Candlelight, charity, and a choir of forty voices filled St Andrew’s Cathedral, Dundee, on Friday 7 November 2025, in a concert that was as heartfelt as it was accomplished. Presented in aid of the Restoration Fund at St Mary’s, Lochee, and the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), this was sacred music offered not solely as performance, but also as prayer and witness. The programme will be repeated in St John’s Kirk, Perth, on Friday 14 November, and Perth can expect the same.
The evening opened with a setting of the Gloria. Under the aegis of Perth composer and conductor, Helen Band, the choir sang with expression, range and depth. These were singers drawn from parishes, choirs and choral societies across Tayside — about forty in total — and you could hear that blend of traditions: parish cantors next to seasoned choral society voices, each bringing something of their own background, yet united in intention. Right from Christ Be Known In All Our Singing, the choir’s careful preparation was apparent, from shaped lines, clean consonants, and the text’s resounding invitation to carry the message of Christ into the world.
Much of the programme consisted of Helen’s original compositions and arrangements: her ear for melody, voice and harmony playing to the strengths of every singer. Her Kyrie and Agnus Dei, especially, stepped from the penitential towards compassion and forgiveness in the stillness of the candlelit cathedral sanctuary. You didn’t just hear the music; you sat inside it.
One Voice Holds the World as One was the emotional ending of the first half. Articulating unity, shared humanity and responsibility, its message mirrored the concert’s fundraising intention. The glow in the lower voices were complemented by an almost luminous soprano line. For a few sacred moments, St Andrew’s Cathedral became a more intimate space.
Soprano Louise Blundell next offered Wings of the Morning, based on Psalm 139 (‘If I take the wings of the morning’). This was a beautifully judged moment, where Louise’s voice rang clear. Her performance drew some of the warmest applause of the night.
Tenor Andrew R. Davidson delivered the world premiere of Alleluia for male voices. His solo line shone over a resonant grounding of lower textures. This piece is dedicated to St Mary’s, Lochee, in whose aid this concert was partly given, and it felt like a well-received gift.
Throughout, pianist Michael Ellacott supported the choir. A well-known musician across Tayside, Michael listens, responds, and breathes with the singers. He brought rhythmic life to the livelier Psalm settings such as Sing to the Lord a New Song (Psalm 96) and Rejoice in the Lord (Psalm 100), and gentle, patient support in the more contemplative pieces.
In a standout moment, soprano and organist, Colleen Nicoll and Kevin Fyffe performed the UK premiere of Helen’s Ave Maris Stella. Colleen’s soprano was poised and responsive to the Medieval Latin. Kevin’s antiphonal accompaniment on the organ wholly complemented Colleen’s plaintive rendition. Hearing fresh, sacred music of this quality performed with such tenderness, felt like a privilege.
Kevin also played Elegy by Thalben-Ball, a composition of deep melancholy, beautifully voiced. In that acoustic, under candlelight, the pipe-organ voiced the unspoken things in the Cathedral.
The second half continued building a sense of shared prayer. O Good Jesus, Hear Me (setting of the Anima Christi) was sung with hushed sincerity. Silent Night, in Helen’s arrangement, felt both familiar and new, reverent and fresh. Clothed in Love (text from Colossians) conveyed a clear message of discipleship, compassion, kindness, and humility.
There was just one choral staple of the programme, Mozart’s Ave Verum, was a judicious inclusion, acting almost like a point of reference: this is the tradition we inherit. Placed alongside Helen’s own sacred composing, it foregrounded how her work draws on earlier liturgical music while responding distinctively to it.
Helen Band herself merits special mention, because the evening was in many ways her vision. Helen Band (née MacKinnon) graduated with First Class Honours in musical composition from the University of Glasgow. After 15 years working at leadership level in the charity sector, she moved into full-time composing following international recognition for her Gloria in Excelsis Deo, which was recorded and performed at festivals worldwide. Her work has since reached sacred choirs and orchestras alike: The Rinns of Islay earned a Silver Medal at the 2022 Global Music Awards. Her recent orchestral work The Pearl of Scotland honours St Margaret, Queen of Scotland (d.1093) and premiered in 2024. She is active locally as Choir Director at St John the Baptist RC Church in Perth and as Festival Director of Perth Festival of the Arts. Her writing is inextricably and palpably linked with her Catholic faith and sense of calling to music ministry.
What made this concert most compelling was the alignment of purpose, place and performance. The sanctuary of St Andrew’s Cathedral glowed with candles. The singers stood directly in front of the altar, at the liturgical heart of the building. The texts spoke of unity, Christ’s presence in the world, and God’s infinite love for humanity. The fundraising beneficiaries: the restoration of St Mary’s, Lochee, and the work of SCIAF with those in need, made this message tangible.
It is a rare privilege to hear an entire concert shaped so coherently by a single living composer’s sacred voice. It is rarer still that the composer is standing before the choir, drawing that voice out of her own community. Dundee heard that on 7 November: Perth will hear it on 14 November. Ultimately, it deserves to be heard far beyond Tayside.