A Report on St Dunstan's Chorus Concert 15th March 2008
John Lillis writes:
Concert day is always a very active but deeply fulfilling time. This year was no exception but of course we had the added excitement of performing a world premiere Ecclesia Aeterna with music by Bill Hayward and words by Claire Dane. Added to this, everyone was aware that this was the last concert we would give in the old St Dunstan's Church so all were keen to do well.
The activity started at 1pm when the scene-shifting team (led by Gerard Thompson) arrived to convert the church into a performing space. At the same time, Bill turned up to practise on the organ and Paul Reed arrived with all the recording equipment and to set up 'fold-back' to enable the choir to hear the organ on the sanctuary. Well before 2pm nearly everybody had arrived and singing places were allocated. We were delighted to see our tenor soloist Toby Watkin who was on hand all through the afternoon.
We rehearsed everything in sequence, starting with Stainer's Crucifixion. It was clear from the opening chorus (which the choir sang unconducted) that everyone was going to give of his or her best. John wondered whether he needed to conduct the rest of it ... or should he just stay down stairs from his podium and be a soloist! 'Fling wide the gates' went straight through without a hitch and we were all pleasantly delighted that 'God so loved the world' kept in pitch - at least if it did drop, it was so gradual no-one really noticed. The men's chorus bits (assisted by the altos) were mostly fine and we only needed to work on one or two of them to bring them up to scratch. All the solos went smoothly and John and Toby blended well together - after all, they first sang together over 20 years ago.
There was an interval drink in the hall during the afternoon, kindly organised by the Hutchinson family. All the while, Kevin Wallace was taking numerous snaps and people became very good at ignoring him!
In the second half of the afternoon rehearsal, we focused on Ecclesia Aeterna. It was a great thrill to hear this brought to life in the building for which it was composed. In particular, the ending delivered a great climax and really tested the vocal resources of many.
At the end of the afternoon rehearsal, John presented Mary Smith with a wonderful bouquet of flowers in recognition for all the work she does behind the scenes. John urged everyone to go home and have a good rest.
By the time the choir went 'on stage' at 8pm, everyone was in great spirits. Not only did the choir look good, but they sounded great too. John forgot to welcome the Mayor of Woking at the start, so he did so later on, between the two pieces. The church was packed, more so than ever before. Bill's daughter Sophie had come up from her home in Gloucestershire specially to hear the concert, and she turned the pages for him at the organ. John had to commute between the podium and the floor and he also needed to know when to swivel round to face either the choir or the audience - multitasking you see!
The performance was every bit as good as we had hoped. 'God so loved the world' was terrific and all the lower voice choruses were splendid. Ecclesia Aeterna was performed with great confidence and passion and, as expected, the climax really hit the spot. The audience burst into applause as we sang our fortissimo C major chord on "The church still carries on" and that final note seemed to go on for ever. We knew this was going to be an emotional night for all sorts of reasons, and so it was.
There were the usual speeches and presentations and both Maggie Atterbury and Lila Fletcher made some very generous remarks about John (thank you ladies). We sang the final section of Ecclesia as an encore and then John and Toby escorted Mr Mayor out of the church (so that they could get the first pint at the bar!).
The crowd in the hall afterwards was the largest it is ever been and there was a wonderful atmosphere as everyone knew the concert had been a great triumph. In fact, the whole occasion was a great success. There was a collection for St Joseph's African Aid which came to a staggering £1142, the largest amount we have ever raised. A cheque has now been given to the trustees (some of whom were in the audience) and they have expressed their deep gratitude.
The recordings of the concert have come out really well. Bill was able to enhance one or two bits at his studio in Shrewsbury and we now have a very fine CD as a memento of a wonderful concert of music.
The Chorus had their reunion on Wednesday 9th April when those had ordered CDs were able to collect them. Those which were not collected were sent in the post. If anyone requires further CDs, please contact John through the website contact form.
Audio clips from the concert:
Return to 2008 season page
Return to archive page
