It's long time since I've been to a concert at Fairfield Hall, and I'm really pleased that I went along to London Mozart Players' performance of Handel's Messiah on 17/12.
The hall layout was unusual with some of the audience seated round the back of the orchestra; the reason was revealed during the performance: the choir of about 20 singers sang their items from a variety of different places, such as behind the orchestra, in the wings of the stage, or standing in the aisles, and the excellent soloists also sang from several different locations. A lot of thought had also gone into the stage management because the choir was casually dressed for the first half, and all in solemn black for the second half.
As is the tradition, most of the audience stood up during the performance of the Hallelujah Chorus. This is said to have begun in 1743, when King George II rose from his seat, enthralled by the beauty of the music, and the audience also stood so as not to offend the king! It's good to see these slightly bizarre traditions being maintained..
I'm only sorry that so few people attended the concert but those who did were well rewarded.
Cllr Simon Brew
