The 118th Petersfield Musical Festival was splendidly launched on Friday 14 March, with an enthusiastic capacity audience entertained by two long-standing groups based in the area: Liss Band, conducted by Mike Pennicotte-Henrie, in its 50th anniversary season, and the Hampshire Police Male Voice Choir, conducted by Geoffrey Porter, which has origins (as its compere, David Poole, proudly pointed out) stretching back to 1940.
After the National Anthem, Liss Band’s compere, Rev. Will Hughes, set the scene – as he did for all the band’s items – with a blend of seriousness and humour that invited the audience both to laugh and think, and alerted them to what to listen out for in the music.
Alan Fernie’s Intrada Festiva is a spirited arrangement of the student drinking song Gaudeamus igitur. As they got into their stride, the band were splendidly sonorous and rhythmic in the powerful sections; a little less confident when the music was slower and more lightly scored.
Steve Kemp was the magnificent soloist in Ben Hollings’ Sunrise, a folksy and evocative picture depicting the change from the glimmer of dawn to bright sunlight, which was followed by Darren Shaw’s ‘Guardian of my Soul’, a meditation on two hymns, written for the Salvation Army.
The conductor could be seen encouraging the young drummer, Lois Beattie, whom he later commended to the audience for her fine contribution to the band. The band’s first set finished with Michael Ball’s Cambrian Suite, a competition test piece which put the band through its paces, with every section coming to the fore in the central ‘Cradle Song’, and cross-rhythms, close-harmony and nifty finger work from the cornets in ‘The Rising of the Lark’.
Hampshire Police Male Voice Choir’s first set opened with the jazzy rhythms and close harmony of ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ accompanied by Siân Bibby-Hsia, one of the choir’s two pianists, followed by their tribute to the rugby world cup – ‘World in Union’ – sung with first-rate diction and an expression that held the audience captivated.
Nigel Smith took over as pianist, and soccer had its turn, with an entertaining performance of ‘When all the Saints’, full of gusto and dynamic contrast and cheekily book-ended by the Pompey Chimes on the piano.
The set ended with two great opera choruses by Verdi. In ‘Speed your journey’, from Nabucco, the choir’s pitch sank a little, the only time in the evening that this happened, perhaps because the quiet piano accompaniment could not be heard from the stage.
There was no such trouble when the singers shed their uniforms (metaphorically speaking, that is) in favour of the garb of Spanish gypsy metal-workers in a powerful rendition of the Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore, complete with percussion.
The Police Choir continued after the interval, with an introduction by David Poole that paid tribute to the late Simon Blumlein, long-time Petersfield resident, supporter of all things musical and tireless advocate for full recognition of the work of his father Alan Blumlein, inventor of stereo sound (among much else).
‘Fly me to the Moon’ had rich harmonies and a stylish piano accompaniment, and swung into a foot-tapping rhythm. Romberg’s ‘Drinking Song’ from The Student Prince showed the singers already keen to get to the bar (of which more later . . .) while Robat Arwyn’s ‘Guardian Angel’ (the theme tune of the Welsh Air Ambulance) was firmly in the great tradition of Welsh male-voice singing.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘We sail the ocean blue’ made a short, cheery stop-over between the Welsh valleys and Vienna, the scene of Johann Strauss’s ‘Radetzky March’. This was right up the choir’s street, and came off with a great sense of style – shared by the audience, who duly followed the conductor’s lead in clapping quietly or loudly, as instructed.
Liss Band’s second set started gently, with the warm sound of Paul Henry’s euphonium solo in Barry Manilow’s ‘One Voice’. In a beautiful build-up of sound, conductor Mike Pennicotte-Henrie carefully brought different sections of the band into prominence.
Barbra Streisand’s hit song ‘Why did I choose you’ was the perfect vehicle for young trombonist Jamie Bland – splendidly warm and expressive on the melody and agile and showy in an up-tempo verse.
The band were in their element with the clear, tuneful style of Jan van der Roost’s ‘Arsenal’ – nothing to do with football, as Will Hughes explained, but named after the historic origins of a Belgian band. He went on to give us an evocative background to Lennon and McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’ – the second band piece of the evening to have come to the composer in a dream – which really put the audience in the mood to appreciate the characterful playing. The set ended with the most upbeat piece of the evening, an infectiously rhythmic account of Mr Blue Sky.
Enthusiastic applause was rewarded with an encore from Liss Band – a final burst of the ‘Floral Dance’ – to send everyone happily on their way home, or to the bar, where, as is their custom, the members of the Police Choir enjoyed their sense of camaraderie and entertained the drinkers with unaccompanied songs, just for the pleasure of it.
Philip Young
