September 6: The choir staged a memorable performance at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday September 5, winning applause and plaudits from near and far. The singing was enhanced by the cathedral’s magnificent acoustics,  which thrilled choristers and audience alike.

Audience rapt as CMVC sings at Southwark

The day began with the customary singing tour of nearby Borough Market, attracting crowds of shoppers diverting from their search for artisanal doughnuts, organic avocados and the like. They cheered and clapped wildly in appreciation of pieces ranging from Robbie Williams' Angels to Puccini's Nessun Dorma.

The choir assembled in the cathedral courtyard and then, promptly at midday, took its place on the stage in front of the altar.  Its opening set consisted of pieces of prayer or worship, beginning with Vivaldi's Gloria in Excelsis and ending with African Prayer, received with great applause.  Choir accompanist Sam Prouse kept the audience entertained with a thunderous performance on the cathedral organ, followed by the choir singing its second set, this time with a popular song flavour, from Make You Feel My Love to Sunshine on Leith.

Choir in full flow at Southwark

By this time the cathedral seating was full, and the rear of the nave was crowded with standing spectators.  The third set was an eclectic one, starting with the Finlandia Hymn, followed by the male voice classics Morte Criste and Gwahoddiad, the latter sung partly in Welsh, and ending with the Coldplay hit Fix You.

As the final notes reverberated around the nave, the audience was in its feet, applauding and cheering.  With a wedding waiting to the take the choir's place, there could be no encore, but the applause continued as the choir exited down the centre aisle and headed for the Mudlark pub next door. 

Ecstatic audience at end, with MD Andrew acknowledging the applause

Choir members received numerous compliments and congratulations: a woman in the front row, who came from Sutton, had tears in her eyes as she gave the singers her thanks.  Another, Jenny Vincent who had travelled from Caterham with her sister to hear the choir, said she could not clap at the end of the Lord’s Prayer “as I was so emotional”.

 A third told bass John Parker the performance was “wonderful – particularly in that setting”. Another remarked that on arriving during Gwahoddiad, he thought he was listening to a top-class Welsh choir.

That praise was capped by a message from none other than Ieuan Jones, music director of the British and Irish Lions Rugby Choir, with which a number of choir members have sung on its international rugby tours. He shared a video of the performance of Fix You on his Facebook page with the comment: "Fantastic job, gents. Thank you for singing my arrangement in such a stunning cathedral.”