Show tunes never fail to disappoint - Review (From Stroud News and Journal)

Show tunes never fail to disappoint - Review

'CURTAIN UP' was the title of this concert at Minchinhampton Parish Church, and signalled that Gerry and Sheila Palmer had finally succumbed to calls for inclusion of show tunes.

Prior to coming to the Stuart Singers they had had a surfeit of show songs.

As expected, they do not do things half heartedly and devoted the first half to a feast of show tunes, after their customary opening number Siyahamba.

These included Beauty and the Beast, Lullaby of Broadway, Kismet, Music Man, My Fair Lady, Les Miserables and Oliver.

For me the highlights were the selection from Les Miserables where the ending still chokes me after countless playing, the Ascot Gavotte for My Fair Lady, where the accents were Knightsbridge rather than Minchinhampton, apart from the final part where Cheryl Ritter was pure Whitechapel, and the solo by young Nicholas Sims of 'Where is Love' from Oliver.

This was beautifully sung and the composure of one so young was breathtaking.

His younger brother Robert then finished the first half by leading with 'be back soon' from the same show.

As usual this choir performed superbly with excellent diction, good control of dynamics and with rhythms accurately reflecting the context of the various items.

I have always regarded this choir's concert as the start of Christmas. The second half was more their normal offering including Psalm 23 (from the Vicar of Dibley).

This had a lovely trio sung by Barbara Seed, Helen Sims and Pat Griffiths. After the audience joined in with the carol 'O come, O come Emmanuel', Peter Jennings sang the part of Enrico from the Chorus of the Wedding Guests from Donizetti's opera Lucia de Lamermoor.

Sheila Palmer then sang the solo from On Holy Ground, by Geron Davis but the real climax of the evening was the David Willcock's arrangement for organ and choir of the Widor Toccata.

Often when a piece is taken away from the composer's original arrangement, the final result can be disappointing. This was not the case here and the performance was mind blowing.

The high standard of this choir is a tribute to its conductor Gerry Palmer who also compered the concert with his usual wit. The accompanist Giles Turner also played the organ and managed the wide range of music effortlessly.

As well as giving superb concerts this choir has been a real fund raising machine, raising £80,000 since its inception just over ten years ago.

Donations were made on the weekend of £1,000 to Cloud 9, £500 each to Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton and the Parkinson's Disease Society.