Singing Together: A joint concert with FYC Junior Choirs and Taplow Children's Choirs

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25 March 2017

Concert Review, Training Choir

On Saturday 25th March, both FYC Junior Choirs and the Training Choir joined with Taplow Children’s Choir to provide a wonderful evening of singing at St Andrews Church.

The choirs first came together last year when FYC Junior Boys and Girls choirs travelled to Taplow and this time the invitation was returned and family and friends of all choirs packed the Church.

The repertoire was the usual mix of styles that we have come to expect from FYC concerts including traditional folk songs from across the globe and gave each choir the chance to sing alone and to showcase their joint pieces.

The concert started with a first outing of their rendition of Cantate Domino by the FYC Boys and Girls Junior Choirs followed by a trilogy of Benjamin Britten songs.

Then the Girls choir sang three accomplished pieces -Bon Di and I Dance to the Stars and the Moon around their debut performance of The Bird’s Lament by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Rugby followed and was the humorous offering from the Junior Boys with actions to match, followed by Hine Ma Tov to which there was notable toe tapping from the audience!

We were then treated to all choirs coming together - after a magnificent feat of stage management to get everyone in place. Two rousing pieces filled the church with over 100 voices perfectly in time and you would not have guessed that they had only had a few hours’ rehearsal together - a tribute to the work of the conductors as well as the singers. The choirs began with Kusimara by Jim Papulis- with enthusiastic drum accompaniment from the Taplow Conductor Lucy Joy Morris -followed by the moving Hashivenu - an Israeli folk song.

FYC trainers clearly enjoyed their chance to perform in front of family and friends. They sang and marched through The Zulu Warrior, and their ecological version of 10 Green Bottles was not quite the one we may have remembered from childhood car journeys but all the better for its modern twist. Add to these a Canadian song - the Land of the Silver Birch -and The Lighthouse and their quartet of songs were complete. The smiles said it all!

Taplow Children’s Choir then took to the stage to provide a lively set of four songs. The uplifting Marvellous Song was followed by Ken Johnston’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley. We were then treated to a well-choreographed duet of songs - Bye Bye Robin and Engine Engine - arranged by FYC’s Jo McNally.

The evening was finished by bringing everyone back together again to sign the Ghanaian playground song Sansa Kroma, that was a fitting end to a delightful evening that more than lived up to its name of Singing Together. We were treated to a high standard of choral singing by two talented and dedicated choir families.

Reviewer: Lynn Marlow

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22 March 2017

Farnham Festival ends with a fanfare

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22 March 2017

Down the years, Farnham Festival concerts have been regularly relied upon to provide huge variety, enthusiasm and technical excellence from local young musicians and Wednesday’s closing concert, shared by More House School’s Brass Ensemble and Farnham Youth Choir, decisively carried on the tradition.

From the very first note, the Festival’s emphasis on ‘new music for young people’ was evident as More House’s young brass players launched with great gusto into Sir Malcolm Arnold’s Festival Fanfare, written originally for the very first Farnham Festival back in 1961. This was followed by an atmospheric performance of one of the famous love themes from James Horner’s Braveheart, with Leo Weller the lyrical trumpet soloist, and the set finished with a classic American foot-stomper, Henry Fillmore’s Lassus Tombone, led appropriately and with panache by Henry Hannsen and his fellow trombonists.

Michael Kamen’s Band of Brothers theme and Puttin’ on the Ritz by Irving Berlin showed the ensemble to good advantage and the church resounded to conductor Craig Burnett’s imaginative arrangement of the final movement of Stravinsky’s ballet, The Firebird.

Farnham Youth Choir under its director Joanna Tomlinson and accompanist Matthew Rickard immediately pinned our ears back with the punchy rhythms of the traditional spiritual, Joshua, followed by three sacred motets spanning six centuries, each delivered with the choir’s trademark virtues of clarity of diction and rich dynamic range.

FYC’s - and the Festival’s - commitment to new music was reflected in a new Surrey County Council commission, Everyone Sang, by Janet Wheeler. This beautiful setting of words by Siegfried Sassoon was given a truly joyous and flowing performance by the choir - “Everyone’s voice was suddenly uplifted” indeed - and looks set to become an established part of the choir’s repertoire.

The lighter side of the choir’s programming was reflected in characterful performances of songs such as Sweet Georgia Brown and a classy arrangement of Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love with sensitive soloist Caroline Brown. However, none of this had quite prepared us for Paloma Faith’s Upside Down, in a real showstopper of an arrangement by Michael Higgins. And, with vibrant choreography to match, there was no doubt the choir enjoyed it as much as we did!

Finally, the audience was sent home with two famous tunes ringing in its ears, as FYC and More House School combined to perform what have become unofficial national anthems - Be Still My Soul from Sibelius’ Finlandia and I Vow to Thee My Country from Holst’s suite, The Planets - conducted with typical vigour and feeling by Craig Burnett.

Reviewer: Graham Noakes

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11 March 2017

Concert Review, Senior Choir

Spring Concert

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11 March 2017

Concert Review, Senior Choir

Farnham Youth Choir returned to St Lawrence Church in Alton for this year’s Spring Concert on Saturday 11th March. They were welcomed by a full and most appreciative audience who enjoyed a varied programme showcasing the choir’s customary high standards.

The first half comprised mainly sacred music, including a number of pieces familiar to the choir’s repertoire but introducing items from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Tota Pulchra Es from Durufle’s Four Motets. Charming solos from Annia Grey and Jessica Miller featured, and the half ended with taste of what was to come with choir favourite Yo Le Canto.

After the interval the audience was entertained by a largely secular programme, opening with the striking De Bello Gallico in which the choir showed their ability to add the emphasis of actions to the music and words. Another new piece to the repertoire was introduced, the lovely The Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre, and solos were impressively performed by Holly Giles and Isobel Cole.

The concert closed with two of the more contemporary songs that have been introduced, Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, and finally Upside Down by Paloma Faith which featured lively choreography to close the evening on a high noted.

The many new members who joined this year have integrated seamlessly with the choir under Musical Director Joanna Tomlinson, with the expert support of accompanist Matthew Rickard, and all are now looking forward to the forthcoming choir tour to France.

Reviewer: Stuart Brown

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21 February 2017