BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WHAT happens when people who love to sing are allowed to sing the songs they love?
Sounds burst forth from their hearts and lungs and fill the air with exhilarating music.
This is what happened on Sunday night (June 12, 2011) at the Methodist School Hall when the CFBC Chorale Ensemble staged their Summer Concert entitled ‘Songs We Love To Sing’.
Confident in their voices, the students were able to bring sweetness and jubilation to the lyrics they sang.
The programme was divided into three genres: In The Spirit featuring spiritual, gospel and religious themes; In The Mood featuring love songs and moody laments; and In The Groove featuring popular, ageless songs from past and present musical greats like Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and King Konris.
In The Spirit: From the outset, the singers made the audience sit up with their joyful rendition of ‘There is power’ and their passionate output continued into the other songs even when they became solemn songs of testimony and surrender. In these religious renditions they could easily compete with any Senior Church choir here and beyond.
In The Groove: These ‘bluesy’ tunes were mainly done by soloists in the persons of Karisha Willett, Oslyn Ward, Jewel Wattley, Charles Miller Jr. and James Morris. Each soloist sang with confidence and sensitivity and was warmly applauded, so enthralled were patrons with their mature renditions.
In The Mood: The singers maintained the same energy and feeling that marked their renditions in the two previous genres. By the time they reached the penultimate Abba songs, the audience was totally immersed in the harmony and joy of the music, and could not resist singing along with them. The concert ended with the plaintive Michael Jackson ‘Will you be there’ song and the happy, jumpy ‘Sunday J’Ouvert’ by ‘King’ Konris Maynard, local calypso icon.
A large percentage of praise for this highly successful concert must go to Musical director and conductor of the CFBC Choral Ensemble, Gairy Knight. In this concert he appeared to direct and conduct the choir from his piano stool, and through really skilful playing of the piano. In doing this, he seemed to be pumping rhythmic energy directly into the singers while still enriching the pauses with ripples of notes and tinkling of bells. Kudos must also go to the guitarist and drummer who accompanied him in selected songs.
The CFBC Chorale Ensemble did take the audience to ‘higher ground’ and ‘there was something in the air that night’ that would make the audience want ‘to do it all again’. It was indeed a night that would make any audience member feel proud to be a Kittitian just to be able to boast of an association with those outstanding youthful voices. We hope that very soon CFBC Chorale will produce an album of their very own.
The CFBC Choir is currently raising funds for a brief tour of Barbados (July 7-11). They are asking nationals to support their final fundraiser on Friday July 1st by purchasing a take-away dinner at the Burdon Street Campus of the College from 7.00 p.m. They are truly deserving of this support and we know that they will do us proud in Barbados.
