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Fifty years of singing
How many years?
Pam Fenton was recently awarded a Long Service Certificate for her amazing 50 years of membership and singing in the South Devon Choir. Sally Laird, the Choir’s Chairperson, presented Pam her Certificate and a basket of spring flowers at the AGM in January 2017. Even though it seems a bit of an effort to turn out in the wind, rain, snow and fog on a winter’s evening to attend rehearsals the effort is always rewarded with a feeling of well being after singing and meeting old friends. Well done Pam, we applaud you.
Christus Natus Est!
Joyous Christmas Singing
Mobile phone technology being what it is now, a member of our audience has supplied us with this recording of the last part of Cecelia McDowall’s lovely Christmas Cantata, “Christus Natus Est!” We hope it will enjoyed once again by those who attended the concert and for the first time by those who didn’t.
Happy Christmas, to one and all.
Handel and his Messiah
Handel was born in Saxony in 1685, the same year that J.S. Bach was born in Thuringia, though the two were destined never to meet. Whereas Bach remained in North Germany for the whole of his life, writing a vast amount of choral and instrumental music for his church and court employers, Handel travelled widely, unencumbered with family responsibilities, first to Italy, where he learned the art of opera and adopted the Italian style of writing which coloured his sub-sequent compositions.
On his return, he became Director of Music to the Elector of Hanover, but soon left for England, where he immersed himself in the flourishing operatic scene. His former employer followed him to London in 1714, where he was crowned King George I. It was for him that Handel wrote his famous ‘Water Music’ in 1717.
Handel now moved in the highest circles, becoming Musical Director to the Duke of Chandos and travelling abroad to engage singers for his fourteen new operas. In 1727 he wrote four anthems for the coronation of George II, including ‘Zadok the Priest’, which has been sung at every British coronation since then.
The popularity of Italian-style operas began to wane in England and Handel, somewhat unwillingly, turned his attention to the composition of dramatic oratorios, which proved immensely popular with the English public, thereby sustaining him through the ill-health and eventual blindness which blighted his later years. He died at the age of 74 and was buried with great honour in Westminster Abbey. Beethoven later said of him, “Go and learn of him how to achieve great effects with simple means”; and Haydn, hearing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in Westminster Abbey at the great Handelian Festival of 1791, rose to his feet with the crowd, wept, and exclaimed, “He is the master of us all.”
‘Messiah’, composed between 22nd August and 14th September 1741, with a libretto selected from scriptures by Charles Jennens, was first performed in Dublin on 13th April 1742, since when it has remained at the forefront of the choral repertoire, both at home and abroad.
South Devon Choir will sing Part 1, the Advent/Christmas section of this mighty work on Saturday 10 December 2016 at Central Church, Tor Hill Road, Torquay. The performance starts at 7.30pm and tickets are available on the door at a cost of £12. The Choir will also perform Lo! Star Led Chiefs by Dr Crotch, Christus Natus Est! by the contemporary composer Cecelia McDowall and there will be Christmas carols for all to sing. In addition there will be two special solos from the unfinished oratorio ‘Christus’ by Mendelssohn. With professional soloists and organist Simon Dunbavand and conducted by John Hobbs the evening promises to be full of wonderful harmonies and Christmas spirit.
For further information and online tickets click Hallelujah! It’s Christmas!
#sdchoirchristmas
Got a Handel on it now?
Chorally Confused has been getting along just fine singing with the South Devon Choir. Despite her relative inexperience and near non-existent music reading skills enthusiasm and determination have paid dividends and when it was announced that the Choir would be singing Part 1 of Handel’s Messiah Chorally Confused thought to herself
“No problem. I’ve heard it so many times, it will be a doddle to learn. After Verdi’s Requiem, how hard can it be?”
At the first practice Chorally Confused discovered that she was the only one, apparently, who had never sung Messiah before. Gasps of amazement at her inexperience were heard – then she noticed that she was not the only one who had put up her hand – others, slowly were admitting that they, too, had never sung this piece before. The conductor smiled cheerily and the rehearsal started.
It’s funny how, no matter how many times you may, or may not, have sung a piece of music there is always something new to be discovered, or some passage that you never sang quite correctly. For Chorally Confused it has been a whole new experience – how to sing something correctly when you have only heard it sung before and how to pack an awful lot of notes into a very short space of time. When asked what she thought of it after the first rehearsal she was heard to observe, “I think Handel must have been in a hurry when he wrote this and he didn’t have to try singing it himself.” Well, she was right in her first observation – the whole work was written in a matter of three to four weeks, so perhaps Handel was in a hurry.
Chorally Confused has also been observed wandering round muttering to herself. We discovered that this was not muttering but her practising the long runs of notes as suggested – pa-pa-pa-pa.
Providing she, and the rest of the Choir, remember to sing the words, this will have been a very helpful exercise.
By last week’s rehearsal Chorally Confused admitted that she “Had a Handel on it, thanks”. We are pleased for her.
If you would like to come along and hear the Choir sing on Saturday 10 December at 7.30pm at Central Church, Torquay , and of course hear if Chorally Confused really has got a handle on the notes and necessarily in the right order, then you can buy tickets online https://southdevonchoir.org/hallelujah-its-christmas/ or on the door. Tickets cost £12 (please note a booking fee applies online). Alternatively you can check out our Tickets page for further information.
Please do come.
#sdchoirchristmas #sdcchristmas
The Verdi Soloists – Darren Jeffrey
In the third of our introductions we turn our attention to the bass soloist in the Coast to Coast Choir’s performance of Verdi’s famous Messe da Requiem to be performed at 7.30pm on Saturday 2nd July 2016 in the Assembly Rooms, Torquay Town Hall. Tickets for the Torquay performance can be obtained through this website – for further details click here
If you are unable to come to Torquay then the performance takes place again in the Pannier Market, Barnstaple on Sunday 3rd July starting at 3pm.
Singing the bass soloist’s part for us is Darren Jeffery. If, like most of us, you wish you could attend the BBC Proms but trying to get hold of tickets, travel and somewhere to stay makes such a trip out of reach you will be pleased to know that, not only can you hear a work that is being performed at the Proms this year but also, a performer who has sung a major roles at the Proms including performing in Elijah in 2003.
Here’s a taste of his voice like the finest, darkest chocolate. Listen as Darren sings “Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge” from Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner and let it whet your appetite for his performances in the dramatic Messe da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi.
Darren has had a varied and successful professional career. He was born in Fordham, Cambridgeshire and attended The King’s School, Ely. He then studied as both an undergraduate and graduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music from 1995 to 2001. During that time he won the RNCM’s highest student award, the Curtis Gold Medal. He sang in the chorus of Glyndebourne Festival Opera while still a post-graduate student as well as singing the title role in the college’s 2001 production of Verdi’s Falstaff. On completion of his studies in Manchester, he joined The Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme in its founding year.
Jeffery made his professional debut as a principal artist as Sciarrone in Puccini’s Tosca at the Royal Opera House in 2002. He subsequently appeared with the company in several more roles, including Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Monterone in Rigoletto, and Masetto in Don Giovanni. He went on to an international career, appearing on the stages of many European opera houses and festivals. In 2008 he was a finalist in the Seattle International Wagner Competition and in 2013 made his US debut as Kothner in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. His work as a soloist in oratorio and concert includes Elijah, Le Rossignol, Le Troyens, The Seven Last Words of Christ, Peter Grimes, and most recently a concert performance of the Glyndebourne production of Billy Budd.
Among Darren’s several appearances at the BBC Proms was Elijah in 2003.
We look forward to welcoming him to Torquay and Barnstaple and hearing him sing.
The Verdi Requiem Soloists – Dawid Kimberg
The treats continue as the Coast to Coast Choir has pleasure in introducing the second of the four soloists for the combined choirs performance of Verdi’s famous Messe da Requiem to be performed at 7.30pm on Saturday 2nd July 2016 in the Assembly Rooms, Torquay Town Hall.
If you are unable to come to Torquay then the performance takes place again in the Pannier Market, Barnstaple on Sunday 3rd July starting at 3pm.
Tickets for the Torquay performance can be obtained through this website – for further details click here
Second on our list of soloists for these two concerts is South African baritone Dawid Kimberg. Dawid has stepped in to sing the tenor part as the soloist originally advertised, David Webb, is unable to join us. We are fortunate indeed to have Dawid to sing with us – as you will discover from his resume and the wonderful video from Inside Opera Live he is not only a fine singer but also capable of turning tweets into artistry.
Dawid was a Jette Parker Young Artist for The Royal Opera 2009–11, singing roles including Steersman (Tristan und Isolde) Moralès (Carmen) Marullo (Rigoletto) and Surintendant des Plaisirs (Cendrillon). Since leaving the Programme he has returned to sing Masetto (Don Giovanni) for the Company.
Kimberg was born in Johannesburg and moved to the UK in 2001 to study singing with Ryland Davies at the Royal College of Music and at the National Opera Studio. Kimberg’s engagements have included Dr Falke for Bolshoi Opera, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) for Opera Holland Park, Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) for Glyndebourne on Tour, Mr Gedge for Théâtre du Capitole du Toulouse and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes) for Deutsche Oper am Rhein.
Kimberg regularly performs in many major oratorio works in the UK and beyond, and in recital has sung at the Wigmore Hall. Further concert appearances include Schubert’s song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Schwanengesang in the Crush Room at the Royal Opera House.
The Verdi Requiem Soloists – Heloise West
We are in for a real treat as the Coast to Coast Choir has pleasure in introducing the soloists for the combined choirs performance of Verdi’s famous Messe da Requiem to be performed at 7.30pm on Saturday 2nd July 2016 in the Assembly Rooms, Torquay Town Hall. If you are unable to come to Torquay then the performance takes place again in the Pannier Market, Barnstaple on Sunday 3rd July starting at 3pm. Tickets for the Torquay performance can be obtained through this website – for further details click here
First on our list of soloists for these two concerts is Héloïse West, a well-known and accomplished soprano who we are delighted to welcome. Heloise will take us through the highs and lows of the great work finally reaching the highest of high notes towards to the end of the Requiem. You will discover what this is like if you watch the video below, sung by Renee Fleming and conducted by Antonio Pappano – if you haven’t time to listen to the whole piece go to 7 mins 15 seconds and listen for a moment or two. At 11mins 26 seconds you can hear another stratospherically high note. This is, indeed, one of the great feats of the human voice and to hear a singer live achieve this wonderful sound is a treat indeed.
Héloïse West was born in Devon. When she joined the National Youth Choir of Great Britain she received a gifted pupil award. She gained an Entrance Exhibition to the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with an LRAM and a Bachelor of Music degree in performance. She has also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Héloïse has recently started an in-depth course of study on Wagnerian roles with Lionel Friend.
She has a busy career in the South West singing oratorios.
Her performances include : Bach- St.Matthew Passion, St.John Passion,Mass in B Minor, Brahms– Requiem, Handel- Messiah, Haydn– Nelson Mass, Creation,Mendelssohn-Elijah, Mozart– C Minor Mass, Coronation Mass, Requiem,Poulenc-Gloria, Verdi-Requiem.
#verdicoast #torquay
Local talent
When we see a professional singer on the stage, in their home environment, performing in front of a big audience we often forget that for every professional singer there are hundreds of amateurs and young professionals putting themselves out there for all to hear and judge.
At our concert on Saturday 12th March South Devon Choir was pleased to welcome a new young singer who performed the soprano part in Schubert’s Mass in G.
Clare Lash-Williams attended Sherborne School for Girls where she excelled in music. Fast becoming an in-demand Soprano soloist Claire has appeared as a singer on regional TV.
As member of the Collati Singers, Clare regularly sings for a range of choral events and has recently worked with the Alvington Singers, the Lympstone Military Wives and the Crediton Singers. She also sings for weddings and special events and is currently expanding her teaching practice.
Despite being afflicted with a cold and cough (which seems to be norm for this end of a long damp winter) Clare Lash Williams demonstrated that she has a lovely voice with pure top notes and gave a performance much enjoyed by the Choir and audience alike. Our thanks go to her for travelling to be with us for a short but much appreciated participation in the concert; we hope that we will see and hear more of her in the future (and that her cold gets better very quickly).
Choir members usually stay bashfully in the body of the Choir but one of our tenors, John Christian, came out to perform a solo in the Schubert Mass.
John has been singing as a tenor with the South Devon Choir since 2002 during which time he has also been developing as a solo singer – he has sung for local choirs, including The Stanborough Chorus, singing the tenor solos in Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise and Elijah, Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast and making various guest appearances. He is also a soloist at St Paul’s, Preston, in their regular Easter gathering of singers for Stainer’s Crucifixion and Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary.
John studies locally with Veronica Layne and sings in S.W. England Festivals both in Torbay and Plymouth.
It is great to have such enthusiasm and talent within the Choir and John displays his artistic side both as a singer and a maritime artist. In the past he has also been kind enough to donate pictures for Choir funding raising activities so one way and another the Choir has much to say thank you to him for. (You can see his pictures on his website .)
A Happy Chairperson
What a wonderfully enjoyable concert our South Devon Choir gave on Saturday in Central Church Torquay!
I’m so proud of the Choir – they worked very hard and made… a wonderful sound!
And I’ve never seen the audience look so happy!
We sang a glorious mix of favourite choral classics and Schubert’s Mass in G – conducted by our lovely Musical Director, John Hobbs ,who also stepped cheerfully into the breach and sang the short bass solos gloriously as always.
As for our new accompanist – Tim Matthews- he never stopped playing all night – and all day too if you count the rehearsal time he put in. Those organ solos – wow! Nearly blew the roof off at times; and lovely to hear the beautiful Steinway played so well.
Onward and upwards everybody – Verdi Requiem next – can’t wait!
From your very delighted Chairperson!
I was glad
Famous Choral Classic for a Royal Birthday Celebration
There are some pieces of music which are so familiar and well-loved and I was glad by Sir Hubert Parry is surely one of them.
Sung at the entrance of the Monarch at the Coronation and at royal celebrations such as weddings, with the advent of widespread television, this anthem will be well-known to millions. South Devon Choir will conclude its Choral Classics concert on 12 March 2016 with this lovely piece of music – as a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she approaches the occasion of her 90th birthday.
For further details of this concert and to obtain tickets please click here.
Tickets are also available on the door – the concert starts at 7.30pm at Central Church, Torquay.
#queenelizabeth #royalbirthday #torquay #music #concert
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