The swell in the Channel made the crossing somewhat uncomfortable, but didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the Wessex Male Choir when we took part in the Biennial Jersey International Choir Festival (8-11 October). Perhaps we should have sung “What shall we do with the drunken sailor” on the ferry crossing, but in the event, we saved that song until later in the day! From the outset, it was clear that the Festival was well-organized and that we would enjoy a warm welcome wherever we went in Jersey. The weather too was (unseasonably) warm so much so, that I rediscovered the joy of sunshine. Thankfully even in Jersey, you can’t be arrested for eating an ice-cream without due care and attention - even if I wasn’t wholly in control of my moustache!
On the Wednesday evening, ahead of the festival starting, we gave a joint concert in St Thomas’s Church, St Helier, with Jersey’s own Male Voice Choir, The Harmony Men of Jersey. They were a very friendly bunch of guys who, it seems, also shared Wessex Male Choir’s interest in drinking copious quantities of beer and singing after concerts! The next morning, to help publicize the Festival, a small number of Wessex Choristers along with our Musical Director, Rob Elliott, were invited into the studios of BBC Radio Jersey to do an interview and sing a short extract from one of our songs. The event represented a number of “firsts” for me: it was the first time I had ever sung live on the radio and it was the first time I had ever sung in a sound-proofed broom-cupboard. Apparently it sounded okay.
At the formal festival reception on the Thursday evening, we met the other choirs (including choirs from Ireland, Norway, Holland, Slovenia... and Reading!) and each group had an opportunity to sing one piece by way of introduction. Despite having a tiring two-day coach journey to reach Jersey, it was obvious from the start that the Slovenian Youth Choir (MMPZ I. Gimnazije v Celju) was pretty special. But, as ever, WMC was probably the most entertaining! As part of the Festival’s artistic outreach programme, all the choirs gave a Friday-morning concert in local schools. We sang in Victoria Prep School to 300 young lads who behaved impeccably – probably because they’d never seen anything quite like us before. They seemed to enjoy the small selection of songs we sang (which included an arrangement of McFly’s “It’s all about you” and “The Drunken Sailor" – complete with actions which I had noticed some of the baritones rehearsing on the previous evening in The Lamplighters.)
That evening, each of the island’s parishes was treated to a concert given by 2 or 3 choirs. We shared the Parish Church at St Ouens with the Slovenian Choir who were full of energy and zest. Numbering about 76, they displayed an incredibly taut, crisp style that is difficult to achieve with larger choirs. They were excellent and so obviously enjoyed their singing. Our contribution seemed to go down well although the cramped staging arrangements meant the choir was more fragmented than usual (I think I ended up singing between a second tenor and a baritone!).
Saturday morning saw the first of the festival competition classes held in the impressive surrounds of the Great Hall at Victoria College. (Imagine Hogwarts and you’ll not be far off!). WMC beat off what little competition there was to win “Best Male Choir” category and a place in the Saturday evening “Choir of Choirs” competition – hosted by Gareth Malone of “The Choir” fame (“Boys Don’t Sing” etc.).
The evening competition was held in Fort Regent’s cavernous interior in front of an audience of about 1200. It was a most enjoyable evening with plenty of contrasting styles and songs, from Slovenian Folk Songs, to Beatles hits and glorious choral music. Our own three piece set concluded with the rousing chorus from Les Miserables – “Do you hear the people sing?”.
The adjudicators probably didn’t have to work too hard to decide that the Slovenians were the winners: their precision was matchless and the technical difficulty of the pieces they sang was also impressive. Jeremy Jackman was the only adjudicator I recognized (he used to sing with the King’s Singers) and his words of wisdom were much appreciated (I did think he might have dressed up for the occasion though – he was wearing a nice big chunky-knit pullover which looked more like Arran than Jersey!).
In time honoured tradition, the post-festival dinner (held in the massive rotunda at Fort Regent) was a splendid event with dance music provided by Jersey Premier Brass. However, choirs (perhaps especially ‘the Wessex’) simply cannot resist the opportunity to entertain, and once the Band had left the stage, we entertained the assembled throng – and even got people dancing, cheering and shouting for more! While we may not have come away with the major prize, the Choir acquitted itself really well, made lot’s of good friends, learnt several phrases in Slovenian, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time!
