Waverley Singers

Waverley Singers in Christmas mood

The following review by R.G.W., (Bob Warren), was published in the Farnham Herald 

The Waverley Singers presented their Christmas programme, a varied selection of music ranging from the 16th to the 20th century, in the Church of St Mary, Alton, on Saturday. The audience were also invited to join with the choir to sing some favourite carols. Alton is not a usual venue for the Waverley Singers, but their sound was well suited to this modern church. The relatively cold acoustic enabled the choir to be heard with crystal clarity, something which is not always possible in other venues. The blend of sound was generally good, without muddiness or individual voices showing through.

The choir were responsive to Malcolm Hicks' direction, particularly in the Harold Darke setting of "In the Bleak Midwinter" and in John Rutter's arrangement of the "Sans Day Carol" The basses adopted the tones of a Russian choir to great effect in William Bird's "Civitas Sancti Sui".

In the second half of the programme, Vaughan Williams' "The Blessed Son of God" was sung with great delicacy. This was followed by "Ding Dong Merrily on High", where the sopranos opened with more enthusiasm than musicality. During Stanford's glorious setting of the "Magnificat", scored for double choir, the sopranos again allowed their tone to become shrill in the fortissimo sections, particularly when singing at the top of their range.

Gillian Hicks played solo trumpet in two movements from Haydn's E-flat trumpet concerto and, in the second half, Purcell's "Trumpet Tune". Her relaxed style enabled her to play with great clarity, and it was a pleasure to hear her at the start of her musical career.

Murray Stewart's competence on the organ was again apparent as he accompanied the choir and played items by Bird, Thomas Tomkins, and J.S. Bach. The organ has a fine tone, but quieter passages can sometimes be spoiled by a rather noisy action.

Finally, what a pleasure it is to hear and to be able to sing some of the traditional carols with a large choir. The final carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", with descant written by Malcolm Hicks, was a fitting climax to the concert.