Our popular season of Community Singing concluded on Saturday with a truly fun and feel-good afternoon featuring no less than 10 Beatles songs!
From She Loves You to Hey Jude, some of the most irresistible songs ever written filled the Kirk celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Beatles final live concert.
Led as usual by Stephen Williams, Musical Director of Taynuilt Community Choir, the afternoon was a whirlwind musical journey through the Beatles’ extraordinary career, telling the story of the band while singing our way through many of their greatest hits.
As ever not many participating were experienced singers. “These days are really about the sheer pleasure of singing together,” said Stephen. “We deliberately choose songs with great, catchy choruses that people can pick up quickly. You don’t need to read music, you don’t need to have sung in a choir, and nobody is going to be auditioned or put on the spot. If you enjoy Beatles songs, you can join in.”
The Community Singing Days have now been running for three years, attracting as many as 80 singers to an afternoon. Many participants arrive saying that they have never sung before — or haven’t sung since school. This time, the group sang the story of the Beatles in two and a half hours!
Stephen summarised this afternoon of the Beatles story: “The journey began in 1963 with Beatlemania, and the brilliantly crafted pop songs of She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. By 1964–65, the Beatles were becoming increasingly confident and inventive songwriters, represented by songs including Can’t Buy Me Love and A Hard Day’s Night. Then comes the amazing transformation of 1965–66, as the band began exploring more reflective songwriting, unusual harmonies and the recording studio, with Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby. In 1967, anything suddenly seems possible. Psychedelia and experimentation arrive with the colourful world of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, leading to one of the greatest communal choruses of all: All You Need Is Love. The White Album era of 1968 sees the Beatles jumping between musical styles, from the beautiful simplicity of Blackbird to the irresistible singalong of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Finally reaching 1969–70, with Here Comes the Sun and, inevitably, Hey Jude — and the chance for a kirk full of singers to send the famous “na-na-na” chorus soaring into the rafters.”
The emphasis of the afternoon, as with all our Community Singing afternoons, remained firmly on participation, accessibility and fun. Whether a lifelong Beatles fan, a regular choir singer or someone who normally insists that they “can’t sing” a wonderful time was had by all!
