A CHORAL society has hailed its Christmas show as a great success.

The Maldon Choral Society Christmas concert was performed at All Saints’ Church in Maldon on December 15.

The society was joined by a school choir to perform blissfully harmonious tunes to an audience gathered for the evening to enjoy the Christmas spirit.

A spokesman for the society said: “The packed audience was treated to a range of seasonal favourite carols and songs from the choir of St Francis Catholic Primary School, who were ably led by their musical director Kate Stone.

“The young singers were obviously very well rehearsed and proudly performed a musical selection ranging from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to modern carols composed with primary-aged children in mind.

“The children were fantastic and the audience members were delighted.

“A few children were asked why they chose to be in the school choir and they said because they love singing – it made them smile and feel happy.

“Maldon Choral rose to the challenge set by the youngsters and gave sensitive and nuanced performances of well-known favourites such as Cantique De Noel and Chestnuts Roasting By An Open Fire (The Christmas Song), which featured a particularly beautiful solo performance by Peter Garrett.

“The audience joined in with traditional carols with great enthusiasm when invited to sing.

“A particular highlight was the choir’s rendition of Jingle Bells performed at a break-neck speed that surprised the magnificent accompanist Emma Griffin-Olukoya.

“The culmination of the evening was a charming version of Christmas Lullaby, arranged especially for the occasion by Maldon Choral director Gillian Ward Russell, which involved the two choirs performing together.

“They had rehearsed separately, but not together, and the result was a great success.” Maldon Choral Society is now preparing for its spring concert of The Passion Of Christ, which is due to take place on March 30.

Future performances set to take place include The Sorcerer, by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Mozart’s Requiem.