Gospel Arts Concert 2008

Royal Albert Hall
Saturday 31st May

People who had gathered in anticipation of the 2008 Gospel Arts Concert at the Royal Albert Hall – together with many un-suspecting tourists! – were entertained by the Household Troops Band. Marching along the road, they took their seats in front of the Albert Memorial and presented a well-balanced programme which featured several of the band’s soloists, and included such items as “Swingtime Religion”, “Lightwalk” and “Call of the Righteous”. 

Cloudburst

Although a little light in the cornet section due to other commitments, the sound was well-balanced with good attention to dynamics. They then carried out a marching display, even though the limited space meant that in the “Cloudburst” they had to move out amongst the crowd. 

The concert itself opened with the International Staff Band playing Ivor Bosanko’s “Marching Onward”, during which this year’s overseas guests Brass of Praise from Switzerland took their seats. The visitors then presented their own swing version of the piece, “Marching Onward 2007”, as reworked by Markus Frei, their lighter sound contrasting with the fuller tones of the ISB, with added percussion and bass guitar.

Prelude

As a prelude to prayer the International Staff Songsters sang Donna Peterson’s setting of the Richard Slater song “Nothing but thy blood”, the arrangement including references to the original tune in the introduction and the coda.

Following the welcome and introductions from Cathy Le Feuvre, the Territorial Youth Choir, making its first appearance at a Gospel Arts Concert, presented three songs. “Make his praise glorious” (Robin Wolaver/Bill Wolaver) did not get off to the best of starts, largely due to the awkward layout of the accompanying forces, with brass, piano and percussion very spread out along the back of the platform and without a clear view of Ira Thomas, who was leading the choir. 

There were also a few problems with the amplification systems – which had also affected the earlier items – but these were resolved fairly quickly. The singing soon gained in confidence, full of enthusiasm and verve, although with a slight tendency to brashness at the louder dynamics.

Wordless singing

For their second contribution, they presented an extract from “Cloudbursts” by Eric Whitacre. Featuring chimes and percussion, wordless singing and various effects such as clicking fingers – together with clapping, provided by the members of the ISB – it was good to see them tackling such a modern choral work, which they certainly seemed to enjoy.

Third came “Jesus, what a Saviour” (Shannon Wexelberg arr Camp Kirkland), with some effective inflections to the melodic line and receiving a first-class performance, the young singers paying close attention to the words and presenting a full choral sound.

Brass of Praise

Brass of Praise, fresh from concerts in Hadleigh and Maidenhead, brought two items from their “Connect” programme, complete with narration and visual effects, although the impact of the latter was somewhat limited with them being displayed on screens either side of the stage rather than the all-round effect experienced in a smaller hall. “007 Light” combined the James Band theme and style with the song “This little light of mine”, whilst “Open your eyes” featured a fine vocal solo from euphonium player Daniel Maegli, and Bee Gees style singing from the group’s four male singers. 

Under their charismatic conductor Phillip Manger the band is clearly comfortable in the swing/pop style, with a particularly fine five-strong trombone section, and a lovely sound from the horns.

International Staff Songsters

The International Staff Songsters, singing from their position on the platform, thus avoiding the delay and unnecessary movement which has disrupted proceedings in some previous years, brought three contrasting items. Stuart Watson’s “Introit: Psalm 24” was given its premier performance during their visit to Hadleigh earlier this year. 

Although requiring a very capable pianist, it should be a useful addition to the repertoire, challenging to sing but perfectly accessible for the listeners. The unaccompanied rendition of George Marshall’s “My Treasure” which followed was one of the highlights of the evening. With a well-balanced sound, a wide dynamic range and clear direction from Dorothy Nancekievill which kept the music flowing, it was a welcome reminder of the wealth to be found in the archives. 

For their third item they presented a Swingle Singers style vocalisation of part of Mozart’s “Magic Flute Overture”, which called for some particularly high register singing from the sopranos. It was well-received by the audience, although the variety of vocal sounds used seemed a little distracting to this listener.

Entranced

Howard Evans, in addition to his skills as a conductor, is also an accomplished pianist, both as a sympathetic accompanist and as a soloist in his own right. His performance of Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 in C# Minor” had the audience entranced from beginning to end, with the screens giving a close-up view of both his keyboard technique and also his relaxed demeanour, always appearing calm and unflustered no matter how intricate the music became. In the quiet passages in particular the tension was palpable, and the concentration was such that one would have heard the proverbial pin drop.

Ray Steadman-Allen’s “Daystar” was premiered by massed bands as part of The Salvation Army’s International Congress in 1978. Using the hymn tune “Ascalon”, together with the melody “My Saviour suffered on the tree”, the music encompasses a wide range of styles and emotions. 

Effective

The initial statement gave the opportunity for some very smooth playing from the band, with the rising three-note figure in the basses almost menacing in its effect. Solos from Robert Foster on flugel (the ISB’s longest serving member, reported to be taking part in his final weekend with the band) and Derick Kane preceded a horn statement of the theme with delicate decoration from the cornets. The performance throughout was marked by a full, sustained sound across the band, with effective contributions from the trombone section and a majestic ending.

After the interval the congregation was invited to join in singing “Storm the forts of darkness”, the traditional tune having been reworked in Latin-American style by Nicholas Samuel, who made his own contribution to the percussion section. This led to the return of Brass of Praise with “Deep Gratitude” (Markus Frei), written as the finale to their “Connect” sequence. 

With the vocalists strengthening the percussion section, it combined two very traditional hymns, “Passion Chorale” and “Now thank we all our God”, in a far from traditional setting. Driving rhythms frequently underpinned the melodies, and a dancer on the apron stage illustrated the varying moods of the music. 

There was a striking moment when the chorale suddenly appeared on its own, without the rhythmic support, before the two melodies were combined. The finale was reminiscent of “Riverdance” as the compound time figures drove the music onward, building in tempo until the melody rang out at half speed in joyous celebration.

Turn back the clock

The ISS then proceeded to turn the clock back to the 60s when the Joystrings created quite a stir by taking the gospel to the clubs of Soho, as well as finding their way into the pop charts. Joy Webb’s “Salute to the Joystrings” brought together three of their best-known songs, “A million songs”, the reflective “Have faith in God” and concluding with the lively “Follow”. 

Transferring songs from one medium to another can be a risky process and the results can sound rather stilted, but this particular transformation worked well, with an excellent contribution from the male voices in “Have faith in God”, and some well-balanced unaccompanied passages. At the end the pianist, drummer and bass guitarist were brought to their feet to acknowledge the well-deserved applause.

Drama items

Drama items are notoriously difficult to bring off in any setting, let alone the vast expanses of the Royal Albert Hall. The contribution from the Central South Youth Cell Drama Group was an excellent example of how it should be done: entitled “The Kingdom Banquet” it incorporated humour without ever straying too far from the message, with topical references including various celebrity chefs and a young lady who suddenly exclaimed “I could be Nancy!” (a reference to a current television search for an actress to take that role in the musical “Oliver”). 

Using a minimum of props, and with each participant individually miked, the vast majority of the words came over very clearly. The group was only formed in 2007 but are clearly developing into a very capable team.

PLC

Although no longer a Salvationist, Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s parents were Salvation Army officers, and his recent composition “Vitae Aeternum” is based on Salvation Army vocal music. The outer songs are from the pen of Colonel Dick Krommenhoek, whilst the central section features Ivor Bosanko’s “His Provision”, with a magical moment where the tune is presented on muted cornets. The opening displayed Paul’s trademark runs throughout the band, with prominent percussion, notably the tubular bells and an impressive tam-tam. 

Varying tone-colours are employed, including the use of muted horns with the cornets, with solo passages for flugel and alternating between cornet and euphonium. As the music drew to a close the melody sounded triumphantly on cornets and trombones, with the return of the bells and tam-tam marking the climax.

Final Contribution

After the excitement of the ISB, Howard Evans’ return to the piano marked a change of mood. Chopin’s “Berceuse, Op 57” was very gentle and relaxed, and even as the number of notes to be played increased, Howard appeared as calm and unflustered as ever. His final contribution was one of Percy Grainger’s settings of “Londonderry Air”, associated in The Salvation Army with the words “If on my soul a trace of sin remaineth”. It was one of his less extreme harmonisations, but one which grew in intensity with each statement of the theme, making for a powerful, emotional experience.

In the absence of the Territorial Commander John Matear following the death of his mother earlier in the week, it fell to the Chief Secretary, Lt Col Bill Cochrane, to share some thoughts and to thank the participants, before offering prayer.

Bravura

The final two items featured the Territorial Youth Choir: Anthony Harris, from Bromley Corps, who made his debut with the ISS earlier in the year, was making his final appearance with the Youth choir, and he certainly went out in style as he was featured in “Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat”, taken from the musical “Guys and Dolls”. Several of the youngsters acted out the song, dressed in costume, whilst the choir participated not only by singing, but also joining in some of the choreography. 

The snippets of dialogue were well projected – hearing the phrase “Tell them what a bum you are” left one reflecting whether it was the first time that particular word had been used on such an occasion! – whilst the bravura performance of the young soloist (who has also been a member of the National Youth Choir) was one which revealed a great personality and a gift for communicating with the audience.

Closed

The evening closed with a rendition by the ISB of Erik Silfverberg’s “Shalom”: firmly based in the tradition of Jewish music, it was accompanied by slick actions from the Youth Choir, its members seated on the edge of the apron stage, as they carried out the intricate hand movements, clapping – usually the hand of the person next to themselves, and head movements. 

As if the first performance was not impressive enough, the encore – requested following a little prompting from Stephen Cobb – was taken at an even faster tempo, ending with a triumphant cry of “Hoy!” accompanied by the crisp crack of a whip from the percussion section, and with the two screens showing Derick Kane leaning even further back than usual as he hit the final high note.

Enjoyable

Thus ended one of the most enjoyable Gospel Arts concerts in recent years, with something for everyone, including the enthusiastic singing of the Youth Choir, two substantial items from the International Staff Band and the unique contribution of Brass of Praise.
 
It was only a pity that there were so many empty seats, as it would be a shame if such events cease to be economically viable: making a recording available after the event for little more than the price of a ticket is all well and good, but it is a poor substitute for being there on the day.

Peter Bale

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