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Recently several choir members seem to have succumbed to various ailments and we send them our best wishes to Derek and Doreen Manning, Molly Rousell and Terry Hodge, and hope that they will be back in the choir stalls before too long. We are pleased to note Anne Shipton’s return to the choir after her long illness, and would like to thank Sarah Hodge and Margaret Lloyd for acting as librarians during Anne’s absence. This very necessary job is relentless, as during the course of the month, we use around 50 different pieces of music (excluding hymns!) which when multiplied by 30 (choristers) means at least 1500 individual items! We are always on the look out for new members, and are pleased to welcome Philip Martin (tenor) who has recently joined us.
On the last Saturday in January, the choir sang Evensong at Bristol Cathedral, and, like all our cathedral visits, it was a privilege to sing in such wonderful surroundings and to sing well enough to be invited back! The treatment of visiting choirs by the host cathedral varies enormously, and some occasions are particularly memorable! For example, a visit to sing at Salisbury cathedral provided one of the coldest welcomes imaginable. The duty verger obviously thought that the men and boys of the choir of Westbury-on-Trym (where I was then Director of Music) were lesser mortals and spent nearly all the time, when we should have been rehearsing the music, practising processing in and out of the choir stalls. After the service I was asked to meet the Bishop (who was present at this Saturday Evensong) and he thanked me for bringing the choir to Salisbury and then went on to say that “it’s only when we hear third-rate choirs like yours that we really appreciate the quality of our Cathedral Choir”. Before I could draw breath to reply, he continued “our two Head Boys have both got scholarships to Harrow” to which I replied, “we have some particularly talented boys who do well at the local comprehensive school”……..No-one imagined for one minute that a Parish Church choir was in the same league as a cathedral choir, but for tactless remarks that scored very highly! Needless to say we never returned to Salisbury!
These days, the C of E makes great play of welcoming people into its buildings, whether for services or concerts or just to look at the architecture. The visiting choir can often be a useful barometer as to the level of welcome. For example, on every occasion we have been to Bristol cathedral, we have always been treated with courtesy and consideration; we have not been patronised by clergy or vergers, and (most important of all) we are given a cup of tea! The latter is most welcome between the rehearsal and the service; sadly our own diocesan cathedral (my own “favourite” of all cathedrals) does not afford the luxury of a cup of tea, and on two occasions in the past personal belongings have been stolen! Obviously the latter cannot be helped, but a cup of tea would be fairly simple to organise as a thank-you for helping out our mother church; to say nothing of the cost of parking and petrol!
There is much musical activity in March, and I would like to draw attention to the following;
13th March Coffee-time Music beginning with a cup of coffee and a slice of cake at 10.30am and followed by a concert of about 30 minutes starting at 11.00am, will be given by a talented group of girls from Redland High School, Bristol. Called “The Six” they specialise in a cappella vocal music and have performed on Radio Bristol, Dyrham House, John Wesley’s Chapel and as guests at Clifton College’s “Prom on the Close” (chosen after winning a competition held in Bristol’s Cabot Circus).
As well as being extremely proficient singers (with membership of Bristol Cathedral Girls’ Choir, The Bristol Chamber Choir, and school choirs etc.) each member of the group is an instrumentalist of accomplishment; flute, trumpet, violin, guitar, bassoon, and piano are all represented and the concert will include instrumental items.
In a school which prides itself on the quality of its music-making, this group is unique in that the members are entirely self sufficient and organise absolutely everything from choosing the music to performing it. I can thoroughly recommend this concert.
28th March Come and Sing Handel’s Messiah conducted by Lynn James.
Come and join St James’ Choir to sing through the most popular oratorio ever written, and if you cannot sing come and listen!
The music will be available from 4.10pm so that we can begin the rehearsal promptly.
The rehearsal will be from 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Tea and biscuits will be available from 5.30pm – 6.10pm.
The performance will begin at 6.30pm
The cost will be a minimum of £5 per singer, and, after covering expenses, any profit will go to the Church Appeal.
Scores (Prout edition) will be provided.
The soloists will be Alicia Little – Soprano
Guy James – Counter tenor
Oliver Butler – Tenor
Eddie Hocken – Tenor
Ra Twilley – Bass
The soloists are all young and have much choral experience, and include Guy James who is a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge and for many years sang in St James’ choir as a treble and as a counter tenor.
Nigel Davies