View from the Green Room: Róisín O’Grady sparkles in WMVC summer concert
Waterford Male Voice Choir performed their summer concert recently at Christ Church Cathedral.
It’s concert season again and tonight at the beautiful Christ Church, it’s the turn of the Waterford Male Voice Choir.
It’s end of term time for all local choirs and the annual summer concerts are coming thick and fast.
Conducted by the experienced Cian O’Carroll and with Cecilia Keogh a sympathetic accompanist at the piano, Waterford Male Voice Choir is a well-established singing group on the local arts scene and performs almost exclusively for charity.
They have established a strong reputation in this niche market of male voice choirs and last year celebrated its silver jubilee at a summer concert in Tramore, where many of the choir are based.
This group is more than a choir. While singing is the core of what they do – and their pride in making top-class choral work is obvious – the choir is about making friendships and, also, raising significant sums of money for charity.
The 50-strong choir has raised an astonishing €150,000 for local charitable organisations. I’m not surprised at the success of their fundraising as the choir’s members would be the darlings of any organisation raising funds.
The scripted programme this year is pretty scant on information. The performers are all listed but the numbers they sing are not, leaving us to guess much of the programme. MC Teresanne O’Reilly’s voice is as clear as a bell but, unfortunately, Teresanne is tasked with only introducing the choir and the performers but not the actual programme. There’s no point in having an excellent and experienced MC and not using her.
Singing is what this choir does and they do it well. There are some fine voices here. Musical Director Cian O’Carroll’s work is obvious. Sections are well-drilled, entries and exits are on cue and there are some interesting dynamics to keep the attention. The key to keeping your audience lies in varying the performance with elements of surprise and varying the programme by mixing the old and the new and especially the tempo. The choir’s opening numbers – although well sung – are all slow-tempo. Gounod’s “Ave Maria”, Robbie Williams’ “Angels” and a brighter and welcome “Battle Of Jericho”.
Three cousins make up local folk group Kalimbas who close out the first half of the programme. The group’s sound is a mix of folk acoustic with clever and musical harmonies that add richness to their song programme. “Streets of Derry", "Black is the Colour", "Jock Stewart", Brother” are all interesting and tuneful with a capella work that is engaging.
Here again, some up-tempo traditional ballads needed to be introduced into their mix and I was delighted when the trio closed out with that old English ballad “The Blacksmith” that almost brought me back to the powerful bodhrán thumpin’ Planxty with Andy Irvine belting out the ballad on Planxty’s debut album.
Soprano Róisín O’Grady is the star of the night and finishes her set with cries of “more” ringing around the old cathedral.
Róisín’s control and diction are a joy, her singing is effortless and her smashing soprano floats in the ether of the church.
The drama of her songs is always before us. The pleas of a young daughter to her father to marry the young boy she loves in Puccini’s “O Mio Babino Caro”, the consolation of “Bridge over Troubled Waters”, those outrageous top notes in “Think of Me” when Christine finally finds her voice in Phantom, a “Last Rose of Summer” from Moore’s melodies.
Róisín also appears for the second half and this time the smiling soprano accompanies herself on piano. Aretha Frankin’s “You make me feel like a natural woman” is a moody, broody gem, before she adieus us with “The Parting Glass”.
A good night in the old cathedral.
