On a glorious Summer’s evening, in All Saints Church on the banks of the river Thames, basking in the afterglow of the Royal Wedding, FYC Juniors and All Saints, Marlow Choristers treated us to an uplifting concert. In preparation, both choirs had an enjoyable rehearsal throughout the afternoon and even managed to find time for a riverside photo shoot moment before taking to the stage!

All Saints Choir, which has a lovely mix of girls and boys of all ages performed their mainly sacred choral pieces with professionalism and harmony. Their repertoire included Totney’s Magnificat from the Durham Service and Hutchings’ We are one Voice but perhaps the highlight of the All Saints repertoire was Waring’s piece, At night, which featured a young cellist, Thomas Bull. The combination of the mellow tones of the cello and the wonderful choral melodies was truly beautiful.

FYC Juniors were on fine form and brought their energy and charm to the stage and worked together to produce a wonderful overall sound. They met the technical challenges of Kodaly’s Ladybird and literally sang their hearts out to Why we sing by Greg Gilpin. The choirs sang two joint pieces: the moving, A child of Peace by Wagner and the uplifting Feel Good by Tyson & Scott, both becoming firm favourites with the choirs and the audience.

All credit to the conductors: FYC’s Patrick Barrett and All Saints, Martin Seymour, the accompanists: FYC’s Susan Holmes and All Saints, Rhidian Jones and all the children for their hard work. Their commitment really showed.

Review by Sara Acworth