Hallelujah

A few events I went to in November went unrecorded here. The rarely performed five act version of Don Carlo, sung in Italian, put on by Fulham Opera for starters.

Then Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Cadogan Hall; a beautiful piece but, like Verdi, long. The AGM of the British Georgian Society followed by an illustrated talk by Dr Henry Sanford about his aunt,
Princess Gayane Mickeladze. I had already read her autobiography so was aware of her childhood in the Crimea and Georgia and her escape with her family to Britain after the Revolution. It is an exciting account and ends with her becoming a successful actress on stage and screen.

What all these have in common is that I didn’t see any of them through to the end for a variety of reasons. Wednesday evening in Islington was no exception. The Union Chapel on Upper Street is a magnificent Victorian Gothic Congregational church. It is in use as a church but also puts on live entertainment. The Kingdom Choir, that performed at the royal wedding in St George’s Chapel Windsor were the headline act on Wednesday. Watching the wedding on TV the choir seemed to rein themselves in. In Islington no such restraint was in evidence. Ladies in the choir were sheathed in tight sequinned dresses that made them look like sparkly seals. They belted out numbers by Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé to a receptive full house. Unfortunately, after the interval, they shifted gear singing Christmas carols and Christmas schmaltz like We Wish You a Merry Christmas that had us sidling out the door.

For some reason I thought that this high voltage gospel choir is from somewhere in the Deep South. Yes, but it is the Deep South East of England. Next year they are touring the UK including a gig at the Royal Albert Hall so you may hear them.