Colourful troop delights Warwick church audience

The York Waits, St Mary’s church, Warwick, November 6.

A GRAND procession from the West Door - with prominent tenor and alto shawms - introduced the York Waits for their annual refreshingly colourful visit. Bringing an enlarged selection of period instruments and new personnel, York Waits introduced 15th century early Renaissance music from Italy, Germany, Spain, Holland, France and Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Bedfordshire representing England.

Shawm (a forerunner to the oboe), hurdy-gurdy, recorder, fiddle and lute are fundamental to the music of the time, but a delightful innovation, the portative organ, made a very big impact and received much attention in the interval. This table top instrument with paper pipes, bellows and keyboard produces a warm, mellow sound which, when paired with the lute, delivers just the sort of sound to accompany honoured guests as they take their seats for a feast.

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Newcomer Lizzie Gutteridge made an impact too, playing shawm, bagpipe, recorder and fiddle in support of mezzo-soprano Deborah Catterall’s hallmark precision in German, Dutch, French and Bedfordshire songs. She reminded us of austerity times singing about ‘living on air if the King’s money doesn’t come’. Bringing four recorders together for improvisations on a Spanish dance provided a first half highlight.

German songs and dances brought three bagpipes together - these began life as shawms. With bladders added to act as bellows they produce a resonant, entrancing tone. Debyshire’s folksy Gresley dances began the climax to the evening – an evening full of skilled musicianship and fine singing.

We just needed the court jester to complete the line up.

Clive Peacock