Christmas Concerts
Chichester Festival Theatre
5 – 9 December 2023
The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth
Led by Capt Dan Button RM and WO2 Bandmaster Matt Bowditch RM and Chichester Cathedral Choir, directed by Charles Harrison
There’s no doubt about it now, Christmas-is-a-coming, and the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth were out in force to immerse us well into the festive spirit that these traditional concerts continue to bring in the first week of December each year.
The last two years have seen Chichester welcome HM’s Royal Marines Collingwood to the stage, and Portsmouth this year delivered the same joy and cheer as ever, with an evening packed to the brim (as was the Festival Theatre!) with a catalogue of seasonal songs, Christmas hymns and traditional music, demonstrating the huge range of talent these skilled musicians possess.
Much of the music was familiar, however it was great to be introduced to a variety of different pieces, plus a few slightly eccentric choices, all adding up to something akin to a box of chocolate delights: dip into it and try a new flavour, a different twist on an old favourite. There were certainly a few surprises!
As always, the band added their own festive touches to both their heads and their music stands, and their leader Captain Dan Button RM could hardly contain his pleasure at ‘getting out from behind a desk’ and fronting this fabulous band. Shiny brass instruments gleaming, and immaculate uniformed personnel in their red and black attire, set against the spectacular backdrop of a star studded screen behind 5 magnificently lit Christmas trees, succeeded in putting a smile of anticipation on everyone’s faces for what was to about to entertain us.
The National Anthem was followed by Captain Button giving us a lively introduction, choc full of warmth and humour, clearly enormously proud of his band. And quite right too.
‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ kicked off the concert, and then came the wonderful Corps of Drums, whose ability to perfectly synchronise their drumming technique was a feast for ears and eyes. The Cathedral Choir singing four beautiful choral harmonies was just as delightful, and this year it was a pleasure to see not just one female addition to the younger choristers, now there are three.
We were treated to 12 musical pieces, including an outstanding bassoon solo, before the interval, which brought us the senior all male members from the Choir returning as ‘Close Company’, an a capella group in its own right, giving us ‘Silent Night’, followed by a quite astonishing rendition of ‘Last Christmas’, complete with a considerable amount of dooby-dos. Couldn’t help but wonder what George Michael would have made of it.
WO2 Bandmaster Matt Bowditch RM took over for much of the second half, hugely enjoying every minute of his section, which included music from Toy Story and Nightmare Before Christmas. Yes, there was definitely a variety of choice, elegantly put together, each one with a jolly intro from the bandmasters, setting us up perfectly for the ride.
Of course, the evening wouldn’t have been complete without the usual audience participation and sing-along. Song sheets were provided and this year there was a happy mayhem version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ complemented by an hilariously chaotic display of placard prompts, held up by band members, in (intended!) sequence, to accompany each round. We were quite helpless with laughter by the time we got to the 12th day…..
This fabulously joyous event once more succeeded in an exit from the theatre with a lovely fuzzy Christmassy feeling, and even though there was no snow outside – it was just as dank and dismal as it had been earlier – somehow just a little bit of magic had been spun.
Approx 2 hours, plus 20 minute interval
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewer: Gill Ranson