Fermanagh Choral Society: Concert delights at church

David Robertson.

Describing the audience as possibly the biggest crowd the Choral Society has ever had for a performance, a choir member said: “We were absolutely delighted at the turn-out.

“We had a very good package of music, that was part of the reason. The music was picked by David Robertson, our Musical Director.

Donnie Phair

“He hand-picked pieces we had sung in the past, that all went together in a very nice way.”

The A Requiem for All concert featured movements from requiems by Mozart, Fauré, Rutter and Karl Jenkins, as well as movements from sacred works by Bach, Handel and John Stainer.

Along with the choir, a 20-piece orchestra performed on the night.

Lauren Kells.

“That was something we hadn’t done in such a long time, with Covid and lockdown,” said the choir member, going on to note that throughout the lockdown period, the choir managed to perform virtually.

“It’s not the easiest way to sing, but it kept some of our members in touch with what was going on, then gradually, as lockdown eased, we were able to get back [in person].

Donnie Phair

“Most of our rehearsals were done with wearing masks, so it was such a relief to be able to take the masks off and sing in what you might call the normal way,” said the choir member.

Commenting that the concert was “very rewarding”, the choir member added: “I know the committee members put an awful lot of work into the evening, trying to get a balance between everything.

Donnie Phair

“It was a nice evening, weather-wise, and people were happy to come out and a lot of people have said that they were so looking forward to resuming their association with the choir from a congregation point of view.”

Donnie Phair

The evening concluded with refreshments in the church hall. “It was lovely,” the choir member told this newspaper.