A Celebration in Words and Music of the Winter Season All photos © Mike Jones

Review of "When Icicles Hang by the Wall" Ely Cathedral confirmed its reputation as a centre of high profile excellence with the production of “When Icicles hang by the Wall”, the brainchild of Roger Redfarn. A phenomenal line up of participating top stars included Petula Clark, Nicholas Grace, David Griffin, Sylvia Syms, Christopher Timothy and June Whitfield. The evening culminated with the special guest appearance of none-other than Dame Vera Lynn OBE LLD. The programme of words and music celebrating winter was framed with the expected first-class music of Ely Cathedral Choir directed by Paul Trepte. Jonathan Lilley accompanied on piano or organ with his usual formidable flair and sensitivity. The choir sang a delightful array of compositions including the nostalgic “September Song” (Kurt Weill), a glitzy “We Need a Little Christmas” (Jerry Herman) and favourites such as “Zither Carol” (arr. Sargent), Rutter’s “Donkey Carol” and Holst’s “Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day”. The choir’s unrivalled powerfully focussed and sustained sound positively inspired the packed audience. One of the most moving moments was their mesmerising performance of “In the Bleak Midwinter” (Darke). The choir, resplendent in red and placed in the Cathedral’s famous octagon with the dazzling Christmas tree to the side, gave the listeners an unforgettable experience that will forever remind them of the spirit of winter. The famous stars on stage added greatly to this phenomenal experience. Petula Clark appealed strongly to the emotions with her uniquely arranged interpretations of familiar songs such as “Autumn Leaves” (Johnny Mercer) and “I’ll be Home for Christmas” (Kent and Gannon). In her reading of Wordsworth’s poem “The Daffodils” she captured the light, beauty and reflection in the words magnificently. Nickolas Grace gave particularly charismatic readings especially in “The Boy Actor” by Noel Coward. With his acting skill we could readily believe it was the voice of noel Coward describing his youthful delight in the theatre. David Griffin, with his special vocal timbre and purposeful diction, enlivened the imagination with his inspired readings of “The Burning Leaves” (L. Binyon), “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (Robert Frost) and “The Highwayman” (Alfred Noyes). Sylvia Sims filled the Cathedral with laughter with her reading of Shirley Valentine talking to her wall in Willy Russell’s “Nativity”. Every ounce of humour was milked from the parent’s recall of the disastrous debut of her son as an actor when he was given the part of Joseph in the school nativity play. The calm voice of reason, fatherly-concern and wisdom by Christopher Timothy gave a special sense of friendly intimacy to his readings such as “A Soldier’s Winter” (Larry Cluck). In “Christmas at Sea” a sense of urgency and drama caught us up in the dangers of a wild sinter sea and his reading of “The Fight of the Year” (Roger McGough) buzzed with sheer excitement and drive. June Whitfield filled the Cathedral with her unmistakeable wit and captivating style. She drew every ounce of expression and humour from “No” (Thomas Hood), “The New Regime” (Wendy Cope! ) and &l dquo;The Twelve Days of Christmas” (John Julian Norwich). This highly successful prestigious event raised funds for SOS – The Stars Organization for Cerebral Palsy and for the Ely Cathedral Music Appeal. An impressive speech by the President of SOS, Dame Vera Lynn, in a strong unblemished voice (in spite of her 90 years) described the huge benefits this organisation provides. One example given was the organisation’s support for parents of children with cerebral palsy aged from a few months to 5 years old – a period not supported by the education authorities. Such parents are taught how to apply the Hungarian-initiated style of conductive teaching that teaches the children to lift their head, to turn their eyes, to hold a spoon – to use their bodies more effectively so that they can help themselves. This was indeed a special event supporting special and deserving causes. Rosemary Westwell Contacts: www.starsorg.co.uk www.cathedral.ely.org

Dame Vera Lynn

Petula also sang "It Might as Well Be Spring."