Review
TITLE: Gledholt Male Voice Choir
VENUE: St Paul’s HallREVIEW: By David Heathcote
THE Male Voice Choir presented an excellent programme of wonderful music, poignant readings and poetry and some light hearted performances of Pam Ayres and Dylan Thomas’ works.
The traditional South Yorkshire carol, The Christmas Tree, included a fine solo by the bass Lyndon Wilkinson. Lyndon has an important place in Huddersfield’s choral tradition and his voice remains as rich and beautiful as ever.
Musical Director Susan Wilkinson has nurtured generations of singers and it was a pleasure to hear the next in this concert.
The first soloist from Huddersfield Choral Society Youth Choir was Ann Wilkes, who sang Warlock’s Bethlehem Down. Unusually for a young singer, Anne has the confidence to allow space and time to give the words their true meaning.
The choir showed similar expression in a well chosen trio of songs: Gabriel’s Message; Born in the Night; and Tenderly Sleeping, which cast a magical atmosphere in the hall. The choir really shone in that most powerful song O Holy Night.
Haylie Brown was wise to sing the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria in place of Musetta’s Waltz (she’s far too young for Puccini); however, it was in the classic I’ll Be Home For Christmas that her voice and style shone.
The star of the night was Matthew Pitchforth. A GCSE pupil at Spen Valley High School, this young singer is a natural performer with a great future ahead of him. His smoky voice, style, musicality and instinctive timing made for an excellent performance of Feeling Good. Let’s hear more of him!
