LAST Saturday (23rd November) Caldicot Male Voice Choir returned to sing at Holy Trinity Church, Wiltshire in aid of Freemasons.

The Freemasons' ornate Lodge in Bradford-on-Avon is over 500 years old and considerable funding is required to meet the ongoing preservation costs.

The concert was arranged to reduce these costs and thus facilitate a more fulsome flow of financial aid to the many local charities that the Freemasons support.

17 months ago, Caldicot Male Voice Choir coalesced with the Bradford-on-Avon Freemasons in collectively facilitating a 'sell-out' concert, at the town's Holy Trinity Church. Such was the success of that evening, in July 2012, that the choir was invited back to Wiltshire by the Freemasons, for a reprise of the assignment.

The concert commenced with a vigorous rendition of 'Entrance and March of the Peers' from the operetta Iolanthe.

Throughout the performance, popular music was intertwined with powerful anthems from the male voice choral genre. Elton John's 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' and Freddie Mercury's 'Somebody to Love' were showcased alongside the Welsh classics 'Myfanwy' and Laudamus (Pen Calfaria). The choir was accompanied on keyboard by John Nicholson and Stephen Berry; the latter of whom skillfully manned the Holy Trinity's powerful organ, as the choir sang Elvis Presley's 'American Trilogy' and Emrys Jones' 'Morte Criste'.

The Choir's Musical Director, Sian Hatton, guided the audience through the evening. She beguiled the assembly with recitals of Marriott Edgar's famous monologues, 'The Lion and Albert' and 'Albert's Return'. The choir's musical director was ably supported throughout by assistant musical director, Shirley Ann James.

Caldicot Male Voice Choir always welcomes potential new members. Rehearsals are at the Choir Hall, Mill Lane, Caldicot, on Monday and Thursday evenings at 7.15pm.