Concert with Adelaide Male Choir

The third joint concert of our tour took place at Burnside City Uniting Church on a balmy Friday evening. A representative of the Ronald McDonald House Charities thanked both choirs and the capacity audience for raising funds for this important cause and explained how the income was used.

Adelaide Male Voice Choir’s Conductor Bill Shaw OAM introduced their accompanist Ed Kriek and conducted their first three songs: Morte Criste, We’ll Keep a Welcome and the rousing Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl.  Assistant Conductor Colin Campbell then took over on A Tell-Tale Tryst and the well-known classic When the Saints with the enthusiastic audience joining in on the chorus.

Guest soloist soprano Joanna McWaters followed to thrill patrons with Puccini’s O Mia Babbino and I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady.

Earlier the MC had mentioned ‘a very long Welsh name’, so at Faleiry’s invitation Welsh speaker Stephen Pepper then recited it in full: “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-LlanTysiliogogogoch”, or LlanfairPG for short.  Following this educational aside, Faleiry led the choir through the spirited Men of Harlech in Welsh and English, and compère Tony Davies told the audience a little about VicWelsh before introducing the rest of our opening bracket – What Would I Do Without My Music, the temperance song Rachie, the romantic Anfonaf Angel, with recorder accompaniment by Bendigonian Merle Hopman, and an animated and powerful Working Man by bass Geoff Serpell which concluded the first half on a high note.

After a brief interval, Adelaide Male Choir took the stage under the baton of Colin Campbell to present the visceral call and response African song Tshotsholoza with talented soloist Alex Burney.   Bill then introduced and conducted his men in The Finnish Forest, Didn’t My Lord, My Lord What a Morning and the magnificent Anthem from Chess.

Soprano Joanna returned and entranced the audience with Moon River, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and the beautiful This is My Beloved from Kismet. Sustained applause showed how much everyone had enjoyed her performances.

As VicWelsh came back on stage, Stephen responded to a patron’s request to know what LlanfairPG meant in English as follows: “St Mary’s Church, in a hollow by the white hazel close to the rapid whirlpool near the red cave of St Tysilio.”  Honour was satisfied. 

Faleiry then stepped nearer to the choir and led them through the a cappella lullaby Si Hei Lwli ‘Mabi.  Tony Davies gave the historical background to the next song, and the choir brought the modern arrangement of Pemulwuy alive before channelling 1832 Paris in a Les Misérables medley with finely sung solos by second tenor Rushan Hewawasam.

Bass Bob Ash and tenor Drew Hopkins then combined to lead the choir into Waltzing Matilda with part of the choir concert concurrently singing the Welsh National Anthem at the end.

In preparation for the finale, the Adelaide choristers stationed themselves behind VicWelsh as Faleiry conducted the combined choirs from an elevated podium in the famous Speed Your Journey, also known as the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.  This was very warmly received before Bill led the choirs in the powerful Battle Hymn of the Republic.  With its resounding Amens, it topped off a hugely successful male voice concert as reflected in the level and amplitude of the audience’s acclaim.