.
The Rotary Club of Guildford (
and the Vivace Chorus present
%
\
THE MAYOR OF GUILDE@ORD’S
CHRISTMAS
4 CONCERT
Conductor: Jere
L
T
Backhouse
AR
N
in ald of the*a@
MAYOR’S LOCAL
DISTRESS FUND
J;Jvace
Sunday
14th Dec 2014
7pm Holy Trinity Church
Guildford
Surrey Advertiser
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD
Councillor David Elms
| am delighted and honoured to be here
tonight as Mayor of Guildford and | hope
you are looking forward to tonight’'s Concert
as much as | am.
Christmas
families,
is
a
magical
but as we
for
many
sit back and
time
enjoy
tonight’s fabulous programme and the busy
lead
up
to
Christmas,
we
should
also
remember that there are many people in
our local community who will not find it easy
to celebrate Christmas, due to financial and
other difficult circumstances.
We are therefore
!
very fortunate that
in
Guildford there are a number of charities
worklng hard to meet
the
needs of these individuals and
families, who
might otherwise struggle to enjoy such special times of the year.
By attending tonight you are supporting one such charity ‘The Mayor of
Guildford’s Local Distress Fund’, which provides small sums of money to
ease the strain of providing essential items during times of genuine financial
and personal difficulty; so | would like to thank you all for coming.
My very special thanks go to the Rotary Club of Guildford and The Vivace
Chorus for once again presenting ‘The Mayor of Guildford’s Christmas
Concert’ and by doing so, ensuring that the Mayor's Distress Fund can
continue to help many more local people.
| am also extremely grateful that they have offered to hold a retiring
collection for my other chosen charity, ABF The Soldiers Charity — Surrey.
This wonderful charity, formed 70 years ago, provides vital support for the
Army family.
It recognises that our soldiers have been there for us and it is
our responsibility to be there for them now and in the future.
| wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Councillor David EIms
Mayor of Guildford
TONIGHT'S CHARITY
THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD'S
LOCAL DISTRESS FUND
Established in 1971, the fund was originally known
as the Mayor of Guildford's Christmas and Local
Distress Fund.
It is a registered charity with a clearly-defined
purpose : to provide financial assistance to the
needy within
Guildford
Borough,
particularly at
Christmas time.
The fund receives requests from all areas of the community and has
helped individuals and groups with a wide variety of needs.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY HELPING THOSE WHO
CANNOT AFFORD THE BASICS.......... such as..........
Buying shoes and clothing for children from very poor families
Washing machines, Fridges, Cookers, and Kettles
for those unable to afford such necessities
Playgroup fees for less advantaged children
¢
Modest holidays for families, following a trauma
Requests for assistance should come from a third party, such as a
Borough Councillor, Housing Officer or an official agency, like the
Citizen's Advice
Bureau,
Community Health
or Social
Services.
This helps to ensure that your donations are spent wisely and that
assistance is given only to deserving cases.
WITH YOUR HELP, WE REALLY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Registered Charity number : 258388
THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD'S CHRISTMAS CONCERT
featuring THE VIVACE CHORUS
Conductor : Jeremy Backhouse
Organist : William Nicholson
THIS EVENING'S PROGRAMME
Welcome by the Reverend Jonathan Hedgecock
Audience Carol
Solo
(arr. H.J.Gauntlett, arr.David Willcocks)
Once in Royal David's city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In @ manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild
Jesus Christ her little child.
Choir
He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and meek, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour Holy.
>
And our eyes at last shall see him
Through his own redeeming love,
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heaven above;
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see him; but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned
All in white shall wait around.
Choir
Away in a manger (W.J.Kirkpatrick, arr.David Willcocks)
Quem pastores laudavere (14th. century German, arr. John Rutter)
Sussex Carol
Audience Carol
(English trad. arr David Willcocks)
(English Trad. arr.Vaughan Williams/Willcocks)
O Little Town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the Holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
For Christ is born of Mary
And, gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven,
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas Angels,
The great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
Reading
Capt R.J. Armes of 1st North Staffs Regiment
in a letter to his wife, Christmas Eve 1914
read by James Garrow
Choir
| saw a maiden
(Old Basque, arr. Edgar Pettman)
O magnum mysterium
Audience Carol
(J.F.Wade
(Morten Lauridsen)
arr. David Willcocks)
O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord
God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin’'s Womb;
Very God,
Begotten, not created,;
O come, let us adore him...
Sing, choirs of Angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above,
Glory to God,
In the highest:
O come, let us adore him...
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesu, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing;
O Come, let us adore him.......
Choir
Quelle est cette odeur agreable? (French trad. arr. David Willcocks)
Wassail Carol
(William Mathias)
INTERVAL
Wine, Soft Drinks & Mince Pies available
Choir
Jesus child
Still, still, still
Audience Carol
(John Rutter)
(German carol, arr. Philip Ledger)
(Piae Cantiones, arr. David Willcocks)
Unto us is born a Son,
King of quires supernal:
See on earth his life begun,
Of lords the Lord eternal,
Of lords the Lord eternal.
Christ, from heav'n descending low,
Comes on earth a stranger:
Ox and ass their owner know,
Be-cradled in the manger
Be-cradled in the manger.
This did Herod sore af-fray,
And grievously bewilder,
So he gave the word to slay
And slew the little childer,
And slew the little childer.
Of his love and mercy mild
This the Christmas story;
And O that Mary's gentle child
Might lead us up to glory,
Might lead us up to glory!
O and A, and A and O,
Cum cantibus in choro,
Let our merry organ go,
Benedicamus Domino,
Benedicamus Domino.
Choir
Christmas - tide
(Bob Chilcott)
Birthday carol
(David Willcocks)
Reading
‘Something beautiful, new and strange’
by Clive Sansom
read by Emily Nash
Audience Carol
(English trad. arr. David Willcocks)
God rest you merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this day;
To save us all from Satan's power,
When we were gone astray;
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father,
A bless-ed angel came,
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name;
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
The Shepherds at these tidings
Rejoic-ed much in mind,
And left their flocks a feeding,
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway,
This blessed babe to find
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Choir only
But when to Bethlehem they came
Whereat this infant lay,
They found him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
>
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Choir
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day (English trad. arr. David Willcocks)
Christmas Past
(Goff Richards)
Address by the Mayor of Guildford
Councillor David Eims
Introduced by the President of the Rotary Club of Guildford
Mr. Mike Ellis
Audience Carol
(Charles Wesley : arr. Felix Mendelssohn)
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the new-born King:
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With the angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
Christ by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold him come
Offspring of a virgin's womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace !
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings;
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
Encore
We wish you a Merry Christmas !
THE VIVACE CHORUS
FIRST SOPRANOS :
Mary Broughton, Rachel Edmondson, Susan Norton, Gillian Rix, Alex Nash,
Emily Nash, Carol Terry, Pam Alexander, Rebecca Kirby, Robin Onslow,
Angeline Romano, Joan Thomas, Hilary Vaill
SECOND SOPRANOS :
Krystyna Marsden, Kate Peters, Isobel Rooth, Christine Wilks,
Frances Worpe, Jacqueline Alderton, Bernadine Blease, Ginny Heffernan,
Averell Kingston, Isabel Mealor, Barbara Tansey, Alison Newberry
FIRST ALTOS :
Margaret Dentskevich, Liz Durning, Kate Emmerson, Lois McCabe,
Christine Medlow, Rosalind Milton, Catherine Shacklady, Maggie Woolcock,
Penny Baxter, Valentina Faedi, Clare McKinlay, Gill Perkins, Linda Ross,
Charlotte Perkins, Carol Sheppard, Marjory Stewart, Nicola Telcik
SECOND ALTOS :
Valerie Adam, Sylvia Chantler,
Prue Smith, Rosey Storey, Beth Jones,
Sheena Ewen, Margaret Grisewood, Pauline Higgins, Pamela Murrell,
Anne Whitley, June Windle
FIRST TENORS :
Bob Bromham, Tim Hardyment, John Trigg, Mike Bishop, Martin Price
SECOND TENORS :
Peter Butterworth, Tony Chantler, Stephen Linton, Peter Norman,
Jon Scott, John Thornely
’
FIRST BASSES :
Phil Beastall, Jeremy Johnson, Chris Newbery, Chris Peters, Robin Privett,
David Ross, Philip Stanford, Kieron Walsh, Richard Broughton, Brian John,
Michael Golden, Malcolm Munt
SECOND BASSES :
Norman Carpenter, Geoffrey Forster, James Garrow,
Stuart Gooch, Michael Taylor, Eric Kennedy, Adrian Oxborrow,
Clive Perry, Richard Wood
~10
~
ABOUT THE VIVACE CHORUS
Vivace Chorus is a
flourishing
and
adventurous
choir
based
here
in |
Guildford. We have [~
two aims: to make
P2
music of the highest
&3
standard
and
to
have fun while doing
SO.
The choir has come a long way since it was founded some 67 years
ago as the Guildford
Philharmonic Choir,
gaining over time an
enviable reputation for performing first-class concerts across a wide
range of musical repertoire.
Since 1995, Vivace has thrived under the exceptional leadership of
tonight's conductor, Jeremy Backhouse. Jeremy’s passion for choral
works and his sheer enthusiasm for music-making are very evident at
every rehearsal and every performance. He is supported by Francis
Pott, who is not just a very fine rehearsal accompanist but is also a
composer
of international
repute
and
an
accomplished
concert
pianist.
Our repertoire spans
more
unusual works
such
as
Prokofiev's
Alexander Nevsky as well as the great choral masterpieces of Bach,
Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Verdi, and the more intimate
works of Fauré, Tavener, Allegri and Lauridsen. We also actively
promote the classics of the future with our ‘Contemporary Choral
Classics’ series, commissioning new works when funds allow.
Particular successes have included a sell-out performance in May
2011 of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, at
the Royal Albert Hall, a highly acclaimed performance in November
2012
of Britten's
War Requiem,
and
another Royal Albert Hall
success in May this year, when we performed the Verdi Requiem.
~q1
~
In addition to our own concerts, we also sing in various charity
concerts and, with our regular orchestra, the Brandenburg Sinfonia,
take part in the Brandenburg Choral Festival each year in
St Martin-in-the-Fields. We also, on occasion, venture further afield
and have visited Germany many times over the years to sing with the
Freiburg Bachchor.
Other trips abroad have included a tour, in June 2009, of north-west
France when we sang in the cathedrals of Paris (Notre-Dame),
Rouen and Beauvais.
In June 2012, we headed across France to
Strasbourg, giving concerts there and in Heidelberg and Freiburg.
This summer, we spent a wonderful few days in Italy, where we gave
three concerts, in Verona, Mantua and Venice.
If that whets your appetite, do come and join us! We rehearse in Holy
Trinity Church, Guildford High Street, on Monday evenings. Just turn
up (before 7.15), or contact our membership secretary Jane Brooks
at membership@vivacechorus.org.
For further information, visit our website, vivacechorus.org, where
you can also sign up to receive information about our concerts, email
us at info@vivacechorus.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
~q2~
JEREMY BACKHOUSE
Jeremy is one of Britain's leading conductors of
amateur choirs.
He began his musical career
as a senior chorister at Canterbury Cathedral
and in 1980, was appointed Music Editor at the
for
the
transcription of printed music into Braille.
RNIB,
where
he
was
responsible
He
then worked for both EMI Classics and Boosey
& Hawkes Music publishers as a Literary Editor
but now pursues his career as a freelance
conductor.
In January 1995, Jeremy was appointed Music
Director of the Vivace Chorus and has conducted their performances of
some ambitious programmes,
including
Howells' Hymnus Paradisi and
Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevesky and lan the
Terrible, Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand (No.8) and Verdi's Requiem at
the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He is totally committed to contemporary music and the commissioning of
new works.
His enthusiasm spread to the Vivace Chorus who, in May
2009, commissioned and performed the premiere of Will Todd's Te Deum
and have recently commissioned a 20 minute work from Francis Pott, the
choir's accompanist.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading choirs,
including the BBC Singers, the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral
Society and the Brighton Festival Chorus.
He has also been the sole
conductor
chamber
of
the
internationally-renowned
choir
the
Vasari
Singers, who regularly perform at major concert venues in London and
broadcast frequently on BBC Radios 3 and 4.
In January 2009, Jeremy took up the post of Musical Director of the
Salisbury Community Choir and his first major engagement with them was
the opening concert of that year's Salisbury International Arts Festival,
when a a vast new work by Bob Chilcott entitled Salisbury Vespers was
premiered in Salisbury Cathedral.
In 2013, Salisbury Community Choir
celebrated their 21st Anniversary with a world premiere performance of a
specially-commissioned
work
by Will
Todd
entitted
The
Garden
City.
Further performances of this work will be taking place in Guildford in 2015
and Exeter in 2016.
~13
~
THE ROTARY CLUB OF GUILDFORD
The
Rotary Club of Guildford formed in
1922, when only six such clubs existed in
Great Britain.
Today, there are 1,840
Rotary Clubs in the UK, with over 55,000
members and 1.2 milion
33,000 Clubs wordwide.
members
in
Besides the '1922' Guildford Club, there are
two other Rotary Clubs in the town - the
Guildford District Club, which was founded
in 1975 and the Guildford Chantries Club,
founded in 1991.
One of the Club's earliest fundraising projects in the 1920s
was its 'Big
Brother' scheme, which was launched to help the town's youngste
rs, some
of whom had lost their fathers during the First World War. In
1927, the Club
embarked on a project to raise enough money to install
radio sets in the
wards of the Royal Surrey County Hospital, so the patients could
'listen in'.
During
the
Second
World War, one of the
Club's most memorable
humanitarian events was
dealing
with
the
reception
of
the
survivors
beaches
when
trains
from
of
the
Dunkirk,
the special troop
arrived back at
Guildford Station in June
1940.
In the 1960s, the Rotary
Club of Guildford played a significant role in establishing
the Yvonne
Arnaud Theatre in 1965 and the University of Surrey in 1966.
~14
~
To mark the centenary of the Rotary movement in 2005, Guildford's three
Rotary Clubs established their 'Guildford Historic Trail' and presented it to
the Borough of Guildford.
The trail takes visitors on a circular tour around
the town centre and its famous landmarks.
The Club continues to run heats for local Guildford schools in the annual
Rotary Youth Speaks competition, which
is part of a national contest
designed to foster pupils vital public speaking skills and, earlier this year,
the regional finals were staged at the University of Surrey.
Another worthy cause that receives support is Guildford's Samson Centre,
where Rotary has raised money to purchase specialised equipment for the
treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
This year, through Rotary contacts, a
further £2000 has been raised for the centre.
Last October, the Club held its annual Bridge Day and raised £1500 for the
Guildford based charity 'Talk', which helps stroke victims suffering from
communication problems.
This charity will also benefit from the Club's
Christmas High Street collection next week on December 20th.
The Mayor helps with fhe Eboia Fundraising
Simple hygiene saves lives
Our Club always welcomes new members and we can
through our website -
~15~
be contacted
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS BY
THE VIVACE CHORUS
MENDELSSOHN
Violin Concerto : Tasmin Little
Hear my Prayer : Fingal's Cave
STANFORD : Songs of the Fleet
DELIUS : Sea Drift
The Vivace Chorus : The Brandenburg Sinfonia
Conductor : Jeremy Backhouse
Saturday, March 7th 2015 : G - LIVE : 7.30pm
A CONCERT FOR ROWAN
WILL TODD : The City Garden
CHILCOTT : Salisbury Vespers
The Vivace Chorus : The Vasari Singers
Salisbury Community Choir
Conductor : Jeremy Backhouse
Guildford Cathedral
Saturday, May 23rd 2015 : 7.30pm
In Aid of THE RAINBOW TRUST
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Rotary Club of Guildford would like to thank the following
people and organisations for their help in staging this year's
Mayor of Guildford's Christmas Concert
The Members of the Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse : William Nicholson
Canon Robert Cotton : Eagle Radio 96.4
The Parish of Holy Trinity and St Marys, Guildford
The Inner Wheel Club of Guildford
~16
~
Wishing you a
Registered Charity No.1026337