Oriana Chorale in Gunning

Focus Group members and guests at the recent Sunday afternoon concert in the Gunning Courthouse by the Oriana Chorale were treated to a wonderful session of unaccompanied singing.  Larger than life conductor Tobias Cole provided an introduction to the various items on the program before launching enthusiastically into the conductor's role.  He made a carefully toned down translation of the piece "Matona mia cara" in which a German soldier serenades his love below her window, promising that his manly prowess would bring her a night of sensual delight!

The "Hymn to St Cecilia" was most beautifully wrought by the nearly thirty strong a cappella choir.  St Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and each voice had the opportunity to shine.  The words were from a poem written by W H Auden who met the composer Benjamin Britten in the US during WWII.  Britten started composing this piece in 1942 and finished it aboard the ship MS Axel Johnson as he returned to England.  In a curious twist that perhaps reflects our current disquiet with terrorism, on an earlier attempt to return to England, all his manuscripts were confiscated by Customs officials because they thought it could all be in code, a wartime concern.

The rather sombre black attire of the choir members formed a sharp contrast to the satorially splendid striped shirt and enormous cuffs of the charismatic conductor Tobias Cole.  A treat for the ear and the eye!  The encore was a fantastical delight with no words, just a series of musical sounds that rippled along interspersed with loud shouts of "Hey" - the audience delighted in it.  If the choir returns to sing for us again - make sure you don't miss the treat.