April 2017

"SongCycle"

An evening with the accomplished male a cappella quartet 

 

There was a full house at the April meeting of Chelmsford and District Welsh Society, in anticipation of the return visit of the immensely talented Song Cycle, an “all singing all cycling male voice quartet”, who gained their love of music as young choristers at the parish church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, Brentwood. They claim that their passion for singing is matched with “a liking of real ale, good food and wine”! Since their inception in 1996 they have raised over £40500 for the Friends of Essex Churches Trust, and celebrated their 20th birthday in 2016 by singing all 150 psalms to Anglican chant in a day – 2811 verses including a Gloria to each over a period of 15 hours. Wow! Their repertoire includes sacred music and a variety of styles from Bach to the Beetles. The audience were delighted and spellbound by their performance, which included an hilarious and complicated spoken chorus, Local Geographical Fugue, about the towns and villages around Basildon and Billericay. Spoken chorus competitions are a feature of  Welsh Eisteddfodau. At the conclusion the Vice-president, Brian Farmer, thanked and congratulated the group for giving an excellent musical  performance.
The members were very happy to have Stuart Roberts back amongst them after several years’ absence due to illness. Stuart celebrated his 80th birthday by provided wine, and the Society provided  birthday cakes.