Fringe – Nerds – Resound Voices, Sam Barton (conductor)

What nerve! For a happy troupe of mainly middle-aged men to adopt the label of nerds, even for a Fringe folly, takes a lot of guts – plus the confidence, skill and musicianship to pull it off. Resound has all that and they know how to tease, intrigue and delight their audience.

They began with a flattering video presentation of themselves as animated avatars while they provided the theme tunes from all around the auditorium. That was a bold move because it is difficult to keep everything together and to stay in tune when a small choir is dispersed – not this lot. Their eyes were glued to the conductor. It was fine.

Each section was playfully introduced which added to the friendly party atmosphere. The selection of solos and duets were charming and confirmed the rich abundance of talent in this ensemble of only fourteen singers. When they all sang together their musicality was really needed because the top and bottom voices were frequently singing at the extremes of their range – they just couldn’t afford to have the pitch shift, even by a semi-tone.

Resound Voices

This choir specialises in unamplified, mostly unaccompanied singing but special mention  must be made of Gaynor Gallant’s sensitive contribution at the piano and for one enchanting moment on the cor anglais, and not forgetting top tenor David Farrer with his mellow guitar.

A programme as ambitious as this takes months of study and rehearsal, and a lot of concentration on the night. The lads of Resound disguise all that effort brilliantly which makes it so enjoyable for the audience.

Chapel Royal,
22 May 2025

Rating:

–

Tenor 1: James Frey Croft, David Farrer, Tony Oliver
Tenor 2: Stuart Heaton, Hari Thomas, Andy Platt
Baritone: Andreas Hiersche, JJ Thurlow-Criss, Philip Pothen, David Young
Bass: Lionel Clark, Darren Clarke, Keri Davies, Richard Wilson

VIDEO GAMES
Mii Channel Theme – K. Tokata arr. M. Webber
Temple of Time (from Legend of Zelda) – K. Kondo arr. W. Häggblom for Munx Gregoriana
Theme from Halo – M. O’Donnell & M. Salvatori arr. W. Häggblom for Munx Gregoriana

MASS NERDERY
Invocation and Instructions to the Audience (from The Frogs) – S. Sondheim
Toulouse Street – P. Simmons (The Doobie Brothers)
The Armadillo – Flanders and Swann
Mad About the Boy – N. Coward
Es Waren Zwei Königskinder – A. N. Tarkmann [J. Brahms]
Their Hearts Were Full of Spring – B. Troupe
When That I Was – G. Davidson [W. Shakespeare]

SCI-FI, FANTASY & SUPERHEROES
THX Logo Theme – J. A. Moorer
Asteroid (aka Pearl & Dean Theme) – P. Moore arr. S. Barton
Theme from Game of Thrones – R. Djawadi arr. P. Langford
Misty Mountains (from The Hobbit) – D. Donaldson, D. Long, S. Roche, J. Roddick arr. T. Anderson
The Last Goodbye (from The Hobbit) – B. Boyd
Theme from Spiderman – B. Harris, P. F. Webster arr. K. Shaw

BARBENHEIMER
What Was I Made For (from Barbie) – B. Eilish O’Connell, F. O’Connell arr. J. L. Cook
Vichnaya Pamyat (from Chernobyl) – Trad. arr. H. Guðnadóttir

Animations courtesy of StageProjections