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Aylesbury Choral Society celebrated what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far, Saturday June 10, with a concert entitled Songs of Spring. Fortunately the interior of St Mary’s Church was pleasantly cool! Their spring/summer concert is traditionally an optional one for the choir, so they fielded comparatively small forces, ideal for what proved to be a delightful evening of springtime songs, ballads and madrigals. The informality and intimacy of the occasion was marked by civvies for the choir, chatty but informative introductions from conductor Peter Leech and strawberries and cream for afters. Four madrigals by Thomas Morley started the proceedings, with Peter Leech keeping time on percussion, and it was hard to believe that this was a new art form for most of the singers, so expertly did they weave together the strands of words and music. Other songs included a lovely rendition of Gibbons’ The Silver Swan, part songs by Thomas Linley, the English composer who had featured in the previous concert, an arrangement of All in the April Evening, Abide With Me sung to a different tune and, to finish, Henry Mancini’s Moon River. Peter Leech displayed his considerable talents as a singer with two contrasting songs by Linley, while accompanist Colin Spinks played organ pieces by Byrd and Parry and several piano pieces including an unexpectedly moving Claire de Lune. This was an enchanting evening, much enjoyed by all. The audience, while a respectable size, was, like the choir, smaller in number then usual: oratorio fans who opted for a barbecue missed a real treat. Joss O’Kelly |
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