Details to be advised.
The competition schedule is:
| Main work: | Requiem, Brahms (in English) |
| Madrigal: | Mother, I will have a husband, Vautor |
| Part song: | Londonderry Air, arr. Chilcott |
| Men's song: | Peter Piper, Bridge |
| Women's song: | To the ploughboy, Vaughan Williams |
| Ensemble: | Younger Generation, arr. Copland |
| Own choice: | to be advised |
The summer concert was particularly successful. A large audience was treated to a programme of madrigals and part-songs, almost all taken from the Oxford ‘Madrigals and Partsongs&rsqo;. As a change from previous years, the concert was all choral music and was performed without an interval, allowing refreshments to be enjoyed at the end without time constraints.
The final programme was as follows:
|
Bonjour mon coeur |
Orlande de Lassus |
|
My bonny lass she smileth |
Thomas Morley |
|
Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone |
John Farmer |
|
Il est bel et bon |
Pierre Passereau |
|
The blue bird |
Charles Villiers Stanford |
|
As torrents in summer |
Edward Elgar |
|
My spirit sang all day |
Gerald Finzi |
|
The evening primrose |
Benjamin Britten |
|
La nuit froide et sombre (ensemble) |
Orlande de Lassus |
|
Lay a garland |
Robert Pearsall |
|
The long day closes |
Arthur Sullivan |
|
Sleep |
Eric Whitacre |
Another successful year, As in 2010 we won the Division overall and won all but three classes: Part Song, Ensemble and Own Choice. The concert in the evening went very well, with a good performance of both the Beethoven and the Vaughan Williams, and a memorable performance of the Brahms.
The competition schedule was:
| Full chorus: | Mass in C, L. van Beethoven In Windsor Forest, R. Vaughan Williams arr. for SSAA Foote Alto Rhapsody, J. Brahms |
| Madrigal: | Fine knacks for ladies, J. Dowland |
| Part song: | Come live with me, W. Sterndale Bennett |
| Men's song: | With a voice of singing, M. Shaw |
| Women's song: | Wedding Chorus (from In Windsor Forest), R. Vaughan Williams |
| Ensemble: | The Water of Tyne, arr. W. Gillies Whittaker |
| Own choice: | Rock-a my soul, arr. K. Shaw |
With snow falling as the concert got under way, the title could not have been more appropriate. The slippery conditions outside meant that the hall wasn't completely packed, but full enough to create a good atmosphere, encouraging the choir to give of its best to an appreciative audience. The choir was conducted by musical director, Amy Bebbington, and accompanied by John Philpotts.
The programme was:
|
Adam lay ybounden |
Traditional arr. B. Ord |
|
Masters in this Hall | W. Morris / Traditional arr. D. Willcocks |
|
* O little town of Bethlemen | P. Brooks / Traditional arr. R. Vaughan Williams |
|
Reading: Talking Turkeys | B. Zephaniah, read by Hilary Swift |
|
The Saviour of the world is born | Traditional arr. G. Holst |
|
The Three Kings | P. Cornelius arr. I. Atkins |
|
* The Holly and the Ivy | Traditional arr. Gardner |
|
The time of snow | R. Chilcott |
|
Mid-winter | C. Rossetti arr. R. Chilcott |
|
* Good King Wenceslas | J. Neale/Traditional arr. R. Jacques |
|
Reading: The Messiah | read by Jean Ridgers |
|
Te Harinui |
Macky / New Zealand Traditional arr. I. Assersohn |
|
See amid the winter's snow | Caswell / Goss arr. O'Donovan |
|
Never do a tango with an Eskimo |
Connor arr. O'Donovan |
|
* Hark the herald angels sing | C. Wesley / F. Mendelssohn |
The summer concert in collaboration with the Kaleidoscope Singers was a great success. The two choirs are of a comparable standard and blended well. We hope very much to collaborate with the same choir again at some future date.
The programme included the following arrangements of songs and sonnets William Shakespeare.
|
Sung by Kaleidoscope |
|
|
O mistress mine |
|
|
Shall I compare thee |
Lindberg |
|
Blow, blow thou winter wind |
|
|
Sigh no more, ladies |
Clausen |
|
Sung by Holmbury |
|
|
Live with me and be my love |
G. Shearing |
|
When daffodils begin to peer |
G. Shearing |
|
It was a lover and his lass |
G. Shearing |
|
Fie on sinful fantasy |
G. Shearing |
|
Hey, ho, the wind and the rain |
G. Shearing |
|
Sung by the combined choirs |
|
|
Who is Sylvia? |
B. Finn |
|
Kate (Men's song) |
R. Morris Gray |
|
Spring (Ladies' song) |
|
|
The cloud-capped towers |
R. Vaughan Williams |
|
Over hill, over dale |
R. Vaughan Williams |
|
It was a lover and his lass |
J. Rutter |
Despite the disappointment of not winning the Own Choice and Ensemble classes, we could hardly be disappointed by another overall win, and by a good margin. The evening concert was particularly memorable, the English Festival Orchestra being on fine form and Anna Stéphany providing us with a real treat in her singing of Elgar's Sea Pictures, before joining the combined chorus in a creditable performance of The Music Makers.
The competition schedule was:
| Full chorus: | The Music Makers, E. Elgar |
| Three Songs of Praise, G. Dyson | |
| Madrigal: | See, see the shepherd's Queen, T. Tomkins |
| Part song: | A Poet's Hymn (No. 3 from Three Songs of Praise), G. Dyson |
| Men's song: | Come, let's be merry, N. Stone |
| Women's song: | An Eriskay love lilt, arr. G. Arch |
| Ensemble: | Sweet Day, R. Vaughan Williams |
| Own choice: | Black is the colour, traditional arr. A. Bebbington |
A packed village hall - despite the icy roads - was treated to a vintage carol concert. Ian Assersohn, nursing a thick cold, brought his brief tenure as stand-in conductor to a suitably jolly and satisfying conclusion. In addition to the choral programme we were treated to a Dylan Thomas Christmas story, read by Jean Ridgers, and the more-or-less obligatory piano duet played by Ian Assersohn and our accompanist, Lesley Starr. Special mention should also go to Chris Hammond, who added a flute obligato to several of Ian Assersohn's compositions.
The final programme was:
|
Te Harinui |
Macky arr. Assersohn |
|
* As with gladness men of old | Traditional arr. Willcocks |
|
In dulci jubilo | Traditional arr. Jenkins |
|
Silent Night | Gruber arr. Jenkins |
|
Lullay | Jenkins |
|
Go, tell it on the mountain | Traditional arr. Jenkins |
|
Sleep, Child of Winter | Jenkins |
|
Son of Maria | Traditional arr. Jenkins |
|
* God rest you, merry gentlemen | Traditional arr. Willcocks |
|
INTERVAL | |
|
Deck the hall, stairs and landing |
Assersohn |
|
O Holy Night |
Adam arr. Assersohn |
|
Sans Day Carol |
Cornish traditional arr. Rutter |
|
* While shepherds watched their flocks | Traditional arr. Willcocks |
|
Christmas-tide |
Lewis arr. Chilcott |
|
For Him all stars have shone |
Jennings arr. Chilcott |
|
* The Twelve Days of Christmas | Traditional arr. Rutter |
On a balmy Independence Day evening we presented a programme of American choral music, with something for everyone. A surprise addition to the programme was a song set to music by Philip Glass, sung by a small ensemble. An audience of around 100 made St James' church feel comfortably full. The choir gave a solid performance all round, and the audience were warmly enthusiastic about the whole programme: it was a great way to round of the 2009 season. The programme was as follows:
|
Deep River |
Spiritual; arr Paul Hart |
|
Shenandoah |
American folksong; arr James Erb |
|
Ride the Chariot |
Spiritual; arr. William Henry Smith |
|
Rock-a My Soul |
Spiritual; arr Kirby Shaw |
|
Thou Lovely and Beloved (1923) |
Robert Young (b 1923) |
|
Robert Frost poems: |
Read by Jean Ridgers |
|
Choose Something Like a Star |
Randall Thompson (1899-1984); |
|
O My Luve’s Like a Red, Red Rose |
Rene Clausen (b 1953); |
|
And So It Goes |
Words and Music: Billy Joel; arr Bob Chilcott |
|
Quands les hommes vivront d'amour |
Philip Glass; |
|
Sure On This Shining Night |
Morten Lauridsen; |
|
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
Spiritual; arr Andrew Pryce Jackman |
|
Ev’ry Time I Feel The Spirit |
Spiritual; arr Bob Chilcott |
What a day! We assembled for our private warm-up at 8:10 am, before joining the other choirs in Division 1 for a combined warm-up, the Festival Song and announcement of test pieces. The part song was the first class to be performed, followed by the madrigal, followed by the women's and men's songs in the Martineau Hall. It had already become clear that Oxshott were very well prepared and were going to give us a run for our money. So at the mid-morning break we were delighted to find ourselves with wins in all four classes.
After the break we were first on stage to sing the test pieces. We never really got settled into the extract from the Foundling Hospital Anthem, but gave a pretty solid performance of The Storm from Willcocks' A Great and Glorious Victory. Then over to the Martineau Hall again for the ensemble class, with our Ensemble No 1 favourites but with rumours that Ensemble No 2 could mount a challenge. In the event we weren't surprised to lose the main chorus class to Oxshott – and nor were we particularly surprised that Ensemble No 1 continued its winning streak. We felt that Ensemble No 2 were judged rather harshly coming equal-fourth out of eight.
So we had won the Division overall, missing out only on one of the main classes. But perhaps the sweetest success of all came in the Own Choice class, which we not only won with Sure on this shining night (despite having a point deducted for being slightly over time), but much to our surprise we were asked to sing it again during the evening concert. Several of us are of the opinion that this had as much to do with the marvellously sensitive accompaniment from our regular accompanist, Lesley Starr, as anything else.
The concert was a great occasion, with Brian Kay wielding the baton as usual and Jonathan Willcocks distributing the banners and cups. The soloists Rhona McKail (soprano), Stephanie Lewis (mezzo) and Andrew Staples (tenor) were all excellent, and the English Festival Orchestra was on fine form. The only blemish was that the part song went off the rails, mainly because of a false start in the alto section and the inability of the sopranos to hear the piano accompaniment, resulting in poor tuning.
The competition schedule was:
| Full chorus: | A Great and Glorious Victory, J. Willcocks |
| Foundling Hospital Anthem, G. Handel | |
| Zadok the Priest, G. Handel | |
| Madrigal: | Hark all ye lovely Saints, T. Weelkes |
| Part song: | The Gift to be simple, R. Chilcott |
| Men's song: | False Phyllis, E. Thiman |
| Women's song: | How lovely are Thy Dwellings, H. Smart |
| Ensemble: | A Sweet Country Life, I. Holst |
| Own choice: | Sure on this shining night, J. Agee / M. Lauridsen |
This was one of the best-attended carol concerts of recent years, and the audience were not disappointed. The choir gave solid performances of pretty much everything on the programme. The two pieces destined to be sung at the Leith Hill Musical Festival in 2009 were well received. A success all round.
The programme was (audience joined in those marked *):
|
Have yourself a merry little Christmas |
Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane arr. Peter Gritton |
|
Follow that star | Peter Gritton |
|
* Deck the hall | Welsh traditional arr. David Willcocks |
|
READING by Jean Ridgers |
|
|
Jesus Child |
John Rutter |
|
A maiden most gentle |
... |
|
Blessed be that Maid Marie |
Amy Bebbington |
|
* In the bleak midwinter |
Christina Rossetti / Gustav Holst |
|
Winter wonderland |
Dick Smith and Felix Bernard |
|
Santa Claus is coming to town |
Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coot |
|
INTERVAL | |
|
Sussex Carol |
English traditional arr. David Willcocks |
|
* The holly and the ivy |
... |
|
Ding dong! Merrily on high |
French traditional arr.David Blackwell |
|
* God rest you merry gentlemen |
English traditional arr. David Willcocks |
|
READING by Howard Woods |
|
|
The gift to be simple |
Traditional Shaker tune arr.Bob Chilcott |
|
Sure on this shining night |
James Agee / Morten Lauridsen |
|
* O little town of Bethlehem | Bishop Phillips Brooks / English traditional tune arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams and Thomas Armstrong (descant) |
The rain held off. The setting sun smiled on St James' Church and the singers, musicians and audience within. A packed church was rewarded with a (somewhat depleted) Choral Society giving one of its best performances outside the Festival for many years. The quality of music was much enhanced by Michael Wigram, ’cello, and Lesley Starr (our regular accompanist), piano – as well as by the generous acoustics – but most of the credit for the choir's performance, and the overall success of the event, must surely go to our conductor, Amy Bebbington, whose efforts in selecting the right programme for the resources available, and in voicing and training us so meticulously, resulted in confident performances throughout the programme. Michael Wigram's superb rendition of Après un Rêve will linger long in the memories of many who were there.
The final programme was:
|
Panis Angelicus (choir, piano and ’cello) |
César Franck |
|
Quatre
Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens: |
Maurice Duruflé |
|
Habañera (’cello and piano) |
Maurice Ravel |
|
Ecce Fidelis (soprano, baritone, ’cello and piano) |
Gabriel Fauré |
|
Après un Rêve(’cello and piano) |
Gabriel Fauré |
|
Sancta Maria(choir, soprano, baritone and piano) |
Gabriel Fauré |
|
Cantique de Jean Racine (choir, piano and ’cello) |
Gabriel Fauré |
|
I love my love (Cornish folksong) |
Gustav Holst |
|
from
Five English Folk Songs: |
Ralph Vaughan Williams |
This was a vintage year for Holmbury St Mary Choral Society! We won all the main classes and the Ensemble class. It was with a mixture of disappointment and relief that we didn't win the Own choice class, because to have "swept the board" would have been something of an embarrassment. The judge felt that we didn't quite "pull it off" with Tea for two, and I don't think there would be any serious disagreement about that. There was perhaps most disappointment that Ensemble 1, who (in this writer's opinion – and I was conducting!) put in their best performance, were not awarded a higher mark.
The ladies put in the best performance of the day, with a very moving performance of Bob Chilcott's The Lily and the Rose, and deservedly shared the prize for the highest mark (90) in any class in any Division over the three days. The men surpassed themselves by winning their class ("we never do!"). The Vaughan Williams arrangement of Down Among the Dead Men suited our forces, but it is to be hoped that Bob Chilcott can be persuaded to write something as beautiful as The Lily and the Rose (for which he rightly received an ovation in the concert) for the men to sing in a future competition!
The concert in the evening was also a great occasion, with a particularly fine quartet of soloists in the Haydn. Brian Kay exhibited all his usual passion, commitment and sense of fun. The English Festival Orchestra was generally on excellent form – especially in the Haydn Paukenmesse and the Mozart Serenata Notturno – but there were some comments that they somewhat overwhelmed the chorus towards the end of the Vaughan Williams (there was no shortage of sound on the chorus side of the proscenium arch, so the poor acoustics of the hall must be partly to blame).
A good set of photographs taken during our day can be browsed on the Leith Hill Musical Festival website.
The Division One programme for 2008 was:
| Full chorus: | Paukenmesse, J. Haydn |
| Towards the Unknown Region, R. Vaughan Williams | |
| Madrigal: | Shoot False Love I Care Not, Pearsall |
| Part song: | Never Weatherbeaten Sail, C.H. Parry |
| Men's song: | Down Among the Dead Men, R. Vaughan Williams |
| Women's song: | The Lily and the Rose, R. Chilcott |
| Ensemble: | My Love's an Arbutus, C.V. Stanford |
| Own choice: | Tea for two V. Youmans / I. Caesar, arr. P. Gritton |
This year's programme deliberately saw an increase in audience participation over previous years. One of several highpoints was provided by the (ultimately) successful attempt of our conductor, Amy Bebbington, to teach the audience and choir the round 'Freezing Fingers', complete with hand-movements. A packed hall enjoyed the usual diet of Christmas favourites, sacred and (especially in the case of 'Jingle Bells') profane, as well as the usual interval refreshments. Amy is to be congratulated on putting together a programme that the choir enjoyed singing as much as the audience enjoyed hearing. The programme was:
|
O come, O come Emmanuel |
French 15th C / Anon. |
|
O little town of Bethlemen | |
|
O Magnum Mysterium |
Victoria |
|
Blessed be that Maid Marie |
Amy Bebbington |
|
Good King Wenceslas |
Gilbert M. Martin |
|
Good King Wenceslas | |
|
A Child's Christmas in Wales |
Dylan Thomas |
|
For Him all stars have shone
|
Bob Chilcott |
|
Here we come a-wassailing | |
|
INTERVAL | |
|
Winter wonderland |
Dick Smith and Felix Bernard |
|
Freezing fingers | |
|
Gabriel's message |
Basque carol, arr. David Willcocks |
|
Isaw three ships | |
|
What child is this?
|
Bob Chilcott |
|
Sleigh ride |
Leroy Anderson arr. Pamela Wedgwood |
|
Santa Claus is coming to town |
Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coot |
|
O come all ye faithful | |
|
Jingle Bells |
James Pierpont arr. David Blackwell |
We contributed to a varied programme that featured several choirs representing all three Divisions of the Leith Hill Musical Festival, singing separately but not in competition. The concert also featured one of the winners of the Youth Choirs competition this year, and the Festival's regular accompanist, Alan Brown, gave a stunning performance of piano works by Chopin and E J Moeran.
Our contributions were:

This was the last event at which the Choral Society was conducted by Tim Uglow, before his move from Surrey to Worksop. We sang a varied programme of mostly sacred music in the first half, followed after the interval by madrigals, songs from Broadway musicals and finishing with a series of spirituals. The choral contributions to the programme (there were organ and piano interludes provided by Tim Uglow and our accompanist, Lesley Starr) were:
|
Exultate Deo |
Palestrina |
|
Abendlied |
Rheinberger |
|
Ave Verum Corpus |
Mozart |
|
Psalm 23 |
Goodall |
|
Il est bel et bon |
Passereau |
|
Com gentle swains |
Cavendish |
|
Water and wine |
Haydn |
|
Somwhere over the rainbow |
Arlen |
|
Blue Moon |
Rodgers |
|
All my trials Lord |
Chilcott |
|
Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel |
Hart |
|
Deep River |
Hart |
|
Ev'ry time I feel the spirit |
Chilcott |
The programme was much the same as for the concert on 7th July, but included extracts from Palestrina's Missa Brevis and the motet by Stanford Justorum animae.
The 2007competition started disappointingly for us. At the mid-morning break we had achieved two second-places and two third-places, leaving us trailing 10 points behind the leaders, Oxshott. Perhaps knowing that we had nothing to lose – catching Oxshott would be practically impossible – helped us to feel more relaxed in the remaining three classes, all of which we proceeded to win (Full chorus, Ensemble and Own choice). In the Ensemble class it was gratifying to gain an extra accolade by achieving (with two other choirs) the highest mark awarded in this year's competition (90 points). So, in the end, we had much to be satisfied with.
The concert was a great success. Encouraged by the baton of Brian Kay, the superb playing of the baroque ensemble Canzona, and the equally superb singing of five soloists, the combined choirs gave of their best and contributed to memorable performances of the Purcell and C.P.E. Bach in front of a packed house. With the composer, David Stone, in the audience, the women were obliged to sing Up in the morning twice – and did so in sparkling fashion.
The Division One programme for 2007 was as follows:
| Full chorus: | Magnificat C.P.E. Bach |
| Ode on St Cecilia's Day (1692),H. Purcell | |
| Madrigal: | Come gentle swains, M. Cavendish |
| Part song: | Water and wine, J. Haydn arr. Jacobson |
| Men's song: | Polly Perkins, N. Gilbert |
| Women's song: | No. 4 from Winter: Up in the Morning, D. Stone |
| Ensemble: | I Drew my Ship, D. Austin |
| Own choice: | Blue Moon Rogers and Hart |

The choir had put on an ambitious programme with something for everyone. The selection from Britten's Ceremony of Carols. proved particularly successful. The Poulenc motets probably needed one or two more rehearsals to have sounded really confident, but the first half ended well with a very atmospheric rendering of Chilcott's Lully, lulla. After the usual excellent mulled wine and nibbles in the interval, recollection of the remainder of the programme is somewhat hazy... A particular mention should be made of the splendid piano duets performed by our conductor Tim Uglow and – stepping in at short notice – Lesley Starr, who normally sings Alto but is for the time being filling the gap left by the departure of our regular accompanist.
The main programme was as follows:
|
A selection from the Ceremony of Carols
|
Benjamin Britten |
|
O Magnum Mysterium |
Francis Poulenc |
|
Piano duet: Sonata for four hands |
Francis Poulenc |
|
Christmastide |
Bob Chilcott |
|
INTERVAL | |
|
Jesus Christ, the apple tree |
Elizabeth Poston |
|
Piano duet: From foreign lands (Spanish dance) |
Moritz Moszkowski |
|
Away in a manger
|
Bob Chilcott |
In the first half of the concert the theme of remembrance ran through the programme from Richard Farrant's lovely Call to remembrance written in the 16th century to Bob Chilcott's very contemporary carol Remember, O thou man. The chronological journey included works by Purcell, Duruflé and Puccini – Puccini's rarely heard Requiem was splendidly accompanied by Myfanwy Walters on the viola, and Purcell's When I am laid in earth was beautifully sung by Lucy Cronin.
The most challenging piece in the first half was Purcell's Jehova quam multi hostes mei - a setting in 5 parts of Psalm 3. The choir brought out well the changes of mood and tempo, and two of the choir members, Francis Cave (tenor) and David Futcher (bass) gave convincing solos.
The second half of the concert consisted of Faure's Requiem. This delicate and demanding work sounds much easier than it is. The performance overall was sensitive and well phrased and articulated, both by the choir and by Lucy Cronin and David Futcher as soloists.
The large audience was rightly very appreciative of the performances, and the choir and soloists, Timothy Uglow as conductor and Gavin Roberts as organ accompanist were long and warmly applauded.
Richard Frost
The final programme was as follows:
|
Call to remembrance |
Richard Farrant |
|
Voluntary in D |
Henry Purcell |
|
Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes mei |
Henry Purcell |
|
Prelude from Suite, Opus 5 |
Maurice Duruflé |
|
Requiem |
Giacomo Puccini |
|
Repose |
Mansell Thomas |
|
Preludio from Sonata in E flat minor, Opus 119, No 6
|
Josef Rheinberger |
|
Remember, O thou man |
Bob Chilcott |
|
INTERVAL |
|
|
Requiem Introit – Kyrie
Offertorium
Sanctus
Pie Jesu – Lucy
Cronin, soprano
Agnus Dei
Libera me –
soloist: David Futcher, bass
In Paradisum |
Gabriel Fauré |
|
The afternoon
rehearsal... |
...and the evening
performance. |
This concert was judged a success by all concerned. The church was packed. The weather was kind. The interval food and wine helped to create a mellow atmosphere for the lighter second half after more serious business of the first half. The idea of singing as we processed to our places at the start of each half worked very well. The choir gave some very good performances throughout and the Holywell String Quartet and vocal soloists Abigail Boreham (Soprano), Annalise Roy (Alto), Anirban Roy (Tenor) and Richard Hooper (Bass) performed superbly and contributed greatly to a memorable evening. This was our programme:
|
Mass in G
| Franz Schubert |
|
Popular Verse Anthems and Fantasias for
Strings
| Henry Purcell |
|
Spirituals
|
|
This year's Division 1 competition provided a nail-biting finish! At the mid-morning break the results of four classes had been declared: we had won the madrigal class, but Oxshott had won the part song, men's and women's song classes, and they were three points ahead! With only one more class to determine the winner of the highest aggregate score, we didn't fancy our chances. So it was with some surprise, as well as obvious delight, that we beat Oxshott by four points in the full chorus class and so won the highest aggregate score by just one mark! Nevertheless, our marks were somewhat lower that we might have hoped to achieve, and there were salutory lessons in this year's competition about the value of preparation and the value of learning as much of the music as possible by heart.
The evening concert for our Division contained several memorable highlights, started with the English Festival Orchestra, who gave a scintillating performance of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and were on top form throughout the evening. The competition trophies were presented by Richard Blackford, who gave us a fascinating insight into the process of composing Mirror of Perfection. This was followed by the performance of Mirror of Perfecfion, which proved extremely popular with the audience, much enhanced by some divine singing by the bass and soprano soloists and some equally divine playing by the orchestra. It was a rare privilege to perform such a beautiful work with the composer in the audience.
The programme of music for our Division was:
| Full chorus: | Vesperae Solennes de Confessore (K339), W.A. Mozart |
| Mirror of Perfection, R. Blackford | |
| Madrigal: | Il est bel et bon, Passereau |
| Part song: | Buffalo Gals, arr. R. Chilcott |
| Men's song: | Oh Sally, my dear, arr. A. Foster |
| Women's song: | Listening, E. Thiman |
| Ensemble: | Art thou troubled?, G.F. Handel arr. Chambers |
| Own choice: | Loquebantur variis linguis, T. Tallis |
Always an extremely popular event with which to start the Festive Season, this year's Carol Concert at the W.I. Hall was no exception. The appreciative audience was treated to the usual diet of sweet and savoury items, both in musical and culinary terms, washed down with some excellent mulled wine. On the musical front the highlights of the programme were:
| O Magnum Mysterium Hodie Christus Natus Est | Francis Poulenc |
| I Sing of a Maiden | Patrick Hadley |
| The Three Kings | Peter Cornelius |
| Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas | Martin & Blane, arr. Gritton |
| Winter Wonderland | Felix Bernard, arr. Gritton |
| Mary's Boy Child | Jester Hairston, arr. Gritton |
| Follow That Star | Peter Gritton |
| Es ist ein' ros' | trad. / Praetorius |
| O Magnum Mysterium | Victoria |
| Christmastide Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child Mid-winter Nova, Nova Remember, O Thou Man Where Riches is Everlasting | Bob Chilcott |
|
| ||||
|
For Bob Chilcott's
Where Riches is Everlasting the rumba rhythm was warmed up nicely by a
percussion trio | | |||
|
| ||||
|
Tim Uglow and the
choir receive applause at the end of the concert | ||||
2005 was the Centenary year for the Leith Hill Musical Festival. All were agreed that the major works on the programme (Poulenc and Vaughan Williams) were challenging, to say the least. Success in any part of the competition was by no means assured. Yet, to the surprise of some and the delight of all, we succeeded in winning the Full chorus, Men's song, Part song and Own choice classes, as well as a result achieved the highest aggregate score.The combined choirs concert in the evening went well. Dona nobis pacem was particularly moving, in no small part due to fine performances from the soloists Lucy Crowe (soprano) and William Berger (baritone). The English Festival Orchestra were on their usual exemplary form, and as usual we all enjoyed singing under Brian Kay's baton.
The full competition programme was as follows:
| Full chorus: | Dona nobis pacem, R. Vaughan Williams |
| Gloria, F. Poulenc | |
| Madrigal: | Unkind oh stay thy flying, J. Wilbye |
| Part song: | The Isle is full of Noises, R. Chilcott |
| Men's song: | When icicles hang by the wall. E.J. Moeran |
| Women's song: | Windy nights, R. Quilter |
| Ensemble: | In youth is pleasure, W. Cole |
| Own choice: | Hymne à la Vierge, P. Villette |
This annual event was as enjoyable for all concerned as ever.
By kind permission of Monika Saunders and Music at Woodhouse we gave a concert at Woodhouse Copse as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations for the village of Holmbury St Mary. In the beautiful setting of the Woodhouse Copse concert hall and garden we sang a varied programme to an appreciative local audience. Conducted as usual by Timothy Uglow, we were accompanied by David Hinitt and were joined by the baritone Michael Pearce for a performance of Vaughan Williams' Five Mysical Songs. Timothy Uglow and David Hinitt provided two piano duet interludes. The full programe was as follows:
Missa BrevisKyrie | G.P. da Palestrina |
Dolly Suite, Opus 56 (piano duet)Berceuse | G. Fauré |
Three Songs of PraisePraise | G. Dyson |
|
Close thine eyes | M. Plumstead |
Five Mystical SongsEaster | R. Vaughan Williams |
Madrigals of the English RenaissanceThe Silver Swan |
O. Gibbons |
Country gardens (piano duet) | P. Grainger |
"Madrigals" of the Twentieth CenturyMy true love hath my heart |
J. Rutter |