CARVER Church at Windermere drew in a good-sized audience to hear A Sprig of Thyme, a concert given by Windermere Choral Society.

The choir's new young conductor, Ian Pattinson, directed the choir confidently and with precision during the evening, putting into practise the skills he has learned from Blackburn Cathedral and Lancaster Priory. It was obvious what he wanted from the choir and they responded attentively with a good tonal blend.

Vivaldi's Gloria began with an enthusiastic opening and the ensemble produced a fine musical performance.

Ian's mother, well-known local singer Margaret Pattinson, was one of the soloists and her rich mezzo-soprano voice blended well with Alexa Mason, soprano.

Alexa is also from a musical family, the daughter of Tony Mason, head teacher of Cartmel Junior School, and studying singing at Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

She has a lovely voice with great clarity of tone and dynamic range and both the solo arias and duets with Margaret were most delightful.

Three varied duets sung by Margaret and Alexa brought the first half to a close, pleasing the audience greatly as they ended with We'll Gather Lilacs in the Spring Again.

By contrast to the Vivaldi, the second half comprised A Sprig of Thyme, a collection of folk songs arranged by John Rutter, and the choir sang these with style, adapting well to the folk idiom. The organ and piano accompaniments were skilfully executed by Colin Dean and Colin Tolson, both experienced and well-known local musicians.

This was a lovely concert, much appreciated by the audience and demonstrated how love of music transcends the generation gap.

AR.

May 29, 2003 12:00