EVERY year a series of concerts is given on Tuesday lunchtimes during Lent at the church of St Thomas-on-the Bourne in support of Christian Aid, organised by the admirable Mavis Golding.

A regular performer at these concerts is the soprano Nicola Sharkey, accompanied by her husband Brian Cotterill, and they are always keenly anticipated by their many friends and admirers.

On Tuesday, March 27, Nicola began her programme with the dramatic Sebben, Crudele by Antonio Caldara from his opera La Constanza in Amor Vince l’Inganno in which Nicola projected the great feeling of the words in which the singer expresses her love for the cruel, scornful object of her affection.

Quite different was Gluck’s O toi, qui prolongeas me jours. Iphigenia, high priestess of the goddess Diana, is troubled by a bad dream and prays to be reunited with her brother Orestes. It was wonderful to observe how Nicola held the long phrases and of course held the attention of the audience as well.

Then there was a recitative and aria from Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) which takes place in Egypt. Cleopatra is in love with Julius Caesar but believes him dead and in the aria she bemoans her fate: but in the agitated central section she vows that after her death she will haunt tyranny night and day.

It is a mark of a great singer that she projects these emotions in her performance.

It was now the turn of Brian to play a piano solo. “Farewell to Stromness” was written as part of an artistic protest in Orkney against the threat of uranium mining very close to the town. It is a very beautiful piece and has rightly become very popular.

After all this sadness and soul searching it was good to have some consolation. So Nicola gave us Come unto him from Handel’s Messiah followed by the Benedictus from Haydn’s Little Organ Mass, both accompanied on the organ.

An organ solo Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Come now, Saviour of the Gentiles) from Brian followed, with the last two items on the programme folk songs.

The Scottish song ‘I know where I’m going’, arranged by John Rutter, was followed by The Salley Gardens, from Ireland, arranged by Benjamin Britten, both sung mezza voce, with great restraint, and hugely enjoyed by the audience.

As an encore Nicola and Brian gave us O mio babbino caro (O my beloved daddy) from Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi where Schicchi’s daughter Lauretta is wheedling her father to let her marry the man of her choice. There was not a dry eye in the church after this.

Review by John Mansfield.