Ding Dong!

Bradford Festival Choral Society’s, A Yorkshire Christmas, was a bit like a glass of hot punch on a cold winter’s night, it left you with a lovely warm feeling inside.

There’s nothing more emotionally uplifting than a 110-strong choir accompanied by a soothing brass band, this time Rothwell Temperance.

“I don’t know why, but I fill up when I listen to this lot,” I heard one lady say. And that’s because well-executed music and songs have an uncanny way of touching something deep within us, usually that thing at our very core and invariably found in a tin marked ‘contents unknown’.

This annual offering by BFCS is a beautiful contrast to some of the Society’s other work, and is like a Bing Crosby film at Christmas, suitable for the entire family with music designed to inspire the heart without over-taxing the brain.

Conductor Thomas Leech was at the helm once again, inspiring an enthusiastic audience to join in with a raft of traditional carols from God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, to Once in Royal David’s City and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

But it would be remiss not to mention the wonderful Rothwell Temperance Band and, particularly, the fantastic samba rhythms of their Jubilo, Jubilo! as well as the second half opener Joy, Peace and Happiness.

The second half, as always, featured a spirited choir in Christmas attire – Santa hats and the like. One lady in the chorus was spotted with pointed ears but it has yet to be ascertained whether she was auditioning for the next Hobbit movie, or was simply a daughter of Spock who had, somehow, been inadvertently beamed into Bradford!

For fear of sounding overly twee, this was a lovely, enjoyable evening.

And yet……A Yorkshire Christmas was also a bit like the dyslexic man who tried to sell his soul to Santa. Devilishly good!

Look out for Baroque Splendour, Saturday March 17th. 7.30pm. Price Hall, Bradford Grammar School.

A Yorkshire Christmas!
Bradford Festival Choral Society
Price Hall, Bradford Grammar