The West London Sangerstevne started as an offshoot of the Questors Choir in Acton; based on the Scandanavian concept of a non-competitive singing event, initially there were just a few choirs, but over the years it has grown and grown, so that today it is a very packed all day event, held at St. Matthew's Church in Ealing Common.
In addition to singing on the Saturday, many of the choirs now give concerts at various churches around London on the Friday and Sunday evneings, and this one was at St. John's Holland Road - a beautiful, richly ornate church which has an air of solemnity and holiness.
There were four choirs singing, one, Corole Prieamo Gallisay, from Italy, the Doire Caigach Singers from Ireland, Lynnfi Valley ladies Choir from Wales, and Take Twenty from Camden.
They were all good, but nothing exceptional; you wouldn't have come out of the church feeling that any particular choir was absolutely fantastic and stood out above all the others.
There was only a five minute interval as the programme was over-running, but as theire were no refreshments, it didn't really matter - it was just a chance to stretch one's legs.
And one certainly needed to. The pews in St. John's are particularly hard and uncomfortable, and far from ideal for sitting for long periods. Ten minutes is quite enough! So I was glad for the chance to get up and walk around.
It was a pleasant evening, but nothing more.
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