Levens Choir held their 50th anniversary concert at the Carver Uniting Church in Windermere, and it was a glorious event.
A substantial and enthusiastic audience heard a wide variety of composers from Monteverdi to Elgar to Tippett.
The choir, its large complement of singers ranged into an arc, split the evening into two sections.
During the first, they celebrated their strong connection to local landscapes and communities, through Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Arthur Somerville, the latter born in Windermere.
The choir’s voices soared during these vocal miniatures with inflexions of renaissance madrigals, as soloists were wowing the audience with their pitch perfect musical lines soaring above their fellow female and male choristers.
Of special note were the three modern partsongs of the Penrith born Phillip Cooke.
His composition to the words of AE Houseman, How clear, how lovely, was particularly beautiful, and the lilting voices of the choir gave it particular poignancy.
The second half of the concert was devoted to the favourite musical moments of the choir members sung in preceding years.
Their choices ranged from the17th century of Italy to the late 20th century of Britain, showcasing their incredible range and versatility.
Particularly memorable were Monteverdi’ Cantate Domino, along with O Clap Your Hands by Orlando Gibbons, Tippett’s Steal Away, alongside the unjustly neglected Imogen Holst’s A Hymn to Christ and finally Crossing the Bar by Rani Arbo, which showed off the choir’s vocal precision and innate musicality.
It was a perfect way to finish.
The choir was led by its inspirational music director Gawain Glenton.
While at the helm these past three years, he has inspired the singers of the choir to perform an ever expanding repertoire of music.
This was amply demonstrated and more in the concert.
Ian Jones, the founder and long term director of the choir, also conducted a lovely cameo of Valiant for Truth by Vaughan Williams with the choir.
