On Saturday 16th January 2016 we held a Come and Sing event for Haydn’s oratorio ‘Creation’, and invited Brian Kay to rehearse us and conduct the performance. Over 100 singers took part, and judging from the number who brought their own copies, many of them had sung the work before. This was confirmed in the performance itself: Brian thought it one of the best he had heard from a scratch choir on a single rehearsal, and was especially impressed by the quality of the tenors.
The soloists were Sarah Cryer, Gerald Place, Chris Williams and our very own Jonathan Haswell; the organist was James Cryer. Almost all the All Saints choir adults were present, as were two of the junior choir members, which was very gratifying.All Saints has a well-deserved reputation for the quality of the refreshments we offer our guests, which was triumphantly upheld on this occasion: several guests were expressed surprise that so much could be provided for an entrance fee of only £10.
Altogether it was a most enjoyable and educational afternoon, and one which has cemented our church’s reputation as a centre for such events, both with the local singing fraternity and with Brian Kay himself, who has now been to us several times, and was clearly delighted with the turnout and the quality of the singing.