Christmas Music/Night of Miracles, Stokesley Methodist Church

ONE the richest joys of the Christmas season is the opportunity to experience music performed by local choirs and musicians.

A capacity audience, invited by Helen Weighell, leader of Stokesley Methodist Choir, joined enthusiastically in the opening carol, It Came upon a Midnight Clear.

Ms Weighell, a gifted local musician, is responsible for the enviably high standard of music at the church and led the choir in an enjoyable programme of mixed choral and solo items, finishing with Night of Miracles.

Highlights included Rutter’s Christmas Lullaby sung by Sallie Weighell, who has a fine, sweet soprano voice and did full justice to this lovely piece.

Peter Howe, accompanying himself on guitar, sang A Whisper of Winter and A Song for Advent, as well as his own composition – Love, Joy, Faith, Hope and Me, which had the choir and audience echoing the key words.

This was followed by the choir singing the very beautiful melody and simple words of Kumbaya, which originated in the West Indies and is thought to be a local form of Come by Here – a supplication to Christ.

A real surprise and musical treat was provided by two young brothers, saxophonists Christopher and James Muir, aged 15 and nine respectively, who played a flawless bluesy mixture of carol tunes, rounding off with a wonderful jazzy arrangement of Hark the Herald Angels Sing – they were sensational.

Night of Miracles, led and accompanied on piano by Ms Weighell, made a great finale to an excellent programme. Solo parts were performed by Leigh Harrison, Pauline Rowell and Alan Weighell with Lesley Jackson as narrator.

This was a very enjoyable and varied programme of Christmas music beautifully performed.

Irene MacDonald