Michael Reckord, Contributor

Members of the Jamaica College Chapel Choir perform in concert at Saxthorpe Methodist Church, Constant Spring Road, on Sunday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

As she prepared to sing one of the most popular Christmas hymns, O Holy Night, soprano Carole Reid announced, "This is my favourite. If it's not sung, it's not Christmas."

She then launched into a beautiful rendition of the song, one that created a mood of reverence and had her audience nodding or singing along softly.

That was one of the highlights of the concert presented at Saxthorpe Methodist Church, Constant Spring Road, on Sunday by the Jamaica College Chapel Choir in collaboration with the church. The conductor was choirmaster Randall Campbell.

The main works on the hour-and-a-half-long show were Haydn's Insanae et Vanae Curae (Insane and Curiously Vain) and excerpts from Mozart's Coronation Mass in C Major. The former, a short piece (lasting about five minutes) requiring four-part singing, is quite varied, but neither tuneful nor inspiring. I found it a well-handled exercise by the boys' choir.

Solemn feeling

With the help of guest soloists Reid and tenor Carl Bliss, however, the choir reached ne for the performance of the Mozart Mass. Reid's soaring notes heralded the sublimity of the first movement, Kyrie. The second, Gloria, and third, Benedictus, were both joyous, while the third, with its slow piano introduction (superbly played by Ann Trouth), induced a more solemn feeling.

Special kudos must go to Reid and Bliss who, ideally, should have had the assistance of a baritone and a singer. Livingston Burnett, the baritone who was scheduled, was reportedly at another engagement.

Campbell told The Gleaner that Burnett should be present for the other concerts that make up the choir's annual season. On December 16, the venue will be the Port Antonio Methodist Church, and on January 6, it will be St. Peter's Anglican Church in Falmouth.

Also sung by the choir in part one of the concert were O Come All Ye Faithful (Willcocks), Ave Verum (Mozart) and Old 100th Psalm Tune (Vaughn-Williams). In those three items, the trebles were outstandingly beautiful.

I found more to admire in the other voices of the approximately 30-strong choir, which boasts singers in all the standard categories - trebles tenors and basses. Perhaps because the lighter-voiced trebles outnumber all the other voices combined, the choir does not have a really strong sound and it is better with the gentler pieces than the more robust ones.

Lovely ending

Of the eight anthems and carols sung by the JC boys in part two, my favourites were the placid Once in Royal David's City (Willcocks), the cleverly arranged Jingle Bells, and the humorous 12 Days of Christmas (John Rutter). The audience gave strongest applause to the varied Carol of the Bells. The final carol, Joy to the World, started off joyously, but was given a puzzlingly anticlimactic ending.

The programme was very well received by the audience, notwithstanding a few hitches during the concert, some caused because of poor communication between the conductor and the accompanist. At times, because of the location of the instrument and the choir, Trouth and Campbell were hidden from each other.