ACTUALLY GAY MEN’S CHORUS: Love, Actually

It has been a feast of Christmas treats once again this year, brilliant musicals, a dash of Dickens, a soupçon of Sondheim all punctuated by the occasional mince pie. But the penultimate show of my reviewing year has certainly put the icing and the cherry on the cake.

I have for some time now been praising the Actuallys. Their ambition is matched by their achievements and under the baton of Samuel James-Cousins and the musicianship of Simon Gray they certainly know how to put on a show, some of that showmanship also created by their producer Jack Merrington.

Last night though, in the vast space of St Mary’s Kemp Town, they went one enormous step forward. We’re used to hearing them sing with piano and keyboards and occasionally drums, but a brass ensemble!?! Well the combination of Christmas music and brass bands is a well known combination and a delightful one too, ask anyone who has ever indulged in the festive joy delivered by The Salvation Army. My earliest Christmas memory is of the Sally Army playing carols on the cobbles in the snow outside my grandparents home.

Of course the art on this occasion came in achieving the right sound balance, and this they did, deliciously so. And secondly the programme was almost totally festive, a bit of fun, a few show tunes yes, but this was Christmas full throttle.

Saying that, this was not a belt it out romp, there were tender moments too and some delightful solos not only from choir members but also from guests. The evening was hosted by Chris Hide whose energy kept things bright. The man can sing, great phrasing and an enormous range. His style is very contemporary and at times his acrobatic and accomplished riffing, for my taste, masks the real beauty of his voice, but there is no doubting how good he is. He was joined on the platform by soprano Marian Tinkler whose soaring voice added real sparkle to the evening, nailing both Panis Angelicus and Pie Jesu, the better one, not the ALW. And of course, members of the chorus stepped out and took solos throughout as well as a small group who moved up to the altar to deliver a haunting Gaudete, magical moments all.

The programme was frosted in shimmering delights, songs we all know and love and arrangements to delight, Sam creates some very special settings and the choir know just how to dish them up. There is a precision to their pitching and their timing and such control when it comes to their dynamics.

I’m not going to list every song, they rattled off traditional carols, Christmas songs, pop, musicals and fun too. We were invited to join in, although a lady close by felt the need to throw in her own piercingly high (and out of tune) notes willy nilly, and for those who can stand a twelve days became something of a cardio workout.

Did I have a highlight? Of course I did, in an evening of near perfect choral joy the opening brass and choral anthem made me cry, not just watery eyes, but tears streaming down my cheeks. And later I wept again when they sang so beautifully Christina Rosetti’s beautiful In The Bleak Midwinter, the Darke setting that I love so much.

Where does this ensemble go next? They seem to have no bounds and I applaud that once again, it was a starlit night of Christmas joy, one to remember.

Andrew Kay

19 December

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