CHRISTMAS AT BLACKMORE

The Stondon Singers at the Priory Church

21.12.10

In this remote church a tall tree and the aroma of spiced wine speak of Christmas before the choir has sung a note.

They begin with an Advent Responsory by Palestrina, and end with that great hymn for Christmas Day, O Come All Ye Faithful. And, as tradition demands, Stille Nacht from the west end. This year they programmed Villette's Hymne à la Vierge, from 1954, and a gentle setting of Swete Was The Song, from the early 17^th century.

The central work was the much-loved Fantasia on Christmas Carols of Vaughan Williams, with its tunes collected from counties all over England and its Happy New Year ending. The soloist was Matthew Butt. For me, the Singers' most successful sequence was the group of Elgar, with some impressive solos, Howells and Christopher Tinker's I Saw A Maiden. Tinker, the choir's current director, also contributed a clever arrangement of Angels From The Realms Of Glory using a brass quartet as well as the organ. Brentwood Brass, directed by Shirley Parrott, also gave us two varied sets of seasonal music, as heard on many a snowy street corner – Christmas Joy, for example, was a lovely patchwork of pieces from oratorio to Jingle Bells.