Saturday night was the concert at Foussais church by the Stevenage Male Voice Choir and we were very much looking forward to it. Not just because we like that sort of thing, but also because it would give us a chance to get a bit dressed up and go out for the night. We get precious little chance to do that these days, and any event we do go to is almost certainly a casual affair.
Now, Lisa was keen to get there early, but I took the view that, knowing how we’d been caught out before by arriving on-time (how silly of us!), we should leave it until just before the scheduled start time of 8pm. So at 7.45 we set off into the village, only to find that half the Vendee had arrived at the church! It was heaving. Of course, when we looked at the proramme, it became clear why – it was being presented in conjunction with “All Saints Vendee” – the local Anglican parish, catering mainly for English-speakers in the region. So it was not going to be the small local gathering of the usual village faces, but was in fact a giant ex-pat gathering of English from all over the region. Not at all what we were expecting!
I have to say we were a little disappointed. Although it was lovely to see the local church packed to the gunnells, we hadn’t really bargained on a night surrounded by English folk. But then again, we can’t complain too much, as I suppose we are ex-pats ourselves!
Anyway, on with the concert. The SMVC were joined in the proceedings by Choraline, a local choir from La Chataigneraie, and Jason Wallace, a flamenco guitarist (more of him in a moment).
After various introductions in French and English, the combined choirs opened with Ave Verum by Mozart, which took a little getting going, but sounded good by the end. Then the english chaps went from Grieg to Elgar, via Dvorak and Negro spirituals and all sounded great… especially “Steal Away” which was sung very quietly and, even in the huge church, we could hear every word.
Then Choraline took to the stage. As a choir of around 60 (people, not average age!) they made a big sound. The Gloria by Vivaldi was particularly exciting as they filled the church with their combined English and French voices.
Then we had Jason Wallace. It is clear that Jason is a hugely tallented guitarist and you can tell that he is extremely passionate about flamenco, but I do feel that maybe his section of the programme went on a bit. His “Flamenco Rythms” were seemingly a string of improvised flamenco “riffs” that never really seemed to go anywhere much. If perhaps there had been a singer to accompany him it may have provided a bit more focus, but, as it was, most of the people around us (especially the children!) were dropping off half-way through the second “number”.
Anyway, having survived the flamenco, the SMVC came back with another selection, culminating in the rousing “Gwahoddiad”, which reallyblew our socks off at the end.
It appeared that the interval couldn’t come soon enough for a lot of people, as three-quarters of the audience charged outside. Quite what for I don’t know as it wasn’t a warm night, nor were there refreshments on offer. Perhaps just for a cigarette…? Anyway, we just stayed indoors and stretched our legs and tried to regain some feeling in our backsides after an hour of sitting on church pews. I’m sure they make them deliberately hard to encourage the congregation to kneel!
The second half began in fine form with the boys singing “Over The Rainbow”, which was a really nice arrangement. “London Pride” and “On A Clear Day” were not songs I knew, but the chaps did well, before rounding off with “The way you look tonight”.
Then came what we felt was one of the highlights of the night, the second section from Choraline. They performed a group of Negro Spiritual and traditional songs that swung from haunting to rousing and everything in between – a great section that really showed off what a good choir they are. I could tell by this point that Lisa was wondering if she could get to rehearsals at La Chataigneraie! Even the bats in the church enjoyed this one, as they came out to play and started swooping and diving over the heads of the audience.
We then had more flamenco. ‘Nuff said about that I think.
Finally the SMVC returned with “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”, which had everyone singing along (much to the kids’ embarrassment). They rounded off this section with an English version of “Nessun Dorma”, which was an interesting take on the classic, but I think it went well and was a good finish to their performance.
Finally, after various presentations and speeches, the choirs combined for a rendition of “Everybody Sing Freedom”, which was another rousing song, which gained them an encore from the gathered masses.
Overall it was a great night out and the kids did very well, considering it is SO not their “thing” 
Afterwards we nipped to the Sale des Fêtes for the Vid d’honneur, where I had a quick chat with the conductor with whom I had traded emails before their visit and I said how much we had enjoyed it. Then after a slice of brioche and a quick slurp of rosé it was nearly midnight and definitely time for bed!
