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Carols by Candlelight

The shimmering light of a thousand candles softly illuminated the cold, expectant faces of those who had braved the December chill to make their way to The Royal Hospital School’s Carols by Candlelight concert.

As the shufflings and murmurings of the huddled audience gradually subsided, the Chapel’s ethereal atmosphere was transformed in an instant by a rich, warm chord from the Reade Brass Ensemble, heralding the opening of A Winter’s Night – A Cantata for Christmas by Celia McDowall.

Under the baton of the Director of Music, Mr William Saunders, and featuring the voices of The Holbrook Choral Society and the RHS Chapel Choir, this selection of five interwoven carols transported the audience from 15th Century France to 20th Century England, via Germany and Austria.  Concluding with a fresh setting of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sussex Carol, this new work set the bar high for the evening.

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As the applause died down, the guest speaker, Mr Griff Rhys Jones, slowly made his way high into the pulpit, from where he was to offer a number of expertly delivered readings throughout the evening, starting with A Christmas Carol by Christina Georgina Rossetti.

The choirs and full orchestra then burst into John Rutter’s Nativity Carol and Mary’s Lullaby, which in turn, and by way of contrast, gave way to the Nutcracker Suite medley.  This musical personification of the Festive season was delivered with flair and style by the School Organist, Mr Drew Cantrill.

Following a beautifully introspective performance of Edward Elgar’s The Snow by the Reade Vocal Ensemble, two violins and piano, it was the turn of the audience to raise the roof with the David Willcocks’ arrangement of Good King Wenceslas.  This was the first of three Willcocks arrangements to be featured during the evening – a fitting tribute to a monumental musician who sadly passed this year.

The concert’s second half commenced with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ masterly Fantasia on Christmas Carols, which featured the velvety bass tones of Mark Saberton and was accompanied by chorus, organ and orchestra.  A treat for any RVW fan, the featured carols were enhanced by trademark parallel chords from the strings and an unmistakeable folksongesque quality from the voices.

A whirlwind of readings from Griff Rhys Jones and vocal items followed – the latter being memorable for the sheer depth of talent that is present at RHS – Ben Banks of Year 12 soloed in Herbert Howells’ A Spotless Rose, as did Sacha Robson in a moving new setting of In the Bleak Mid-Winter by Richard Allain.

These items were conducted by the school’s Head of Academic Music, Miss Alice Reidy, and were the precursor to the evening’s grand finale of Willcocks’ triumphant setting of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, replete with soaring brass fanfare, descant, and of course, audience participation.

All in all a Christmas concert to be remembered, and one that can be summed up in the words of Griff Rhys Jones himself:  “It was a great pleasure to be able to appear with such a tremendous and talented group of people. The music was brilliant and the whole evening enchanting.”

Submitted by: Richard Harvey – Bandmaster at RHS

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