SMSG Church Choir sings on the first and third Sunday at the 9.30am service throughout the year, but occasionally there is a chance to showcase some of their repertoire in a concert setting. StonyLive! is a good opportunity to share a sample of their regular music.
Highlights of this evening included Charles Villiers Stanford’s settings of Psalm 150 and Te Deum, Haydn’s ‘Little Organ’ Mass and Edward Elgar’s ‘Ave Verum Corpus’.
The choir is for everyone and requires no audition to join. Singing together raises the spirits, enhances the parish worship and illuminates the Scriptures in addition to the spoken word. John Travers’ wonderful 18th century verse Anthem ‘Ascribe unto the Lord’ was a fine example of this, being full of drama and with splendid solos from two choir members. The sound of the choir in this exceptional acoustic was very moving.
This concert also featured contemporary choral works in the form of the ‘Vicar of Dibley’ themed setting of Psalm 23 by Howard Goodall and ‘The Rhythm of Life’ from ‘Sweet Charity’. An altogether contemplative and rousing hour of 4 part choral singing, expertly directed and accompanied by Jonathan Kingston, Musical Director of St Mary & St Giles Parish Church. Jonathan also guided the audience through the music in an informative and informal manner, which gave added enjoyment to all they heard.
07-06-2023
