LANGCLIFFE Singers took their audience on a celestial journey in song and sign at Christ Church, Skipton.

 They were joined for the first time by the wonderful Paul Whittaker OBE, who is renowned for his work bringing to life music genres for all kinds of audiences through the energy and emotion of his signing.

“Some of you might think “what’s the point of music for deaf people?”” says Paul. “Well, even though they can’t hear it, you can actually show through your signing not only the words and the meaning but also the music, the emotion, and the whole atmosphere. I find from experience that many hearing people enjoy watching it too.”

This was certainly borne out by the audience’s reaction. “I love this choir!” enthused one audience member who first discovered the choir in November, performing Brahms’ Requiem in Christ Church. “What a wonderfully enjoyable concert!” said another. “Such lovely music, and Paul is such a lovely man.” “I loved watching the signing. It added another layer to the music, and it was fascinating seeing Paul’s interpretation of the meaning and emotion.”

The programme charted a day in the life of the heavens, going from dawn to night. It began with a piece chosen by Paul, Sir James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn.

Paul has known Jimmy for many years and is passionate about sharing his music. Another Dawn song was Follow the heron by the Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart. Paul says “I have Scottish ancestry on my Mother’s side and there are certain Scottish tunes and musical idioms that have a powerful pull for me. I only came across this song a couple of years ago but it’s so evocative and absolutely gorgeous to sign and to sing. I met and worked with Karine last year at The Cumnock Tryst, a music festival founded by James MacMillan in the town where he grew up, so both of these pieces have very personal connections.”

As night fell and the moon came up, both literally and musically, it was the audience’s turn to do the signing! Choir and audience learned the signs for the eternal favourite Moon River and everyone performed this piece together.

The choir were delighted to welcome some deaf audience members. Charlie Swimbourne, author of the Limping Chicken blog (the world’s most popular deaf blog!) said said “I am really enjoying the music; it’s a beautiful sound. Even though I’m partially deaf I’ve always loved music. And with Paul signing the songs as well then it’s really nice putting them both together.

It’s lovely to see some deaf people here. Paul brings the performance alive, you can see an extra meaning in the songs. He’s giving his own interpretation of the music. He brings it to life for deaf people watching.”

As one choir member said afterwards: “I thought Paul really enhanced our performance with his sign language. He took our rendition to another level, his gestures reinforced the meaning and emotion of the pieces, I was surprised how much he added to our concert. A remarkable man and I hope we can work together again.”

The choir is busy working on plans which will allow just that. Watch this space.

Langcliffe Singers’ next concert is on July 6 at 7.30pm in Giggleswick School Chapel. The concert is entitled Shakespeare in Summer and features a collection of settings to music of some of the Bard’s best-loved songs.