The Sydney based a cappella Spooky Men’s Chorale are an ensemble that sounds as sacred as a high church choir one minute and wickedly off the wall the next, with an eccentrically wide repertoire, ranging from ABBA to Georgian folk songs to Czech composer Leos Janáček, with original compositions and eloquent arrangements thrown into the mix.
The self confessed men in black with no table manners will be singing their hearts out and in their own words, beseeching the Liverpool audience to unbutton their affections ahead of their Philharmonic date on Wednesday 31st July 2013. The group of about two-dozen singers is vocally disciplined, with a big warm sound and terrific blend. Director, or Spookmeister named Stephen Taberner leads them with a sure sense of timing, and he’s able to elicit a variety of choral colours based on the type of music they’re singing.
Their repertoire ranges from Georgian style chants to acapella ballads, spiky political jabs, Cole Porter’s Every Time We Say Goodbye, hilarious spoofs of Queen’s Flash and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Boogie Wonderland and the funniest version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen your ears are likely to hear.
The Spookies seek to commentate on the absurdity and grandeur of the modern male armed only with their voices, a sly collection of hats, their facial hair, and a twinkle in the eye. For their 5th U.K. tour, these Aussie larrikins arrive with their new album, The Spooky Man In History, which calmly, amusingly and cavernously redefines the very genre they invented themselves.
Tickets for The Spooky Men’s Chorale on Wednesday 31st July are available from the Liverpool Philharmonic Box office or online at www.liverpoolphil.com. Tickets are priced at £16.50 and £23.50.