On a bitterly cold December evening, a large crowd filled the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for a performance from New Zealand born Hayley Westenra. Before Hayley though, there was the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) Renfrewshire who performed two songs before making way for the main act of the evening.
At first the band and the Raven String Quartet appeared on stage before the drummer began playing on the snare. This was to lead into the opening number of The Little Drummer Boy. This was followed by the beautiful yet haunting song Veni, Veni Emmanuel. After this, she welcomes the audience to show and jokes about how they were worried about getting into Glasgow because of the snow, but the biggest problem was getting out of London. After asking the audience about Christmas shopping, she confesses that most of hers is done through duty free.
Introductions out the way, the music continued with the well known song, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). She introduces the next song explaining that it originally started out as a poem, but throughout the years has been put to different music and that this arrangement is based on a traditional Irish tune. The song is Love Came Down At Christmas. After this, she introduces her special guest, Thomas Oliver (usually seen in the Welsh male choir Only Men Aloud). He performed two songs; a almost swing version of Winter Wonderland and the Austrian song Still, Still, Still.
Hayley returns to perform a song that she's kept a hold of since performing with the Boston Pops a few years ago, the song being The Little Road To Bethlehem. Before she has a chance, the NYCoS Renfrewshire choir return to the stage to accompany Hayley on the last two songs of this half: The Coventry Carol and When A Child Is Born.
After an interval, it's straight back into the music with Carol Of The Bells and the Corpus Christi Carol. Silent Nightis next, but only after Hayley explains the history behind the song. After this, she introduces the musicians that join her on stage before adding a few mentions to people, particularly her guiarist Andy's mum, who's birthday it was (cue, Andy to give a sort burst of Happy Birthday on the guitar).
Getting the show back on track (because she's knows people are watching the time very carefully!), she introduces a track from the album, Winter Magic that she wrote called Peace Shall Come. At the end of this, she leaves the talented Raven String Quartet to play a little medley of songs including We Wish You A Merry Christmas and The Sailor's Hornpipe. During The Sailor's Hornpipe, the audience began to clap along, almost taking the quartet by surprise. Whilst the song itself does get faster and faster as it goes on, it almost felt as if the girls were deliberately getting faster, trying to lose the audience in the clapping. Fortunately, the audience kept up and in time right to the end.
The wonderful Thomas Oliver appears back on stage followed by Hayley for a duet on the the song I'll Be Home For Christmas. Next we're treated to a traditional Maori carol called Te Harinui as well as the traditional Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. After a brief thanks, she explains the song and also that this will be her first Christmas away from home. At first she'd warmed to the idea but realised what she'd be missing, explaining that it is Summer in New Zealand after all. On a positive, she might get to experience a White Christmas. It is now she realises that she doesn't have her sleigh bells and explains they're essential to the next song. It leads on to her asking if anyone has any spare. Cue someone from the NYCoS choir to rattle a set and her asking them how they knew they'd be needing them. Fortunately, Michael the drummer/percussionist produces some and so it's onto Sleigh Ride.
All With You is next and is another track that Hayley wrote for her last album. Finally, she sings, what she believes is either the most popular or most well known, she can't remember, Christmas song. That is O Holy Night. With it being the last song, she leaves the stage. But no house lights come up. Is she coming back on?
Of course she is and once again, is joined with Thomas Oliver on stage. She invites the audience to join her in a spot of carolling with the song The First Nowell (which, for those who had purchased the programme, had probably realised something like this would happen). As the band start up, the audience is still seated, causing Hayley to stop and get the audience standing. After all, she's standing and it's good singing posture. So everyone is the standing singing three verses of the carol, meaning everyone present could claim that they'd sang with Hayley Westenra (a tweet from Hayley later on would reveal she thought Glasgow rocked the carolling). This brought the evening to a close.
Overall, despite being cold outside, it was a fantastic atmosphere in the main auditorium. Hayley was engaging with the audience, if appearing shy and a little embarrassed when people clapped at the end of her songs. She is one of the few artists around who sounds the exact same live as she does in studio recordings so you don't sort of feel cheated. You get what you pay for and it was certainly worth every penny of the ticket price.
Buy Hayley Westenra releases @ Amazon.co.uk
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