Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Gilbert & Sullivan ‘first’ for Pangbourne Choral and the audience loved it




Pangbourne Choral Society Summer Concert, on Saturday, June 17 at the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel, Pangbourne College, review by PETER HAYWARD

This concert offered a tour of some of the best-known G&S music in a sequence of operettas dating from the first fruits of their collaboration (Trial by Jury) right through to their final collaboration on The Gondoliers a period of 14 years.

PCS
PCS

This sort of concert presents its own special challenges. It’s like going on a guided tour of famous landmarks. You gain a different perspective on such a visit, compared to visiting individual landmarks and spending a few days exploring a specific location, or musical work.

For a choir, it requires the ability to step in and out of different operatic characters, always injecting life and colour into the music they perform. In this case, it also exposes the demanding skills of unison singing. There is no hiding place. One person off-pitch stands out embarrassingly!

To give some perspective, this performance was designed to be viewed through the prism of G&S’s 14-year partnership. The linking narrative was delivered by Andrew Peach who has his long-running morning show on BBC Radio Berkshire, not to mention news reading assignments on BBC National and World Service Radio.

So, a lot to savour in one evening. As always, the acid test is entertainment value and, on that score, the performance rated very highly. Conductor Chris McDade (in his final show as PCS music director) directed operations very well, assisted by the excellent piano accompaniment of Liz Collins, for whom this offered considerable challenges, which she embraced superbly, given the complexity of some parts of the music score.

And of course, the choir revelled in the varied opportunities to sing some solo parts en masse as well as the familiar choruses of the various operettas. The unison singing challenge was met with gusto and sensitivity, and there were very few ‘scratchy’ moments. Perhaps the most amusing element was watching them fingering their scores like tourists consulting their Michelin tourist guide for the next port of call!

That said, the choral highlights included all three Trial by Jury songs, the opening chorus of Pirates from Pirates of Penzance, the Entrance & March of the Peers from Iolanthe and the delightful Three Little Maids (Mikado) caricature by the sopranos and altos who swung happily from being dainty fairies into the fortissimo reprise which humorously and deliberately owes more to St Trinian’s than anything else. Great fun, great entertainment! All rounded off with brilliant choruses from The Gondoliers.

Gilbert & Sullivan was another ‘first’ for PCS and the audience loved it all. The music of G&S will linger in the mind for many days yet! It was also a lovely sunny evening, with drinks on the terrace outside the Chapel. PCS can look forward with great encouragement to their Golden Anniversary season in 2024.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More