Oldham Choral Society hitting all the right notes

A scene from Oldham Choral Society's traditional family Christmas concert, which took place on December 22

MUSIC REVIEW: Oldham Choral Society's traditional family Christmas concert

For those in need of an uplifting start to the Christmas weekend, this concert hit all the right notes.

It began with an invitation from Dr David Cane (the Choir Director) to join the Choir and the Band in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and as the descant soared and we sang, the tone was set.

The singing (from Oldham Choral Society), and the music (from special guests, the Ashton Band and accompanist, Duncan Robertson) were wonderful throughout.

For the Ashton Band musical sections, a special mention must go to the horn solo (superbly executed) and the enthusiastic percussion contribution of Ashton’s newest recruit, the grandson of their musical director, Martyn Evans.

Thank you also for the challenge of spotting how many festive tunes were featured in the medley of Christmas songs (I only missed one!).

From the Choir, the repertoire was wide-ranging: from the traditional/medieval, such as Gaudete; to the time-honoured and unmissable (Jingle Bells); with a nod to the more contemporary – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Ukraine was not forgotten - the alternating vocals of ‘The Carol of the Bells’ was a delight, and, as a linguist, I loved hearing, Latin, French and later German, being sung with pitch-perfect pronunciation (much practised we were assured!).

I was moved to recall my own (long distant) days in the school Choir, where Ain-juls (Angels!) was a forbidden word.

This gave me a greater appreciation of what I was hearing from Oldham Choral Society – excellent diction, a confident and committed performance, and the ability to transition seamlessly from melodic and poignant (A Maiden Most Gentle) to rousing and sonorous (Ding Dong! Merrily on High).

My personal highlights were ‘Still, Still, Still’, a German Carol I had not heard before, but thoroughly enjoyed, and the must-sing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, not least for the pleasure it gave the younger members of the audience who joined in with great gusto.

The concert came to a resounding conclusion with the much-loved ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’, before the Reverend Daniel Burton gave a Christmas blessing.

Parting was such sweet sorrow, but I’m sure we’ll be back.

AW

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