CityLife

Hayley Westenra: Winter Magic

Hayley Westenra
Manchester Cathedral
November 26, 2009

STUNNING soprano Hayley Westenra has become the first big name to play a pop concert at Manchester Cathedral.

The medieval building has opened its doors to alternative live music shows to raise essential money to fund its core programmes of worship and education and is in talks with a big promoter to host more in 2010.

The appearance by the New Zealand-born classical chart topper is the second big event for the cathedral, which also hosted American rockers Grizzly Bear earlier this month.

Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church and St Margaret’s Church, in Whalley Range, regularly host pop music events.

But Manchester Cathedral is easily the biggest with a capacity of 1,100 for fully-seated concerts and as many as 1,500 for standing shows.

Anthony O’Connor, director for fundraising and development, said the concerts so far had been a huge success.

“Cathedrals are built for acoustics and Manchester Cathedral is no different,” said Anthony. 

“When Henry V decided to put a church on that site in 1421, it was built for music. It’s bang in the heart of the city and it’s a unique venue and great resource for Manchester.”

Stirring

Westenra, who scored a No.1 hit with her debut album Pure when she was just 16, is currently touring around some of the country’s most stunning cathedrals and could not leave Manchester’s Anglican gem off the list.

And to make her one-night in Manchester extra special, she also recruited the help of the Manchester Girls Choir for her festive set of Christmas classics.

Westenra is just 22, but the young soprano’s stunning vocals easily hit every reach of the cathedral’s Gothic interior as she joyously belted out The Christmas Song, The Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night.

Her band ably backed her sensational vocal performance with measured classical guitar and delicate piano, while all-female string quartet Raven added a whimsical feel to the musical interludes – their choices ranging from the sublime to the peculiar, in particular the music from The Godfather.

Her decision to couple self-composed Peace Shall Come, standing out for its naive prose, and her rather drab rendition of Eva Cassidy’s I Know You By Heart was the set’s only weak moment.  

But this minor complaint can hardly detract from such a perfect evening, and it’s hard to imagine a better setting for this collection of songs – and for Westenra’s stirring angelic voice.

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