St. James's Church, London - 28 Nov 2007

[comet]

Nice one Drew.
I wonder if they let her in ?

Like the pictures too. Chris.

[admin]

As has already been reported, last night's concert was a wonderful event. Following its conclusion, I chatted for a while with John Brunning of Classic FM (and composer of Pie Jesu). He took my email address and said he would let me know when the concert is to be broadcast. Incidentally, John spoke very highly of both AAI and HWI. It sounds as though he has taken a good look at them!

Until the concert is broadcast, the amount of coverage that we can give is limited for copyright reasons. However, I think we can at least give the full set list so here it is:

Swing Low (with the girls entering from the back of the church)
Barcarolle
Nothing Compares To You
In Paradisum
Ave Verum Corpus
Singing You Through
Pie Jesu (featuring Alex)

INTERVAL

Songbird
Flower Duet
Hosanna
Steal Away
Sull' Aria
Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace
Sound of Silence

ENCORES:
Silent Night
O Holy Night

Roger

[admin]

From last night's signing session:

Roger

[grant]

Hello Everyone

Last night was my first All Angels concert, having only seen them previously, some time ago, at HMV in Oxford Street. It was also special in another way too, because St James' Piccadilly, is where I saw and met Hayley for the first time, a little over two years ago.

It was a fantastic evening with the girls performing a total of 16 numbers with the musicians opening each half with an instrumental piece.

Highlights for me were "Swing Low" (which produced goose bumps in places I didn't know you could get goose bumps!!) and "Oh Holy Night", but I enjoyed everything really.

Alex did look very nervous when she came on for "Pie Jesu" but who wouldn't have with John Brunning, the composer of the piece, sitting only a few feet away. Afterwards, Alex did say that the whole experience of working with the Angels had been amazing and that she wouldn't have missed any of it for the world.

One thing that struck me about the girls, and I mentioned this to Martin at the end of the concert, is that whenever there is an opportunity, they are interacting with each other whether it be a smile or a shared giggle or just a look. These are four girls who have come together for music and become close friends in the process.

Thank you Daisy Laura, Melanie and Charlotte, you were fab!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Northern_Lights]

I wish I could see it when it's broadcasted- with the computer, who knows! I live in the wrong country fro ClassicalFM-nooo!

[grant]

Hello Everyone

The first few pictures from me taken after the concert

Alex with John Brunning



Alex with her Mum



Alex with Melanie, Charlotte, Laura and Daisy

More in a little while.

Best wishes
Grant

[postscript]

Hi folks.

Oh well done, Roger, he's printed the programme!

It will be interesting to read the different aspects that most caught the attention of those that were there. For me, the tribute I wish to pay is to the ‘unsung’ (yet so superbly sung) hero(es) behind the girls’ own talents. This was a wonderful marriage of two exceptional talents. The girls’ voices, which have marched on incredibly since I last heard them live perhaps a year or so ago and the arranger(s), who combined their meticulous knowledge of those voices with their mastery of music, to make the whole an incredible tribute to what seemed like a gathering of friends, united in their love for music brilliantly presented. In this, it was apposite that the event was in a church, for Love was the essence of this concert.

The girls’ love of music. Their love in giving of their best and in wishing the audience to share with them their marvellous talents; their love for the music, rather than as performers distanced from the audience, they drew the audience into themselves making us feel a part of them. There was a wonderful casualness about their performance. This showed in the way they interacted. Here was a friendship of diverse personalities melded by pursuit of common interests: the work ethic; mind on the job in hand; practice, practice, practice. Their casualness was the right side of nonchalance to show that it derived from superb professional skills, well honed through in-depth practice paying attention to every nuance of detail, yet without arrogance. It was a display of ‘simple’ self-confidence based on knowing their roles thoroughly.

In the marvellous soaring of their voices they could not hide the guiding hands that were behind them, the arranger(s) of their music; the musical skill that showed such in-depth understanding of each voice; that knew which voice to put with which voice in their split pairings, the solo voice in front of the remaining three. The main tribute here apparently is to Simon Lole, with input from Steve Abbot and Ian Tilley.

Perhaps more attention should be given to using St James’s church. It may be, as it was recorded for Classic fm that the quality of amplification was higher, or the operatives were of broadcast quality but I think this was the best amplification of singing I have ever heard in a church. I believe a major tribute could be the church itself. There is minimal echoing stone (some marble by the altar) and no cavernous vaulting, or vast acreage of glass to scatter the sound haphazardly. Instead, the church has a barrel-shaped ceiling of plaster and the walls are a mix of plaster and wood, with a proportional balance of windows. The sound absorbency of these materials must have made a major contribution to the sound we heard. It will be interesting to hear them live in the cathedrals in which they are to appear in 2008, where reflecting stone and acreage of glass will be less friendly, excepting the Metropolitan cathedral in Liverpool. This should have an acoustic quality not unlike St James’s, being circular and constructed of sound absorbing materials, if I recall correctly.

Known as ‘the stump’ to Liverpudlians it is a mile or so away from the C0fE cathedral housing one of the largest organs in the world, with the Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Hall being almost halfway between them. If you want a few days away, grab this opportunity to hear them (28th March 2008). Liverpool is a fascinating city to visit--but it is not 'car friendly'!

Peter S.

[Mark]

Hi everyone

Thanks Peter, Roger, Richard & Grant for your reports. Thanks also to Chris & Grant for the wonderful photo's so far. I know that you have quite a few more from after the show Grant - don't know if the one of me getting my CD signed turned out any good

Anyway, here is my offering:

Well, what can I say What a stunning concert. I hadn't seen the girls perform live since last year at Westminster Abbey and I really noticed how much more confident and polished thier sound was. They sang a mixture of thier first album songs, along with some from "Into Paradise" and were accompanied by a wonderful, although small group of musicians.

Alex, the fifth angel, was introduced by the girls after the first set and was by the looks of it extremely nervous - who wouldn't be. Despite her obvious nerves, her performance was wonderful and she blended so well with the group. Infact, her voice made the overall sound quite different.

It was difficult from where the HWI group were seated to take any photo's really (the first 5 rows were reserved for family, friends and guests) but, thanks to Daisy's mum, Drew, Dave & Chris managed to find a seat up in the reserved area so that they could capture some images and perhaps more - but I'll leave that for Drew to tell you about

Before the concert, a group of us (myself, Roger, Richard,Libby, Gordon, Dazza, Grant and Martin) met up at Garfunkals for a bite to eat and a drink. The others gradually joined us at the church where we were of course at the front of the queue

Afterwards, the girls set themselves up in the lobby for a major signing session. While the queue was long at the start,Caitlin and I managed to say "well done" to Alex, who for the second half sat with her mum just opposite us. All three of the girls from Bedlam were present, along with Steve Abbott himself, who was busy selling CD's. It was good to see them all again. I also managed to have a brief chat with Daisy's mum, who was asking me if I thought the girls had improved since I saw them last year - well the answer to that of course was a very firm "YES". I had decided that I was going to wait to buy my copy of the new album so that I could get it at the concert. I waited until the queue had gone down and then had a chat with the girls, who each signed my CD.

It was a wonderful evening and it was great to catch up with some HWI regulars. It was particularly good to see Libby again and to meet Dazza for the first time.

If you should read this Laura, Melanie, Charlotte, Daisy - and Alex, thank you so much for a very enjoyable evening and a fantastic performance .

Mark

[grant]

Hello again!

Here are a few more pictures from me from All Angels signing session after the concert.

Daisy, Charlotte, Laura and Melanie



Daisy finding something funny



Charlotte taking it all in



Laura smiling beautifully for the camera



Melanie with 'a cheesy grin'. Her words, not mine!

That's all for now. There'll be a few more tomorrow

Best wishes
Grant

[Stuart]

Great pictures Chris and Grant

I was sorry not to be able to attend but an important Governors Meeting had to take precedence on this occasion but I am looking fwd to seeing the Angels again soon.

It sounds like you had a really good time.

Stuart

[winglessflight]

Thanks for the fabulous reports & pictures, everyone! Sounds like the concert was AMAZING! But then, that's no surprise.

I would be curious to know-- what were the names of the instrumental pieces?

[dazza]

Hi Everyone,

I have just finished reading through all the reports and pictures, thanks a lot for posting them, they are fantastic.

Well what can I say accept ‘wow’! That is one of the most enjoyable evenings I have had in a long time. The girls were absolutely fantastic, I knew that seeing them live would be good but I thought that they were amazing. What a performance from the girls for my first ever concert.

Alexandra was excellent too, she only sung Pie Jesu with them, but she looked and sounded so natural with the girls, I was very impressed with her, I hope that this leads to other opportunities for her because she is very talented.

I thought that the concert was a little short than what I thought it would be, but perhaps that is because I was enjoying it so much, the girls even said so themselves that doesn’t time fly when you are having fun! No complaints at all from me though, I really enjoyed the whole evening.

I managed to get a couple of photographs but with the flash off my camera seemed out of focus and they didn’t come out well at all, in fact they are awful and you can hardly see the girls at all, but I am having a new, and much better camera for Christmas so hopefully that wont be as much of a problem for future concerts.

It was lovely to meet the girls afterwards too, I just wish that I had said more too them, I should have taken some pictures but I forgot in my excitement, I wanted my photograph with them, or one of them but I didn’t have the nerves to ask, I did get my CD signed which you can see below.

One big but pleasant surprise came at the end when I walked out, a woman asked if I was Dazza and she said she recognised me from the website, it turned out to be Daisy’s mum! I was surprised how she recognised me from the forum but she knew it was my first and asked if enjoyed the concert, which was really nice of her.

It was so nice to meet everybody else too. I am so glad that we met in Garfunkles first, as you could probably tell I was a little nervous and shy at the start of the evening, and I am really sorry that I didn’t say too much, I do get better at that as I get to know people and I am looking forward to meeting you all again at future All Angels/Hayley concerts. A special thanks to Roger too for the meals it was very kind of you.

Overall I had a fantastic night, the girls were excellent, and I can’t wait to see them again in Birmingham and Huddersfield next month.



Dazza

[james]

Greetings!

I had a thoroughly pleasant evening yesterday, and it was great to see All Angels perform live for the first time. I was very impressed by the quality and maturity of the girls' performance and realised I really should be joining this forum (no need to introduce myself as I recognise many of the people on this forum already). A big thanks to everyone at HWI who introduced me to All Angels music

I look forward to seeing everyones reports and pictures appear over the next few days.

Cheers,

James

[Northern_Lights]

Lovely pics, it was a great surprise seeing them after I got home!

[admin]

all7angels8is4cool said:

I wish I could see it when it's broadcasted- with the computer, who knows! I live in the wrong country fro ClassicalFM-nooo!

Hi Northern Lights,

Even if you lived in the UK, it is doubtful that you would be able to see it when it is broadcast for one very good reason...

It is Classic FM radio!

Roger