A Not-So-Silent Night
Suffice to say, if the Trinity Singers knocked on my door, I would definitely brave the cold to listen
According to the ever-reliable source that is Wikipedia, the word ‘carol’ actually means a song or dance of praise and joy; I felt this even before the Trinity Singers filed into the Chaplaincy dressed in black and clutching their songsheets. It goes without saying that more or less anything would sound atmospheric in the chapel with its ornate vaulted ceilings and narrow wooden pews. However, I was taken aback by quite how beautiful the singers sounded when they opened with ‘Gaudete,’ the concert’s “title track”. Thought to have been composed in the 16th century, this sacred Christmas carol certainly set the tone for the evening - the skin on my forearms was immediately pulled to gooseflesh. The second song launched us into the 21st century with Eric Whitacre’s version of ‘Sleep’ from 2006. Again, this was hauntingly beautiful, rising and falling from stirring crescendo to hypnotic piano. We had a bit of Spanish flavour next with ‘The Infant King,’ a Basque carol from 1895. As with the two carols before, this too had a hypnotic feel to it.
I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that I got a bit tearful during the opening to ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, as it is one of my favourite carols - Bombay Bicycle Club and Marika Hackman have both done gorgeous covers of it, but nothing came close to the delicacy of the choir’s rendition. This seems ironic given that there are seventy members, but is testament to both the singers and the conductor. Tchaikovsky’s ‘Legenda (The Crown of Roses)’ was next, with just half of the choir participating; they moved closer to the audience, which only served to add to the intimacy.
‘Away in a Manger’ did not begin as expected: low humming slowly built up and up, complementing the beautiful solo by Alice Marcoux, but also not overpowering her – she had the entire chapel on the edge of their seats. Next up was a staple of any carol concert: ‘Silent Night’ is hard to get wrong, really, but they absolutely nailed it. ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ definitely brought me tidings of comfort and joy, and the contrast between the male and female vocals were beautiful. The Sir David Willocks version that the choir sought to emulate has an organ accompaniment, but it wasn’t necessary here: the choir could definitely speak - or sing - for themselves. ‘Ding Dong! Merrily On High’ brought the mood up yet again, and it was hard not to smile throughout. If there is any carol that sounds especially amazing with a large-scale choir, it’s this one. It certainly put my solo violin rendition of it to shame.
Nothing beats a bit of audience participation, and this is exactly what the choir indulged us in, inviting the congregation to stand and join in with renditions of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’. Despite being neither religious or a competent singer, it was nonetheless a delight to feel as though you were joining in in some small way. It certainly beat bopping around and singing tunelessly to Michael Bublé in my bedroom. As we sat back down, the syrupy-sweet slowness of ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ set in; I briefly felt like I was living inside a snowglobe.
The enthusiastic jingling of bells as this song drew to a close foreshadowed that which came next. What followed was definitely the most humorous section of the evening, enthusiastic ‘ha-ha-ha’s’ and ‘hey’s’ making for a very entertaining listen. For such a complex composition - the Ralph Allwood version - they held it together very well, and my only complaint was that it was over too quickly. The singers took their first bow, but the standing ovation and rapturous applause was indication enough that we wanted more. Their final tune was probably one of the sassiest and most foot-tapping-friendly carols I’ve heard: ‘Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel’. The song has no known author, so the choir suitably made it their own. They certainly went out with a bang, and after another round of clapping and cheering, we all filed out into the brisk cold of the main quad.
As this performance was a once-off, I can’t retrospectively recommend that you go along, but consider this a recommendation for carol concerts in general: no matter the calibre or the setting, I implore anyone not to feel festive afterwards. Next week is the Trinitones’ turn to show us what they’re made of as they perform on Tuesday in the Trinity college chapel. If you can’t make it out to a concert yourself or were at the concert but want to relive the magic, then here is the setlist for the choir so you can experience the magic from the comfort of your bed:
‘Gaudete’ – Tenebrae
‘Sleep’ – Eric Whitacre/Eric Whitacre Singers
‘The Infant King’ – Traditional Basque
‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ – Worcester Cathedral Choir
‘Legenda (Crown of Roses), Op.54, No.5’ – Tchaikovsky
‘Away in a Manger’ – Ola Gjeilo, Flemish Radio Choir
‘Silent Night’ – Sir David Willcocks
‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ – Sir David Willcocks
‘Ding Dong! Merrily On High’ – Simon Preston, The Choir of Westminster Abbey
‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ – Worcester Cathedral Choir
‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ – Felix Mendelssohn
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ – Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
‘Jingle Bells’ – arr. Ralph Allwood
‘Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel’ – DU Chamber Singers
(Credit to Ella from the Trinity Singers for the playlist!)
Below find my alternative Christmas covers playlist – slightly more ‘pop’:
‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ – Bombay Bicycle Club
‘Last Christmas’ – Slaves
‘Silent Night’ – Ben Howard
‘Winter Wonderland’ – Marika Hackman
‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ – Hozier
‘Walking in the Air’ – The Maccabees
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ – Sam Smith
‘Joel the Lump of Coal’ – The Killers
‘Jingle Bells’ – Michael Buble
‘Winter Winds’ – Mumford & Sons (I have decided that for all intents and purposes, this is a Christmas song)
