Music / “Love is Born”, Luminescence Children’s Choir, Wesley Uniting Church, December 19. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY

WHIMSICAL and witty choral music from across nations, generations and styles, sung by the Luminescence Children’s Choir interwoven with the angelic sounds of the harp and piano, led to a concert of joy-filled fun.

The performers were Luminescence Children’s Choir, Emily Granger, harp; Veronica Milroy, piano and directed by AJ America.

Beginning with Canada’s oldest Christmas song, “The Huron Carol”, this plaintive almost mystical tune performed by the choir with Milroy, not in her usual position of soprano but on piano, produced an ethereal start to this short recital. The concert was broken up into five parts.

The “Sussex Carol”, arranged by Bob Chilcott that followed, upped the volume and the beat. Its bouncy rhythms had the choir moving along with the tune.

Next came another traditional work arranged by Dan Walker, “Il est né le divin enfant”, with Granger on harp. This lovely work flowed with subtlety, and polyphonic singing, which ended on a very high note.

America, who conducted, works well with this choir. The children pay close attention to her directions, which are clear and effective. The choir watched her closely and responded with enthusiasm.

For John Rutter’s, “King Jesus Hath A Garden”, Granger, Milroy, choir and soloists created a delightful sound for this bright and playful song.

In part three, titled “Christmas Feasts and Feathered Friends”, the most beautiful tune, “The Nightingale”, by Deborah Henson-Conant, played solo by Granger, had the choir and the audience fascinated. It was the perfect harp piece played so wonderfully, but also sounded quite pianistic.

In part four, Paul Stanhope’s “Frosty the Snowman: An Inconvenient Truth”, was a delightful take on this popular seasonal tune. This fun-filled song had whistling, spoken word, sound effects and soloists in its comical arrangement. It also had Milroy performing a lively piano part that brought much happiness as the audience cheered at the end.

The fifth part titled, “The Angel of Good Tidings”, had the soft and slow “Angel’s Carol”, by John Rutter, “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Ives and “Love Came Down at Christmas”, a traditional song arranged by Patrick Baker from a text by Christina Rossetti. The choir struggled a little with the polyphonic part of this last tune, but in the end, they brought it all together nicely.

The enthusiasm and the overall quality from the Luminescence Children’s Choir showed just how good the up-and-coming vocal talent is in our musical city of Canberra.