CHRISTMAS AT BLACKMORE
The
Stondon Singers at the Priory Church, Blackmore
20.12.16
The
passing of another year is marked by this annual Christmas treat; as
so often, the last of the carol concerts in the calendar.
The
Singers, conducted
by Christopher Tinker,
began with the fifteenth century simplicity of Busnois' Noel, Noel,
Noel, written when the Augustinian priory here was at its most
prosperous, and ended with an equally simple, equally moving My Lord
Has Come, written in 2010
by Durham composer Will Todd.
Loyset
Pieton, of whom little is known, worked in Dijon at the start of his
sixteenth century career; his O Beata Infantia was a wonderful
discovery. Other highlights of a varied programme were Alan Bullard's
Shepherds, Guarding Your Flocks, premièred
here a year ago, Malcolm Archer's A Little Child There Is Yborn, with
its haunting Alleluias, a nimble
arrangement by Mark Wilberg of Ding Dong Merrily, and the
sweet harmonies of Gabriel
Jackson's lilting
Christ-child.
Michael
Frith was the accompanist at the organ.
The
capacity crowd got a chance to sing, too, and after a rousing O Come
All Ye Faithful, the Stondon's traditional Christmas encore, an a
cappella Silent Night from the west end of the nave.
As
Nick Alston pointed out in his introduction, a choir is not just for
Christmas, and the Stondon Singers' busy diary for 2017 includes a
Marian anthology in Queen of Heaven, Evensong in St Paul's Cathedral,
and the eagerly awaited William Byrd Anniversary in Stondon Massey.
William Todd - My Lord has come from , A Christmas Eucharist from Bath Abbey, 25th December 2015. directed by Peter King
