Christine Archer-Lockwood called the audience that packed into St Peter’s Anglican Church on Saturday a “conductor’s treat”.
But really, Archer-Lockwood was the treat.
As music director of the Renaissance Singers, she had devised aprogramme of familiar carols the audience could sing and choral gems performed by the choir.
It’s a concept that delivered the best of both worlds, but also kept Archer-Lockwood on her toes.
I have no idea how she managed to keep on top of everything that was happening, but she did, with enthusiasm, encouragement, and not a hint of condescension.
She thanked the audience for making up a great big community Christmas choir and for watching everything she did. For some pieces, she was effectively conducting two choirs.
The opening item, Once In Royal David’s City, took me straight back to my Anglican boarding school days, when the head chorister sang the first verse of this traditional carol. The school choir joined in on the second verse, and we mere mortals were not allowed to open our mouths until “And at last our eyes shall see Him”.
On Saturday, we were allowed to start singing from verse two.
The Renaissance Singers at St John's Church in Feilding last year, with music director Christine Archer-Lockwood at the right.
Bass Alex Sinclair had a heavy workload with two solos, along with packing up the stage afterwards. At just 19, soprano Briony Milne did well with her solo part during In The Bleak Midwinter, when she was feeling anything but wintery.
The third soloist, tenor Nigel Tongs, was a radiant beam as he got into the swing of the spiritual carol Behold That Star. He was clearly having a good time. During this upbeat number, the audience became the rhythm section.
The Renaissance Singers showed their skill by maintaining different parts from their neighbours and repeating words like it was the first time they had ever sung them. Their sound really was something to behold as it soared skyward.
However you celebrate Christmas, and even if you don’t, there is something special about phrases like “silent night” and “all is calm”. The choir and audience sang the Silent Night chorus in te reo Māori, while the choir also sang in Finnish and Latin.
With smaller congregations, organ music can drown out hymns - but with the church nearly full, we more than matched Roy Tankersley on the organ. My friend and I were fortunate to have two accomplished singers behind us.
As the audience made their way to the generous afternoon tea, Guy Donaldson played Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - so uplifting.
Two quibbles. The concert started off on an unsatisfactory note, with dreadful sound system feedback when president Robert Gibb did the welcome and housekeeping announcements.
It would have been good if the audience had been invited to stand to sing earlier in the concert.
As we sang the final carol, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I silently adapted the final verse - if the fates allow, we will see you at Carols for Christmas next year.
This concert was just what the Christmas fairy ordered.
- This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air.
