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Raising the roof for church spire appeal
Children clog-dancing, brass band tunes, harp-playing and a folk band – a variety show raised the rafters and boosted the coffers of Ashover Parish Church's spire appeal.
The concert was one of the high spots of the Ashover Well Dressed Folk & Roots Festival but sadly didn't attract the crowd it deserved.
Proud mums and dads, brothers and sisters filed into the pews to watch 20 children from Ashover Primary School sing songs from around the world, including South Africa and the Czech Republic, as well as the traditional Derbyshire folk song, Two Sisters.
Kicking off their shoes, the kids needed a bit of help from members of the folk music outfit Kerfuffle to lace up their clogs before treating supportive spectators to new dances they had learned from the band's Hannah James who led workshops in their school.
The eager pupils showed their versatility with five youngsters forming a musical ensemble including violins, flute, recorders, keyboard and guitar and keyboard, and looked like they were loving every minute as they played an instrumental piece, accompanied by Kerfuffle.
Following the children was a tough task but the four musicians in Scuppered managed to pull it off and even struck a chord with the kids by playing The Killers' anthem Human in a folk style.
Frontman Pete Gray said: "We have never played in church before – the acoustics are incredible. This is the first time I have played a folk gig without a pint of beer – if there is any wine available, that will be good."
At one point, I wondered whether the Coal Aston band ought be be rebranded Skippered given their love of songs of the sea and a joke about EU fishing quotas.
The band reeled in the audience with Crying In The Rain, featuring lovely harmonies from John Hodge and Andy Parker, and Up On The Roof, sung by John, which was apt given the fund-raising cause of the concert.
Next up was 16-year-old Lizzie Campbell whose appearance at the festival formed part of a prize for triumphing in the Young Acoustic Roots Competition in Bawtry four months ago.
She gave an assured performance which demonstrated an awesome bluesy-style voice and talented guitar accompaniment in a repertoire which included original compositions, traditional folk songs and jazz standards.
Fittingly for the location of the venue, she sang Church Street Blues which was one of the high spots of her set.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, she absolutely nailed Ella Fitzgerald's difficult song When I Get Low, I Get High.
Good though the fellow performers were, the night belonged to American harpist Lily Neill whose music was perfect for the setting of the concert.
This awe-inspiring player was as mesmerising to watch as she was to listen to, gently plucking the strings with her right hand, stroking or tapping others with her left and at one point stamping her feet to provide percussion.
I was amazed how many different sounds Lily could conjure out of her 30-string lever harp, including a very appropriate peal of bells, jigs and a march.
Anyone at the concert must have felt that they were truly in the presence of greatness – after all, this was a young woman who had played for ex-president Bill Clinton and folk luminaries The Chieftains.
The concert was brought to a rousing close by Ashover Brass Band which gave a moving and powerful performance of two movements from Handel's Water Music, under the baton of conductor Russell Bevan.
A moving performance of The Shepherd's Song featured a solo by principal cornet player and a later rendition of He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother featured a solo from principal horn player John Surguy.
A rendition of Hymn from Chess featured a crescendo so powerful it was in danger of raising the roof, while the band played out on a high note with the traditional march Star Lake.
The brass band will be performing at a vintage car rally on Ashover Showground on Sunday (July 19) and at Ashover Show on August 12.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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