June 6th, 2014 -- “There's a feeling in music and it carries you back down the road you have traveled and makes you travel it again. Or it takes you back down the road somebody else has come and you can look out across the world from the hill they are standing on.”
Those words from the lyrics of Woody Guthrie’s song sum up the mood and content of the concert - Ian Hodge in concert with The St. George’s Choir - held at the St. George’s Anglican Church on the evening of Monday 2nd June 2014.
The selection of favourite songs of diverse genres known by various generations brought an air of sentimentality to the concert. Whether they came from the Sacred, Secular or Lullaby Section... they were songs we knew and loved, and they caused us to reflect on the good times we had when we fervently sang each song in times past.
“Drink to me only with thine eyes,” “The Ash Grove,” and “The Lass with the Delicate Air” brought on feelings of nostalgia, while spirituals like “Steal Away” and “Oh Freedom” stirred up the deep emotion of historical times. Even when the words meant nothing as did the Latin song “Panicus Angelicus”, the beauty of the music and the rendition by Ian Hodge and The Choir were just as enjoyable, and confirmed the oft repeated truism that ‘music crosses all barriers’.
But while the selection of the content from operatic to folk to lullabies resonated with the audience, the talent and skills of the soloists and accompanists deepened the feelings of appreciation which sometimes became awesome.
The strength and confidence of the voice of vocalist and voice instructor, Ian Hodge, supplemented the enjoyment of the audience but the range of voice of soprano Ms Pauline Herbert awed the attendees and brought spontaneous and prolonged applause.
There was no doubt at all that the accompanists, in the persons of Drs. Louise and Caroline Lawrence, Rev. Jeremy Francis and Mr. Christian Nathaniel, loved their craft. They made the music their own and their interpretations and renditions enriched the selections and made them all the more enjoyable. In Christian Nathaniel’s rendition of Jericho, one could almost hear the walls of Jericho falling due to his skilful manipulation of the notes on the piano.
Kudos must go to MC Dawn Mills for her comfortable and conversational handling of the programme which put the audience at ease. In addition, the historical background she gave to each composer and song made the evening an educational one as well.
One drawback from this eclectic mix was the selection of local compositions which were somewhat mediocre and came over as tokenism.
All in all, the evening was an enjoyable one and the fair-sized audience loved the renditions. We express appreciation to all who ushered the programme to its fruition. We need more of these pure, uplifting evenings.
John Denver made this observation which we can easily agree with... "Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same."~ John Denver ~
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