How better to enter into the spirit of Christmas than by attending a special evening with London’s award-winning King’s University College Chamber Choir.
A group of us Sisters made the two-minute trip to the magnificent chapel at our former home, Windermere on the Mount.
Upon entering, we were bathed in the serenity of the setting. Against a backdrop of plush blue and green backlit panel draping, the grand piano, violins, viola, and cello sat ready. The musicians took their places. The uplifting tone of the evening was set. Talented conductor, Janet Loo, stepped onto the dais, and thirty-nine beautifully gowned and suited sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses walked across the stage and stood on the tiers before us. Thus began an exhilarating selection of intricate choruses to ring in the festal season. In the acoustically superb chapel, the crystal-clear voices in multiple harmony soared and descended in beautiful choral renditions from a tingling, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”, to “Rosa Mystica” and the haunting, “Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming”. In a change of pace, there was eager audience participation with the ever old ever new, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”.
In one seamless evening of outstanding repertoire, we left the world of noise behind us and lived suspended in peace and calm. As the performance ended and we headed back into the night, we were uplifted to have spent an evening where music nourished our inner selves. It was calm for our souls, pride for our hearts and a blessing to witness such outstanding musical talent.
Sister Jean Moylan, csj