Concert Programme - Newbury Choral Society

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The Programme
George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Cathal Garvey
Soprano: Claire Bessent
Alto: Annie Gill
Tenor: Stefan Kennedy
Bass: David Ireland
Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra
Rehearsal accompanist: Steve Bowey
There will be an interval at the end of Part One.
We are grateful to the following for their support:
The Englefield Charitable Trust
Please visit http://www.newburychoral.org.uk/ConcertFeedback/ to give us
your feedback on this concert.
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Programme Notes by Jane Hawker
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Messiah
Background
More than two hundred and seventy years after its first
performance, Handel’s oratorio Messiah is one of the most
frequently performed works in Western music. However, the piece
did not have an auspicious start in life. The premiere in Dublin in
1742 was successful, attracting an audience of seven hundred and
raising large funds for the three charities that were to benefit from
the concert. In contrast, the first performance of Messiah in London
a year later was a different story. It took place in what was then the
Covent Garden Theatre, now the site of The Royal Opera House, and
Handel was criticized for portraying the subject of the life of Jesus
Christ in such secular surroundings and with theatrical singers. The
oratorio’s run was cut short, and it was not performed at all the
following year.
For the next few years Handel tried to revive the piece by making
changes to the score, and hiring different soloists to sing the lead
roles. By the end of the decade the oratorio’s fortunes had turned
around. This was due in part to the popularity of the two female
soloists who began a long association with Handel’s work. In
addition, Handel had the foresight to link his name and music to a
charity that was becoming increasingly well regarded, paving the
way for the association of the arts with fundraising that is familiar to
us today.
The Foundling Hospital, the country’s first ever children’s charity,
was started in 1739 by Thomas Coram to look after children who
would otherwise be abandoned. Handel and artist William Hogarth
both saw an opportunity to be philanthropic while gaining public
exposure for their work. The Hospital became the place for London’s
fashionable rich to see and be seen at the regular art exhibitions and
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Programme Notes
concerts organized by the charity to raise funds to cope with the
overwhelming numbers of babies and children left at its gates.
Following such success, annual benefit concerts of Messiah were
held in the Hospital’s chapel until after Handel’s death, although
from 1755 they were conducted by one of his pupils due to the
composer’s increasing blindness. Performances continued to be held
in the theatre, and Handel heard Messiah for the last time at Covent
Garden in April 1759, eight days before his death. Handel left a score
of Messiah to the Foundling Hospital in his will, having raised more
than £7,000, equal to over one million pounds today. The charity,
now known as Coram, stages a Handel Birthday Concert every year in
February in his honour.
Libretto
The libretto for Messiah was written by Charles Jennens. A patron of
the arts with a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible, he
collaborated with Handel on several oratorios. Messiah has been
described as a ‘Biblical compilation’, made up primarily of passages
from the King James Bible, supplemented with words taken from the
Book of Common Prayer. Its central message is that Jesus Christ is
the Messiah promised by God and foretold by the ancient Hebrew
prophets. Rather than creating a narrative describing the chronology
of events, Jennens chose texts to show how these prophecies were
borne out in the life of Jesus.
Messiah is divided into three parts. Part One acts as a prologue,
setting out the prophecies of the coming of a Messiah, and providing
the only purely narrative passage in the oratorio, taken from the
Gospel of St Luke, in which angels announce to the shepherds that a
Saviour has been born. It concludes with reflections on the blessed
state of Jesus’s followers. The second part meditates on Jesus’s
persecution, suffering and death, followed by people’s resistance to
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the word of God on Earth, and ending with the ultimate triumph of
God’s reign, depicted by the famous Hallelujah chorus. The subject
of Part Three of the oratorio is redemption: the promise of
resurrection and eternal life made possible by the sufferings of Jesus
Christ.
Composition
Handel started work on the composition of the oratorio soon after
receiving the libretto from Jennens in 1741 and completed it in
twenty-four days. This was by no means unusual for Handel: he
began to write his next oratorio, Samson, a week after finishing
Messiah and this too was accomplished within a month. Messiah
owes its enduring appeal to a combination of features: Handel’s
skilful tonal structure that gives the work a unified sound and sense
of direction, while distinguishing the characteristics of individual
movements and highlighting important points throughout the
oratorio; a wide range of musical colours and textures that perfectly
suit the words; and of course the memorable tunes that audiences
can barely resist singing along to.
Handel’s score was for a modest number of instruments and singers,
and was considered at the time restrained in its orchestration. The
sparse use of trumpets in particular increases their impact when they
are heard. This restraint was lost in subsequent arrangements of
Messiah for ever-larger forces over the next century, culminating in
the vast productions beloved of Victorian choral societies. This trend
began to diminish in the twentieth century as interest in authentic
performance grew. Early-music specialist Watkins Shaw returned to
Handel’s autograph score for his 1965 edition, which is the one you
will hear in this concert.
In his notes to accompany the 1980 recording of Messiah by
Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music,
musicologist Anthony Hicks wrote that, although the work is not
written in a particular key signature, there is ‘an aspiration towards D
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major, with its associations of glory and light’. This key is heard at
significant moments in the oratorio, particularly in its ‘full apocalyptic
splendour’ for the Hallelujah chorus at the end of Part Two. In the final
part Handel uses the key to depict the promise of universal resurrection
(The trumpet shall sound) and the revelation of the risen Christ (Worthy is
the Lamb), setting ‘a radiant seal on the entire oratorio’.
PART ONE
1. Symphony (Overture)
Grave — Allegro moderato
2. Recitative tenor
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her
iniquity is pardoned.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
3. Air tenor
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the
crooked straight, and the rough places plain.
4. Chorus
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it
together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
5. Recitative bass
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once, a little while, and I will shake the
heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all
nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.
The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the
messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come,
saith the Lord of Hosts.
6. Air alto
But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he
appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire.
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7. Chorus
And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the
Lord an offering in righteousness.
8. Recitative alto
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Emmanuel, God with us.
9. Air alto and Chorus
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high
mountain, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy
voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid, say unto the cities of
Judah: Behold your God!
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, arise, shine; for thy light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
10. Recitative bass
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen
upon thee. And the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the
brightness of thy rising.
11. Air bass
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. And they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined.
12. Chorus
For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a Son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his Name shall be called:
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace!
13. Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)
Larghetto e mezzo piano
14. Recitative soprano
There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their
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flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and
the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.
15. Recitative soprano
And the angel said unto them: Fear not; for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
16. Recitative soprano
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host, praising God, and saying:
17. Chorus
Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will towards
men.
18. Air soprano
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour, and
he shall speak peace unto the heathen.
19. Recitative alto
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf
unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue
of the dumb shall sing.
20. Air alto and soprano
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs
with his arm; and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that
are with young. Come unto him, all ye that labour, come unto him
that are heavy laden, and he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon
you, and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.
21. Chorus
His yoke is easy, and his burthen is light.
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INTERVAL
PART TWO
22. Chorus
Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
23. Air alto
He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief.
24. Chorus
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon him.
25. Chorus
And with his stripes we are healed.
26. Chorus
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned ev’ry one to his
own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
27. Recitative tenor
All they that see him, laugh him to scorn: they shoot out their lips,
and shake their heads, saying:
28. Chorus
He trusted in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if
he delight in him.
29. Recitative tenor
Thy rebuke hath broken his heart; he is full of heaviness; he looked
for some to have pity on him, but there was no man, neither found
he any to comfort him.
30. Air tenor
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow.
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31. Recitative tenor
He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of
thy people was he stricken.
32. Air tenor
But thou didst not leave his soul in hell; nor didst thou suffer thy Holy
One to see corruption.
33. Chorus
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads,
O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of
Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He
is the King of Glory.
36. Air alto
Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, and
received gifts for men, yea, even for thine enemies, that the Lord
God might dwell among them.
37. Chorus
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.
38. Air soprano
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things.
39. Chorus
Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends
of the world.
40. Air bass
Why do the nations so furiously rage together: why do the people
imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers
take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed.
42. Recitative tenor
He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall
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have them in derision.
43. Air tenor
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel.
44. Chorus
Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of
his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Hallelujah!
PART THREE
45. Air soprano
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth.
And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that
sleep.
46. Chorus
Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the
dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
47. Recitative bass
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet.
48. Air bass
The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
49. Recitative alto
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
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swallowed up in victory.
50. Duet alto and tenor
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
51. Chorus
But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
52. Air soprano
If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay anything to
the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.
53. Chorus
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by
his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Blessing and honour, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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Cathal Garvey — Musical Director
Cathal Garvey hails from Ireland where he made his
name as a choral and orchestral conductor.
Cathal began his career as an Opera Chorus Master
working for most of Ireland’s major opera companies
including Opera Ireland, Opera Theatre Company, Anna
Livia Opera Festival, Opera South and Lyric Opera. For
these companies he worked on over fifty opera
productions and has acted as Assistant Conductor for
several of them. He has also conducted several musicals
in Cork and Dublin.
During his ten years in Dublin, Cathal conducted the National Symphony
Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Orchestra of St Cecilia, the
Ulysses Orchestra, Irish Sinfonia, the Dublin Baroque Players, the Royal Irish
Academy of Music Wind Ensemble, Dublin Concert Band, the RTÉ Philharmonic
Choir, Bray Choral Society and from 2001 to 2006 was Principal Conductor of
the Dublin Orchestral Players.
From 2004 to 2009 he was Musical Director of the Dun Laoghaire Choral Society
with whom he had a highly successful tenure, covering a wide range of sacred
music and oratorios. During this time he was a noted champion of British music,
conducting many works by Elgar, Delius, Britten, Tippett, Stanford (Irish!) and
Vaughan Williams.
Since moving to London in 2009, he has conducted Southern Sinfonia, London
International Orchestra, Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra, I Maestri, London
Repertoire Orchestra, London Medical Orchestra, King's College London
Symphony Orchestra and Morley College Choir. He is also Musical Director of
Newbury Choral Society and for two seasons was Chorus Master and Assistant
Conductor at Grange Park Opera. He is currently on the conducting staff of the
Royal Academy of Music.
Cathal began violin and piano studies in his native Cork at an early age,
continuing at the Cork School of Music and later reading music at University
College Cork. After completing his Masters Degree in Conducting he studied for
two years at the prestigious College of Moscow Conservatory.
As a violinist, he has played with the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland and
with numerous professional orchestras, including the National Symphony
Orchestra of Ireland and the German-based Philharmonia of the Nations. He
currently works as a freelance player in London. He has sung and toured with
many choirs, among them the Irish Youth Choir, University College Cork Choir,
Madrigal '75 and the College of Moscow Conservatory Choir.
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Claire Bessent - Soprano
Claire was born in Scotland and raised in Inkpen,
near Newbury. She was educated at the School of
S. Helen and S. Katharine in Abingdon and went on
to graduate with a music degree from the University
of Durham. She then completed an MMus in Singing
Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland,
supported by the Barcapel Foundation Scholarship.
She was winner of the coveted Governor's Recital
Prize. Claire subsequently undertook postgraduate
vocal studies at the Royal College of Music; her teacher is Lillian Watson.
Claire's solo concert work includes Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers at St.
John's, Smith Square; Christmas concerts with the City of London Choir
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Haydn's Creation with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chamber Orchestra under
the late Sir Philip Ledger, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Handel's Messiah with the Dunedin Consort. In 2013, Claire was the soprano soloist
with Newbury Choral Society for their performance of Mozart’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Hear my Prayer and most recently she was soloist with St Albans Bach Choir for Handel’s Israel in Egypt.
Claire’s work in opera includes the role of Albina in Rossini’s La Donna
del Lago and cover of Norina in Don Pasquale by Donizetti, both with
Garsington Opera; Soprano Soloist in the world premiere of Ornamental
Happiness, part of a theatre/circus show at The Unity Theatre, Liverpool; Giannetta in The Elixir of Love by Donizetti with Grange Park
Opera and on tour for Pimlico Opera; Despina in Il Trespolo Tutore by
Stradella with New Chamber Opera; the role of First Boy and cover of
Papagena in The Magic Flute by Mozart with British Youth Opera.
In 2012 Claire was a soloist with London Early Opera for their recording
of a CD of works by Handel, due for release shortly.
Claire is a deputy with the BBC Singers and is a member of the Choir of
the King’s Consort and London Voices, with whom she sang in the Chinese premiere of Britten’s Peter Grimes in Beijing in 2013.
Forthcoming solo engagements include a performance of Monteverdi’s
1650 Vespers with Hull Bach Choir and Handel’s Messiah with Gloucester Choral Society, conducted by Adrian Partington.
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Annie Gill - Alto
Annie Gill completed her postgraduate studies
at the Royal Northern College of Music before
becoming a young artist at the Opera National
du Rhin in Strasbourg. She has performed the
roles of Mercedes - Carmen at the Opera
Comique Paris and Opera North, the title role of
Carmen - for Scottish Opera on Tour, Waltraute
in a Ring Cycle and Amore and Valletto L’Incoronazione di Poppea for L’Opera National du Rhin, Adza L’étoile for Opera Comique Paris, and Clarina - La Cambiale di
Matrimonio and Francisca - Maria Padilla for Wexford Opera. Other
roles include Dorabella - Cosi fan tutte, La Périchole, Melanto in Return of Ulysses and Annio - in Gluck’s Clemenza di Tito.
Contemporary opera credits include the role of Donna in Opera
North’s world premiere production of Skin Deep, Sara in Jonathan
Dove’s Tobias and the Angel, Suzanne in Martin Butler’s A Better Place
and Sara in Babur in London.
Concert performances include concerts with the St Petersburg Festival
Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
Her recordings include the Dublin version of Handel’s Messiah, which
won a Gramophone Award in 2007 in the Baroque Vocal category, as
well as the same group’s critically acclaimed St Matthew Passion.
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Stefan Kennedy - Tenor
Stefan is studying at the Royal Academy of Music with
Neil Mackie and Iain Ledingham. He graduated with a
2:I from Clare College, Cambridge where he read Music
with a choral scholarship.
For the Royal Academy of Music opera scenes, Stefan
will soon perform Male Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of
Lucretia, Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Gobin
in Puccini’s La Rondine. Previously, Stefan has
performed the role of Satyavan in Holst’s Savitri and in 2012 he
performed the role of Aeneas in the premiere of Paul Carroll’s The Fall
of Troy.
Stefan’s oratorio performances include Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610;
Bach’s St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Christmas Oratorio,
Magnificat and B Minor Mass; Handel’s Messiah; Haydn’s The
Creation and Nelson Mass; Mozart’s Requiem; and Beethoven’s Mass
in C. He has appeared as soloist at venues including Ely, Chichester
and Rouen Cathedrals, St John’s Smith Square and St Martin-in-theFields.
Stefan recently performed Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin with
Timothy Ravalde in Chichester and Winchester cathedrals. He will
perform this cycle again in Cambridge and London with Keval Shah. He
has performed recitals across Cambridge in the West Road Concert
Hall, the Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettle’s Yard and several college
chapels.
Future solo appearances include performances of Handel’s Messiah,
Bach’s Christmas oratorio, Mozart’s Mass in C and Requiem,
Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Schubert’s Winterreise and Robin Holloway’s
The Noon’s Repose. Stefan is extremely grateful for the generous
support of the Josephine Baker Trust, The Lady Clare Fund, Baroness
O’Cathain and Timothy and Christina Benn.
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David Ireland - Bass-baritone
Bass-baritone David Ireland has recently
completed the first year of the prestigious Opera
Course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
in London, studying with Robert Dean.
His concert performances have included Handel’s
Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Fauré’s Requiem,
Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and St.
John Passion and was the bass cover for Verdi’s
Requiem in the Barbican Centre, London.
David’s opera performances have included the roles of Ottavio - Le donne
curiose, Frank - I pazzi per progetto (UK Stage Premiere), L’Arbre L’enfant et les sortilèges at the Barbican Centre, Simone - Gianni Schicchi,
Sarastro - The Magic Flute, Figaro - The Marriage of Figaro, Sergeant of
Police - Pirates of Penzance and chorus roles in Garsington Opera’s 2014
season Vert-Vert and Fidelio, and The Royal Opera’s production of
Monteverdi’s Orfeo at the Roundhouse, Camden, also covering Charon. In
opera scenes, David has played Nick Shadow - The Rake’s Progress,
Rigoletto, Truffaldino - Ariadne auf Naxos, Don Alfonso - Così fan tutte, Il
Commendatore - Don Giovanni, Colline - La bohème, Don Pasquale and
Méphistophélès - Faust. David also performed the role of Pooh-Bah in an
extended national tour of The Mikado and the roles of Giorgio - I puritani
and Il Re - Ariodante in a scenes production in Shanghai.
As part of the new ‘Opera Makers’ course at the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama, David created the role of Chorus 2 in Laurence
Osborn’s Narkissus and the Reflektions.
In 2013, David sang excerpts from the role of Ralph in Bizet’s La jolie fille
de Perth for the renowned dramatic soprano Susan Bullock in a
masterclass at the new Milton Court Concert Hall in the City of London.
David is grateful for the support he receives from MDI Associates, Ltd.,
Medway Music Association and The Worshipful Company of Gold and
Silver Wyre Drawers.
Future plans include Collatinus - The Rape of Lucretia at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama, Chorus 2 - Narkissus and the Reflektions in
Budapest and at the Royal Opera House and Verdi’s Requiem in Oxford
and Sussex.
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Steve Bowey - Accompanist
Steve studied organ and piano from an early age,
playing the organ regularly at the churches of St.
Francis’ and St. Andrew’s in Coulsdon. After
studying Engineering at Salford University he moved
to Newbury to work for Vodafone. In 1991 Steve
was appointed as accompanist of the Cromwell
Singers and became their musical director in 1993.
From 1992, he was Director of Music at St. Mary’s
Church, Shaw-cum-Donnington, and regularly accompanied local
choirs, including the Douai Choral Society, the Downland Chorale,
the RSCM Southern Cathedral Singers, Berkshire Maestros youth
choirs and Worcester College, Oxford.
In June 1995 an opportunity at work took Steve to live in Holland. On
returning to Newbury in 1997 he returned to St. Mary’s, Shaw-cumDonnington as organist. In 2001 he was appointed Musical Director
of the Sandham Singers.
In 2006 Steve joined the Royal College of Organists, and in July the
following year took the examination for Associate (ARCO) in which
he was awarded the Limpus prize for performance, as well as the
Sowerbutts and Samuel Baker prizes. After further study, he was
awarded the Fellowship diploma (FRCO) in January 2011. He was
appointed as accompanist to Newbury Choral Society in 2011 and
also to the Newbury based Cecilia Consort in 2014. He is a regular
performer in the NDOA lunchtime recital series and has also given
recitals in Thaxted, Caterham, Manchester and Farnham. He teaches
organ and piano and enjoys working with the many choirs in
Newbury and the surrounding area.
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Newbury Choral Society
Newbury Choral Society is proud to celebrate 130 years of bringing
the finest choral music to the area. Our first concert in January 1885
was conducted by the choirmaster and organist of Newbury's St
Nicolas Church, John Shepherd Liddle. The choir made a good
impression on the Newbury Weekly News critic who wrote that 'the
execution of the choruses reflected great credit upon the members
of the Society and their conductor'.
Since that first concert, with the only exception of 1940, we have
regularly performed a wide and varied repertoire, from the great
choral works of Bach, Handel and Vaughan Williams to pieces by
more recent composers Britten, Tavener and Karl Jenkins. In our
second century, our conductors have included Jonathan Finney,
Robert Barsby, Leo Hussain and our first female Musical Director
Janet Lincé. Cathal Garvey has held the position since December
2009.
You can find out more about Newbury Choral Society, its history and
forthcoming events, at www.newburychoral.org.uk.
If you would like to help support our work please consider making a
donation through http://www.findmeagrant.org/wberks/ where we
have an application, reference number WB11187.
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Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra
Covent Garden Chamber
Orchestra is one of London’s
leading non-professional
orchestras. The players come
from many different professions, including architecture, arts
administration, the BBC, IT, law, media, medicine, publishing and
teaching, for some seriously enjoyable music-making. CGCO has
performed in various London venues, including St Paul’s Church
Covent Garden (the actors’ church), St John’s Smith Square, St James’s
Piccadilly, Southwark Cathedral, St Peter’s Eaton Square, St Peter's
Notting Hill and St Jude’s-on-the-Hill, Hampstead. The orchestra has a
wide repertoire of classical and modern music. Concerts have included
the UK première of Iscariot by the American composer Christopher
Rouse, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste (Bartók), Weill’s Violin
Concerto, Dumbarton Oaks and Pulcinella Suite (Stravinsky), cello
concertos by Barber, Korngold, Milhaud and Shostakovich, Rhapsody
for Viola and Orchestra (Martinu), Night Music (Colin Matthews) and
Robert Simpson’s Symphony No. 7.
Raising money for charity has always been important for CGCO.
Accompanying choral societies is one of the orchestra’s activities, and
enquiries for collaborative concerts are always welcome. Several
players also participate in chamber ensembles. The orchestra has
appeared several times at the Proms at St Jude’s in Hampstead, and in
June 2008 it was one of the training orchestras in the BBC2 television
programme Maestro.
CGCO has a policy of inviting guest conductors, and previous
conductors have Included Nicholas Daniel, Daniel Harding, Joan Enric
Lluna, Robert Max, Peter Stark, Benjamin Wallfisch and Howard
Williams. Previous soloists have included Nancy Argenta, William
Bennett, Nicolai Demidenko, Nicola Eimer, Joy Farrall, Emma Johnson,
Ralph Kirschbaum, Colin Lawson, James Lisney, Marie Macleod, Eniko
Magyar, John Reid, Paul Silverthorne, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Raphael
Wallfisch and Sarah Williamson. For more information please go to
cgco.org.uk.
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Newbury Choral Society Members
Honorary Life Patron: Lady Knill
Chairperson: Liz Wallace
Secretary: Nat Smith
Treasurer: Tracy Smith
Concert Manager: Mike Barthorpe
Rehearsal accompanist: Steve Bowey
SOPRANOS
Rachael Atkinson
Lorna Barnett
Rebecca Berger
Helen Bomgardener
Teresa Brown
Alex Butler
Karen CameronTaylor
Chris Castle
Marion Croxford
Ann Doyle
Lucy Fitt
Sarah Foley
Janet Freer
Gill Hitchcock
Monica Huddie
Murrie Jackson
Lauraine LeighKlugman
Chris Letham
ALTOS
Beverley Lewis
Penny Lovelock
Lynne Moore
Debbie Murphy
Margaret Owen
Pauline Phillips
Kathryn Pollard
Sue Sim
Tamsin Slatter
Brigitta Small
Sarah South
Patricia Stewart
Judith Stock
Fenisia Stopher
Veronica Turner
Caroline Whiting
Heather Yule
TENORS
Peter Angwin
Mike Barthorpe
Tom Brown
Matthew Evans
Derek Harwood
Richard Papworth
Katharine Andrews
Gayle Ashby
Margaret Baker
Hilary Banks
Denise Barthorpe
Jaquie Basker
Angela Bates
Jane Burgess
Helen Cook
Jacquie Cooper
Liz Coughlan
Eirlys Davies
Alison Dewar
Helen Douglass
Kay Douglass
Nicola Foster
Lily Green
Elizabeth Hanning
Lynnette Harper
Jane Hawker
Mavis Hughesdon
Gwenda Hutchinson
Kiki Kettunen
Ceinwen Lally
Mary Lawler
Emma Leader
Clare Owen
Bridget Purr
Barbara Riggs
Georgina Seaman
Ann Shepherd
Sally Sinclair
Margaret Smith
Nat Smith
Tracy Smith
Ann Turner
Vicci Vaughan
Ann Vodden
Liz Wallace
Penny Webb
Margaret Wright
Margaret Yates
BASSES
George Russell
Andrew Salisbury
Tony Vickers
Jeremy Wright
Nick Yates
Gerald Atkinson
John Avery
Robin Basker
Peter Bell
David Bomgardner
Mike Braide
Greg Choules
David Craig
Peter Donnelly
John Garbutt
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David Gavins
Julian Hawkins
Paul High
David Hunt
Richard Moore
Brendan Murphy
Andrew Parker
Graham Salter
Barrie Seaman
David Wilson
Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra Members
Violin
Ellen Gallagher
Nicky Enderby
Graham Griffiths
Andrea Broughton
Prunella Sedgewick
Simon Waddington
Meidi Chalal
Hilary Birch
Anne Beitel
Tanya Barringer
Viola
Lucy Armstrong
Sofia Greaves
Alex Nemo
Oboe
Nick Theobald
Lara Mepham
Bassoon
Rosanna Lewis
Trumpet
Tamsin Cowell
Matthew Gibbs
Timpani
Cayenna Ponchione (Newbury)
Richard Souper (London)
Cello
Jonathan Gibson
Michelle Ward
Kathryn Shepping
Double Bass
Russell Killick
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