Sparkly earrings? Check!

Obscenely heavy folder full of sheet music and carol books? Check!

Gallon of peppermint tea to try ward off the cold that’s looming for just one more night? CHECK!

We all know what’s coming: t’is the season for Vivamus’ Christmas concert!

I’ve been in Vivamus for a couple of  years now and have had the pleasure of singing in a wide array of concerts. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favourite – but for sheer good fun, Christmas is always at the top of the list, and this year was no exception.

Imagine: the audience have taken their seats, whispered conversations echoing and programmes rustling. They’re waiting for the choir to arrive, admiring the glorious Christmas tree at St Clement Danes church. The lights are low, the pews are full, and the Christmas lights twinkle in the twilight.

We climb the steps from the crypt, anticipation building, and take our place at the back of the church (okay, the anticipation stutters slightly as we mill around trying to work out where we should stand in order to process to the front of the church in the right spots…). Then the lights dim, a hush falls, Rufus gestures with gusto and we begin: James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn.

What a sublime way to start. The majesty of the opening, the richness of the harmonies, the delicate, swooping soprano and alto lines contrasting with the fuller sections – it’s such a beautiful piece. A friend of mine in the audience described it as “truly angelic”.

We then sang Once in Royal David’s City in a traditional processional to the front of the church, and played the fun game of ‘try to spot your pals’ – a futile exercise for me since I never remember to put my glasses on! Hopefully audience members were uplifted rather than puzzled by me grinning at them randomly…

Next came a riotous programme of everything from Greg Lake’s pop banger I Believe in Father Christmas to a haunting arrangement of We Three Kings by Martin Hindmarsh. Personal highlights for me were Will Todd’s beautifully peaceful My Lord Has Come; a folky 3-time arrangement of Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day that Rufus found in a charity shop; and the looks of scepticism and fear on the audience’s faces as they were split into three parts to join in with John Gardner’s jolly arrangement of The Holly and the Ivy. Their panic quickly turned to pride as they smashed it! And of course, Richard Hills’ magnificent organ solo, weaving familiar Christmas carols with musical jokes, the notes cascading through the church.

We ended with O Come All Ye Faithful, singing with the audience, and then a zip-quick encore of Jingle Bells. It was such a pleasure to come together to sing one of my favourite carols with its incredible descant, and I really felt joyful.

The concert ended, we took our bows, and I rushed down the aisle to find my loved ones. Western classical music is not necessarily my friends’ go-to genre for a concert, so persuading them to come along can be a challenge, requiring occasional bribery and/or threats… but only once! After attending one concert, friends are always keen to come again.

In all seriousness, this is testament to the engaging, innovative and accessible programme that our musical director Rufus and the choir committee put together. I’m now feeling very Christmassy, in massive thanks to Vivamus’ Christmas concert!

See what’s coming next for Vivamus.

Post written by Helen McGlade.