Saturday 7th December 7pm
St. Andrew’s Church, Church Road, Hatfield Peverel CM3 2LE
A joyful seasonal concert of music and readings.
Tickets available here.
Saturday 7th December 7pm
St. Andrew’s Church, Church Road, Hatfield Peverel CM3 2LE
A joyful seasonal concert of music and readings.
Tickets available here.
On Sunday 13th October a group Singers, friends and family met up in Woodbridge. We then set off in various groups to visit the Tide Mill, the Long Shed, Museum, or walk upriver to HMS Vale or down river. Some visited shops or pubs and coffee shops. We all met later at St Mary’s Church where James told us about its history and showed us more interesting things we might have missed on our own. He then played several pieces on the organ for us before we crossed the road for late Sunday lunch at The Bull. Food and service were excellent and it was great to be out relaxing together. Photos of the day here.
We have a full and exciting term of singing ahead with a number of local performances planned for November and December. The first of these will be a welcome return to Chelmsford Cathedral on 17th November, 7pm to celebrate the centenary of Charles Villiers Stanford. We are keen to broaden our membership in all parts so if you are a singer with previous musical or choral experience considering joining a choir, do come along . You can find details of rehearsals here.
Tickets available here.
Excellent concert with The Chelmsford Singers, Tim Carey, and Geoff Clapham. Stanford’s Songs of the Fleet getting a really sensitive and powerful performance, amongst a wealth of other goodies; Geoff’s solos gave the evening a great rollicking twist and a particularly well-turned out ‘Old Joe has gone fishing’ was worth the blood, sweat and tears of rehearsals…! Nice audience too – thanks all!
On the first weekend of May the Chelmsford Singers made a welcome return to St
Luke’s Church in Tiptree for a late Spring concert of sacred choral works by Felix
Mendelssohn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The choir was joined by four superb soloists: Jessica Edom-Carey, Alexander
Pullinger, Tom Stapleton, and Theo Perry, accompanied on St Luke’s fine organ by
Stephen King, organist of Brentwood Cathedral.
The programme included two organ solos by Stephen. In the first half the
Consolation in D flat by Franz Liszt separated the ebullient Regina Coeli K 276 by
Mozart (with its coincidental echoes of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus) and the rarely performed Lauda Sion by Felix Mendelssohn, a tuneful and substantial work that
delighted the audience and showed off both choir and solo quartet to great effect.
The second half began with Bach’s Prelude and Fuge in C major, after which the
choir launched without further introduction into Mozart’s much-loved Solemn
Vespers K 339.
The Vespers contains the famous Laudate Dominum, for solo soprano and choir, one of two solo movements for Jessica Edom-Carey in the concert, and her warm and powerful voice filled the church to stunning effect, especially in the Mozart where she was accompanied gently by the choir.
The choir was on very fine form throughout, employing expressively soft singing and
commanding power with a great variety of colours in between, and the reaction of
the audience paid a fine tribute to the hard work that went into a sparkling concert.
The Chelmsford Singers enjoy opportunities to work with composers on their music, and it was very special to have James Whitbourn with us for our first performance of Annelies – his breadth of musical knowledge and ability to create moods make this a very moving and dramatic work and we enjoyed his presence and encouragement in rehearsal and the pre-concert talk he gave as part of the performance.
His musical influence was huge both in the UK and in the USA and he will be greatly missed – we were pleased to have met him and sung his beautiful music which will live on.
Rehearsals are going well in preparation for our next concert on Saturday, May 4th in St Luke’s Church, Tiptree. This term we are focussing on pieces from the Classical and Romantic periods: Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore and Regina coeli and Mendelssohn’s Lauda Sion. Three wonderful, inspirational, radiant pieces that make our voices soar and prove that church music can be joyful. Our secretary Martin has sent internet links to all members of the choir so we can practice at home
Very latest news is that we are very fortunate to have a new accompanist: the brilliant, international pianist Tim Carey who brings his expertise and humour to each rehearsal.
The concert on May 4th will be lively and exciting. Tickets available here. Do come and join us!
Saturday 27th January, Holocaust Memorial Day, we had the great privilege to be part of the audience at Christchurch for the Chelmsford Singers’ concert, commemorating this solemn and important day.
Under the direction of James Davy, the singers gave a powerful rendition of ‘Annelies’ by James Whitbourn. This 75-minute choral work for soprano soloist, choir and four instrumentalists (Elizabeth Drew, Marianne Olyver, David Burrowes and Tim Carey) has a libretto compiled from the Diary of Anne Frank. Soprano soloist, Samantha Hay, beautifully sang the poignant extracts from the diary with the choir bringing dramatic life to the tragic story of this remarkable teenager’s last years hiding in the secret annex. One memorable line, ‘One day this terrible war will be over, and we will be people again, and not just Jews,’ was written only a few months before her capture and murder by the Nazis. The energy, focus and clear articulation of the singers, combined with both dissonant and warm harmonies of the music, made this moment starkly moving and potent. The reaction of the audience at the end of the piece spoke volumes as to the impact of the evening – complete silence followed by rapturous applause.
‘Annelies’ was the culmination of an extraordinary programme, the first half consisting of works created during the Holocaust: three motets by Hugo Distler, who took his own life in 1942 in response to the horrors of the Nazi regime, and four movements from Olivier Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’, which was composed in a Nazi prisoner of war camp in 1941. The Distler was performed by the choir unaccompanied and set the tone of the evening with haunting and beautiful harmonies. The choir’s ability to create such a gentle and mournful sound was mesmerizing, particularly in ‘Selig sind die Toten’ (Blessed are the dead).
The Messiaen, a most unusual and challenging piece, was helpfully introduced by clarinetist Elizabeth Drew, making the following astonishing performance both accessible and captivating. The clarinet solo combined incredible mastery of technique with great sensitivity and power. The control of breath caused the audience to hold theirs in sympathy – it was one of the most remarkable clarinet performances we have ever experienced. The final movement, a violin solo of immense difficulty and intense beauty, was performed with such energy, enthusiasm and feeling by Marianne Olyver, that it made the perfect end to a thrilling first half.
This exceptional evening was introduced and carried so sensitively and appropriately by James Davy, allowing the audience to experience both deep reflection and express strong appreciation for this most fitting memorial. It was notable how much discussion and strength of feeling was expressed by the audience in the wake of the concert – many chose not to rise from their seats for some time and instead either sat in contemplation or talked at length with their partners about what they had just witnessed.
We both feel moved now to go and re-read The Diary of Anne Frank…and practise our instruments!
Charlotte Jones and Eve Starr
The United Brethren New Writtle Street Chelmsford.
A band of Singers’ Carollers were invited to entertain the Revellers and their families in the garden of the UB pub in a giant decorated Tepee on the afternoon of Sunday 17th December. We were extremely well received, and the audience’s participation increased as the afternoon wore on and their partaking of beverages had the usual effect.
Christmas Eve Morning The Sadie Nine Show BBC Radio Essex
At very short notice, a similar small group performed four carols live, broadcasting from the Studios in New London Road. The show was completely unscripted and our host, the ever exuberant Sadie, put everybody at their ease and it was a very enjoyable and exciting experience. James did an excellent job at selling The Singers setting out what we did and what we could offer.
The Chelmsford Singers celebrated Christmas at St Michael’s Galleywood with a vibrant feast of carols old and new, including arrangements by MD James Davy and long-time choir favourite Cecilia McDowall, whose A Winter’s Night brings new life to traditional carols in English, French, German, and Latin; the choir switched between languages with aplomb, enjoying the rhythmic intricacies and stylish effects of the work.
There were audience carols in number, with the sizeable crowd adding their voices lustily, especially in ‘While shepherds watched’, to the tune of ‘Ilkley Moor Baht ‘at’. Readings by choir members and organ solos by Chelmsford Cathedral Sub-Organist Sam Bristow gave extra interest, with Sam’s adept accompaniment a particular highlight on his first outing with the Singers.
Our conductor brought his usual repartee to proceedings, as well as some enjoyable arrangements of The First Nowell and O come all ye faithful.
As always there was something for everyone and it was good to see a large audience visibly enjoying the hard work that the choir put in, with a fresh and flexible sound and a real relish for the music.
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