Calon FM Fundraising Concert

Wrexham – 19 October 2019

Calon FM is a local radio station broadcasting over the airwaves in the Wrexham area of North East Wales, and on-line internationally. Jannie Rawlinson presents a programme ‘Classical X Over 4U’ every Sunday evening featuring a diverse range of classical crossover music, engaging with artists and fans alike and often including CC artists as guest presenters in the studio. It is believed to be the only regular radio show in the UK devoted to the Classical Crossover genre.

When I heard earlier this year that Jannie was putting on a show in October featuring a host of classical crossover artists, ranging from well established ‘veterans’ in the genre to some young singers just finding their way, I was really excited. I followed all the publicity eagerly and booked on the day that tickets went on sale.

The concert was originally to have been staged in a community theatre in the village of Rhosllanerchrugog, a few miles from Wrexham. Not the easiest of places to get to (let alone pronounce) but the line-up was one not to be missed even if it posed a few challenges in getting there. I had established before booking that there were local buses from Wrexham which is served by the National Rail network. Getting to Rhosllanerchrugog seemed possible, but I have to admit to some concerns about getting back if the concert finished after the last bus.

Sadly, early ticket sales were disappointing (perhaps due to the remote location) and a few weeks before the show, Jannie took the decision to relocate to the recording studio at Wrexham Glyndŵr University, in the same building where she presents her show each week. This certainly made logistics easier for me, and paradoxically I think the new location might have improved ticket sales, but accommodation in the studio is limited and the event was therefore listed as ‘sold out’.

The studio was a lovely intimate space with seating for about 50 in three rows, professional lighting and three large TV cameras set up to record the concert. There were probably nearly as many performers, with their families, in the Green Room, who enjoyed a live link to the action in the studio.

After an introduction by Jannie and the studio manager, local lass Elan Catrin Parry opened the show. 17 year old Elan sang three songs from her recently released debut album ‘Angel’, accompanied by pianist Daniel Bradford. ‘Windmills of your Mind’, the Irish folk song ‘My Lagan Love’ and a marvellous Welsh Language song ‘Anfonaf Angel’ were all beautifully delivered in Elan’s crystal clear voice.

Three P’s come to mind when thinking of Elan’s voice – the Purity is undeniable and she certainly has the Power when it is needed. I would like to hear more Passion in her performance, but I am sure that will come as her career progresses.

Next up was tenor Hercules Smith, originally from South Africa. A great storyteller, Hercules revealed at some length how his father had chosen his name. I won’t spoil the secret, but if you really want to know, there is a recording of the whole concert available on YouTube – see the link below. Hercules went on to recount how, early in his career, he had performed the Godfather theme ‘Parla piu piano’ to a roomful of Italians in Calabria. He had been unsure how to interpret their reaction after pouring his heart and soul into the performance, but apparently standing in silence waving their handkerchiefs was the highest form of applause this audience could give. Eventually Hercules demonstrated his power and passion by repeating the performance to us. I didn’t see any hankies waving, but the audience’s more British applause was no less enthusiastic.

Before his second song, Hercules recalled how hearing Pavarotti singing ‘Nella Fantasia’ had inspired him to take up Classical Crossover music, and he treated us to an equally spectacular rendition.

Olga Thomas is an established composer and pianist who has come to the attention of the Classical Crossover world over the past couple of years with collaborations with Joanna Forest and some other CC artists, writing music to celebrate special events in the life of the British Royal Family. Olga and Joanna came on together to perform the wonderful ‘Royal Platinum Love Song’, written for the 70^th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s marriage to Prince Philip. Olga performed ‘Royal Hollywood Love Song’ as a piano solo – written to celebrate the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Olga and Joanna’s final song together was ‘By My Side’ – a beautiful song marking 60years of the charity ‘Cruse Bereavement Care’. This was the first ever performance of this song to a live audience; it had been released as a single just the day before and had gone straight to number 1 in the UK charts, knocking Ed Sheeran off the top spot.

The youngest performer, 15 year old Lucy Thomas gave me my biggest “Wow!” of the night. (Not that the others weren’t great, but I had heard most of them before and knew what to expect.) I loved Lucy’s debut album ‘Premiere’ and have enjoyed her subsequent YouTube video releases, but I was unprepared for the depth of passion and emotional engagement in her performance from one so young. Starting with ‘She Used to be Mine’ from ‘Waitress’, delivered in a gorgeous, almost sultry voice, and going on to add some real grit in ‘I’ll Never Love Again’ from ‘A Star is Born’, Lucy’s final song was ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ from ‘Hairspray’.

I know that classical crossover composer Chris Broom has been writing some material for Lucy, and I was hoping to hear one of those songs, but I guess that can wait for another time.

As Lucy left the stage, what I took to be a choir started filing in, followed by Beth Ford. It turned out that the ‘choir’ were in fact ‘Wrexham Singing Hands’ who convey the lyrics in sign language for the benefit of the hard of hearing. Beth’s song was ‘Calon Lan’ – a bold but very personal choice as she had recently sung it at her grandfather’s funeral. Her performance was beautiful, powerful… and emotional. The lyrics were partly in Welsh and partly English. It occurred to me to wonder how the choir cope with the language switch, but I guess the message conveyed by the signing is the same whatever language they are ‘translating’. Beth had expressed some concern earlier about her Welsh pronunciation (she is not a native Welsh speaker) but the Welshman sitting next to me, who had been echoing the song gently in my left ear, seemed to approve.

The choir left after Calon Lan, and Beth’s next song was the poignant ‘How We Love’, in which she perfectly conveyed the emotional vulnerability expressed in the lyrics. I got my Chris Broom moment in Beth’s final song – the glorious and inspiring ‘Follow Your Dream’.

Joanna Forest returned to the stage alone to conclude the first half of the concert, starting with the forceful ‘Sposa son disprezzata’ from her debut album ‘Stars are Rising’. Joanna followed up with the joyous ‘Take That’ song, ‘Greatest Day’ (which opened her second album ‘The Rhythm of Life’) and finished with ‘Tonight’ from ‘West Side Story’.

Joanna’s cheerful enthusiasm never fails to inspire me. Classical crossover artists are generally a pretty friendly bunch, and Joanna is one of the most welcoming that I know.

Wrexham Singing Hands came back to start the second half of the concert with an enthusiastic interpretation of the song ‘Blinded by Your Grace’. They make no sound themselves, but perform to a backing track. I couldn’t place the voice on the soundtrack that they used – I know Katherine Jenkins has recorded it but I don’t think it was her version.

Keedie was next on stage. Keedie’s album ‘I Believe My Heart’ (originally released in 2004) was one of the first CD’s I acquired when I started to follow classical crossover music in a big way nearly ten years ago, but I didn’t get to see her live for another six or seven years. Keedie’s first song this evening was one which had also featured on that album – the striking ‘Vissi D’Arte’ from Tosca.

Next came a joyful rendition of ‘Never Enough’ from ‘The Greatest Showman’. I have lost count of the number of classical crossover artists I have seen covering this song, but it is always wonderful and I think I can Never hear it Enough. Keedie heard her final song way back in 2002, decided “I like this aria” and decided to add it to her repertoire even though it is traditionally sung by a male voice. It was of course the magnificent ‘Nessun Dorma’ from Puccini’s Turandot.

Apart from Daniel playing for Elan at the opening of the concert, and of course Olga Thomas on piano, all the songs to this point had been sung to backing tracks. Now enter Natasha Hardy – she who has created a whole album of entirely original classical crossover music – and she had brought a full ensemble of accompanying musicians with her; pianist, violin and cello. I know of no other CC artist quite like Natasha, and she sang three inspiring songs from her album ‘Lost in Love’. Both vocals and backing were exquisite for ‘Take Me Home’, ‘In Too Deep’ and finally her new single ‘Enter The Gate’. Please take a few minutes to search out Natasha’s songs on YouTube and other streaming sites if you don’t already know her work.

Time to mix things up a little with some duets…

First, Lucy Thomas and Hercules Smith with ‘The Prayer’. Seemingly never one to be outdone, Lucy held her own, matching Hercules in power and intensity for a magnificent and emotional performance.

The second duet brought Joanna Forest and Beth Ford together for a gorgeous rendition of ‘I Know Him So Well’ from Chess. I just love those interplaying melodies and harmonies in the final verse.

The final act to grace the stage was Adam Lacy, singing with new partner Rob Durkin as the duo, Il Destino. Power, enthusiasm and wonderful harmonies were abundant in their arrangements of ‘Bring Him Home’ from ‘Les Miserables’ and two *class-crossed* Italianised pop songs – ‘Notte Di Luce’ (Nights in White Satin) and ‘Il Mondo e Nostro’ (Rule the World).

The finale was (predictably) ‘Time to Say Goodbye’, brilliantly performed as a duet by Keedie and Rob Durkin, who were joined on stage by the whole cast towards the end of the song.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening, with classical crossover artists over a huge age span all showcasing their talents in an outstanding way.

The atmosphere was wonderfully intimate, allowing the artists to connect with the audience in a very special way. I gather from comments by the artists and their families that there was also a lovely friendly atmosphere in the Green Room.

All the artists stayed behind afterwards, ready to chat to the audience in a very informal setting, and to sign various items of merchandise which most had on sale.

Classical Crossover really is a great genre, which sees artists and fans supporting each other in a way not often seen with other types of music.

Thank you Jannie Rawlinson for putting on such an amazing event, bringing so many classical crossover artists together with fans from far and wide, including at least two from Germany. Long may Classical X Over 4U continue.

The concert was also enjoyed world-wide via a live streaming link, and can be watched again on YouTube here

https://youtu.be/gUAKgAKNwmw