Sublime Emeli Sandé and formidable home orchestra have Pavilion bouncing

* Pictures above and below: Tom Cusworth.

British hit-maker Emeli Sandé’s sublimely soulful voice bouncing off the wonderful wall of sound produced by the Absolute Orchestra conducted by Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s own artistic director Dave Danford had a packed Pavilion literally rocking to its canvas roof. 

Specially for the festival the two musicians collaborated on a programme which saw Danford rework some of the British singer-songwriter’s biggest album hits to spectacular effect.

 

The enormous and delicious background sound was produced by a hand-picked, 20-odd-strong group of musicians numbering in the twenties who enveloped Sande’s soaring voice like constant pouring of hot cream.

 

For the opening number of Daddy this formidable pairing was accompanied on stage by a sweet girls’ choir before the mind-blowing accompaniment started in tremendous earnest with a Bond theme-style suite featuring My Kind of Love and Clown, both of which lit the touch paper for the hugely enthusiastic audience.

It was on with more dynamic creations on Heaven, segwaying neatly into Hurts.

Yes You Can had been arranged with a classical music bridge leading into Survivor – and who but Danford would be capable of using Khachaturian’s Masquerade Ballet Suite in such a marvellously workable way?

 

Much to the delight of the thousands of watchers out front, for Beneath Your Beautiful Sandé duetted with promise-filled young singer Brook Fox who had earlier worked with the evening’s support band – something which went down particularly pleasingly.

 

Mountains followed then it was time for more sensory prodding as a video backdrop contrasting a war-ravaged scene narrated by former Eisteddfod president and supreme man of peace Sir Terry Waite – who was actually in the audience – with shots of the festival’s iconic Parade of Nations, the 2026 version of which had taken place only hours before. Whoever thought of that deserves a huge plaudit too.

 

After High and Lows and a tumultuous Read All About It Pt. III came the inevitable standing ovation, which was for the benefit of the orchestra every bit as much as the star, who was not given permission to quit the glittering Pavilion stage until she’s lavishly paid her exit fee with You Are Not Alone and a massive, hand-clapping-foot-stomping Next to Me, which quite literally had the old joint bouncing.