St Andrew’s concert

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33060, 30 October 1972, Page 16

St Andrew’s concert

On Saturday evening, St Andrew’s College presented in its fine hall a concert which showed the very high standard reached in music-making under the direction of Mr Clifton Cook and his colleagues. As teacher, choir-trainer, conductor, and arranger, Mr Cook has done great things from music, at the college.

Of the choral items, some of the best were Charles Wood’s “Expectans Expectavi," a remarkably mature and sensitive performance; Mendelssohn’s “I Waited for the Lord”; “And the Glory" (Handel), and Mr Cook’s arrangement of the “Londonderry Air” for the senior choir and the instrumental group as a setting for “O Son of Man.”

A fine quality of malevoice tone was revealed in the senior choir’s singing of Handel’s “The Lord is a Man of War.” There were two treble choirs—one from standards I and 11, and the other from standards 111 and IV. Pleasing as was the first, the second showed in Handel’s “Waft her, Angels” and Mozart’s “Alleluia,” particularly, the striking advance made in a year of expert tuition. Britten’s curious setting of Psalm 150 was w°ll done by the treble-choir and an instrumental group; and Mr Cook’s effective arrangeIments of “Songs from Stage : and Screen” were included. Of the vocal soloists —from Paul Cattermole (the youngest) to Dougal McLachlan (one of the most experienced group that included Murray Beaumont, B. Olds, D. Peach, C. Smith and J. Whiting)— it is true to say that they are in the line of development that has produced already a number of distinguished singers trained by Mr Cook; and Mark Consdale and Rory McLeod deserve commendation

for their singing in “I Waited for the Lord.”

Hamish Thompson played the largo and giga from Corelli’s Sonata No. 9 very well, his tone in the largo being particularly attractive. Terrance Dennis, the school pianist, shared the accompaniments with Mr Cook, and made Mendelssohn’s “Rondo Capriccio” an attrac-

tive addition to the programme.

The Pipe Band (master in charge, Mr G. B. Ogilvie), smart in appearance and well disciplined, gave a fine performance introduced by a striking “Drum Salute” and epitomised the efficiency and high standard of the whole concert.