Six choirs – Seventh Heaven. The organisation bringing together six choirs, five from Derbyshire and one from Nottinghamshire, was impeccable. Our thanks to the Derbyshire Community Male Voice Choir for their vison and effort – a great job. Midlands Men Sing was a super event which packed out Derby Cathedral and gave pleasure to audience and choristers alike.
The charity benefitting from the concert proceeds was Women’s Work and all choirs were treated to an excellent tea in their ex convent building next to St. Mary’s church before we gathered in the cathedral for joint rehearsals.
The concert opened with Mansfield and Derbyshire singing “We Rise Again” conducted by Ian Grice and this heralded three pieces performed by each choir which made for wide variety and interest in the concert programme. Typically, my reports would pick out performance highlights, but the nature of the whole concert was to bring together like-minded choirs in a celebration event. Each MD, accompanist and choir enthusiastically gave of their best. The wide grin on the face of Chris Hare, the MD from organising choir, was a picture as he was in his element conducting 150 men in the finale pieces Llanfair, An American Trilogy and Morte Criste. These venerable songs which typify the best of male voice choral work were delivered with passion and energy and the acoustic in the cathedral provided a sustained long note as Chris brought the choirs off with precision and unity.
Thanks are due to the ladies who managed the catering for so many people and the concert managers and MDs from each choir who had the unenviable task of coordinating everyone’s attendance and developing a musical programme of interest.
When it goes well, as this concert did, it was truly a seventh heaven experience.
