“Spirit of Advent” concert delights listeners in Verona

Dec 10, 2014

For about 40 years, Trinity United Church in Verona has been giving a choral Advent concert as a “gift to the community” and this year’s concert proved yet again to be a delightful and memorable gift. The choir was made up of the combined choirs of St. Paul's/Trinity United in Verona, St. Paul's Anglican church in Sydenham and singers from the local community.

As listeners filled the beautiful church sanctuary, they were treated to music by the flute quartet Toute Ensemble, who set the mood for the evening.

The choir opened with a processional, singing “O Come O Come Emmanuel”, then invited the audience to join in “O Come All Ye Faithful”.

The choir was led by their long time conductor, Annabelle Twiddy with members of the choir also directing on a number of selections.

The program included a delightful dramatization of the festive carol “Good King Wenceslas”, featuring Ralph McInnes as the king and the talented young singer Ava Ludlow as the page, joined on stage by a young cast of characters.

The audience was invited to join in for a number of traditional carols including “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “Silent Night” and others. Brad Barbeau, organist at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Sydenham, accompanied the choir for one dramatic selection and choir member Tom Mawhinney conducted “One Day”, a song that he composed especially for the concert. The repertoire included songs from a number of musical genres and time periods, including an upbeat version of “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem”, the dramatic Laudate Dominum by Honegger, the gorgeous Coventry Carol from the early 1500s, the Irish traditional Wexford Carol and the French folk song “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”.

As usual the soprano/alto/tenor bass choir dramatically expressed through song the diverse emotions that the festive season brings. The addition of a number of new singers to this year’s community choir also brought an added dimension to the sound. One of the most moving selections came at the concert’s finale when the singers lined the aisles of the sanctuary and performed a moving version of J. Purifoy's Christmas Blessing, enveloping the listeners in their sound and bringing the audience to their feet in a heart felt standing ovation. Following the concert the audience was invited to share in refreshments, and many congratulated the singers, accompanists and their fearless leader Annabelle for what has become one of most beloved concerts of the festive season.