Portsmouth Sunday Concert

Portsmouth Citadel has recently revised the format for Sunday evening meetings. In connection with the new format, the meeting periodically consists of a concert by the Portsmouth Citadel Band (Bandmaster John Hanchett). On 25 January, such a concert was held, conducted and chaired by Bandmaster Hanchett.

Hymns of Praise (Goff Richards) got the concert off to a great start, followed by a vibrant accompaniment to Shine, Jesus Shine. The prayer time was prefaced with A Little Prayer (Evelyn Glennie), and after prayer lead by members of the band was ended with Faithfull God (Dean Jones).

The band was arranged in a “big-band” style, well-suited to the next three items on the program: All to Jesus, Exalted, and the march Brazil ’75. A well-presented testimony from Joseph Halliday was joined with the second movement of Paul Lovett-Cooper’s Vitae Aeternum.

The devotional thought for the evening was given by Band Sergeant Paul French, followed by God and God Alone (arr. R. van der Velde).

The program ended with “a swing and a swagger”, with the congregation singing “My Jesus I Love Thee” to the final tune in the classic march The Wellingtonian. The band played Olaf Ritman’s arrangement of The Lord is Gracious as the benediction.