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A musical moment of glory
Madrigirls from England delight their audience in the Milchwerk
From Antje Kirsch
The Madrigirls from London gave their first performance in Germany
in the Milchwerk in Radolfzell. They delighted the audience
with madrigals, traditional English folk songs, and modern songs
by Lennon and McCartney.
“This was a musical
highlight for Radolfzell”, said musician Johannes Linneartz
on their appearance. The entire audience shared his opinion,
and bade the three women from London farewell at the end of
the concert with a standing ovation.
The “Madrigirls” are Alexandra Brown, Heloise Pilkington
and Kate Tomlin. In the UK they have appeared at large festivals
such as the Guardian Hay festival in Wales and sung in historical
churches such as St Martin in the Fields, where they recently
enchanted an audience of 300 with their voices.
By comparison the small concert hall of the Milchwerk was much
less conspicuous. However, as Heloise Pilkington observed, they
appreciated its intimacy: “The audience was fantastic.”
The praised the atmosphere – and the audience showed its
enthusiasm in equal measure.
Crystal clear, exceptionally developed and immaculate were just
some of the qualities audience members used to describe the
voices of the ladies.
They filled the space effortlessly with their voices. Apart
from English and French madrigals, which constitute the main
part of the Madrigirls’ programme, they also sang folk
songs which took the audience to Ireland. They displayed equal
confidence with modern repertoire, from Gershwin to Lennon and
McCartney.
Aside from their accomplished singing, the “Madrigirls”
also presented a very appealing sight in their costumes and
dresses. Their attraction will not have escaped the attention
of the men in particular. Since the three ‘Madrigirls’
performed with great charm and esprit on stage, they found it
easy to strike a chord with the entire audience as well.
Their performance in Radolfzell, and thus their first encounter
with a German audience, was made possible by Wolfgang Dörr
from the Bodensee Madrigal choir Bodman. Following a trip to
Scotland where he heard the Madrigirls for the first time, he
could not forget the enchanting trio from London. As a member
of the Madrigal choir he invited the Madrigirls to the Bodensee
as a very special and probably unique event. “This way
everyone can witness what can be achieved with professional
practice. Above all, one can see that singing can simply be
great fun”, said Wolfgang Dörr. So much was apparent
from the three singers’ demeanour. Although the air in
the concert hall became progressively thinner, they never lost
their sense of humour and delivered a bravura performance all
the way to the end.
Additional performances brought the three women to the Ekkehard
Realschool in Singen. On Saturday they perform one more time
at 6pm in the city museum in Engen.
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