As part of its 60th anniversary year, the choir found itself in a new venue on Thursday, June 10. Conducted by Musical Director, Elaine Tangye, and accompanied by regular pianist, George Smith, the choir sang twice to a gratifyingly large audience on the cool and windy opening day of the Royal Cornwall Show at Wadebridge.

The programme was a varied selection from the choir’s repertoire. It included music from opera (Wagner’s Roman War song from ‘Rienzi’; Puccini’s Nessun Dorma and Lloyd-Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar); hymns (How Great Thou Art, God’s Choir and For the brave and loyal); spirituals (He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother; Amen and an American Trilogy) and the Song of the Jolly Roger and two Cornish songs (Hail to the Homeland and Trelawny). “The choir sang well – after St Mawes last week, it is becoming used to open-air concerts – and the large stage helped each part of the choir to blend among themselves and hear what the others were singing,” said Elaine Tangye. “The audience seemed to enjoy what it heard, and it was encouraging to see that passers-by stayed once they had been attracted by the music.”

The choir sang to an audience which nearly filled the parish church of St Minver on Sunday. St Minver is the birth-place of Goff Richards, the musician and composer – and Bard – who has devoted a lifetime to music in Cornwall. The choir was conducted by Elaine Tangye and accompanied by pianist, George Smith. Chairman of the concert was Ray Shaddick.

The choir began with two pieces arranged or composed by Goff Richards: Let There Be Light and West of the Tamar. Other songs in the first half of the choir’s programme were Little Tommy Went a-Fishing (an American song with a twist in the tail); the Song of the Jolly Roger; Hail to the Homeland; the late Keith Aldridge’s Cornwall, I Love Thee, and the hymn ‘ow Great Thou Art.

The second half started with the rousing Roman War Song from Wagner’s opera Rienzi. This was followed by the unaccompanied Close Thine Eyes; Proper Job; two religious pieces: God’s Choir and the Lord’s Prayer; Take Me Home (a Welsh spiritual), and pieces from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The concert ended with male choristers from the audience joining the choir in Morte Criste and Trelawny. Guest artist was Chris Treglown (Goff Richards’ great nephew, also of St Minver) who sang songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals and South Pacific.

“We had not been to St Minver for 14 years” said Elaine Tangye after the concert, “and it was good to be back. It was an extra pleasure to sing Goff Richards’ music in his own parish church and to an enthusiastic audience which included his sister, Joyce Buse. He would have been happy to hear how well the choir blended, particularly in the quiet passages.” The choir also sang in the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth on Monday, June 14. The next concert will be in aid of the RNLI, with the Launceston Male Voice Choir in All Saints’ Church, Falmouth, on Sunday, June 27 at 7.30pm.

The choir’s practice evenings are held in Flushing Church Hall on Monday (unless there is a concert) from 7.30 to 9.30pm. Anyone interested in singing with the choir please contact the Secretary, Fred Bidgood on 01326 373984.