9 July 2008

Cantiones of Oswestry

Music for a Summer Evening

The weather did not favour a picnic for Cantiones of Oswestry's Concert of Music for a Summer Evening, unfortunately - in fact, it was raining very heavily. Still, there was a marquee set up to shelter both audience and performers, and I think none of us could claim to be surprised by the weather!

The concert began with a cycle of Folk Song settings by John Rutter - a familiar, summery sound, and many old favourites made their appearances, "The Keel Row", and "Afton Water", among others. There were eleven of these, some of them full chorus and others showcasing one or other section of the choir.

The second half ranged across time and space, with what turned out to be a particularly apposite emphasis on watery themes. We had church music (Victoria and Palestrina), madrigals, and music by Elgar and EJ Moeren, together with some elements of "Cats" and a little Arthur Sullivan. Some of the members of the choir are instrumentalists as well, and a clarinet solo and a flute duet were added to the programme.

The choir and the Festival are both most grateful to Mr and Mrs Simon Baynes and the Bodfach Trust for making the lovely grounds of Bodfach Hall available for the evening. The setting, the music and the performance combined to create a most enjoyable musical evening.

Rachel Wright
Committee Member