Michael Reckord, Contributor
WINSTON SILL, Freelance Photographer -
Cecil Cooper (tenor) performing at 'Joy To The World', an evening of music at the Ballroom of King's House on Sunday.
DURING THE first half of the last century, regular concerts called 'Pleasant Sunday Afternoons' used to be held around the island. That name would have been perfect for last Sunday's concert at King's House, an affair which occasioned a very pleasant afternoon indeed.
The actual name for the concert was 'Joy to the World', taken from the well-known Christmas carol, one of nearly three dozen musical items in the concert. The only spoken contribution to the concert per se came from Rev. Easton Lee, who read two of his poems.
Framing the concert were words of welcome to the well dressed audience which packed the concert venue, the King's House ballroom, and closing remarks, largely words of appreciation and thanks. The welcome came from Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke, the thanks from Lady Cooke.
THE PLEASURE
The pleasure of the function came largely from the music, a good mix of popular and 'art' items delivered by as good a mix of amateur and professional performers. But the beauty of the gigantic ballroom with its two glittering chandeliers and eight ceiling fans, its two colourfully decorated Christmas trees, the wreaths of (artificial) flowers above all seven entrances and the highly polished floor also made its contribution.
Though scheduled for 5:00 p.m., the concert started 20 minutes late (has the 'Jamaica time' culture infected King's House?) with the entry of Their Excellencies and the singing of the National Anthem - by the audience. This was the first of many times in which the audience would participate in the singing, a feature which also helped us enjoy ourselves.
In his welcoming remarks, Sir Howard alluded to the fact that Lady Cooke was one of the organisers of the concert. The other was Mr Lloyd Hall, who doubled as the announcer and chief pianist.
MOVING QUICKLY
Once the programme got started, things moved quickly. A boy, Bryan Stewart, led the singing of the first item, the Christmas hymn 'Once in Royal David's City', with St Andrew and St Jude Singers and the audience joining in after verse 1. Everyone also sang 'Joy to the World'.
Next, 14 or 15 youngsters forming a Violin Ensemble from The Music House performed, amateurishly (but then they are amateurs), three or four short pieces; followed by a sweet-sounding, 20-strong Girls' Choir from St Richard's Primary School doing three songs.
The assured playing of the talented, tiny Jessica Yapp (violin) of Bach and Brahms pieces lifted the standard of the music considerably. It was kept there by the next two performers, Dr Lucette Cargill (soprano), who sang arias from Puccini and Gounod, and Cecil Cooper (tenor), who sang Lalo's Aubade.
VERSATILE
Then came the versatile soprano Velia Espeut actress and singer of show tunes, soca and classical music who notched the quality up to another level with two Puccini arias. She put her heart into her performance in a way that the final performer for Part 1 of the concert, flautist Nicholas Laraque, also did with his items by Gossec and Kreisler to the audience's great delight.
Before Laraque, came Andrew Cavell (clarinet) with Hall on piano doing Weber's Concertino for clarinet and piano, a lovely piece, and then youngsters Anna Bethune and Judi Ann Wray on violins with pieces by Bach and Purcell.
A sudden quick shower of rain tried to help the organisers keep the intermission short, but even though it sent those who had gone onto the lawns to sample the refreshments provided on tables and tents rushing back in, the intermission still went way past the ten minutes Mr Hall requested.
Marjorie Whylie opened the second half with drumming on congas, then Rev. Lee evoked much laughter and nostalgia for the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas past, and of old time Jamaica generally, with his poems Childhood Memory and The Smell and the Taste.
Amateur singers from St Jude's church gave pleasant enough renditions of three pop songs, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Misty and What a Wonderful World, then the very audience-friendly singer Kevin Williams insisted on audience participation for his versions of Mary's Boy Child and C is for Christmas.
Then followed a superb duet performance of Offenbach's Barcarolle by Laraque and Cavell on their respective instruments. This was one of the high points of the evening.
The concert was drawing to a close when, as if warmed up, Cooper and Cargill put more of themselves into their solos, The Impossible Dream and I Feel Pretty, respectively. Espeut returned with three powerfully delivered spirituals and then - assisted by surprise performer Albert Shaun Hird on flute - a soulful Santa Maria (Schubert).
The final item was O holy Night sung by Cargill, Cooper, Espeut and Williams with the audience joining in. After that, Lady Cooke gave her vote of thanks for what all certainly felt had been a very pleasant Sunday evening.
