Stories from the Stable
Monday, 09 December 2019
The Junior Girls told the story of the Nativity from the point of view of the animals who were there when Jesus was born, from the mice in the hay to the sheep on the hillside, and of course the donkey who carried Mary to Bethlehem. Songs, poetry recitals, narration and dramatic performances were combined to create this year’s Christmas Concert, ‘Stories from the Stable’.
As parents and family members gathered in the Girls’ Division Great Hall, they were entertained by the Hesketh House Concert Band playing festive tunes before the performance began.
The Upper and Lower School Choirs took centre stage after a brief introduction to open the concert with ‘Somewhere in my Memory’. A number of songs throughout the programme featured stunning solos from the girls: Anika Patel, Olivia Jones and Ellie Hood were the innkeepers in ‘Where Will we Find a Room for the Night?’ while Lana Bakeer, Lucy Schofield and Nia Raja sang as the donkey, sheep and dove ‘Jesus Our Brother, Kind and Good’. Abigail Elmer played Mary and Biela Sastre-Done was Joseph: together they gave a beautiful rendition of ‘In Your Arms’. The programme also featured traditional music such as ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ and ‘Carol of the Bells’ alongside more modern Christmas songs like ‘Mary, Did You Know?’, ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Unto Us A Child Is Born’, which featured soloists Aanya Agrawal, Ashriya Fernando and Zara Caswell.
As well as singing in English, the girls performed in Spanish and French. The upbeat Venezuelan Christmas Song ‘El Burrito de Belén’ was accompanied by the Year 5 Ukuleles and featured singers Olivia Ramirez Nievas and Imilce Ashworth Alonso. Traditional French carol ‘Entre Le Boeuf et L’Ane Gris’ also included a duet between Odetta and Nora Oesterle.
Year 3 pupils dressed up as animals to dance during two of the songs: they were mice for ‘Said the Cat to the Mouse’ and sheep on the hillside for ‘Wake Up, I Think I See an Angel’. Miley Sharpe also danced down the aisle during ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’
A wide selection of poems were performed by the girls to tell the Christmas story from a whole host of animal perspectives and narration filled in the gaps, expertly moving the action on from one scene to another. From ‘The First Christmas Night’ to ‘A Baby Born’ to ‘Shepherds and Kings’, the whole of the Nativity was recounted and the final message of ‘Christmas Greetings’ was delivered.
The performance ended with a jubilant performance of ‘Unto Us A Child Is Born’ and a huge round of applause. The retiring collection in support of local charity Urban Outreach raised £741.29.
The whole ‘Stories from the Stable’ Christmas Concert can be viewed here or by clicking the play button below:
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