Wendy Nugent (Digital Piano)
& Joy Naylor (Soprano)

Christmas is coming ……. (again) !

A celebration of the Season in words and music performed by Wendy Nugent (Digital Piano) and Joy Naylor (Soprano). A mix of instrumental music, readings and songs, with maybe even a carol for us all to sing.

Following last season’s very successful “Christmas is coming …….!” concert on Saturday 4th December 2021, we decided to bring them straight back for another “similar but different” concert.

Wendy Nugent has also appeared several times as half of Dolby and Hughes (4 hands 1 piano), most recently on Saturday 19th November 2016 and Saturday 12th October 2019. Joy Naylor has also previously performed “Carnival of the Animals” for us (with James Willshire and Phillipa Harrison) on Saturday 13th May 2017 and is our concert manager.

Here is a PDF of the Poster for this Concert (click to VIEW or right click to SAVE). Please feel free to print and display the poster to help publicise this concert. 

Programme (announced 1st December)

Waltz Song (from ‘Tom Jones’) : Taylor / German
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas : Nikki Iles [Piano Solo]

Three Songs
The Carol of the Field Mice : Grahame / Head
The Birds : Belloc / Britten
The Carol of the Birds : Warburton / Thiman

A ‘Christmas Tradition’ : ANON
We Three Kings : arr. Laura Shur [Piano Solo]
A ‘Christmas Tradition’ : E. Byles / U.A. Fanthorpe
The Christmas Tree : Gould / Head
A Politically Correct Christmas : ANON
Fantasy on Carmen : Busoni [Piano Solo]
The Everlasting Turkey : ANON
Place Settings : Nicholas

INTERVAL

 Rejoice Greatly (from ‘The Messiah’) : Handel
Silent Night : arr. Laura Shur [Piano Solo]

Two Lullabies
The Virgin’s Cradle-Hymn : Fryer
My Sweet Little Darling : ANON / Warlock

Two Piano Solos
The Man I Love : Gershwin
I Got Rhythm : Gershwin

A Computer Christmas : ANON
I Saw Mummy : Connor
A Christmas Tradition : Le Clerg
O Holy Night : Dwight / Adam

Carol (with Audience participation)
The Twelve Days of Christmas : Norwich / Traditional

Brief Report “on the night”

A surprisingly popular concert given the cold weather, consisting of a lovely mix of piano pieces, songs, and seasonal verses. There were a couple of small changes from the advertised programme, with the second piano piece being delayed when Joy read her second verse straight after the first one by mistake, and then the piano piece itself  having to be changed from “We Three Kings” to “O Come All ye Faithful” because Wendy had brought the wrong music. The audience was amused by both!

Almost all the verses were different to last year, but equally enjoyable. The first one explained how a harassed Santa was interrupted by a small fairy asking him where she should put her Christmas Tree, which led to the tradition of a fairy being placed atop the tree! The second listed unwanted male presents whose initials spelled “Christmas”. The third was about Santa having to dispose of all his politically incorrect presents until all he had left to give out was “Peace on Earth”. The fourth was how left-over Turkey could be served in different (less and less appetising) ways over the 12 days of Christmas.

The highlights of the whole concert were Wendy’s second piece (“Fantasy on Carmen”) which went down a storm and (a repeat from last year) Joy’s “The Twelve Days of Christmas” where the audience sang the carol and Joy told us, after each verse, of the lady’s letters to her lover  which started with much appreciation and finished with a desperate plea to stop all these gifts “or else”.

Wendy	Both	Joy