral Society gave first-class performances of “Ca* the Yowes,” arranged by Vaughan Williams, and “The Rolling English Road.” by Dr. Vernon Griffiths. The combined choirs, conducted by Dr. Griffiths and accompanied by Dr. Toovey, ended the programme with very effective and efficient massed singing. —C.F.B.