Reviews
A scene from our concert at Buxton Opera House on 4 October 2009. A review is here.
Concert for Buxton Festival Fringe,
St John's Church, 14 July 2010
This review is reproduced from the Fringe's Web site by kind permission of the organisers.)
Each year there is one show on the Fringe that catches you by surprise, which really bowls you over, which leaves you feeling so glad to have been part of it. Almost certainly the TMVC Show will be my Fringe 2010 highlight. This is hard to explain in all sorts of ways. OK, there is something almost inevitably moving about hearing 40 and 70 voices singing together – sometimes in unison, sometimes in 4-part harmonies. I know none of the TMVC but there are some rum looking buggers amongst them – how come they can sing so tenderly and poetically when together?
The Choir seems to be genuinely inclusive; clearly some individuals have strong voices but it is equally certain that some members have pretty average voices, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that they are together, sharing what they do, representing a small village that no one very far away has ever heard of. The TMVC is an amateur choir but it takes its work and purpose very seriously and this is evident by the concentration and attention given to director Dennis Kay.
Pianist Christopher Ellis brilliantly supports the choir; his playing is always sensitive but not intrusive. He had just one solo spot, dazzling with Earl Wild's arrangement of Gershwin's The Man I Love. Also on hand for the show was Choir organist Mary Cobbold who told some delightful stories about when she first played on the St John's organ when she was 11 (must have been about 30 years ago then Mary?) and "was let loose with the choir". She played two pieces on the organ that she was taught on, including Widor's Toccata, recalling how she had begun the piece in error many years ago and it served as a rather grand introduction to O Come All Ye Faithful.
Dennis Kay has been closely involved with the Come and Sing project which has brought about 35 men together and, over a period of 10 weeks, has – in the words of one of the new singers – "taken me out of my comfort zone and taught me things about singing that I never knew." This new, embryonic choir performed for the first time. So at this show we had two choirs that sometime sang separately and sometimes together. So, what did they sing? In some ways it hardly matters but these are some of the highlights (for me, anyway).
The TMVC opened the evening with four pieces – the last of which was Unchained Melody, almost heavenly in its arrangement. The only sound you heard from the audience all night was rapturous applause. The new, infant choir wasn't given an easy introduction to concert performance. Their first two numbers being The Grand Old Duke of York and You'll Never Walk Alone. Both were sung in a controlled manner leaving you to concentrate on this performance.
After the interval the choirs came together for show-stopping performances of There Is Nothing Like A Dame and When the Saints Go Marching In. The TMVC sang two items from their forthcoming CD – What a Wonderful World and Hallelujah. An interesting pair of songs – Louis Armstrong's song being naïve and sentimental and Cohen's (even bowdlerised) a desperate, aching song of love gone-wrong. To hear them side by side was a reminder of the range of the choir.
There was time for a preview of the show to come at the Buxton Opera House on October 24th before – appropriately on Bastille Day – two blistering rally calls from Les Miserables. The Tideswell Male Voice Choir may not be the most obvious leaders of political revolution in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales – but who knows?
The Choir is in Tideswell – with a chamber recorder orchestra – on 24th July; call 01298 77947 for tickets before it sells out. Similarly the Opera House concert on 24 October will sell out quickly.
Keith Savage
Concert at St George's Church, New Mills,
1 May 2010
The 1st of May saw a very special night at St.Georges, New Mills, when Tideswell Male Voice Choir sang to packed church.
Their opening number Rhythm of Life (not an easy option) set the stage for a splendid evening. Some of the modern pieces, I Dreamed a Dream, The Rose and You Raise Me Up, brought the hairs up on the back of the neck, their control was superb, but it was in the Church Music that they really came into their own. Maybe they were just in the right setting or maybe the pieces had been practised to competition pitch, they certainly raised the roof. Just as well the concert was in aid of raising money to repair the roof!!.
The atmosphere was such that the Choir themselves enjoyed the evening and the two young people who sang with them are certainly to be encouraged and they have a fine teacher in Dennis Kay.
Altogether a wonderful evening which hopefully can be repeated before too long.
FC
Joint concert with Chapel Ladies' Choir and Opus 96
St John's Church, Buxton, 24 April 2010
Tideswell Male Voice Choir got the concert off to a rousing start with Rhythm of Life, after which Dennis Kay explained to the audience that what had begun as a joint concert between TMVC and Chapel-en-le-Frith Ladies Choir had expanded to include visiting Irish choir Opus ’96. Tideswell Male Voice Choir had met members of Opus ’96 during their visit to Ireland in 2008. So we were treated to not one, not two but three choirs, all with their own varying style and sound.
The programme then continued with Let It Be Me, new addition to the repertoire Unchained Melody, The Rose and New York, New York all of which were sung with great expression and were warmly received by the audience.
Then it was the turn of Opus ’96. Although this was a smaller choir, the whole church was filled with their rich, harmonious sound. They gave us a small and varied selection from their repertoire: With a Song in My Heart, In a Monastery Garden and I Write the Songs.
Chapel-en-le-Frith Ladies Choir rounded off the first half with the popular A Cole Porter Medley, Karl Jenkins’ enigmatic Adiemus, and the stirring Like An Eagle. All sung with great enthusiasm and feeling. Musical Director Lucy Crew thanked Carol, the accompanist, for coming to the rescue at very short notice after Jane their regular accompanist was stranded in Florida by the volcanic ash. Choir and accompanist worked extremely well together and Ann Young, the choir president, presented Carol with a well-deserved bouquet.
After the interval Chapel Ladies Choir continued with a selection of lively songs including A la Cart, a humorous tale of the boy Mozart and his musical go-kart which had the audience laughing out loud. They ended with the moving song As Long As I Have Music.
Opus ’96 then returned with Bless This House, which received a “Bravo!” from the audience, followed by It’s Wonderful and the very popular Catch a Falling Star which was delivered with both precision and swing.
TMVC then made an emphatic return with Let There Be Light. They followed this with another new song, My Heart Will Go On from Titanic. Dennis said that if he didn’t see a few tears after this one he would be disappointed. I don’t think he was disappointed. The choir then demonstrated both power and control in Psalm 126 and American Trilogy, during which the audience were utterly enthralled. They ended with An Irish Blessing in honour of guests Opus ’96.
The evening ended with an impromptu, unrehearsed reprise of Rhythm of Life by all three choirs, which was obviously thoroughly enjoyed by choirs and audience alike.
LB
Charity Concert in aid of the Haiti Appeal
St John's Church, Buxton, 27 January 2010
Hosted by Colin Sykes of BBC North West, a spectacular musical evening was organised at St John’s Church, Buxton, to raise funds in aid of the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. This concert was put together in just one week by Dennis Kay, enthusiastic musical director of Tideswell Male Voice Choir. With tremendous support from many members and non-members, the idea was to provide free admission to the concert, but to make a collection at the end of the evening.
Tideswell Male Voice Choir (‘The Boys’) began steadily with three pieces, the final one being a superb rendition of Rhythm Of Life.
Then it was the turn of 17 year old Phil Rigley who, having been coached for only 6 months, produced a fine version of Somewhere. More to come from Phil in the future! Next to perform were Four To The Bar (accompanied by Colin Sykes) who gave us a selection of Beatles songs, one of which – Follow The Sun – was a particularly lovely arrangement.
Nicholas Bennett, the highly acclaimed baritone, performed a superb solo. We would not have heard a pin drop; such was the audience’s anticipation of this fine singer. Mary Cobbold gave us Toccata from Suite Gothique on the organ. I am certain that I saw the pipes vibrate from the passion channelling through Mary’s fingers. This led to ‘The Boys’ (Boys indeed!) completing the first half; tears for The Lord Is My Shepherd and goose bumps for the rousing Let There Be Light. I am sure conductor Dennis Kay’s feet left the ground when driving ‘The Boys’ through this number. What a finish!
To commence the second half, Mary Cobbold powered her way though Sortie by Lefebure-Wely, leading the way into a selection of Elvis songs by Four To The Bar; Glynis Wells fighting her way though a cold to sing splendidly. Nicholas Bennett was then back again to deserving tremendous applause.
Twen’y Quid (two tenners – two tenors!) gave a vocal duet of Love Changes Everything to the delight of their colleagues (‘The Boys’).
For me, the coming together of all performers in a heart-rending and magnificent vocal rendition of a Les Miserables medley was the highlight of the evening. Soloists Glynis Wells, Nicholas Bennett, Alan Wells and Jeanette Sykes were joined by Dennis Kay for enchanting performances of high quality. Here was the moment when ‘The Boys’ really came into power, singing with emotion, singing with vigour, and singing into the hearts of the audience. This musical certainly does pierce its way into your very soul.
Let us not forget the fine musician Christopher Ellis for his magnificent introductions and musical skills on the piano. His ability to lift everyone is special indeed.
After the appeal, an encore of Les Miserables’ Do You Hear The People Sing by ‘The Boys’ raised the roof and raised people from their seats towards a standing ovation. This time Dennis Kay almost leapt up to the chandelier with excitement!
Well done all!
Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to produce such a splendid evening, in aid of this appeal.
Ray Whiteley
Celebration Concert at Bakewell Methodist Church
24 October 2009—A Night to Remember
Performing to a full house the choir presented a programme of music which had been selected by past members and family members of those men who once sang with the choir, who sadly are no longer with us.
The evening was a resounding success, bringing back many fond memories of loved ones, and of the music itself.
Under the leadership of Eileen Rigg, T.M.V.C.’s deputy conductor, the choir opened the programme with Rhythm of Life, and following a short introduction and welcome from Musical Director Dennis Kay they followed on with the beautiful Howard Goodall arrangement of The Lord Is My Shepherd, also conducted by Eileen.
God’s Choir, Let There Be Light, Let It Be Me, Softly, As I Leave You, were just a selection of pieces requested and which were included in this excellent programme. The choir performed them all to a very high standard and the quality of their presentation lived up to the high expectations for which this choir has now become renowned. There were some magical moments, particularly in the beautifully controlled soft singing and the equally magical accompaniments, so beautifully played by the choir’s Principal Accompanist, Christopher Ellis.
The programme included two solo items from Christopher, who continues to delight and excite audiences with his sheer brilliance at the piano. His talents have definitely brought a new dimension to T.M.V.C.’s concert programme.
The idea behind the concert was to remember and pay tribute to past members and celebrate their service and commitment. I believe it was achieved with great success, and I am certain this will be repeated.
[Thanks to an anonymous reviewer – Ed]
Annual Concert at Buxton Opera House, 2009
We have a review of this concert by Gay Bolton of Derbyshire Times here. This is a PDF file; clicking the link should download the file to your computer. Grateful thanks go to Gay and the DT for permission to publish the review here.
The 2009 Buxton Fringe Festival
This review is reproduced from the Fringe's Web site by kind permission of the organisers.)
Tuesday 14 July
I'll start with a confession: this would not usually have been my first choice concert. But having heard them performing on the Prom on Fringe Sunday, I was happy to step in as a last minute reviewer.
And I was not disappointed. The first half was a little low key for my liking with the choir showing great control in their collective singing in a range of music from sacred – God's Choir and The Lord Is My Shepherd – to pop including Westlife's You Raise Me Up and Bette Midler's The Rose, ending with Any Dream Will Do from Joseph.
The second half saw the choir step up a gear as they swung into two Frank Sinatra numbers, New York, New York and My Way, before moving on to American Trilogy. All of which gave them the chance to really open up to good effect.
The choir closed the concert – fittingly on Bastille Day – with a medley from Les Miserables, including a sensitive solo from Maurice Hargreaves in Bring Him Home.
However, a special mention must be given to 18-year-old bass baritone Tyler Cooper, for two wonderful solos: Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, and, Stars. It was no surprise to learn that he is due to go to the Royal Northern College of Music next year – but on a long lead, back to Tideswell!
Another 'find' for the choir is accompanist Christopher Ellis who stunned the audience with his performances of the first of four ballades by Chopin and a scintillating rendition of Earl Wild's transcription of the Introduction and Summertime from Gershwin's Fantasy on Porgy and Bess. Both played from memory.
He is appearing on the Fringe again on Wednesday 22 July with baritone Nicholas Bennett in A Way With Words, an evening of great poetry in song.
Throughout the concert, from the quietest numbers to the loudest, the choir's control and power was evident – personally, I would have liked to have heard a little more variety, and a bit more of the power they so obviously possess.
In my experience, choral directors and conductors have a bit of a reputation for being dragons. Dennis Kay is not one of them, he is generous and nurturing and this clearly brings out the best in the choir. He is happy to share the limelight with soloists, musicians and his very able deputy conductor Eileen Rigg, with a nice line in patter as he introduced every item.
Most importantly he is very willing to promote young talent such as Tyler and Christopher, and drummer Daniel Hopkins (16). As he rightly says these are the future of Tideswell Male Voice Choir, it is good to know that they are already working with Hope Valley College to attract more young men to singing.
Although not strictly part of the Fringe, the choir can be heard again, this time on their home turf in their Annual Concert in Tideswell Parish Church on Saturday 25 July.
Caitlin Bisknell
The 2008 Buxton Fringe Festival
As a recent convert to early choral music one can often find me listening to the 'Tallis Scholars' or 'Kings College Choir', so the thought of being dragged out by Mrs Flett to listen to a dusty old bunch of duffers singing songs from the shows filled me with dread. In fact I had planned on feigning some dreadful acute illness which rendered me couch bound for the evening.
Notwithstanding any of this kind of tomfoolery, I often find that these things are not half as bad as you think they are going to be once you have torn yourself from the womb-like comfort of the armchair and put your shoes on, besides which, Mrs Flett reminded me of our old insurance salesman Nigel Willis who sings with the TMVC. Well that was it then – 'he's almost family' I muttered under my breath pulling on my trainers.
On our arrival the boys had just launched into their first number. I remember thinking "well this could have been worse" and the rest of the programme just got better and better as I became less and less cynical. The Musical Director the jovial Dennis Kay was into audience participation in a big way and he soon had the audience joining in and augmenting the glorious sound that was the TMVC. (shhh don't tell everyone but, what was worst of all the buggers almost made me shed a tear or two...Almost I said!
So as well as enjoying an excellent musical evening with a genuinely nice bunch of blokes I learned a valuable lesson in my ignorance and arrogance, that any song however modest, sung with enthusiasm, passion and sheer joy will sound any bit as good as any Agnus dei or a Spem in Alium. Highly recommended.
Mark Flett
The 2007 Buxton Fringe Festival
It is an incontrovertible fact that music is good for the soul. After witnessing the Tideswell Male Voice Choir's concert in St. John's Church with its excellent acoustics, it is evident that singing must also be good for the heart, lungs and memory. Where else would one find a group of three dozen upright men including at least one octogenarian standing for a couple of hours "bustin' their hearts with melody"? The audience was treated to perennial favourites – The Rose, When the Saints Go Marching In, American Trilogy – and an offering from the more recent "Les Miserables", "Bring Him Home" with its sensitive tenor solo.
Musical Director Dennis Kay took an unusual approach to the evening's delights by demonstrating to his appreciative listeners how a Tuesday evening's rehearsal with the Choir might go, even to the extent of inviting their participation in Jerusalem (yes, that one) and a lesson in diction with Let there be peace on earth. It is easy to see how the Choir came to be awarded the silver trophy in the Male Voice Section of the 2003 Malta International Choir Festival. The rich baritone support for the soul-stirring harmonies in Jerusalem (no, not that one, but W. Walker's air from Dennis Kay's Salvation Army background with his twin brother) was glorious.
This reviewer's delight knew no bounds when the concert finished with the arrangement by internationally well-known Gwyn Arch OBE of the stirring African Trilogy, sung so sensitively that one young lady in the front row was reduced to tears. Much credit must also be given to Llinos Hodgson on the piano who has so skilfully accompanied the Choir for 23 years. She confessed that she had never before played under a large umbrella as occurred when some of the Choir gave a taster last Sunday outside the Pavilion.
It was perhaps unfortunate that with such a rich choice of events in the Festival and the Fringe concurrently, the opera audience across the road could not also applaud this most professional Choir under their charismatic Musical Director. The Choir's Gala Concert with Aled Jones at the Buxton Opera House on September 1st is almost sold out, but they give numerous performances in the surrounding area. Make a point of hearing them.
Juliet Widdowson
Updated 2 February 2010