Wonthaggi

We were delighted to be back in Wonthaggi for a Sunday afternoon concert, hosted by the Inter-Church Council to raise funds to support the Pastoral Care Volunteer Program.

The 426-seater purpose-built Union Community Arts Centre was an absolute sell-out, having to turn away people seeking tickets at the door.

The choir opened with the resounding What Would I Do without My Music and then compère Drew Hopkins introduced a bracket of Welsh numbers – Blaenwern, Y Tangnefeddwyr (The Peacemakers), Yfory (Tomorrow) and the well-loved Cwm Rhondda with the whole audience eager and willing to join in with the choruses.

The Newhaven Girls’ Vocal Group, led by Kerryn Lockhart and accompanied by Daniel Moldrich, then came on stage to perform four numbers. A lively arrangement of Sanctus was followed by the beautifully sung Night of Stars, Night of Love by Offenbach. A Place by The River by Melbourne song-writer Eddie Perfect was followed by the upbeat Accentuate the Positive. The precision harmonising and lovely tone was rightly applauded by the whole theatre.

Continuing the love theme, tenors Rushan Hewawasam and Drew Hopkins stepped up to the mike to deliver an engagingly balanced duet on Perhaps Love. The whole choir caught the mood in The Rose and You’ll Never Walk Alone with a fine introduction by baritone Roger Bartlett. Not to leave the babies out, Faleiry stepped outside the printed program and called on the choir to sing an a capella lullaby Si Hei Lwli ‘Mabi.

Before the first half’s closing number, Faleiry rehearsed the capacity audience (three times) in the final choruses of the rousing Rutter arrangement of When the Saints Go Marching In. When the time came, the effect was so good everybody had to repeat it before a well-earned interval.

After the break, organiser Graham Wilson and another member of the church thanked everyone for coming and contributing to the cause before introducing composer Larry Hills. Larry spoke of the mining tragedy of 1937 which killed 13 men below ground in a local coal mine. As a memorial to this event, Larry had composed Miners’ Requiem. Although previously performed by a mixed voice choir, today would be the first time by a four-part male choir. Eight choristers (two from each section) chanted the first thirteen bars starting with ‘Requiem aeternam…’. As the whole choir sang the narrative verses describing the disaster, these soloists would interweave with the repeated phrases. The final chorus of the requiem, in four-part harmony, echoing the choirs of South Wales’ mining villages, brought the work to a fittingly sad and bitter-sweet ending, resonating deeply with the local audience.

Continuing the mining theme, bass Bob Ash went forward to deliver for the first time a stunning a capella rendition of A Prince Among Men by Irish musician Andy Irvine. As the sustained applause died, fellow bass Barry McMahon, backed by the choir, told the moving tale of another miner in the well-known song Working Man, again to prolonged acclamation.

Then it was time for another local to perform. Joshua Hooke seated himself at the piano and treated the whole theatre to a hugely confident and masterful recital of three movements from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Compère Drew very appropriately brought Joshua back on stage to acknowledge the audience’s loud appreciation.

From Russia with love back to Wales with the choir’s specially commissioned work Land of my Song by Paul Jarman. This heartfelt song of nostalgia for the old country featured strong solos by Bendigonians John Adams and Garry Salisbury. Paul’s contrasting but iconic Pemulwuy followed before John Hales and Geoff Serpell combined in a comic sketch with Ah Still Suits Me from the 1936 film version of Show Boat.

For the concert’s finale, Mississippi gave way to the Les Misérables medley featuring touching solos by Rushan on I Dreamed a Dream and by Roger on Bring Him Home.

After the final flag and the theatre’s rapturous applause, there only remained one more number to close – Waltzing Matilda sung by half the choir and the audience against the Welsh National Anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Comments received from the audience included:

Fabulous! – Yvonne (Welsh extraction)

Fantastic. Superb. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Want to join! – Jennifer

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

”AWESOME”. Loved medley from Les Misérables.