Review: concert celebrates half a century of music making in East Devon

One evening in 1968 a little group of five singers met in a village church in the Clyst Valley with one aim - to bring people together to enjoy singing. So the Clyst Valley Choral Society was born, now numbering around 20 members drawn from the wider local area, the main home for concerts being Holy Trinity church, Exmouth whilst still retaining close links with the Clyst Valley.

The anniversary concert on Sunday, May 19 was a celebration of past and present with music selected by previous Musical Directors, including Haydn’s Creation which featured in the inaugural concert and concluded this special occasion. The current Musical Director, with 26 years holding the Clyst baton, is the accomplished and versatile Paul Stock who is also Head of Music at Exmouth Community College and Organist and Choirmaster at Holy Trinity. Unsurprisingly choir, ensemble and conductor showed confidence and enjoyment with a repertoire that was neither traditional nor standard but included Gilbert and Sullivan and an Evening Prayer by the Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo which the conductor admitted was outside the comfort zone of some singers.

The choir itself is supported by an ensemble which has its own instrumental works such as Bach’s Cantata 140 and Rutter’s foot stamping When the Saints and by its soloists including the popular Jason Bomford (tenor) who transitions with ease from Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs to HMS Pinafore.

Clyst Valley is sometimes described as a ‘small choir with a big sound’. They certainly know how to thrill an audience with blockbusters such as Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Hallelujah Chorus and the applause of the night was reserved for the very end when Haydn’s The Heavens are Telling could probably be heard beyond the high nave to the town centre.

Concert goers often chat on the way home about what they enjoyed most. The two pieces that will remain in my memory are Stanford’s Nunc Dimittis with its beautifully renditioned contrasts of light and shade as the verses are interpreted musically and the rousing Dies Irae from Mozart’s Requiem.

Clyst Valley Choir was started because a small group of enthusiasts wanted to share their love of singing with us the public. They still enthuse and excite after fifty five years. They deserve a large audience. Personally I can’t wait until their next concert in November.