A Tombola of Treasures
In the penultimate concert of the 2022/3 season the thirty members of the Tresillian Singers were joined by seven recorder players making up the Carrick Consort. Though actually out-numbered, the audience showed their appreciation with loud and enthusiastic applause. They had had a part in the programming, selecting raffle tickets from a bucket to pick twelve of the twenty-one songs available. Most of the choir sang from memory, their eyes fixed on their dynamic and expressive conductor Elaine Tangye. The voices blended beautifully, the intonation was true, the lyrics were crystal clear and the ensemble was tight. More than anything it was the joy the performers clearly had from singing together that infected the listeners. Their motto is ‘To sing for pleasure…and to give pleasure to others’. They certainly achieved that. The random selection gave us Abba’s ‘Thank you for the Music’ just before the interval. Elaine said she would have programmed it as the finale but in that place came a rousing Da Doo Ron Ron. Particularly memorable were the spirited ‘Blue Moon’, a lovely version of Psalm 23 and the choir’s first performance of the Flying Pickets version of ‘Only You’ as an encore. They were accompanied sensitively throughout by Ruth Best on Keyboard.
Giving the choir a break in each half, the Carrick Consort of one descant, two trebles, two tenors and two bass recorders provided a rich selection of original pieces and arrangements. They started with a Pavane by Arbeau, a Jesuit priest, whose treatise on dance has been identified as the origin of classical ballet. The spiritual ‘Steal Away’ was introduced by Helen Whomersley, the arranger and director of the group with a story about its significance as a signal for slaves escaping on the underground railway in America. An Old Cornish Folksong and two Irish ones were also skilfully arranged for the four parts. For those whose only experience of the recorder is the plastic descants smelling of sterilising solution that every child used to have to play at primary school, the rich sound of the full recorder consort was a revelation.
Once again the performers commented on how much they enjoyed the intimacy and the atmosphere of the concert. Whilst the committee is concerned that audience numbers are still not back to what we could expect pre-Covid, those who do come to Gerrans Memorial Hall one Friday of each month from September to June are always engaged and delighted by the range and impact of live music the Roseland Music Society continues to offer.
We have one more concert to go in the 22/23 series. On 9th June we will give the same warm welcome to the wind quintet, Harmoniemusick. There will be celebration drinks for members at 6.15pm before the concert – with a chance to sign up for the new season and some sneak previews of the exciting 23/24 programme in construction. Membership is still just £15. Apart from giving you the chance to support musicians and keep music live, it also gives you a discount on all concert tickets so come along and buy your membership for next season now before a possible price increase after the AGM!
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