Lymington Choral Society share the spirit of Christmas with festive concert

Billed as a Christmas Spectacular, Lymington Choral Society’s recent concert at St. Thomas’ Church, didn’t disappoint. Featuring a range of music from across the ages, the congregational carols – scattered across the evening – were a very well-appreciated addition.

These included the perfectly-pitched treble of Harry Hampson-Gilbert in Once in Royal David’s City, who later performed an expressive rendition of Walking in the Air from The Snowman, with smooth and suitably mellow tone.

The choir got off to an ethereal start in Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, for which they demonstrated not only good tuning but also an evocative blend in their chords. This matched the style which made Vaughan Williams one of England’s greatest composers of the mid-20th Century.

The baritone soloist was Sam Hird, who provided an assured and rich sound, his voice somehow ringing out in what can be a challenging acoustic. Cornelius’ famous setting of The Three Kings followed in similar fashion before a slight rarity amongst the John Rutter oeuvre: extracts from When Icicles Hang, his 1975 setting of various winter-related poems by Shakespeare, Campion and others.

Philip Daish-Handy, conducting the concert with his customary energy and excitement, enthused about the three choices from a musical perspective, ranging from an impressionistic, Holst-“Neptune”-like opener to a rhythmic drinking song and a folk-like ‘Blow Thou Winter Wind’. The choir was on top form here, dramatic and accurate in equal measure, tenors and basses being notably strong.

Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium followed ably supported by Timothy Rice on the organ, also providing other keyboard accompaniments in the concert, and after the interval the audience enjoyed two a capella items which were well-sung with good support, particularly in the challenging Walton All This Time.

The evening finished with Sir Christemas (Mathias) and Masters in this Hall: a rousing finale. Mention should also go to the Nova Foresta Philharmonic, which played sensitively all night, including in the instrumental interlude – an arrangement of part of Nigel Hess’ score to Ladies in Lavender, with the sweet solo violin of Catherine Lawlor.

Rob Dishington