Angels and Trumpets, Christmas Concert
St Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington, 13/12/2025
Garleton Singers under Stephen Doughty
Again, St Mary’s Haddington glows in the dark by the riverside as Stephen Doughty and his Garleton Singers herald Advent’s week of Joy. It’s an elegant programme of carols old and new; high-, middle- and even low-brow; all excitingly arranged. This year’s concert promises “Angels and Trumpets”. Inside, the beautiful warm church glows bright as a log fire.
The Angels file in, tenor and bass in black shirt and trousers, bright ties matching the rich crimson of the ladies’ shirts. The Trumpets comprise a fine brass quintet in a harmonising fistful of Christmas jumpers.
Enter Maestro Stephen Doughty. The audience rise and add their voice to the choir’s full throated ‘Hark the herald angels sing’. Then the first and newest of the evening’s new compositions: ‘There is no rose’ by Scotland’s James Robertson – who was in attendance for this, its world premiere. Its tinkling intro tip-toes into a wonderful collaboration of piano and chorale. I hope this lovely, reverent song becomes established as a 21stc carol.
Also in the audience tonight were family of US musician Robert Cohen. His recent scoring of Ronald Cadmus’ poem, ‘The Gift of Advent Waiting’ was Garleton’s gift to us tonight; and a taster of more to come: Doughty has persuaded Cohen across the Pond to collaborate further next Spring.
Next, 1990s’ ‘The Angel Choir and the Trumpeter’ is the turn of the brass to shine. Coletti’s arrangement opens with a trumpet solo, played by Mark Elwis. I must confess a personal aversion to trumpets. I can’t help straining alongside their apparent struggles to blurt the note out. But Elwis’ playing is delicate, restrained and effortless, and the tuba, trombone and horn of Ben Keay, Aaron Singh and James Goodenough, along with fellow trumpeter Rebecca Goodwin, blend pleasingly.
Caroline Cradock had meanwhile ascended the stairway from piano to her perch in the massive three-case, 24–stop organ, unleashing its orchestral-like powers to escort choir and audience through ‘God rest ye merry’. (After the interval she went on to wow us even further, showcasing the organ’s extraordinary versatility in ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’, even coaxing from it a tender vibrato.)
Contrasting with this joyful noise there followed the choir unaccompanied in ‘African Noël’, with mesmeric criss-cross rhythms, liquid female voices flowing over jaunty male “Hallelujahs”.
The quintet delivered a cracking ‘Troika’, despite a sub-par attempt by the body of the kirk (us) to simulate the jingle-bells with our car-keys. Doughty therefore doubled down on our drilling in call-and-response and arm-flapping for the choir’s sassy spiritual, ‘Mary had a baby’.
The choir were on fire tonight, exceptionally precise and focussed, and confidently at home whatever the pace or mood of the piece. Besides the half dozen more recent compositions, Doughty wove in twenty or more traditional favourites, some in snatches, treating each one afresh for its own distinct interpretation.
Doughty’s patter, the overall atmosphere was, as ever, buoyant. A late brief medley of Christmas jingles by choir alone ensured that and the audience went home feeling well primed for the coming Season.