Remembrance Sunday Concert

The fifteen seconds of silence between the final note dying away and the 120-strong audience erupting into applause emphasised the poignant atmosphere at the end of the Remembrance Sunday concert at All Saint's Church, Bakewell.

A massed choir, consisting of the Chapel Choir, plus parents, staff, governors and friends from S.Anselm's Prep School, and other local singers, were accompanied by Lady Manners School Orchestra and Andrew Marples on the organ in a 'Come and Sing' performance of Gabriel Faure's remarkable Requiem Mass.   The 'Pie Jesu' was sung by Lucy E, a year 8 pupil at S.Anselm's with skill, panache and control way in advance of her young age.  She is certainly a singer with enormous potential.

The baritone solo, sung by Mr Parker, an ICT teacher at Lady Manners was delivered with clarity and drama, and the chorus (who only gathered together for the first time some five hours before the performance) gave an admirable performance of the great work.
Lady Manners Orchestra, under the director of Robert Steadman opened the concert with a performance of 'Summon the Heroes' by John Williams, written for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.  S.Anselm's Chapel Choir then sang two reflective pieces, Bob Chilcott's 'Be Thou my Vision', with solos from Cecily CE and Jake P, and the beautiful latin motet, 'Ave Maria' by Simon Lindley, in which Isobel E sang the first verse.
These were followed by the highlight of the concert, Faure's Requiem Mass, conducted by Jon Weller, Director of Music at S. Anselm's.

It is hoped that this will become an annual event, bringing together pupils of all ages from 8 to 18, from two of Bakewell's schools, along with parents, teachers, governors, friends and other singers from the community to remember the fallen.

With so many youngsters taking part, the immortal words seemed to have even more meaning than usual:

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.