After the restrictions of the pandemic an old favourite was successfully revived at Colemere on June 11th. A large audience gathered to be entertained by the newly formed Concord Choir under their musical director, Sarah Garret.
The programme in two parts contained a blend of sacred and secular music. The first half began with Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day and ended with Moon River. There were two solos and other popular items including Eric Whittaker’s lovely Seal Lullaby. Bruckner’s motet Locus Iste was central and beautifully sung. During the interval refreshments were served Colemere style and the fine weather allowed those who wished to, to step outside.
The anniversary of the Consecration, on the feast of Corpus Christi 1870, was celebrated with a performance of Elgar’s beautiful setting of the Ave Verum Corpus. A wide variety of pieces followed in the second half ranging from an old spiritual to an item from Fiddler on the Roof. The concert ended with a prayer, as is our tradition, and the singing of John Ellerton’s The Day Thou Gavest, surely the apogee of evening hymns.
Christopher Jobson