The spirit of last night’s GLAS Christmas concert was perfectly captured in the happy face of ex-UN staffer, Margaret Strang (below left) when she was surprised during Eoghan O’Sullivan’s set with a birthday cake to mark her 94th birthday.
Eoghan led a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday which followed nicely on his efforts to encourage audience participation in his own tongue-in-cheek composition ‘A Perfect Christmas’, which has been storming the streaming charts every December for the last few years.
His opening set was the perfect start to a great evening of solidarity and support for the staff and students at the Gaza School of Music and all the homeless children who benefit from its outreach activity.
Highlights included a soulful rendition of Paul Brady’s ‘The Island’ with its opening lines “They say the skies of Lebanon are burning, Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat..”
His French composition, ‘Moi Aussi’ had resonance as an anthem for inclusion, respect and kindness which is what GLAS is all about.
The headline act again this year by popular demand was The Emigrants, John Lawlor, Yvette Issar, Matevz Cerv, Donal Hill and John Davies. This Geneva-based, multi-national group of musicians united by their love of Irish traditional music played a solid set of great tunes with vocal duties shared between band leader John Lawlor and Yvette Issar.
Yvette’s delicate interpretation of ‘Our Lady of the Tall Trees’ and ‘The Bonny Light Horseman’ were particularly outstanding. Donal Hill stepped in to sing a heartfelt version of Thom Moore’s ‘Cedars of Lebanon’.
When it comes to ballads, John Lawlor rises to the task with aplomb. He was particularly strident in the delivery of the Spanish civil war ballad ‘Viva La Quinta Brigada’ and led proceedings to a close – and a standing ovation – with a magnificent rendition of the Pogues ‘If I should fall from grace with God.’ For an encore, he chose ‘Heather on the Moor’ which the Emigrants recorded recently for RTS.
All in all, it was a superb night in the lovely surroundings of the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Geneva, supported by sponsors and many generous donations from audience members above and beyond the price of admission, which boosted the total raised to CHF 8,500.
GLAS thanks everyone who attended for contributing to such a lively and convivial two hours culminating in the GLAS raffle supported by Charly O’Neill’s bar and restaurant. We wish everyone a peaceful Christmas and hope to see you in new year.
