An excellent audience of visitors and supporters of the Tenby and Pembrokeshire branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, gathered at St. Johns Church, Tenby, on Tuesday, to hear a concert given by Tenby Male Choir, on behalf of the charity. Despite a rainy, blustery day, the evening turned out fine and mild, and it was good to see the audience relaxed and comfortable in summer, lightweight clothing, filling up the pews -even upstairs in the gallery - as the choristers arrived in the big schoolroom at the back of the church. Welcome to the event and an introduction to the choir, their MD and accompanist, was made by Mrs. Eva Rich, the secretary of the Tenby and Pembrokeshire branch of the association, and the choir opened with their usual Welsh 'Gwahoddiad,' which was a rousing opening number. Followed by one of the newer numbers in their repetoire, 'What would I do without my music?', and then by one of their well-established ballads, 'She,' the choir finished their first set with the lively spiritual sung by most male choirs, 'When the Saints go marching in!' Choir soloists for the evening were David Llewellyn and Paul Varallo, both second tenors, but both of whom have distinctive and very different voices. Guest soloist was Mrs. Eva Rich herself. A rich contralto, Eva has sung solo for many years and has been accompanied on hundreds of occasions by Mrs. Peggy Morgan, of Templeton. This evening, she was accompanied by Peggy's daughter, Jill, who is, of course, the choir's excellent accompanist. Peggy was in the audience to hear Eva and Jill and to enjoy the experience very much more than when she was playing, I'm sure. It is a challenging work, accompanying any singer(s), but Jill always does it beautifully, as did Peggy in her days. Eva sang the Ivor Novello piece 'Waltz of my Heart' to open and then the song made famous 40 years ago by Louis Armstrong, 'What a wonderful world.' This sounded especially poignant sung by Eva, as it is full of the phrase 'I see....' and, of course, Eva is blind. When the choir returned, it was to sing 'The Rhythm of Life' to open and then 'The Rose,' one of the newer repetoire items. This lovely ballad, with its quite complicated timing and the overlap of harmony flowing from the bass sections through the tenor sections, has captured the 'Tenby Sound' well, and was re-arranged for the choir by Christine. 'Pan fo'r nos yn hir' was the next number and to end the set, 'Nirvana,' that most beautiful and dramatic piece which 'stretches' the choir in so many ways, and allows them to give full voice on occasion. David and Paul returned to stage then, to sing 'I'll walk with God' and 'Bless this House', respectively. These pieces were much enjoyed, as their earlier numbers. Eva returned to sing 'You'll never walk alone' and 'If I can help somebody,' two pieces which evoked many memories for the audience. In the final set, the choir again sang a mix of 'old' and 'new' repetoire pieces, the penultimate song being the item 'Pie Iesu', part of the only Requiem Mass composed for a male choir. It was greatly moving and beautifully sung. The piece was one chosen by Christine for the 'Choir of Gentlemen' concert in May, and it was only the second time Tenby Male Choir had sung this on their own. Jill's empathetic accompaniment enhanced the listening experience. When Christine asked any visiting choristers to join the choir for its final piece, 'Morte Christe,' it was good to see John Hurlow come down the aisle. John has suffered ill health for some time and is much missed in the choir. He was accompanied by Charlie, a friend from Pembroke choir. It was also good to see yet another new face in Tenby Male Choir this week. When Eva came to the front to give her thanks on behalf of the president of the association, who was in the audience, she was accompanied by her guide dog, Angie, who, she said, had slept throughout the concert, but was the only one in the audience who was allowed to do so! (or who wanted to do so!). Eva explained that the cost of a guide dog through its lifetime was between £20,000 and £30,000, and this was why it was necessary to constantly fund raise. The association not only trains the dogs, but pays food costs and vets fees throughout its life. Angie is Eva's fifth guide dog. She is seven-years- old and has been with Eva for five years. Eva expressed her thanks to the church officers, to John and Eric for their help in organising the concert, to Christine, Jill and the choristers, and to the audience for attending and supporting the event. It is some years, Eva said, since Tenby Male Choir gave a concert for this association, but she praised its work for all the hundreds of charity concerts it has given over the years and for the thousands of pounds it has raised. The concert ended with the singing of the English and Welsh National Anthems.
