Handel’s famous chorus Halleluiah! was originally performed by just a handful of singers. And so it will be again at Nant-y-Ffîn Motel in Llandissilio on Friday, 15th April at 7.15 pm. But it’ll sound like a much bigger choir – and the orchestra will be invisible.
Saint Cledwyn’s Singers are including the work in a charity concert in memory of the Revd Anthony Bailey, who died last autumn after many years’ service to church and community in west Wales. The proceeds will go to his favourite charity, Pembrokeshire’s own Paul Sartori Foundation, which provides equipment and care for the terminally ill in their own homes.
What’s different about this event is the use of modern digital technology to make the choir sound much bigger than it really is. And the orchestra – cunningly styled Virtualosi – play inside a computer.
Digital music techniques have transformed the way composers work,’ says conductor Jonathan Copus. ‘For instance, most film and television scores nowadays are generated by computer rather than recorded by real players. That has its downside, but it does mean small choirs like ours can perform big works without the expense of hiring live musicians, and so make more money for charity.’
Not all the music will be on a grand scale. The concert includes a singalong of 1940s songs such as The Anniversary Waltz, Daisy, Daisy and The way you look tonight, as well as Welsh and English folk songs sung by soprano Becky Davies. Clarinettist Miriam Menhennett and pianist Peter Carder complete the trio of soloists.
Tickets (£5) are available on the door, and there will be a raffle and a retiring collection as well – all in aid of the Paul Sartori Pembrokeshire Hospice at Home project.
