Birkbeck has Talent
At ten o’clock on Wednesday 6th July there was a bubbly, end-of-term atmosphere in the Birkbeck Room – this was the last session of the year and morning of Birkbeck Has Talent.
Laureen Morgan opened the concert with a beautifully sung performance of Let it Be Peace on Earth, and Let it Begin with Me. Then it was Sue Wallace-Shaddad’s turn. She read two poems, “The Choir” and “A Squabble of Sea Gulls”, which - as I later learned – she had written herself. I was impressed, because the poems made an immediate impact and I’d assumed they were by a well-known contemporary poet whom I’d not yet discovered and should have done. Lin Dalley then sang, with just the right degree of tenderness, a lovely and moving song from the Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd, “Not While I’m Around”. And I particularly enjoyed too David Mitchell’s assured delivery of an equally moving piece, Charles Causley’s poem, “Timothy Winters” – which I had not heard for years but remembered vividly because it ends with what must be some of the most effective and striking last lines of any short modern poem: “So come one angel, come on ten: / Timothy Winters says ‘Amen / Amen, amen, amen amen’ / Timothy Winters, Lord / Amen”. David brought out its full value.
Next there was a change of tone with a double act. Jean and Joe McSorley sang an Irish folk song called “Maids When You’re Young”, a cautionary tale warning girls to beware of advances from men – particularly old ones. Joe accompanied the song on a “corylute”, an instrument I had never seen before which, he tells me he had made himself; it is, apparently strung like a ukulele but, he says, easier to play. After a few verses the audience joined in with the refrains enthusiastically. Sue then recited two more of her own poems, “Inherited” and “Teen-age Summer”, which she described as more thoughtful which, she claims, relate, to 1969, the period when she left school. Stevie Schofeld also went back in time in her choice of a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s 1996 musical, Sunset Boulevard, “As if We Never Said Goodbye”. Although Stevie said that this was a show that she had never seen, she brought out beautifully the mixture of apprehension and excitement conveyed by the lyric of the song.
David Mitchell’s choice for his next poem was Wendy Cope’s witty summary of “English Weather” – a poem which, for the audience seemed only too appropriate as a comment of the summer as it had been up to that date. The next song was also appropriate, and appealing. Eileen Simpson sang Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind”, accompanying herself on the guitar which was impressive because, as Ben told us, she had been learning to play the instrument for just a few months.
Impressive, too, was Terry Stendall’s introduction to his musical contribution, the final item in Birkbeck Has Talent. Terry assured us that he had received a phone call the night before from a friend and former colleague at the Royal Opera House no less, who had urged him to sing “O Sole Mio” this morning, insisting that it should be sung in Italian, by everyone. Terry then led us in several choruses of “Just One Cornetto” - quasi Italian? - delivered wih gusto. By that point I think we all felt that, yes, Birkbeck has got talent.
After the concert there were speeches and presentations to Be and to Richard, then to others who had made a contribution to the year’s activities, and at 12.00 we made our way to the Ipswich and Suffolk Club for lunch. The sun came out, and I’m sure we all enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch served in spacious and comfortable surroundings both in the club and outside in the courtyard.
With Thanks to Reporter SH
At ten o’clock on Wednesday 6th July there was a bubbly, end-of-term atmosphere in the Birkbeck Room – this was the last session of the year and morning of Birkbeck Has Talent.
Laureen Morgan opened the concert with a beautifully sung performance of Let it Be Peace on Earth, and Let it Begin with Me. Then it was Sue Wallace-Shaddad’s turn. She read two poems, “The Choir” and “A Squabble of Sea Gulls”, which - as I later learned – she had written herself. I was impressed, because the poems made an immediate impact and I’d assumed they were by a well-known contemporary poet whom I’d not yet discovered and should have done. Lin Dalley then sang, with just the right degree of tenderness, a lovely and moving song from the Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd, “Not While I’m Around”. And I particularly enjoyed too David Mitchell’s assured delivery of an equally moving piece, Charles Causley’s poem, “Timothy Winters” – which I had not heard for years but remembered vividly because it ends with what must be some of the most effective and striking last lines of any short modern poem: “So come one angel, come on ten: / Timothy Winters says ‘Amen / Amen, amen, amen amen’ / Timothy Winters, Lord / Amen”. David brought out its full value.
Next there was a change of tone with a double act. Jean and Joe McSorley sang an Irish folk song called “Maids When You’re Young”, a cautionary tale warning girls to beware of advances from men – particularly old ones. Joe accompanied the song on a “corylute”, an instrument I had never seen before which, he tells me he had made himself; it is, apparently strung like a ukulele but, he says, easier to play. After a few verses the audience joined in with the refrains enthusiastically. Sue then recited two more of her own poems, “Inherited” and “Teen-age Summer”, which she described as more thoughtful which, she claims, relate, to 1969, the period when she left school. Stevie Schofeld also went back in time in her choice of a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s 1996 musical, Sunset Boulevard, “As if We Never Said Goodbye”. Although Stevie said that this was a show that she had never seen, she brought out beautifully the mixture of apprehension and excitement conveyed by the lyric of the song.
David Mitchell’s choice for his next poem was Wendy Cope’s witty summary of “English Weather” – a poem which, for the audience seemed only too appropriate as a comment of the summer as it had been up to that date. The next song was also appropriate, and appealing. Eileen Simpson sang Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind”, accompanying herself on the guitar which was impressive because, as Ben told us, she had been learning to play the instrument for just a few months.
Impressive, too, was Terry Stendall’s introduction to his musical contribution, the final item in Birkbeck Has Talent. Terry assured us that he had received a phone call the night before from a friend and former colleague at the Royal Opera House no less, who had urged him to sing “O Sole Mio” this morning, insisting that it should be sung in Italian, by everyone. Terry then led us in several choruses of “Just One Cornetto” - quasi Italian? - delivered wih gusto. By that point I think we all felt that, yes, Birkbeck has got talent.
After the concert there were speeches and presentations to Be and to Richard, then to others who had made a contribution to the year’s activities, and at 12.00 we made our way to the Ipswich and Suffolk Club for lunch. The sun came out, and I’m sure we all enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch served in spacious and comfortable surroundings both in the club and outside in the courtyard.
With Thanks to Reporter SH