Saturday 19th May - Our Lady's Church, Formby
CHOIR SANG BEAUTIFULLY
Church acoustic made for a rewarding performance
Formby Choral Society's end-of-season concert has, for the last few years, given us the opportunity to hear the scoiety perform without orchestral accompaniment.
And how rewarding last Saturday evening's concert was in the superb acoustic of Our Lady's Church.
We were treated to beautifully quiet ensemble singing, as in the piece by Rachmaninoff (sung in Russian!) and to some really thrilling sounds, as in the Kyrie from Bach's B minor Mass, and the two tinal choruses from Handel's Messiah.
Director David Holroyd is to be congratulated on welding this group of Formby residents, who love singing together, into such a well-balanced choir of truly professional quality.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the splendid performance of the Bruckner motet Christus factus est.
Accompaniment for those items requiring it was provided expertly and tastefully on the Phoenix organ by Jim Wrightson. The contribution of the four young soloists - Zoe Matthews (viola), Kristin Finnigan (mezzo soprano), Robert Chesters (piano) and Merial Cunningham (soprano) - by the outstanding quality of their respective performances, all enhanced the enjoyment of a memorable concert.
Experiencing such an event as this makes me proud to be a Formby resident.
CS - printed in the Formby Times 24th May 2007
PS by webmaster - the choir isn't made up of Formby residents only - if you live elsewhere you still more than welcome to join!
Click here to see the list of choir items
Click here for previous reviews