A wealth of fine performances - Concert Classic 2010 leaves the palate satisfied

Michael Reckord, Gleaner Writer

The Redeemer Moravian Church, North Street, Kingston, on Sunday treated its congregation and visitors to a fine variety concert titled 'Concert Classic 2010'.

The name could mislead, and it refers not to classical music but to certain excellent popular tunes and songs which might be termed "classic".

There was also a certain classic quality to most of the performers of the pieces. Some are newcomers to the entertainment scene, others have been around for years, even decades.

Those who deserve a Grade A rating were sopranos Lucette Cargill, Carole Reid and Stephanie Hazel, tenor David Reid, the instrumental ensembles Rodney Small & Friends and The Alphasonics, the singing quintet Total 5, the male trio Conquerors for Christ, and saxophonist extraordinaire Dean Fraser.

The fact that so many performers were excellent indicates how enjoyable the concert should have been. The audience's enthusiastic applause and occasional cheering at the end of most items proved that, in fact, it was.

A couple of the presentations fell well below the generally high standard. It's hoped the performers involved saw how far they have to go to achieve excellence.

One person who did learn from others was Cargill, the opening singer. Because the acoustics of the huge church are poor - the building has a high dome and numerous openings - Cargill was unwise to stay some two feet from the standing microphone when she first sang. Scattered as they were around the space, the words of the song, In Songs Like These, became quite indistinct.

Happily, for her second song later in the programme, Give Me Wings To Fly, Cargill followed the example of those who sang after her and held the mike close to her mouth. The result was that her lovely voice was heard to its full advantage.

amiable david reid

The second singer, the always amiable David Reid, prefaced his delightful singing of Bizet's Agnus Dei in Latin with the observation that perhaps one reason singers often perform in a foreign language was to hide mistakes they might make.

Up next was the other Reid, Carole, with what she said were two of her favourite songs. An actress as well as a singer, she not only sounded great, but she was dramatic in her delivery of God and God Alone, and To Love.

Later the two Reids sang together. The light-hearted Amigos Para Siempre was sung partly in Spanish, partly in English.

Accompanying all three singers on the piano was Yanique Leiba Ebanks. She was not needed for the item which followed, however, as it was performed by Total 5, a group of five young men from Oberlin High School who sang a cappella.

Their song, Lay Down The Burdens Of Your Heart, was delivered with high energy and was notable for the deep bass voice of one of the youths. Not long after their first appearance, they returned to sing People Get Ready and It Won't Be Long, after which they hurried away for another engagement elsewhere.

The first instrumentals, Rodney Small & Friends, played two well-received numbers, With Jesus I Can Make It and O Happy Day. The group's lively playing of their instruments (tenor pan, trap set, piano and bass) had many audience members jigging in their seats.

On saxophone, piano and trumpet, The Alphasonics played two items, Total Praise and Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World. The latter item was much more textured, and so more enjoyable, than the former.

good harmony

The Linstead-based group Conquerors for Christ showed exceptionally good harmony and loads of sincerity as they sang two numbers, Little Is Much and My Lord and I. The first was done a cappella, while the second was performed to taped accompaniment.

It could be said that the performer of the 13th item on the programme, the world class saxophonist Dean Fraser, put the icing on the rich concert cake when he played the poig-nant Dance With My Father and then a medley of Christmas carols. Many in the appreciative audience gave him a standing ovation.

But then what would be said of Hazel, the young singer-actress who followed him? Perhaps that, with her superb rendition of My Lord and I could have danced all night, she lighted the candles.

Cheers and loud applause were her reward and the enthusiastic comment of the concert's emcee, Reverend Germaine Lovelace, was a reference to the hit musical My Fair Lady from which the second song comes.

"We went to Broadway for that," he said.