A Review of Billingshurst Choral Society's concert of music by Gilbert & Sullivan
Saturday 22 June 2024
Billingshurst Choral Society (BCS) welcomed two actresses from Billingshurst Dramatic Society, Natalie van de Braam and Sue Pollard, to open an evening of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Greatest Hits, with a relaxed and entertaining introduction to the Music Director, Marcio da Silva, the choir and musicians.
The venue was the Billingshurst Community and Conference Centre. The choir was positioned on staging at the opposite end of the hall from the main stage. The area was well lit and although the acoustics couldn’t match that of the recent venue of St Gabriel’s Church, the sound was good under Marcio’s expert direction.
The opening chorus was Hark the Hour of Ten is Sounding from Gilbert and Sullivan’s first comic operetta, Trial by Jury. This was a strong, well-balanced start, accompanied by accomplished pianist, Jeremy Weaver and professional string players, John Haworth on the violin and Alexei Sarkissov playing the cello. Throughout the concert, the trio created an authentic Victorian musical atmosphere and balanced the choir beautifully.
Natalie and Sue introduced the various Gilbert and Sullivan favourites to a large and appreciative audience, with snippets of background to the various opera scenarios and sometimes added anecdotes relating to Gilbert and Sullivan’s difficult relationship.
It was not always easy to hear the quick, catchy libretto, mainly due to the acoustics and it would have added to the audience’s enjoyment if the choir had better communicated their joy of singing. However, the sopranos and altos made the most of the delicious Sullivan harmonies and the men’s chorus was tuneful, bold and entertaining.
BCS was delighted to welcome the talented professional soprano, Helen May, who added the solo voice to some of the choruses with her crystal-clear performance. The Music Director, Marcio da Silva, himself a professional Baritone, was excellent as the Sargent, singing the well-known chorus When a Foeman Bares His Steel.
The highlight of the evening for me, was the beautiful and tender singing of Arthur Sullivan’s, The Long Day Closes.
Thank you BCS for once again presenting us with an entertaining and hugely enjoyable musical evening.
GBP
