ABC Wednesday - V is For...

... Voices

Last night saw our choir's latest concert and we were in our Wiltshire Wailers guise again. That's when choirs from Bradford on Avon, Corsham (mine) and Hullavington get together to form a choir of over a hundred voices. We sang a very similar but expanded programme to last year and also had the same singing group as support.

The Wiltshire Music Centre is a magnificent venue, having great acoustics and thus makes our job a little easier to perform. We had a little bit of fun with While Shepherds Watched, as we sang it to the tune of On Ilkley Moor Bah Tat*, a traditional song from Yorkshire. Those of you who listen to I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue** will be most familiar with the concept of One Song to the Tune of Another (I particularly recommend the Bank Analogy explanation in this link for our current economic times)!

Our choirmaster listened to the feedback from last year and included Silent Night, so the audience could join in. But being Chris he had to include a twist, so we sang the first verse in German. However, this is my preferred version as I always had to sing it that way at our annual carol concert at school.

Corsham choir's solo performance was California Dreamin' (with choreography - a first for us) and we all finished off with a simple song Let There Be Peace, to sing ourselves off the stage and surround the audience with voices. The audience joined in the latter song as Chris quickly taught them a separate part to the ones we've been singing in rehearsal, thus swelling the choir to over 400 voices. I'm sure you'll agree that was a lovely sentiment to end on and I hope we raised a substantial sum for WaterAid too.

Let there be peace all over the world
Let there be peace in every land
Let there be peace in every heart

* = On Ilkley Moor without a hat
** = which according to the show's email list will be coming back next year

Verrily I say unto you do Visit the ABC Wednesday blog for much more on the letter V!

Comments

  1. Jan17 December 2008 at 01:31

    Hi VP, I can think of nothing more needed right now than peace--all over the world:) Jan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous17 December 2008 at 06:49

    hello VP. Those are great singing voices indeed! i miss listening to a live choir's wonderful blend of voices singing my favorite christmas songs. it's a pity because they don't celebrate xmas here in japan the way we do.

    btw, mine is here: http://seasons.pinoyvibes.net/2008/12/17/v-is-for-vow/

    happy wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gary17 December 2008 at 09:24

    When I saw Wiltshire Wailers I couldn't help thinking of 'No woman no cry' or 'jamming' sung with a west counry accent! We are goingto our carol service this Sunday, being a considerate soul, I just mime! Gary

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous17 December 2008 at 14:08

    Hi VP, a hundred voices raised together is a magnificent thing. It sounds like a wonderful time was had by all, I love the thought of being surrounded by singing, a buzzy fuzzy feeling!

    Frances

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rose17 December 2008 at 14:39

    I would have loved to have heard this concert! "California Dreaming" seems like an interesting choice for a Christmas concert, but I love the choice for the final song--if only everyone would remember this message of peace the rest of the year.

    I grew up in a community of all German descent, so "Stille Nacht" was always part of our Christmas carol tradition.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mr. McGregor's Daughter17 December 2008 at 15:40

    My old choir director was big on singing the words to 1 hymn to the tune of another. That is so much more interesting than the same old, same old. As in the community where Rose grew up, the parish I attend was founded by German immigrants, many of whose descendents still live here, so we performed Stille Nacht entirely in German by request one year. Your post makes me nostalgic for my choir days.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gail17 December 2008 at 16:35

    VP, What a sound it must have been... lovely and powerful! It has been a very long time since I have been to a choral concert! I missed the big Messiah sing along this year. I just realized that I haven't heard enough Christmas music this season! I am serious! It's not playing on the radio and since I am avoiding malls...there is none ringing in my ear. It is obvious that I must go to a concert soon!

    Gail

    ReplyDelete
  8. ChrissyM17 December 2008 at 23:08

    Sounds very preaceful and enjoyable.

    Thank you for sharing this week fromt the ABC Team.

    ReplyDelete
  9. antigoni18 December 2008 at 16:06

    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. VP21 December 2008 at 19:00

    Hi everyone - so glad you enjoyed the post. It's a shame you couldn't be there.

    ABCers I'll visit you soon, if I haven't already.

    Gary - I think along the same lines as you each time we form the Wailers!

    It's so interesting to hear about your German communities, Rose & MMD :)

    ReplyDelete

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