And finally…
Dear Singers,
...... and finally:
Just when we thought our work was done, we mustered a willing troupe to perform with Jack Oades in Alphington Church. I am grateful to everyone who made it, and on behalf of the whole choir thank you for your time and commitment. We enjoyed a splendid evening with a packed church and warm hospitality.
It was a pleasure to repeat a selection from our Christmas repertoire after Saturday's concert, and to listen to six organ pieces ranging from Walking in the air to Widor's Toccata - from the pretty to the powerful, one could say!
It was a very different experience for ECS lite (40% of the full cohort) to sing in choir stalls with a small acoustic, and we rose to the challenge. We were received well, and the audience was happy to be cajoled through Holly & Ivy. It was nice to see tenor Jim in the audience and some past members too.
It was a very fitting occasion for bidding 'farewell' to Jack, who departs for Edinburgh in the new year - we wish him luck. Mike Partridge, the vicar, was very grateful for our contribution, and the mulled wine and mince pies were delicious. We should also thank Juliet Meadowcroft for her role in enabling the event to happen, and her organisation. I am pleased that we had an opportunity to sing elsewhere in the locality and reach a different audience.
Thank you all again for a wonderful term's work. To end the season I have attached a recording of the Hummell Mass to give you a flavour. You might find other sources but it's a start.
Thinking ahead to Christmas 2025.......
On the way to the Alphington rehearsal on Wednesday 11th I tuned in to Radio 3's Composer of the week - A Latin American Christmas - and heard something I last performed in the 80s in Oxford with a combined schools' choir - The Navidad Nuestra by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez - which I recall being great fun. It's the Christmas story, but with music from the southern hemisphere in summer. It gave me an idea.....!
The whole week's programmes are delightful and the history very interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ-NPydrsak
Navidad Nuestra - Ariel Ramirez - Sierramanta - Choir of Opera & Philharmonic of Bialystok (Poland)
Concert Navidad Nuestra, Opera & Philharmonic Bialystok (Poland) Director Choir Bialystok Violetta Bielecka, Gropu Sierramanta, Ariel Ramirez, January 2021. https://www.RamirezAriel.com/ RamirezAriel.Art@gmail.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BCtsMsHUO6YNvM9aYkPDV?si=8OZzRaL9S1C7TJsL8bNYJw
www.youtube.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86VywLqY0_k
Johann Nepomuk Hummel Mass in B flat major Op.77
Johann Nepomuk Hummel Mass in B flat major Op.77 http://www.amazon.com/Hummel-B-flat-Tantum-After-Gluck/dp/B004HRHIFM 1. Kyrie 0:00 2. Gloria 4:20 3. Credo 12:55 4. Sanctus 19:56 5. Benedictus 21:41 6. Agnus Dei 27:08 Pictures: Interior of Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava, Slovakia
www.youtube.com
Feliz Navidad a todas!
Año nuevo pacífico
Peter
A note from Yvonne:
Thought you might like to see some figures relating to our very successful concert:
We sold an amazing total of 202 tickets to the concert (mostly via the choir, some from Ticketsource, some on the door)
We had a total of 160 in the audience on the night (incredible considering the stormy weather)
Generous donations of £614 were raised for our Charity, Go Beyond (£100 of this total was raised by the choir)
Financially, we've had a very successful term and have made a good profit (will share exact figures when the final income and expenditure are in)
When Sarah visited the charity after the concert, they were delighted with the amount raised and very grateful we had chosen them as our charity. They passed on the message below for us all (they were sworn to secrecy about revealing more details):
Please keep a lookout on ITV on Christmas Eve at 19:30! Something Go Beyond have been super excited to have been a part of!
Peter has already written about how successful the term has been from a singing perspective, but I just wanted to add there are so many people we need to thank for helping make it all work (including all of you) but none more so than Peter himself - he works hard to improve the choir and given us aspirations we didn't know we could aim for, whilst making it all very enjoyable. Thank you Peter!
That's it from me. Don't forget to bring your completed membership forms and subs payments on 7th January (to make everything a bit smoother and faster).
Have a super Christmas!
Yvonne