7:30pm in the Parish Church
Clear Voices - the world-renowned girls’ choir from Belarus
Nearly 350 people – from a babe in arms to great grand parents – and
two choirs – the Wadhurst Primary School Singing Group and the Wadhurst
Chorale - were packed into the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul on Saturday
evening, as part of the Wadhurst Summer Music Festival, to share an extraordinary
experience with the ‘Clear Voices’ Girls’ Choir from Novopolotsk
in Belarus, singing in aid of Chernobyl Children’s Life Line, a charity
devoted to giving children affected by the consequences of that disaster 25
years ago a chance of a break in the clean atmosphere of Western Europe.
Founded 20 years ago by Albert Kozhushkevich in School no. 3, the choir is
now internationally renowned; they won first prize in their class at the 2004
at the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen and in 2008 they won a silver
medal at the World Choir Olympics in Vienna. This year they have been
staying in Wadhurst with local families for nearly three weeks, singing in
Canterbury, Southwark and the Russian Orthodox Cathedrals, in Tonbridge School
Chapel, St Mary’s Tenterden and in Wadhurst.
Welcomed by the Wadhurst Chorale with a song in Russian as they came smartly
down the aisle, they then joined in a Welcome song, written by a local team
of Noel Bannister and Barbara Liddle. The first part of their programme
was of Russian Orthodox church; their discipline is quite extraordinary and
their vocal range astounding: from an almost deafening fortissimo to a delicate
fading away almost to nothing, with astonishing breath control. Singing
almost entirely from memory, they never took their eyes off their conductor
and swayed gently to the rhythm of their song.
The Primary School, under their leader Sarah Massheder, then gave a spirited
rendering of Kalinka, which showed the benefit they had gained from
a master class with Albert and the Belarus choir. The next section of ‘Clear
Voices’ programme included works sung in Russian and Latin; here they
really demonstrated their versatility – singing the Bizet Agnus Dei,
their whole tone and style changed towards that of a conventional western choir.
After the interval, they returned in a change of costume – and sang
in several different styles with contemporary music by Belarus composers, extolling
their homeland and the bells of Santa Sofia Cathedral, specially written for
them. They then moved on to songs from the shows – including Edelweiss from
the Sound of Music.
For a complete change, they were then joined by both the other choirs in the
spirited round ‘Sumer is icumen in’, which really brought the house
down. ‘Clear Voices’ ended their programme with a beautiful Ave
Maria and then ‘Let us Rejoice’ or ‘Hava
nagila’. But that was not the end of the evening.
They sang a tribute to mothers everywhere but especially to their temporary
mothers in Wadhurst, who had cared for them while they were away from home;
there were tears in the audience and in the choir as emotion flowed. Next
a special song for Patricia Hall, who – as project organiser for Chernobyl
Children’s Life Line - had brought the girls to Wadhurst, and finally
a short reminder that that really was the end.
Standing ovations time and again in the last stages of the evening showed just
how special Wadhurst felt ‘Clear Voices’ had been; they will remain
in our memories and in our hearts for years to come. And the evening
has been recorded and is available on CD for £10 post paid – from
Carillon Cottage or online: