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Spirit House singers chase Scrooge away
The Spirit House Singers.
George Powell
The Spirit House singers recently performed madrigal music both old
and new along with traditional Christmas carols at the Spirit House
Restaurant. Led by David Crisp, who arranged or composed much of the music,
the group welcomed the standing-room only audience with The Boar’s Head and
followed that enthusiastic announcement of a Christmas feast with the
traditional carol, ‘The Holly and the Ivy’. Guests were delighted by
‘Gaudété’, a 16th century Christmas carol, and enjoyed the traditional
carols that followed. ‘We Three Kings of Orient’ featured solos by Dave
Geddes, Frank Weicks and Glynn Morgan as the Magi. ‘Patapan’, a traditional
French carol in a new dress, delighted the audience with its new arrangement
by director David Crisp.
No Christmas concert would be complete without wassailing. David introduced
the types of wassailing, with the Spirit House Singers urging charity at
Christmas in their performance of ‘Here We Come a-Wassailing’. The 16th
century and much loved ‘Coventry Carol’, which was originally performed as
part of the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, hauntingly grieves for the
children doomed by King Herod. It was followed by ‘I Saw Three Ships Come
Sailing In’, the 17th century English carol, also arranged by David. The
words to ‘Adam Lay y-Bounden’ were preserved from the 15th century, but the
music heard at the Spirit House was all new, having been composed by David
earlier this year for the first performances of this carol in Chiang Mai.
The singers performed it with feeling and enthusiasm. ‘We Wish You a Merry
Christmas’, also arranged by David, and first performed this season at the
Chiang Mai Choral Society International’s concert, was a resounding hit with
the audience and a delightful and lively addition to the program.
Guests were encouraged to put aside any Scrooge tendencies and donate a
small amount to the Foundation for the Education of Rural Children’s
scholarship programme. Ticket profits and donations came to over 11,000 baht
and will fund an additional scholarship for a child in the rural area of
Thailand. Marc Dumur, chairman of FERC, wishes to convey his appreciation to
David and the Spirit House Singers for the welcome donation. After the carol
concert, everyone joined together for a buffet prepared by the staff of the
Spirit House Restaurant, David, and some of the singers. Roast pork,
(without the boar’s head), salads, pâté and a variety of desserts rounded
out the menu and a traditional and highly enjoyable evening.
Steve the landlord (2nd right) welcomes guests
for David Crisp’s (right) Spirit House Singers Christmas Carols.
Sangdao Performing Arts School celebrates its first Christmas
Pictured are the student dancers and performers
with their teachers at the Sangdao Performing Arts School’s first Christmas
show.
Andy Archer
Sangdao Performing Arts School, (SPAS), celebrated its first
Christmas on December 21 with a performance at the EQ Square Education
Centre on the Chiang Mai-Hangdong Road. The new director, Sophatai
Kanthatham, and the artistic director, Glenn van der Hoff, aim to provide
high quality dance education in Chiang Mai, using their international
experience as professionals for more than 25 years.
The Christmas performance was held in a unique situation by transforming two
dance studios into a small theatre, designed for intern performances with
the aim of providing the students with stage experience. Students of all
ages, performed for more than 230 parents, friends and colleagues. Beginning
the performance, Witida Supaporn, a former student, put the audience in the
Christmas mood with her piano recital. The programme continued with a dance
number with ‘fun’ choreography, performed by the staff and teachers, which
involved inviting the audience to dance on stage!
More dance numbers, featuring ballet princesses, funky jazz dance and
contemporary dance, were presented by students of different ages and
levels—all were performed with great passion and enthusiasm. Crawford
Service, a 9 year old student from the special boys’ class, created his own
choreography and recited a poem.
All the parents enjoyed seeing their children express themselves with such
free spirit, and the entire performance demonstrated SPAS’s vision, based on
teaching discipline, creativity and self development. According to the its
directors , this new dance education approach enables students to enjoy as
well as to appreciate the performing arts.
For more information, please call: S. Kanthatham on 053 274841 or Glenn van
der Hoff on 0851564 562
A Christmas cracker at Payap
Jean-Pierre Kirkland
The Luce Chapel was the setting for a real feast of Christmas
music on Saturday December 20. Of all the Christmas recitals and concerts
that abound in Chiang Mai at this time of the year, none can be more
enticing or magical than the one that allows our significantly talented
youth to display their energies and their love of music making. This is
exactly what the Duriyasilp College of Music had in store for us – a rich
variety of musical ensembles who delighted the near-capacity audience with a
program of seasonal favourites ranging from Silent Night to We
Wish You a Merry Christmas. Ninety young musicians were present in a
wide range of ensembles – the concert beginning with the twenty-strong
handbell group delighting us with the velvety tones of Fleur de Lys,
Beethoven’s awe-inspiring setting of Klopstok’s Ode to Joy as well as
Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with xylophone
accompaniment. This was a beautiful, unusual and welcoming opener to the
concert as the dulcet tones of the bells rang out and echoed magically
around the hall. A well-rehearsed clarinet quintet romped away through
Here We Come A-Caroling and Joy to the World, Handel’s great
masterpiece of melody before the vivacious and perky saxophone quintet made
sure we all tapped our feet to their jazzy and flawless rendition of O
Come All Ye Faithful. Not to be outdone, the brass quintet, calling
itself “Ancient Wind” took us through a swinging session of Sleigh Ride,
Rudolph and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, played with
vigour and clarity in this jazzy and attractive version.
After the intermission, the harp ensemble provided an amazing contrast,
playing delightfully beautiful versions of several Christmas carols,
including an enchanting version of Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant, where the fingering
and the tones were masterful. Then came the fitting finale – the nearly
seventy-strong Payap Choir solemnly entered the hall singing the
processional opening to Benjamin Britten’s ‘Ceremony of Carols’, before
continuing with four more settings of the same. Accompanied in perfect style
in different pieces by clarinet, flute, harp or piano, the choir, who were
in excellent voice, sang with feeling, composure and great joy in more
favourites such as Jingle Bells and Silent Night. The audience
quite appropriately shouted for more and were rewarded with We Wish You A
Merry Christmas, sung with great feeling and gusto. This was indeed a
‘Christmas Cracker’ of an evening and a great delight for the public to be
able to share in this youthful and vigorous display of musical talents and
their obvious joy at music making.
Chiang Mai Music Festival – to focus on youth
Jean-Pierre Kirkland
The forthcoming 4th Annual Chiang Mai Music Festival in February
2552 (2009) will once again focus, amongst its several goals, on the
benefits of live musical performance and music appreciation for young
people. The festival offers world class teaching and performance from
visiting teachers and musicians and of course this comes as no real surprise
bearing in mind that one of its co-founders, Professor Tong-Il Han who in
Seoul in South Korea mentors a highly accomplished group of young pianists
enrolled in his own Piano Academy. The festival features a number of quite
extraordinary events to which the public are warmly welcomed. These include
live musical performances in several Chiang Mai schools, lessons and
workshops at various venues and the culmination of the festival on Saturday
February 7 with young musicians performing sections of four great landmark
piano concerti by Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff at Ban
Wangtan. The night before, on Friday February 6, five young pianists from
Japan and Korea will be giving a free concert at the Chiang Mai City Arts
and Cultural Centre, which will be a different program from the one on
Saturday.
In the words of festival co-founder Anne E. Murase, this is “simply
beautiful classical music”. We are so fortunate here in Chiang Mai to be
able to participate in this event, and by doing so, encourage young
musicians in their ambitions and help support them as they perform for us
with that energy, determination and professionalism which is the hallmark of
this festival.
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