Review of concert featuring Henry Olonga, Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir and Iain Harvey
Cricket and singing may not have a lot in common, but Henry Olonga proved to be a finer singer in the concert he gave with Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir, Oliver Hancock and Iain Harvey.
In 1994 Henry carved his name as the first black cricketer to play for Zimbabwe. In 2003, he made an even greater name for himself by his public protest about the decline in human rights in that country. He has been unable to return every since but has now developed a career as a singer.
The programme for this concert was varied and highly popular. Pieces ranged from the more serious Lord's Prayer to the highly entertaining music to the film The Raider's March (from Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark).
The major highlights were the pieces sung by the combined forces of Henry and Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir. Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck introduced us to Henry's unique, gentle, natural tenor voice. With highly polished singing by the Girls' Choir, this piece can only be described as sheer beauty. It was certainly the right piece to choose for the encore the audience demanded. The warmth and very appealing nature of O Holy Night by Adolphe Adam and the reverence of The Lord's Prayer made these combined performances very attractive.
Henry sang a number of solos: Recondita Armonia and Nessun Dorma by Giacomo Puccini and the traditional Irish song: Londonderry Air. Henry admitted being inspired by the concert given by the Three Tenors some years previously, and his own performance of Nessun Dorma was especially delightful.
Ely Cathedral Girls' Choir ably conducted by Louise Reid and deftly accompanied by Oliver Hancock was magnificent. Their Song of Peace by Charles Villiers Stanford opened the concert appropriately, the singers' pure, polished sounds rising magnificently in the vaults of St. George's Church Littleport. A light-hearted O What a Wonderful Scene from Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo by Jospeh Horowitz contrasted well with their splendid performance of Bryan Kelly's intriguing Magnificat in E flat and the charming duet O Lovely Peace by Handel featured exquisitely balanced parts as the girls' voices blended in harmony.
Meanwhile Iain Harvey was not to be left on the shelf. In his hands the church organ filled the building with grand majestic chords. A delightful Aria 'Liverpool' by Daniel Bishop, a rip-roaring performance of Raiders March and the unmistakable boldness of Camille Saint-Saens' Allegro giocoso no 7 from Sept Improvisations, opus 150 made their impact on the evening.
This was no ordinary concert. At the end, the audience was encouraged to ask Henry questions and the listeners learned how he felt about his life, his family, his country and world events.
One of his most moving comments was: "How can you regret doing the right thing?"
It was not only his voice that earned him respect this evening.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 09 February 2012
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