Saturday 11th December marked the first concert for the Society since the outbreak of COVID.
One of our regular supporters introduced his report of the concert with these words:
After a two-year Covid enforced hiatus Ruddington & District Choral Society once more took to the concert platform in St Peter’s Church Ruddington last night (Dec 11th, 2021) – and what a return it was! Under the leadership of choir director Paul Hayward, the choir, the superb Ruddington Chamber Ensemble and the splendid young soloists from Nottingham University combined to give us a wonderful evening of glorious Baroque Christmas Music.
The Choir returned to socially distanced rehearsals in September to prepare for this concert and a few minutes before last night’s performance was due to begin Paul led the choir out of the Church and into the cold night air. Covid restrictions meant that they could not carry out their usual “warming up” exercises in the confined space of the Church vestry so it had to be done outside! I sat in the Church foyer handing out programmes to latecomers and listened as the al fresco practice drifted into the Church and out across the streets of Ruddington. So, the big question before last night’s performance was, would it all come off; the difficulties of rehearsing and putting on this performance under ever changing Covid rules were taxing for everyone, it was a step in the dark; but come off it did – magnificently!
Paul Hayward’s planned programme was a joy and a triumph, the chosen works and their performance absolutely right, not only for the Christmas season but equally importantly, perhaps, for the zeitgeist of our Covid times when for two years mankind has been chastened by the events of the pandemic and forced to ask questions about ourselves and our world. Paul’s chosen programme was not a brash, triumphalist celebration of the Christmas story but, rather, spoke of a gentler Christmas message and of the humility and reverence of the Christmas stable. This choice was portrayed beautifully by the Choir and orchestra: warm, sincere, a thing of beauty and conveying the haunting mystery of the Christmas tale.
You can read Tony’s full report at: https://tinyurl.com/yk2vuc43
If you were not able to come to this concert put Saturday 14th May in your diary when our Summer concert on the theme God Above, Man below will include works by Britten, Elgar, Jenkins, Parry, Sullivan, Tippett and Wood.