Bristol Cathedral High Sheriff of Bristol Charity Gala Concert

FROM the moment the west door of the cathedral opened revealing the Band of the Grenadier Guards resplendent in their scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, who then marched through the nave to take up their position in the transept, the tone of this gala concert was set.

Although the programme fulfilled the wishes of the High Sheriff of Bristol, John Cottrell, to be entertaining while involving as wide a section of the community as possible, at the same time it also had a distinct patriotic theme at its heart.

Following The City Fanfare, played by the Lord Mayor's trumpeter Norman Golding, we were given an insight into the future of music in the city in the form of Bristol Sounds created, with the help of the Bristol Ensemble, by pupils of St Pius X Primary School.

The future was also firmly in view with 19-year-old soprano Josephine Goddard, who took time off from her studies at the Royal College of Music to send the beautiful sounds of Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer: O for the Wings of a Dove ringing clearly around the cathedral.

The world premier of Philip Wilby's Fitzhardinge Fanfare and Fugue 325, commissioned by The High Sheriff, reminded us that this concert had the dual purpose of raising money, for Bristol Youth & Community Action (BYCA), which supports holiday activity for vulnerable children in the Bristol area, and The Fitzhardinge Society whose aim is to create a permanent financial endowment for the cathedral.

John Williams's Summon The Heroes, and Hymn To The Fallen poignantly reminded us that the members of this fine band are also serving soldiers, some of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice.

After a light-hearted interlude with their Big Band, the Grenadiers, under the firm but friendly baton of Major KFN Roberts, whose final concert this was with the band, swept he whole audience up in a wave of stirring patriotic melodies, including Jerusalem, the return of Josephine Goddard to lead the way in Rule Britannia, and Land Of Hope And Glory.

It was an ending that gladdened the hearts of many in the cathedral, particularly a group surrounding me from The Royal British Legion.

7/10

GERRY PARKER