Highlight of the Week

Musical Showcase at the BBC Hoddinott Hall

It was joyous to see the return of our celebrated, St Cecilia Concert on Friday 2 December, following a three-year break. This remarkable annual event showcases our finest achievements in ensemble and choral music, whilst celebrating the significant number of pupils who choose to participate in musicmaking as part of their co-curricular enrichment at CSL.

With 200 pupils appearing in the concert, we are extremely proud of what our young musicians have worked together to achieve, their commitment to weekly rehearsals, and the strong, ongoing ethos of music which pervades Cathedral School life.

This year’s St Cecilia Festive Concert included a wide spectrum of musical ensembles and styles, with many thematic references to the season Advent and Christmas. Audience and performers greatly enjoyed the impressive professional environment of BBC Hoddinott Hall, inspiring our young musicians to deliver their music to the highest quality possible.

The first half of the concert began with Senior Orchestra (70 pupils) playing Leroy Anderson’s exuberant, Christmas Festival concert overture, a sparkling medley of colourfully orchestrated Holiday melodies, involving wide-ranging moods and instrumental textures. This was followed by a most impressive performance from our Percussion Department, the Year 8 and 9 Percussion Ensembles joining forces to play Danny Elfman’s The Simpsons, and our Year 10-13s playing El Cumbanchero with a surprise Mexican Samba to conclude, each musician donning a sombrero hat!

Our training orchestra, Sinfonia (35 pupils) had great fun with upbeat arrangements of The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) and Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Chapel Choir gave polished renderings of Palestrina’s exquisite, Alma Redemptoris Mater and Adolph Adams’ O Holy Night, demonstrating the exciting next step available to retired Cathedral Choristers (both Girls and Boys), eager to maintain and extend their love of liturgical choral singing. Concluding the first half, Cathedral Strings joined forces with our year 10-13 Rock Band in a thrilling ‘fusion’ collaboration of Eve of War (from the Musical Version of War of the Worlds) and Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) by The Darkness.

The second half began with a beautiful contribution from Cello Ensemble (10 pupils), playing Nearer, My God, to Thee, arranged by The Piano Guys, followed by It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Senior Flute Choir (18 pupils) delivered a rather sophisticated adaptation of Ding Dong Merrily. Cantemus (our Year 5-6 choir) then came to the stage (40 pupils) and proceeded to delight the audience with their fresh, exuberant voices, veritably radiating the essential fun of choral singing! Supported by rhythm and bass, Cantemus sang This Winter’s Night by Emily Barden, then He Lives in You (Disney’s The Lion King II). The punchy delivery and sincere connection with the music had fantastic impact.

Bringing the St Cecilia Festive Concert to a glorious conclusion, Senior Chamber Choir (100+ pupils) joined forces with Cantemus to deliver Bob Chilcott’s mini cantata, And Peace on Earth, supported by brass and percussion. Our professional soloist was Old Llandavian and former Chorister, Olivia Gomez. This dynamic and stylistically varied sequence of five movements (songs), all based on examples of ancient and contemporary Christmas poetry, gave our young singers plenty to enjoy, combining Chilcott’s characteristic melodiousness, luxurious harmony and choral texture, plus an abundance of Jazz, Gospel and Latin American stylistic influences. Whilst very approachable, the level of technical musical challenge was often very considerable, giving every singer plenty to enjoy. It is safe to say that the end result was gloriously impressive, not only in terms of the quality of performance achieved by school-aged singers, but also by the sheer spectacle of a combined choir of over 140 singers!

We hope that everyone enjoyed the concert. It was a remarkable showcase event which we hope will underline the quality of music being produced at CSL and will affirm to our pupils just how rewarding choral and ensemble performing can be – certainly inspiring future musical endeavours!

A complete sound recording of the concert can be enjoyed on our Soundcloud label: https://soundcloud.com/cathedral-school/sets/st-cecilia-festive-concert-2022

More photographs from the concert can be found here