Musicians excelled in this balanced and challenging programme

Rivarate autumn concert
Caversham Heights Methodist Church
Saturday, November 15

THE well-attended evening showcased the ensemble’s dedication to choral singing and their infectious passion for music.

The concert opened, aptly, with a rousing rendition of Can You Hear The People Sing? from the hugely successful musical Les Misérables. The choir then moved seamlessly through a varied programme, including Hungarian folk songs, classic choral works by composers including Bach and Haydn and a number of more contemporary pieces that delighted the audience.

Each item in the well-balanced programme was thoughtfully introduced by the choir’s musical director, Sarah Scotchmer.

Three vocal soloists excelled in contrasting pieces. Rachel Lake perfectly captured the melancholy of On My Own from Les Misérables. Graham Lightfoot sang Nella Fantasia in Italian with strong commitment and passion. The piece is based on the well-known theme, Gabriel’s Oboe, from the film The Mission, with music by Ennio Morricone.

Karen Zarywacz, accompanied by cellist, Lucy Scotchmer, sensitively sang the haunting and lyrical The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch. Lucy, an award-winning musician, also played two contrasting pieces for cello. Saint-Saëns’ Allegro Appassionato was played with passion and at a pace.

A truly, memorable performance resulted in sustained applause from the audience. Her fine tone, technical proficiency and obvious enjoyment in playing her instrument shone through. She was ably accompanied on piano by her mother, Sarah.

There was a fine opportunity for audience participation through the singing of Sumer is icumen in, a round originally written in the Wessex dialect of Middle English.

The ladies of the choir then sang Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera most beautifully. The expressive delivery of the piece, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, was one of the highlights of the evening. The concert continued with three folksongs from Hungary composed by Matyas Seiber. Seiber’s music is eclectic in style, showing the influence of jazz and classical composers such as Bartok and Schoenberg. All members of the 80-strong choir rose to this challenge well.

The choir’s rendition of Africa was brilliant, skilfully evoking the sound of a rainstorm with members of the choir rubbing their hands and clicking their fingers before giving a powerful performance of this well-known song. The drumming by Lucy on the djembe drum added to the atmosphere.

The piano accompanist, Pam Asbury, provided sensitive and skilful support throughout the concert, never overpowering the singers.

The concert concluded with the Cole Porter classic, Just One of Those Things and the very pertinent Homeward Bound by Paul Simon. Members of the choir then bid farewell to Liz Real, a founding member of the choir, with a small gift. Liz is leaving Caversham to go homeward bound in the West Country.

Bob Welch