Actually Gay Men’s Chorus: Nobody Does It Better
I’ve often written that the heart of a community choir is in the spirit that they evoke, that sense of collective endeavour and of joy. The AGMC have always shown that spirit and that intention but this time with their vocal tribute to the Queen’s platinum jubilee what was really clear was that the choir has come of age. This was a concert of quality in every sense. The programme was well judged, the presentation was stylish and the music… well let’s take a closer look.
Opening with Parry’s arrangement of I was Glad was a stunning and powerful start to the evening and my god, they delivered it with heart, demonstrating that the chorus has both power and balance. That power and balance continued to be demonstrated in Anthem from the musical Chess and then a medley of Lloyd Webber hits culminating in the first of an evening of excellent solos as Andrew Whitlaw came forward to perform Sunset Boulevard. Whitlaw’s voice is excellent but he can also perform a song with the skill of an actor, a couple of simple and understated gestures brought the whole thing to life.
I also love the fact that the AGMC also use the whole choir in the arrangement of their solo choices adding real depth to each.
It’s at this point that I am struck by three things, they are displaying dynamics, precision and phrasing and the third thing is what is lifting the evening above a bar that they are already setting high. Phrasing to me is the element that makes all the difference, the acknowledgement that delivering the notes is not quite enough when looking to achieve a really stellar performance. Bring Him Home does just this, Les Mis done with style and with quality and This Is The Hour does much the same.
Compère for the evening John Borthwick then adds his voice to Lionel Bart’s Oom Pah Pah adds a suitable moment of levity at this point and he nails it.
I’m no fan of Hushabye Mountain but the solo from Ian Groves is good and the choir really achieve that lush cinematic sound to the performance.
The first half concludes with a trio of Bond themes, Chris Tippet gives us Skyfall, a challenge that he rises to, Chris Jones and Michael Wates make a duet of Diamonds Are Forever as do Gavin Bennet-Mason and James McFarlane with Nobody Does It Better, and I dare say that few could have done it much better.
After the interval, and with a stylish change of costumes, they return with World in Union led by Ian Hollands. This popularised anthem taken from Holst is moving stuff to be sure and AGMC get it spine tinglingly right.
John Borthwick then comes forward to punch out the Tom Jones hit Delilah and shows a very fine upper register to his voice and excellent diction too, there’s nothing “karaoke” about any of this evening to be sure.
Next a slice of Queen for the Queen with a cleverly constructed arrangement of their hits culminating of course with a slab of Bohemian Rhapsody. Again the whole delivered with punch and precision.
Then taking things gently down Nick Paget gives us Elton John’s Your Song in a charmingly delicate performance that is followed by Carl Jenkins’ Benedictus, again a quality rendition. The penultimate offering is Read All About It led by Philip Davis, stirring stuff.
The finale arrives with a readily recognised theme, a spot of Sweet Dreams that leads into a smile inducing medley of British Eurovision hits (thankfully resisting that saucy reveal when it comes to Making Your Mind Up, or maybe not…).
The whole evening is a triumph, the musical accompaniment from Simon Gray, Maria Dunn and Huw Jones is well thought through and performed and Samuel Cousins role as both musical director and arranger is very fine indeed, taking this accomplished chorus to a level of professionalism that deserves the standing ovation that they deserve and received. I look forward to where they go next after seeing and hearing this first class, five star performance.
St Mary’s Kemp Town
10 June
Andrew Kay
Rating:
