Choir’s Belgium tour is hailed a golden success...
“I AM very proud that you come from Loughborough”
So said Coun David Gaskell, Mayor of Charnwood.
Loughborough Male Voice Choir has just returned from Belgium where, as part of the ongoing cele- bration of their 50th anniversary, they gave a series of very successful concerts.
The tour began with a reception at the town hall in Gembloux followed by a concert attended by Benoît Dispa, the Mayor of Gembloux and Coun David Gaskell, the current Mayor of Charnwood together with his wife Jan.
The performance began with a recital by ‘Curioso’, an a capella ensemble from Lonzée who set a very high standard.
The Loughborough Male Voice Choir, under the direction of their Musical Director Chris Hill, then gave a well balanced concert, the highlight being a fine performance of the famous duet ‘Au Fond du Temple Saint’, from Georges Bizet’s ‘The Pearl Fishers’, by the choir’s principal tenor Lyndon Gardner and baritone Paul Blakemore.
After a good lunch, provided by the town hall of Gembloux, the Choir travelled to Corroy Le Château for a concert in St Lambert’s church. Here the Choir was aided by a sympathetic acoustic and a very appreciative audience.
The concert began with fine performances by the choirs of Lonzée and Corroy le Château. Loughborough Male Voice Choir then delivered a very contrasting programme of music ranging from the beautiful polyphony of William Byrd’s ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ to the exuberance of Neil Sedaka’s ‘Is this the way to Amarillo?’
The Choir received a standing ovation and were called upon to give a double encore.
The following day the Choir gave a lunchtime concert in Lonzée in conjunction with Gembloux’s very talented choir ‘Canticorum’.
Once again the Choir received a standing ovation from an extremely warm and friendly audience before being provided with a splendid lunch by the Epinal Twinning Group of Gembloux.
The last concert of this short tour, but by no means the least, was given in the Église de Bourgeois at Rixensart. The choir’s hosts were ‘La Guitarelle’ and this local choir set the standard for the evening concert with a very fine performance of the renaissance piece ‘Bonjour mon Coeur’ by Orlando de Lassus.
Once again Loughborough Male Voice Choir gave a wide ranging programme with music by Vaughan-Williams, Schubert, Byrd, along with many more traditional male voice pieces.
Rarely can a choir have enjoyed such a marvellous reception from their audience and it was not confined to the concert venue.
After the performance ‘La Guitarelle’ provided the Choir with supper at Rixensart Town Hall where the wine and bonhomie flowed in equal measure. ‘La Guitarelle’ will be performing once again with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir when they visit the UK in June.
The concert will be held at 7.30pm on June 3 at Birstall Methodist Church on Wanlip Lane; all proceeds will be for The Bark Foundation, a charity that supports an orphanage and baby unit in Cameroon.