THE MELODY GIRLS SEPTEMBER 2015

Just to say I thought last Saturday’s concert was wonderful, and my guest, who had never attended a choir concert of any description before, was equally impressed. I think it was perhaps the third time I’ve heard SEMVC sing since I left a couple of years back, and it was by far the best. I thought your sound was nicely balanced, good diction and dynamics, no stray voices and, hey, even a few smiling faces!!!! Even more impressive when you consider how early in the new season this was (just two or three rehearsals?). Very special congratulations to the ‘guest’ soloists, Ross and David, who I gather had very little notice before the concert. What a lovely sound they made with the girls’ accompaniment. I really liked the new stuff which brought a good range to the repertoire for the evening.

 

And weren’t the Melody Girls lovely? I really enjoyed their repertoire, I loved the arrangements and some really tuneful singing. What an INSPIRED idea to have cello and sax accompaniment to the songs, I really thought that added a new dimension to the performances.  I do hope the two choirs keep in contact. Boys, if you get an invite back to Kiev, grab it with both hands… it’s a beautiful city, there are some great places to sing and currently, no visas required! I looked back on the original correspondence I had with the Melody Girls in May 2013, just after they started following my shop’s Twitter feed. They were a much bigger choir then, about 30 singers and a male conductor. I’m glad that the committee at the time followed up the contact after I’d made the initial introduction. Given the problems with the Ukrainian economy just now, this trip won’t have been easy for the girls to organise and fund, but I’m sure they will have been delighted by the whole experience.

 

Thanks also for the afterglow, which demonstrated that SEMVC have not forgotten how to party. I was delighted to be allowed to join in the singing (and even remembered most of the words). I can’t remember the last time I was still singing at midnight!

 

So, congratulations and thanks to all who were involved in the evening in any capacity. It was a great advert for choral singing. Mark said the Melody Girls had made a lot of old men very happy. Well, both choirs together made an audience very happy, too!

 

Well done one and all.

 

Steve Cook
(formerly first tenor section)

ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME

ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME

This, SEMVC’s first CD, includes a selection from its varied repertoire with songs from William Williams, one of the outstanding figures in the Welsh evangelical revival; John Tudor Davies who gives us the title track Angels Watching Over Me, a traditional lullaby; Marshall Batholomew; Malotte; Gwyn Arch; Doris Arnold; Denys Hood; Vaughan Williams; the famous partnership of Robert Shaw and Alice Parker; Brahms; Mansel Thomas; Emry Jones and Samuel Sebastian Wesley.
 
In 1998 the Choir commissioned Andrew Gant to provide us with a Folk Song Suite to celebrate our 10th anniversary and it is here recorded for the first time at at Rougham Church, Bury St Edmunds.
 
CDs are available to purchase at our concerts.
ANGELS CD SOLD OUT

COLOURS

COLOURS

This CD from SEMVC brings together a selection of music which draws upon a wide repertoire of arrangements including spritiuals, folk songs from yesteryear, well loved classical male voice, as well as songs sourced from countries including Africa, America, England and Estonia.
 
We believe we have succeeded in marrying the classical style and genre of the traditional song with musical compositions that have burst upon the scene more recently. We have aimed to bring new ‘colours’ to those whose love and passion for male voice choral music is long established, and also to those who seek inspiration from the male voice sound.
 
CDs are available to purchase at our concerts.

MYSTERIUM

MYSTERIUM

For this, the third CD by SEMVC, we had the privilege of recording in the Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral. Each song carefully chosen to reflect the wonderful acoustic and pay reverence to this historic venue. The Music Team, under the direction of Mark Jefferson and assisted by John Ottley and Calvin Goymer, have compiled a spiritual and reflective selection that celebrates the counter tenors, Stephen Dart, Ashley Harries and Karl Reid, a solo trumpeter, Michael Thomas and the trebles of the Ely Cathedral Boys Choir.
 
The title of the album, taken from the track ‘The Open Secret’, sums up both the ethereal acoustic and the mystery within much of the content of the music.
 
CDs are available to purchase at our concerts.

ST EDMUNDSBURY CATHEDRAL SEPTEMBER 2013

On Saturday 7 September a memorial concert was held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral for Robert Davies. His parents, Neil and Nettie, are working to ensure that only good emerges from his tragic suicide, a year ago. Sir Mark Waller and Sir Eldon Griffiths were among the audience, which packed the cathedral’s nave. The concert was introduced by the author Kevin Crossley-Holland and included a wide variety of music performed by the St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir conducted by Mark Jefferson, the organist Mark Blatchly, the harp and flute duo ‘Antara’ and the Cathedral’s Lay Clerks.

 

The audience reaction to the variety and quality of music has quite overwhelmed Rob’s parents, with many people saying, ‘The concert was just amazing… a wonderful evening… beautiful and deeply moving… a privilege to be there.’ Neil added, ‘We hope that continued exposure of the silent killer will encourage more people to be vigilant and get help earlier in life, before the cycle of depression can bite too deeply.’

 

£5000 was raised for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, a charity focussing on depression in young people. All the takings and donations from the concert have gone directly to the trust, but if readers of the Bury Free Press would like to add to this they can do so by visiting the website,cwmt.org.uk, click on Fundraising/How You Can Help/Donate or call 01635 869754.

 

Neil and Nettie Davies