Photo by Nick Ford Photography
I’ve been listening to Brighton’s Rainbow Chorus for over five years and I can honestly say this is the best concert they’ve given.
Well-known for their energy, sense of fun and wide choice of songs, they’ve now fully added lush, powerful harmonies and beautiful tonal quality. Their performances would grace any concert platform.
This year’s summer concert had Hot Harmonies as its title, and in a sweltering and fairly airless St George’s Church, Kemptown, they gave us a taste of Africa to match the climate.
Shosholoza was a rousing number followed by Slyahamba – a Zulu song full of those joyous harmonies and rhythms we associate with that part of the world. Indeed I could have gone on listening to more of their African vibes, but the programme moved on to the Disney faux Africanism of Circle of Life from The Lion King – sung well but not a patch musically on the real thing in the opening two songs.
We got 21 items in all and I can’t list them all, but the Māori Pokarekare, with its wistfulness of a forbidden love letter, was terrific. Fresh from an international queer choir festival in Bologna, Rainbow Chorus brought us a song they sang there – I guess now a great queer anthem – True Colours, complete with signing that had a beauty of its own on top of the excellent choral tone.
Rise Up had a great tonal quality too – broad and rich, and I Wish I Knew took me back to the days of Barry Norman’s TV film programme – this was his signature tune. It had a very gospel feeling, especially from the always excellent piano accompaniment of Mojca Monte Amali. They ended Part One with the great queer anthem Chosen Family, which was greeted with loud approval by the packed audience.
Part Two had smaller groups showcasing their talents. Brian Wilson’s In My Room was haunting, and though it didn’t pack the punch of the full choir, the harmonies were spot on. Billy Joel’s And So It Goes shows the discipline that quiet singing demands and Sondheim’s No-one Is Alone was harmonically perfect, though I think they could have pulled the tempo about a bit – but a great sound.
The rousing Go West gave us another reason to be glad to be gay, and the marvellously contrasting You Will be Found from Dear Evan Hansen and One Day Like This gave us a perfect ending. The last song’s lyric included: “one day a year like this will see me right.” And that’s how I felt about the Rainbow Chorus’ evening. Hats off as always to musical director Aneesa Chaudhry, who has got this group to stellar singing heights, from where I’m sure they’ll continue to prosper.
