Buy As You View Band

Conductor: Dr Robert Childs
Honley Male Voice Choir
Conductor: Alan Jenkins
Huddersfield Town Hall
Saturday 9th December

As the saying goes ‘If it ain't broke, why fix it?' – and that is exactly the approach that the Honley Male Voice Choir took for their 2006 Christmas Concert.

Twelve months after they received a standing ovation in the presence of their hosts, the Buy As You View Band under their conductor Dr Robert Childs returned to Huddersfield Town Hall once again as guests of the choir for this Christmas concert that whetted the appetite for the festive season ahead.

Both ensembles were on excellent form leaving the audience fully satisfied at the conclusion of the evening's concert that featured numerous seasonal favourites together with popular concert repertoire.

The band thrived on playing in one of the finest acoustics anywhere in the UK and their level of performance was at times quite outstanding right from the first notes of Paul Lovatt-Cooper's composition, ‘Where Eagles Sing' - music that was inspired by the composer's visit to Disneyland and its amazing Animal Kingdom.

Throughout the night, the band featured a number of its talented array of soloists, all of whom were on excellent form on the night.  These included, Michelle Ibbotson on soprano in ‘O Holy Night', the duet of Richard Davies and Joanne Deane in ‘Pie Jesu', principal trombone Chris Thomas in Rodney Newton's energetic composition, ‘Dick Turpin's Ride to York' and David Childs performing ‘Brillante' with consummate ease.  The band's principal horn, Owen Farr matched the standard of the other soloists on the night with an impressive performance of Karl Jenkins' ‘Salm O Dewi Sant' (Psalm for St David) from his popular composition, ‘Adiemus'.

No Christmas concert would be complete without a rendition of ‘Sleighride' and the band duly obliged with both the Leroy Anderson and Prokofiev offerings whilst the audience got the chance to dream of warmer climes with the popular ‘Caribbean Christmas'.  Within the band's final individual contribution were two marches: RB Hall's ‘New Colonial' taken at a great old stately tempo, and to leave the audience on the crest of a wave, Respighi's ‘Pines of Rome', which displayed a band sound so wonderfully controlled and that grew in stature (and immense volume) rights to its thrilling climax and conclusion.

Under the direction of one of the banding scene's familiar writers, Alan Jenkins, Honley MVC's reputation is second to none.  Celebrating 70 years this year, the choir royally rose to the occasion on the night despite bouts of sickness within the ranks that could have enforced more changes to their original programming than was actually the case.

Brian Winterbottom was in fantastic form in ‘Any Dream Will Do' having deputized for in the indisposed David Lord whilst Norman Mellor and Danny Bullett managed to put ill health to one side in giving highly commendable performances in ‘We've Been a While-a-Wandering' and ‘Santo Natale' respectively.

Further individual contributions from the choir included ‘I Saw a Maiden', ‘When a Child is Born' and 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' with the whole concert coming to a rousing conclusion with all the participants joining together in Langford's ‘A Christmas Fantasy'.

Honley's Christmas concert in Huddersfield Town Hall is always one of their highlights of the year.  The standards set were clear for all to hear from all concerned.   BAYV don't appear in the North of England too often (that said they're at the RNCM along with Morley & Huddersfield Town Halls before the end of March next year) and if they're back again soon as guests of Honley MVC, rest assured, they'll get a welcoming reception from the good folk of West Yorkshire and you'll have an enjoyable night.

Malcolm Wood

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