CELEBRATING THE QUEEN’S
Vivace
PLATINUM JUBILEE
Orchestra:
West Forest Sinfonia
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
Saturday
28 May 2022
at 7.30pm
Guildford’s state-of-the-art
entertainment venue
In partnership with:
15/05/2022 20:53
Majesty
National Anthem
Overture 'Crown Imperial’
Coronation Ode
Britten
Walton
Elgar
Zadok the Priest
Symphony No.9 Choral finale
Blest Pair of Sirens
Jerusalem
I was glad
Handel
Beethoven
Parry
Parry
Parry
Madeline Boreham
Alexandria Moon
Sam Harris
Theo Perry
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Tenor
Baritone
West Forest Sinfonia
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Majesty: 1000 years of Royal Guildford
Guildford's Honorary Remembrancer,
Matthew Alexander, will give a pre-concert
talk about the town's royal past (free to
ticket-holders) in the Auditorium at 6:30pm.
For over a thousand years Guildford has
had ties with royalty. By the reign of
Alfred the Great, the town had become
royal property – the king himself was Lord
of the Manor, giving it the status of a
borough.
Soon after 1066 William the Conqueror ordered a castle to be
built in the town, and in the Domesday survey of 1086
Guildford was listed as the principal town in Surrey.
Henry III turned the castle into one of the great royal palaces in
England, and spent huge sums from 1245 onwards to extend
its grounds and buildings. However, his son Edward I let the
castle fall into disrepair.
Increasingly, royalty preferred to stay in the hunting lodge in
Guildford Park or at the Dominican friary established in 1274 by
Eleanor of Provence; every monarch from Edward to Henry VIII
was a guest there.
After several visits by Elizabeth I and one by James I there
were fewer royal visitors. Queen Victoria never paid an official
visit to Guildford, only passing often through the station on her
trips to the Isle of Wight.
In 1957, HM the Queen and Prince Philip inspected work at the
Cathedral, returning in 1961 to attend its consecration.
Since then, various members of the Royal family have come to
the town, to open buildings or visit institutions as Guildford has
developed into a dynamic university town.
Flash photography, audio and video recording are not permitted without
the prior written consent of the Vivace Chorus. Please also kindly switch
off all mobile phones and alarms on digital watches. Thank you.
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Concert Programme
National Anthem
arr. Benjamin Britten
Britten’s arrangement of the National Anthem was written in
1962, the tenth anniversary year of the Queen’s accession, and
he takes an unconventional approach appropriate for that
decade.
In place of the brilliant flourishes of State Trumpeters in
Walton’s grand setting for the coronation in 1953, or the abrupt
drum-roll of the traditional version, we hear gently sustained
strings and timpani, then an unaccompanied chorus singing
the familiar first verse pianississimo (as quietly as possible), then
rising to pianissimo before subsiding again. The effect is
reserved, almost meditative, focusing on the personal
relationship between the monarch and the people that lies at
the heart of the anthem.
A gradual crescendo and increasing pace lead into the second
verse by way of a thrilling key-change from E flat major to B flat
major, as the great opera composer dramatizes the idea of
God’s “choicest gifts in store” pouring down on the Queen, with
four emphatic, resolute chords on “Long may she reign” and
the grand descending phrases of “May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause …”
The culmination comes in a double repetition of the simple,
familiar words “God save the Queen!” – generous, heartfelt and
now frankly emotional: a potentially formal event has been remade as a moment of warmth and affection.
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God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen!
Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign!
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen!
Overture 'Crown Imperial, Coronation March'
William Walton
Walton’s imperial coronation march stands in a tradition of
patriotic and ceremonial music deriving from Elgar’s Pomp and
Circumstance marches of the 1900s (most strongly recalling
Number 4), and leading in the 1950s to Eric Coates’s famous
Dambusters March.
These works are built on a satisfying combination of cheerful,
resolute and energetic opening sections with a lively “trumpet,
fife and drum” character, alternating with broad, dignified and
unassumingly confident themes in the trio: stirring, emotionally
direct, and evoking “broad acres”, “sunlit uplands” and the
“happy breed of men” (and women) who inhabit them. An
interesting feature of these melodies is that they sound well
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whether played loudly or softly, and build up to resoundingly
magnificent conclusions that demand, and receive,
enthusiastic applause.
Walton’s march is a brilliant example of the tradition, written
by a man admired as a modernist by such figures as Alban
Berg and Hindemith, yet also a virtuoso who delighted in his
ability to write in a wide variety of styles, often edged with wit
and irony.
The commission was originally for Edward VIII, but after the
abdication in 1936 it made its mark with equal verve at the
coronation of his brother, the sober and dutiful George VI.
Despite some criticisms (a hostile reviewer in the Musical
Times, perhaps missing an affectionately ironic element in
Walton’s treatment, commented ungenerously on its
“regulation strut and swagger”), the march’s wit, cheerfulness
and lightness of touch ensured its popularity, and it was
played at the present Queen’s coronation in 1953 and as a
recessional at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine
Middleton in 2011.
Coronation Ode
Edward Elgar
“In haste & joyful (Gosh! man I’ve got a tune in my head)”, Elgar
wrote with characteristic enthusiasm in January 1901, a
comment that he later expanded, famously, in another letter: “…
a tune in my head that will knock ´em – knock ´em flat”. The
tune was, of course, the “lovely broad melody”, as Henry Wood
called it, of the trio section in the march Pomp and
Circumstance, Number 1, that Elgar almost certainly put
together at the modest little keyboard now preserved in the
Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands Park near Guildford. Yet years
later, after attending a concert at the Coliseum on 11th
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November 1918 celebrating the end of the First World War, he
wrote of the same noble melody: “They played Land of Hope
and Glory not once but twice; the whole audience joined in. I
could not. I regret very profoundly how this song has become
an anthem to war. There has been so much sorrow and
sacrifice over the last four years; nothing glorious about it. The
world is a changed place and I am awfully tired of it.”
One question for a modern audience is – can we hear the
melody (“hear” it in every sense) as it might have struck
members of the congregation at Edward VII’s coronation in
1902, when it first appeared with a sung text at the beginning
and end of Elgar’s great Coronation Ode?
The coronation of King Edward and Queen Alexandra was
shadowed by anxieties: the King’s appendix operation was
carried out urgently two days before the scheduled date of
the ceremony, which had to be postponed, and the Second
South African (or Boer) War had ended less than a month
before. Triumph and relief were severely qualified by internal
and international criticism of the strategies that Britain had
used to address the resourceful guerrilla tactics of the enemy,
specifically a policy of “scorched earth” and the introduction of
“refugee camps” (later renamed “concentration camps”) in
which large numbers of Boer women and children and
members of the black population suffered appallingly.
The task of A. C. Benson’s text and Elgar’s score was to show
how Britain could “move on” from the war, justify a belief in its
own values as a civilised society and an imperial power, and
prepare itself to face the political and military dangers of the
20th century. The Ode therefore has a detailed and earnest
argument, and this locates the country’s future success, even
its survival, in the personal virtues of its royal family, its
government and “the people”. Thoughtful, high-minded and
analytical, Benson does all he can to turn the glorious
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pageantry of the coronation into a moment of serious moral
and political reflection, avoiding facile optimism and offering
rational warnings of difficulties ahead.
1. – "Crown the King with life!"
Elgar begins in his grandest imperial manner, in the “heroic”
key of E flat major, but with the elusive but instantly
recognisable note of melancholy that so often underlies his
music. This movement is a prayer for God’s help and blessing,
an aspiration towards a better future (the “cries of hate” and
“sounds of strife” of the recent war are urged to die away) –
governed by moral integrity. In this context the great Pomp and
Circumstance tune, introduced quietly by women’s voices,
represents not swaggering boastfulness but a modest
confidence that God will favour a virtuous king and country.
Introduction, Soli and Chorus
Crown the King with Life!
Through our thankful state
Let the cries of hate
Die in joy away;
Cease ye sounds of strife!
Lord of Life, we pray,
Crown the King with Life!
Crown the King with Might!
Let the King be strong,
Hating guile and wrong,
He that scorneth pride.
Fearing truth and right,
Feareth nought beside;
Crown the King with Might!
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Crown the King with Peace,
Peace that suffers long,
Peace that maketh strong,
Peace with kindly wealth,
As the years increase,
Nurse of joy and health;
Crown the King with Peace!
Crown the King with Love!
To his land most dear
He shall bend to hear
Ev'ry pleading call;
Loving God above,
With a heart for all;
Crown the King with Love!
Crown the King with Faith!
God, the King of Kings,
Ruleth earthly things;
God of great and small,
Lord of Life and Death,
God above us all!
Crown the King with Faith!
God shall save the King,
God shall make him great,
God shall guard the state;
All that hearts can pray,
All that lips can sing,
God shall hear today;
Crown the King with Life
with Might, with Peace, with Love, with Faith!
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God shall save the King,
God shall make him great,
God shall guard the state;
All that hearts can pray,
All that lips can sing,
God shall hear today;
God shall save the King!
II "The Queen"
The Queen was written for the coronation of George V and
Queen Mary in 1911. It replaced Daughter of ancient Kings,
which refers to Alexandra’s descent from the royal house of
Denmark, and both movements are usually performed now,
but in reverse order of composition.
Mary and Alexandra are praised for what were seen as
specifically “feminine” and domestic virtues – purity, wisdom,
sympathy, and understanding of the hopes and prayers of
“humble” people. “True Queen of British homes and hearts” is a
phrase that still resonates, and both Queens were active
patrons of important charities such as the London Needlework
Guild (which supplied clothes for other charities) and served as
the head of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps,
whose Colonel-in-Chief is now the Countess of Wessex.
Elgar’s setting of The Queen has a simple dignity, beginning
with gently lyrical strings, then deepening with the addition of
woodwind and quiet brass to suggest moral strength,
dutifulness and integrity.
Chorus
True Queen of British homes and hearts
Of guileless faith and sterling worth,
We yield you ere today departs,
The proudest, purest crown on earth!
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We love you well for England's sake,
True you shall prove, as you have proved;
The years that come shall only make
Your name more honoured, more belov'd.
Oh kind and wise, the humblest heart
That beats in all your realms today
Knows well that it can claim its part
In all you hope, in all you pray.
III "Daughter of ancient Kings"
A Greeting to Her Gracious Majesty, Queen Alexandra
The touching Daughter of ancient Kings develops the political
aspect of Alexandra’s domestic role as mother, daughter and
wife, and, as often happens in Benson’s text, there are some
dark ironies here. The Tennysonian, late-Romantic language
(“Daughter of ancient Kings … Gift that the bright wind bore on
his sparkling wings, Over the Northern Sea!”) states simple
facts: her father was King Christian of Denmark, a member of a
dynastic line going back to the 15th century, and her marriage
to Edward was importantly a dynastic one, overseen by Queen
Victoria and part of an intricate system intended to consolidate
and stabilise European international relations.
She was aunt (through her sister) of the reigning Tsar, Nicholas
II, and in marrying Edward she became aunt to Kaiser Wilhelm
II, Victoria’s grandson. The future history of Nicholas, Wilhelm
and Alexandra’s son George V (who as children played war
games together in a miniature fort in the garden of Osborne
House, Isle of Wight) gives an intense poignancy to Elgar’s
delicate tribute to the sweet, fair, pure and stately “Mother of
Kings to be!”
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Chorus
Daughter of ancient Kings,
Mother of Kings to be,
Gift that the bright wind bore on his sparkling wings,
Over the Northern sea!
Nothing so sweet he brings,
Nothing so fair to see,
Purest, stateliest, daughter of ancient Kings,
Mother of Kings to be!
IV: "Britain, ask of thyself"
This section shows that there is nothing complacent or emptily
triumphalist about Benson’s judgement of the future. Peace
will depend on preparedness and massive military, and
especially naval, power. The language looks backwards and
forwards: the “sound of the battle song” and the pseudoShakespearean vision of England, “enthron’d in thine island
home”, are traditional, but the “shuddering bulwarks” big with
“battle-thunder” look ahead to the Dreadnought fleet that
would soon be built as well as back to Nelson’s Royal Navy.
The hillside that “hisses with death, and never a foe in sight” is
chillingly contemporary, referring to the trench warfare and
guerrilla tactics of the Boer War, and the line “Under the
drifting smoke, and the scream of the flying shell” would not
be out of place in a war-poem by Sassoon, Rosenberg or
Wilfred Owen, fifteen years later. Elgar’s score in this
movement anticipates something of the brutality of Holst’s
sensational Mars, the Bringer of War in The Planets suite of
1914.
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Solo Bass and Chorus (Tenor and Bass)
Britain, ask of thyself, and see that thy sons be strong,
See that thy sons be strong,
Strong to arise and go,
See that thy sons be strong,
See that thy navies speed, to the sound of the battle-song;
Then, when the winds are up, and the shuddering bulwarks reel,
Smite the mountainous wave, and scatter the flying foam,
Big with the battle-thunder that echoeth loud, loud and long;
Britain, ask of thyself, and see that thy sons be strong,
See that thy sons be strong,
Strong to arise and go,
If ever the war-trump peal;
See that thy squadrons haste, when loos'd are the hounds of hell;
Then shall the eye flash fire, and the valorous heart grow light,
Under the drifting smoke, and the scream of the flying shell,
When the hillside hisses with death, and never a foe in sight.
Britain, ask of thyself, and see that thy sons be strong.
So shalt thou rest in peace, enthron'd in thine island home.
So shalt thou rest in peace,
Enthron'd in thine island home,
So shalt thou rest in peace, enthron'd in thine island home.
Britain, ask of thyself,
Britain, ask of thyself, see that thy sons be strong,
Strong to arise, arise and go, see that thy sons be strong.
See that thy sons be strong,
Strong to arise and go, if ever the war-trump peal!
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V: (a) "Hark, upon the hallowed air"
In the context of the battle-stanza, the culture that needs to
be defended may seem vulnerable, and Benson’s text is at its
most abstract here. Tenor and soprano, then all four soloists,
spin out elegantly circling phrases to evoke the arts of peace,
which are themselves imagined in a kind of graceful dance:
music is a healer of ancient wrongs, poetry is the music of the
heart, exploring its “fiery secrets”, and the “magic web” of
painting opens the “mysterious avenues” to transcendent
experience.
Soli (Soprano and Tenor)
Tenor
Hark, upon the hallow'd air,
Spirits pure of sight and sense,
Hov'ring visions, rich and fair,
Lend their radiant influence!
Airy powr's of Earth and Sky
Bless our meet solemnity.
Soprano
Music, sweetest child of heav'n,
At thy touch the heart is free,
Ancient wrongs by thee forgiv'n,
Cares uplifted, heal'd by thee,
Listen smiling, borne along
In the sacred, sacred tide of song.
Tenor
Music, music of the poet's heart!
Widening yet the echoes roll;
Fiery secrets, wing'd by art,
Light the lonely list'ning soul,
Till the aching silence rings
With the beat of heav'nly wings.
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Soprano
Magic web of woven hues,
Tender shadow, linked line,
Sweet mysterious avenues
Opening out to Light Divine!
Painter-poet, thou canst teach
More than frail and falt'ring speech.
V (b) "Only let the heart be pure"
Only let the heart be pure brings the work back to more solid
ground: purity, honour, wisdom and truth, integrated in a
balanced character, are the basis of greatness in an individual
and in a society.
Soli (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass)
Only let the heart be pure,
Pure in steadfast innocence,
Stainless honour, strong and sure,
Stem the ardent tide of sense!
So shall Wisdom, one with Truth,
Keep undimm'd the fires of youth,
Strong to conquer, strong to bless,
Britain, Heaven hath made thee great!
Courage knit with gentleness,
Best befits thy sober state.
As the golden days increase,
Crown thy victories with peace!
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VI: "Peace, gentle peace"
The beautifully simple Peace, gentle peace, bringing soloists
and chorus together, then makes an eloquent appeal for the
return of what the recent conflict threatened or destroyed:
fathers must be given back to their children and “brethren”,
divided by war, must be reconciled in a new political
dispensation. It is notable that the process is faced honestly as
an incomplete one.
Soli (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) & Chorus
Peace, gentle Peace, who, smiling through thy tears,
Returnest, when the sounds of war are dumb,
Replenishing the bruised and broken earth,
And lifting motherly her shattered form.
When comest thou? Our brethren long for thee.
Thou dost restore the darken'd light of home,
Give back the father to his children's arms.
Thou driest tenderly the mourner's tears,
And all thy face is lit with holy light.
Our earth is fain for thee! Return and come.
VII: Finale: Land of Hope and Glory
The finale eloquently sums up the ambiguities of the previous
movements. Instead of the expansionist imperial programme
of the famous later text (Wider still and wider / Shall thy
bounds be set; / God, who made thee mighty, / Make thee
mightier yet! – the words that so disturbed Elgar in 1918),
Benson’s original text is moderate and subtle in the claims it
makes, and Elgar’s setting matches this.
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The answer to the great question – how shall the British
properly praise their country? – is not “By conquering more
territories!”. It is to recognise that the true “diadem” to crown
the country and the king is a metaphorical but very real one
made up of truthfulness, righteousness and liberty – bright but
solemn, and far more valuable than the gaudy jewels of the
Imperial State Crown with which Edward was crowned (the
massive St Edward’s Crown being too heavy for the stillconvalescent king).
Britain’s way may be “darken’d”, her western star may “tremble”,
she may need to remain a “fortress”, but the people’s hearts
are uplifted in hope, strong in faith and freedom.
Alto solo & chorus
Land of Hope and Glory,
Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee,
Who are born of thee?
Truth and Right and Freedom,
Each a holy gem,
Stars of solemn brightness,
weave thy diadem.
Tho' thy way be darkened,
Still in splendour drest,
As the star that trembles
O'er the liquid West.
Throned amid the billows,
Throned inviolate,
Thou hast reigned victorious,
Thou has smiled at fate.
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Land of Hope and Glory,
Fortress of the Free,
How may we extol thee,
Praise thee, honour thee?
Hark, a mighty nation
Maketh glad reply;
Lo, our lips are thankful,
Lo, our hearts are high!
Hearts in hope uplifted,
Loyal lips that sing;
Strong in faith and freedom,
We have crowned our King!
All programme notes © Jon Long 2022
Interval (20 minutes)
'Best of Broadway' concert, March 2022
Vivace Chorus
Photo © Ben Potton
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Tom’s Trust
Please help London’s disadvantaged children and young
people by supporting
The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust
Read about Tom and the Trust’s work in helping to combat knife crime, by
visiting our website: www.tomaprhyspryce.com
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(this advert has been donated by friends of Tom’s Trust)
There will be a retiring collection in aid of Royal Surrey
Charity, the dedicated charity for Royal Surrey NHS
Foundation Trust. From providing lifesaving equipment
and redeveloping wards, to supporting staff health and
wellbeing and funding innovative research – the charity
works alongside NHS staff to transform care for people
across South West Surrey and beyond.
Queen Elizabeth II is the hospital’s patron and officially
opened the hospital at its new site on Egerton Road in
1981.
Victoria Greenshields, Royal Surrey Charity’s Corporate &
Major Donor Fundraising Manager, will give a short
introduction to the work of the charity before the second
half of the concert.
Zadok the Priest
George Frideric Handel
The anointing ceremony is, spiritually, the most important part
of the coronation ritual, the holy oil setting the new king or
queen apart as God’s chosen ruler, just as Solomon was set
apart by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet in the
biblical narrative. For this reason it is hidden from view: in 1953
the Queen was concealed by a canopy of cloth-of-gold,
carried by four Knights of the Garter, as the Archbishop
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anointed her palms, head and breast. At this moment her long
and continuing life of dedicated service began.
When George II was crowned in 1727, the second king of the
Hanoverian dynasty, there was also an important political
aspect to the ceremony. Like Solomon, George had a rival for
power, his exiled cousin James Stuart, and for more than a
decade a series of risings in Scotland had threatened to
restore the House of Stuart. Who better than Handel, famous
as a sensationally successful composer of baroque opera in
Italy and London, to create a magnificent authentication and
endorsement of the new king? Lasting less than six minutes,
Handel’s coronation anthem acts out with brilliant economy
both the ancient biblical story and the sacred, irreversible
ritual about to take place in the Abbey.
The long orchestral introduction, combining nobility with an
intense sense of expectation and mystery, is built up from a
series of delicate rising arpeggios in the upper strings,
underpinned by pulsing rhythms and rich harmonies. The
effect is of a dignified procession towards a moment of
thrilling national significance. The chorus enters with massive
force, telling the story of Solomon but also asserting in
emphatic phrases that King George is being consecrated, in
the presence of Church and State, his power validated by
military drums and trumpets.
A move into triple time suggests that “the people” are not only
rejoicing, but dancing for joy. A glorious line for the altos,
intensified by orchestral trills, then leads to the acclamations
of the whole chorus, in their full dramatic character, speaking
not only as the people of Israel but also as and for the people
of Westminster, London and the realms beyond. In brilliant
runs and leaps they urge long life for the new king and praises
to God: Alleluia! Amen!
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Zadok the Priest
And Nathan the Prophet
Anointed Solomon King
And all the people rejoiced,
rejoiced, rejoiced
And all the people rejoiced,
rejoiced, rejoiced
Rejoiced, rejoiced, rejoiced
And all the people rejoiced,
rejoiced, rejoiced and said:
God save the King
Long live the King
God save the King
May the King live forever
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, amen
God save the King
Long live the King
May the King live forever
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
May the King live
May the King live
Forever, forever, forever
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
Alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen
Long live the King
God save the King
Long live the King
May the King live
May the King live
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Forever, forever, forever
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, amen, alleluia
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia
'Ode to Joy' (Symphony No. 9)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven can be said to have had a complicated relationship
with the idea of monarchy. Passionately committed to
Napoleon as a liberator of common humanity, he famously
attacked the score that he dedicated to him, his Eroica
Symphony, when he heard that the First Consul had declared
and crowned himself Emperor of France. The title page,
savagely scored through to obliterate Napoleon’s name, is
eloquent evidence of Beethoven’s fury.
Yet in 1813 his extraordinary Battle Symphony – Wellington’s
Victory, celebrated the defeat of Napoleonic forces at the
Battle of Vitoria with quotations from Rule Britannia and God
save the King and a dedication to the Prince Regent – an
unusual, though politic, choice of dedicatee for a fiery believer
in the Brotherhood of Man. When he accepted a commission
to write a symphony for the Philharmonic Society of London in
1822, however, Beethoven was able to explore radical ideas
again, articulating social, moral and political themes that had
absorbed him ever since he first studied Schiller’s famous Ode
to Joy in the 1790s.
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The setting of the Ode forms the culmination of the great
Ninth (or Choral) Symphony. The text calls on all humanity to
challenge the dead hand of conventional ideas and unite in
the pursuit of brotherhood and friendship.
A bass soloist summons his fellow soloists and the chorus to
join in the liberating praise of Freude, Joy, and to press on in
the fight for truth and freedom. Verses in praise of friendship,
the rapturous love of men and women, and uninhibited
enjoyment of Nature’s gifts of wine and physical pleasure, lead
to a vision of God and his angels looking down on a liberated
world as the heroes set off to end oppression.
They emerge victorious from a battle represented by a
massive double fugue, and offer the kiss of love to the whole
world. The soloists come forward again to celebrate the
magical reconciliation of mankind under the waving wings of
Joy, and it is left to the chorus, then the orchestra alone, to
complete Beethoven’s great affirmation of humanity as the
magnificent symphony rushes to its sudden conclusion.
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere
anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Oh friends, not these sounds!
Let us instead strike up more
pleasing
and more joyful ones!
Freude, Freude!
Joy, Joy!
Freude, Schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuer-trunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Joy, beautiful spark of divinity,
Daughter from Elysium,
We enter, burning with fervour,
heavenly being, your sanctuary!
Your magic brings together
what custom has sternly divided.
All men shall become brothers,
wherever your gentle wings hover.
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Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Whoever has been lucky enough
to become a friend to a friend,
Whoever has found a beloved wife,
let him join our songs of praise!
Yes, and anyone who can call one soul
his own on this earth!
Any who cannot, let them slink away
from this gathering in tears!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Every creature drinks in joy
at nature's breast;
Good and Evil alike
follow her trail of roses.
She gives us kisses and wine,
a true friend, even in death;
Even the worm was given desire,
and the cherub stands before God.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Gladly, just as His suns hurtle
through the glorious universe,
So you, brothers, should run your course,
joyfully, like a conquering hero.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen.
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss is for the whole world!
Brothers, above the canopy of stars
must dwell a loving father.
Do you bow down before Him, you millions?
Do you sense your Creator, O world?
Seek Him above the canopy of stars!
He must dwell beyond the stars.
24
Vivace Chorus
Blest Pair of Sirens Hubert Parry
Parry was Professor of Composition and Musical History at the
Royal College of Music from 1883, and Heather Professor of
Music at Oxford from 1900. His colleague Charles Villiers
Stanford described him as “the greatest English composer
since Henry Purcell”, and shared his interest in English music
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a fascination that
they fostered in a dynamic younger cohort that included
Vaughan Williams, Holst, Frank Bridge and John Ireland. Parry
also taught Arnold Dolmetsch, who from his workshop in
Haslemere led the revival in manufacture of early instruments
and the study of technique. In a late-Victorian cultural world of
progressive
and
adventurous
scholarship
and
experimentation, Parry was a key influence across the
generations.
Stanford commissioned Parry to write a major piece for a Bach
Choir concert in 1887 celebrating Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.
John Milton’s fine baroque ode At a Solemn Musick (Blest Pair
of Sirens) was a clever choice of text: a revered hero of British
culture (Tennyson called Milton the “God-gifted organ voice of
England”), the great puritan and republican poet was an
important figure for radicals as well as for the Establishment,
and his lifelong campaign was to harness the power of
Classical Greek and Roman culture in the service of Christian
faith.
The personified “Sisters”, Voice and Verse, are a “redeemed”
version of the dangerously seductive Sirens of myth, luring us
not onto the deadly rocks of the Mediterranean but into the
spiritually sensuous heaven of Revelation, where we may
regain through music the harmonious relationship with God
that was lost at the Fall of Man. Parry’s setting is therefore
overwhelmingly passionate, richly coloured and dramatic,
Vivace Chorus
25
driving on at an allegro moderato, ma energico – its energetic
pulse held back, yet constantly and excitingly pushing forward
– until it culminates in a glorious fugal celebration, in eight
complex parts, of the “endless morn of light” in heaven.
Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of Heaven's joy,
Sphere-born, harmonious sisters, Voice and Verse,
Wed your divine sounds, and mixt power employ
Dead things with in-breathed sense able to pierce,
And to our high-raised fantasy present
That undisturbèd song of pure concent,
Aye sung before the sapphire-coloured throne
To Him that sits thereon,
With saintly shout and solemn jubilee;
Where the bright Seraphim, in burning row
Their loud, uplifted angel trumpets blow,
And the Cherubic host, in thousand quires
Touch their immortal harps of golden wires,
With those just spirits that wear victorious palms,
Hymns devout and holy psalms
Singing everlastingly;
That we on earth, with undiscording voice
May rightly answer that melodious noise;
As once we did, till disproportioned sin
Jarr'd against Nature's chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair music that all creatures made
To their great Lord, whose love their motion swayed
In perfect diapason, whilst they stood
In first obedience, and their state of good.
O may we soon again renew that song,
And keep in tune with heaven, till God ere long
To His celestial concert us unite,
To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light.
26
Vivace Chorus
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Saturday:li8thijune 2022
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Tickets £13 (in advance)
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Midnight Sun
SING WITH THE BEST
It's official: singing
. Makes you feel happier
. Reduces stress
. Improves memory
. Strengthens the lungs and
immune system
Photo © Carol Sheppard
Singing can also release endorphins, reducing our perception
of pain and acting in a similar way to morphine — but without
the danger of addiction.
So it's not just meeting friends, the music or the mid-rehearsal
cakes that tempt you out on a cold Monday night, but the
chance to be pain free.
Most of all, it's just great fun!
Photo © Ben Potton
Apart from singing in local
venues, we also tour abroad
and have a full calendar of
social events, including
walks and parties.
If you're tempted to join us,
just drop an email to our
membership secretary,
Becky Kerby:
membership@vivacechorus.org
Advertising in our concert programmes is an effective
and economical way of reaching a discerning local
audience. If you're interested in finding out more, just
drop an email to 'programmes@vivacechorus.org'
28
Vivace Chorus
Jerusalem
Hubert Parry
This famous setting of Blake’s great lyric was written to be
sung at a campaign meeting of the Fight for Right movement
in 1916 – with some irony, as Blake was famously a “Prophet
against Empire” (the title of David Erdman’s ground-breaking
study of Blake’s politics), fiercely opposed to militarism and the
power of George III’s state at the end of the eighteenth
century. Fight for Right in contrast was specifically organised to
stiffen the nation’s resolve at a time when public support for
the Great War was threatening to wane.
Parry later withdrew his support from the movement and,
under the charismatic influence of Millicent Fawcett, he
assigned the copyright in the piece to the National Union of
Women’s Suffrage Societies, a cause that he enthusiastically
favoured. After his death Parry’s executors transferred the
rights to the Women’s Institutes.
The strength of Blake’s text, part of the Preface to his complex
epic Milton, is that it is open to wide interpretation yet vividly
specific in its images, and so can be responded to by readers,
listeners and, in Parry’s setting, singers, in almost any context
of aspiration and commitment.
The legend of Jesus’s youthful visit to Britain; the classical
suggestions of Apollo’s golden bow and the arrows of Eros;
the biblical “chariot of fire” in which Elijah ascended to heaven;
the oppressive mills of Britain’s industrial leap forward in the
eighteenth century; the grinding intellectual systems of the
Enlightenment; metaphors of sexual longing and release; and
Blake’s eager summons to the “mental fight” against moral and
political oppression in society and the individual – any or all of
these can be followed up at will, but the direct power of
Vivace Chorus
29
Parry’s version, with its noble and soaring melody that does
not even need an accompaniment, brings performers together
in a way that is (to use words that Milton used to describe
poetry itself) – “simple, sensuous and passionate”.
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the`countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land
30
Vivace Chorus
I was glad
Hubert Parry
The organist and master of the choristers of Westminster
Abbey, Frederick Bridge, co-ordinated the music for Edward
VII’s coronation in 1902 and, like Parry an enthusiastic student
of Early Modern English music, he included works by Tallis,
Orlando Gibbons and Purcell in the service.
Parry’s fine setting of verses from Psalm 122, I was glad, is,
however, resolutely and solidly “Edwardian”: dignified in
movement, rich in harmony, and grandly magnificent in its
overall effect, especially in the version used for the 1911
coronation of George V, for which Parry added the sensational
fanfare introduction.
The “Vivats”, acclamations of the new monarch that are strictly
the privilege of the King’s/Queen’s Scholars of Westminster
School and are included in tonight’s performance, can increase
the dramatic effect.
The psalm refers to the ancient religious duty of the Jewish
people to visit the city of Jerusalem and the Temple as an
expression of faith and identity. In royal rituals of the Church of
England (as the new monarch enters the Abbey for the
coronation, or royal couples arrive for their marriage –
Westminster for William and Catherine in 2011, St Paul’s for
Charles and Diana in 1981), Parry’s dramatic version identifies
the great church, in its different way, as a powerful focus of
national feeling.
The grand, encompassing sound of this noble anthem, and its
unreservedly splendid conception of the importance of state
ritual, have made it a familiar and very popular element at
moments of public celebration, gratitude and love.
Vivace Chorus
31
I was glad when they said unto me,
We will go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself.
Vivat Regina!
Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls,
and plenteousness within thy palaces.
All programme notes © Jon Long 2022
End
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32
Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Jeremy Backhouse is one of Britain’s
leading choral conductors. He began his
musical career in Canterbury Cathedral
where he was Senior Chorister.
Jeremy has been the sole conductor of the
internationally-renowned chamber choir,
Vasari Singers, since its inception in 1980.
Since winning the prestigious Choir of the
Year competition in 1988, the Vasari
Singers has performed regularly at major
concert venues and cathedrals throughout
the UK and abroad. Jeremy and the Vasari
Singers broadcast frequently on Classic
FM and BBC Radio 3 and have a
Photo © Ash Mills
discography of over 25 CDs on EMI, Guild,
Signum and Naxos. Their recordings have been nominated for a
Gramophone award, received two Gramophone Editor’s Choice
awards, the top recommendation on Radio 3’s ‘Building A Library’
and two recent CDs both achieved Top Ten status in the Specialist
Classical Charts. He is totally committed to the performance of
contemporary music and, with Vasari, he has commissioned over 25
new works.
In January 1995 Jeremy was appointed Music Director of the Vivace
Chorus. Alongside the standard classical works, Jeremy has
conducted the Vivace Chorus in some ambitious programmes
including Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater,
Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and
Ivan the Terrible, then Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ and Verdi’s
Requiem in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra.
In January 2009 Jeremy became the Music Director of the Salisbury
Community Choir. In 2013 the choir celebrated its 21st Anniversary
with a concert in Salisbury Cathedral, premiering a speciallycommissioned work by Will Todd, The City Garden, which they
toured to Lincoln (2014) and Guildford (2015) cathedrals. A new work
from Alexander L'Estrange was premiered in Winchester Cathedral
in November 2018.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading
choirs, including the BBC Singers, the London Symphony Chorus,
the Philharmonia Chorus, and the Brighton Festival Chorus.
Vivace Chorus
33
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANO
FIRST ALTO
Valerie Garrow
FIRST BASS
Sandra Adamson
Barbara Barklem
Liz Hampshire
Paul Barnes
Sel Adamu
Jackie Bearman
Pauline Higgins
Richard Broughton
Jane Barnes
Marion Blair
Christine Lavender
Michael Dudley
Mary Broughton
Monika Boothby-
Lois McCabe
Brian John
Sarah Hardcastle
Jost
Kay McManus
Jeremy Johnson
Jo Haviland
Jane Brooks
Catherine
Jonathan Long
Becky Kerby
Amanda Burn
Middleton
Malcolm Munt
Fran Mackay
Fiona Davidge
Mary Moon
Chris Newbery
Suzie Maine
Valentina Faedi
Val Morcom
Robin Privett
Michelle Mumford
Sheila Hodson
Sheila Rowell
David Ross
Sue Norton
Jean Leston
Prue Smith
Andrew Skinner
Robin Onslow
Lis Martin
Rosey Storey
Phil Stanford
Gillian Rix
Penny McLaren
Pam Usher
Rob Walker
Barbara Tansey
Christine Medlow
Susie Walker
Joan Thomas
Rosalind Milton
June Windle
SECOND BASS
Hilary Vaill
Lilly Nicholson
Elisabeth Yates
Peter Andrews
Juliet Vaill
Linda Ross
Norman Carpenter
Catherine Shacklady
FIRST TENOR
James Garrow
SECOND SOPRANO
Marjory Stewart
Bob Bromham
Stuart Gooch
Jackie Alderton
Jo Stokes
Bob Cowell
Nick Gough
Anna Arthur
Julia Stubbs
Owen Gibbons
Neil Martin
Philippa Curtis
Sue Thomas
Barbara McDonald
Roger Penny
Naomi Dinneen
Hilary Trigg
John Trigg
Phil Tudor
Isobel Humphreys
Maggie Woolcock
Isabel Mealor
Richard Wood
SECOND TENOR
Alexandra Nash
SECOND ALTO
Michael Batty
Alison Palmer
Geraldine Allen
Simon Dillon
Gill Perkins
Evelyn Beastall
Geoff Johns
Christine Wilks
Mary Clayton
Stephen Linton
Eiri Williams
Liz Curry-Hyde
Charles Martin
Fiona Wimblett
Andrea Dombrowe
Peter Norman
Sheena Ewen
Jon Scott
34
Vivace Chorus
About Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Francis Pott
Peter Norman
Music Director
Accompanist
Chairman
Photo © Ben Potton
Vivace Chorus is a flourishing, ambitious and adventurous choir
based in Guildford, Surrey. We enjoy singing traditional choral
classics alongside the challenge of contemporary and newlycommissioned music – there’s something for everyone at Vivace!
The choir began in 1946 as the Guildford Philharmonic Choir and was
rebranded as Vivace Chorus in 2005. We have an enviable
reputation for performing first-class concerts across a wide range of
musical repertoire. Particular successes include 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 2014 when we performed
the Verdi Requiem. In 2017 we celebrated our 70th birthday with the
Philharmonia Orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall and 2018 saw a
sell-out performance in G Live Guildford for our "Concert for Peace".
Vivace thrives under the exceptional leadership of this evening’s
conductor, Jeremy Backhouse. Jeremy’s passion for choral music
Vivace Chorus
35
and his sheer enthusiasm for music-making are evident at every
rehearsal and performance. He is supported by Francis Pott, who is
an academic and composer of international repute and an
accomplished concert pianist – who better to accompany our
rehearsals?
Montage © Selam Adamu
During the pandemic, we made considerable efforts to keep singing.
Jeremy ran weekly Zoom sessions, Francis shared his
encyclopaedic knowledge of composers, and we put together two
online films and a virtual Christmas Concert, raising money for the
Mayor of Guildford’s chosen charity.
We’re very much looking forward to getting back to touring – in June
this year we will add Spain to the list of our tours, which have so far
included France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Baltic States.
We are always happy to welcome new members, so if you would
like to try us out, do come along to any of our regular rehearsals on
Monday evenings at 7.15 in the Guildford Baptist Church, Millmead,
Guildford.
Just contact our membership secretary Becky Kerby at
membership@vivacechorus.org or pay a visit to our website,
vivacechorus.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter @VivaceChorus.
36
Vivace Chorus
Madeline Boreham
Soprano
Madeline Boreham is a 4th Year
undergraduate studying at the Royal
College of Music, currently under the
tutelage of Patricia Rosario OBE and
Simon Lepper.
She is a proud recipient of the RCM
Study Award, and during her time at
the RCM has enjoyed both song and
opera works, in competition and
recital.
Photo © Kerry Davies
In 2019 Madeline received the 3rd Prize in the Brooks-van der
Pump English Song Competition, and made her English
National Opera debut as the role of Gossip in Britten’s Noyes
Fludde as part of a collaboration with Theatre Royal Stratford
East.
Recently, she received a commendation at the RCM Lieder
Competition, was a finalist in the Joan Chissell Schumann
Competition, and has had the joy of performing in
masterclasses with Brindley Sherratt, Nicky Spence and Sir
Thomas Allen.
She performed as part of RCM’s 2021 Winter Opera Die
Zauberflöte in the Soprano Chorus, and covered the role of
Mother whilst being a member of the Chorus in their
production of Hansel and Gretel. Madeline will be continuing
her postgraduate studies at the College as an RCM Scholar.
Vivace Chorus
37
Alexandria Moon
Mezzo-soprano
London-born mezzo-soprano
Alexandria Moon is in her final year
of the undergraduate course at the
Royal College of Music in London,
supported by the Josephine Baker
Trust and The Big Give Scholarship,
and will be progressing to the
Master of Performance programme
this autumn.
She studies with the Chair of Vocal
Performance Janis Kelly and
Repertoire Coach Simon Lepper. She is a budding recitalist
and concert soloist who has many debuts in concert repertoire
lined up over the summer season. Recent competition
successes include 1st prize in the RCM’s 2022 Brooks-van der
Pump English Song Competition alongside the Best
Undergraduate Vocal Performance prize, and then 3rd prize in
the RCM’s 2022 Joan Chissell Schumann Competition.
Photo © Olivia da Costa
Alexandria is spending her final year as an undergraduate
predominately working with the RCM’s International Opera
Studio on all their 2021/2022 productions, having been cast in
the summer production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight as the Older
Woman (which will be her first fully performed operatic role)
after having already covered Zwei Dame in Die Zauberflöte and
Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel.
Alexandria looks forward to further operatic horizons in joining
British Youth Opera for their summer production of Vaughan
Williams’ Sir John in Love, taking the role of Mrs. Ford.
38
Vivace Chorus
Sam Harris Tenor
Sam Harris is a British tenor currently
studying at the Royal College of Music
with Peter Savidge. He is supported by
the Baring Foundation award.
Born in Edinburgh, Sam began his
musical career as a boy chorister at
Winchester Cathedral, and as a treble
soloist premièred James Macmillan’s
Mouth of the Dumb for the NMC record
label.
Photo © Hugh Cross
Sam was a choral scholar at New College, Oxford. He spent
three years as a member of the contemporary a cappella
group Out of the Blue, touring internationally and winning the
international A Cappella Award for ‘outstanding male
collegiate soloist,’ and garnering a CARA nomination for
‘outstanding male collegiate solo’. As a vocal arranger his work
has been included in numerous best-of compilations,
including ‘Best of Collegiate A Capella.’ He is a regular
member of the choir of St. Paul’s, Knightsbridge.
Sam has undertaken many operatic roles at the RCM and
British Youth Opera, including Fenton, Verdi’s Falstaff; First
armed man, The Magic Flute; Don Eusebio, Rossini’s
L’Occasione fa il Ladro and Sesto, Handel’s Giulio Cesare.
Concert performance highlights have included Stravinsky’s
Mass with Simon Halsey and the London Symphony Orchestra,
Rossini’s Petit Messe Solennelle, Monteverdi’s Vespers, Bach’s B
Minor Mass with Dulwich Chamber Choir, St. John Passion with
the Hanover Band, and Pärt’s Passio with Ensemble pro
Victoria.
Vivace Chorus
39
Theo Perry Baritone
British baritone Theo Perry currently
studies at the Royal College of Music
International Opera Studio under the
tutelage of Russell Smythe, where he
is a Victor and Lilian Hochhauser
Scholar and Henry Wood Scholar.
RCM roles include Peter in Hänsel
und Gretel (Humperdinck) and
Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
In July 2020 he graduated with
Photo © Esme Smith
distinction from the MA course at
Trinity Laban, winning the Gold Medal, the Paul Simm Opera
Award, and a Director’s Prize for Excellence.
Recent operatic roles include Aeneas (Dido & Aeneas, Hurn
Court Opera), Junius (The Rape of Lucretia, Opera Asteria),
Death (Savitri, Hampstead Garden Opera), Fred / Young
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni,
Rogue Opera) and Belcore (The Elixir of Love, King’s Head
Theatre/Opera’r Ddraig). He has participated in masterclasses
with Ian Bostridge (Oxford Lieder), Roderick Williams
(Blackheath Halls), Kate Royal (Hurn Court Opera) and Thomas
Quasthoff (Wigmore Hall).
As a recitalist, Theo has performed for Chelmsford Cathedral,
Brentwood Cathedral, Buckingham Summer Festival and
Cheltenham Music Festival, as well as a recital for Trinity Laban
in conjunction with BBC Radio 3 on International Women’s Day
2019, celebrating women composers in a programme curated
by Dr Sophie Fuller.
40
Vivace Chorus
West Forest Sinfonia
The West Forest Sinfonia has been giving
regular concerts in the Reading/Wokingham
area for over 30 years.
Under its principal conductor Philip Ellis, the
orchestra has performed an eclectic selection of
music, from Haydn symphonies to (most
recently) Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
The orchestra draws its membership from the extraordinary
pool of talent that exists in Berkshire. In addition to the series
of concerts in Reading, the orchestra is regularly hired to
accompany local Choral Societies.
Recent appearances include performances with High
Wycombe, Wokingham and Fleet Choral Societies, and
Aliquando.
Violin
Giles Wade (leader)
Vanessa Kershaw
Mandy Sadler
Ivanka Shama
Harold Kershaw
Kim Austen
Kitty Beales
David Amos
Angela Jessopp
Sonja Nagle
Fiona Richards
Karen Burgess
Claire Larkin
Adrian Shaw
Vivace Chorus
Sarah Ghosh
James Ranson
Viola
Robert Spencer
Laura Williams
Jackie MacKenzie
Linda Clark
Helen Minton
Jenny Hopper
Cello
Jackie Ratcliff
Clare Elliot
Lis Holman
Diana Wadsworth
Jenny Kimber
Sally Riddex
Double bass
Adrian Warrick
Leo Bowsher
Flute
Simon Salisbury
Cathy Laney
Mary Thornaloe
41
Oboe
Nicola Fairbairn
Jasmine HuxtableWright
Clarinet
Karen Ayton
Barbara Salisbury
Bass Clarinet
Sarah Moore
Bassoon
Mike Johnstone
Erica Tugwell
Contra Bassoon
Victa Harvey
Horn
Pamela Wise
Lucy Head
Clive Steady
Ben Colyer
Trumpet
Kevin Ransom
Andy Holman
Andy Smets
Geoff Lawrence
John Ellwood
Allun Proom
Trombone
Nick Kershaw
Diana Prince
Richard Stubbings
Tuba
Adrian Warren
Timpani
Andrew Spiceley
Percussion
Mike Creech
Kim Sargeant
Andrew Cumine
Sunday 26th June 2022
4.30pm, The Great Hall, University of Reading
42
Martin Georgiev
Giles Wade
Neil Charlton
-
Conductor
Violin
Cello
Janáček
Brahms
Nielsen
-
Cunning Little Vixen Suite
Double Concerto
Symphony No.5
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all patrons for their support.
Honorary Life Patrons
John Britten
James Garrow
John Trigg MBE
Life Patrons
Joy Hunter MBE
John and Jean Leston
Platinum Patrons
Robin & Jill Broadley
Roger & Sharon Brockway
Richard & Mary Broughton
Amanda Burn
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson CBE
Norman Carpenter
Tony & Sylvia Chantler
Andrea & Gunter Dombrowe
Rosemary & Michael Dudley
Susan & Cecil Hinton
Stephen Linton
John McLean OBE & Janet McLean
Ron & Christine Medlow
Lionel & Mary Moon
Peter Norman
Robin Privett
Geoffrey Johns & Sheila Rowell
Jonathan Scott
Catherine & Brian Shacklady
Prue & Derek Smith
Dennis & Marjory Stewart
Idris & Joan Thomas
Pam Usher
Rob and Susie Walker
Anthony J T Williams
Bill & June Windle
BECOME A VIVACE PATRON
If you have enjoyed this concert, why not become one of our patrons? We
have a loyal band of followers whose regular presence at our concerts is
greatly appreciated. With the valued help of our patrons, we are able to
perform a wide range of exciting music, with world-class, professional
musicians in venues such as G Live, Dorking Halls, the Royal Albert Hall
and the Royal Festival Hall. If you are interested, please contact Mary Moon
on 01372 468431 or email: patrons@vivacechorus.org.
Vivace Chorus
43
Vivace Chorus dates for your diary
A concert for Cherry Trees
Saturday 9th July 2022 7pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
In 2020, Vivace Chorus was supposed to tour the cathedrals of
Northern Spain – a tour we’re hoping finally to go on this summer.
We’ll be singing our summer tour programme at a very special
concert in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, raising money for Cherry
Trees – a charity we’ve supported before. Join us for some classic
choral favourites – the perfect summer evening out.
Feast!
Saturday 19th November 2022 7:30pm
G Live, Guildford
A sumptuous programme to celebrate our 75th birthday! Join us for a
night of luscious British music, including the nation’s favourite –
Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, plus more Vaughan Williams
and a touch of Holst. Then sit back and be transported to the
decadent Belshazzar’s Feast – an epic work for choir and orchestra
by William Walton. Find out what happens when Belshazzar drinks
from the cups that have been looted from the First Temple and a
mysterious hand appears – the original ‘writing on the wall’. Full of
debauchery, life and energy, Feast! is the perfect way to celebrate a
grand occasion.
The Mayor of Guildford's Carol Concert
Sunday 11th December 2022 7pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
One of the highlights of the Christmas season in Guildford is the
Mayor of Guildford's annual Carol Concert, in support of the Mayor's
selected charity. In the beautiful setting of a candlelit Holy Trinity
Church, Vivace Chorus's imaginative mix of favourite carols and
beautiful Christmas music, as well as delicious mince pies and
mulled wine, will definitely help to put you in the Christmas spirit.
Further details at vivacechorus.org
Printed by IMPRINT COLOUR LTD
Pegasus Court, North Lane, Aldershot GU12 4QP. Tel : 01252 330683
Vivace Chorus is a Registered Charity No. 1026337
44
Vivace Chorus
Walton:
Belshazzar’s
Feast
Vaughan
Williams:
The Lark Ascending &
Five Mystical
Songs
The National
Symphony
Orchestra
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
YEARS
Vivace
Tickets: from £25, students and U18 half price.
Book online: GLive.co.uk
A5-Season 2021-22.indd 16
Saturday
19 Nov 2022
at 7.30pm
Guildford’s state-of-the-art
entertainment venue
15/05/2022 20:46
FUTURE CONCERTS
The
CHERRY
TREES
Concert
Your choral favourites
including
Handel, Fauré,
Rutter and
Swingle
Would you love to sing?
Have you sung before and
would like to get back to it?
Are you commuting less
and have more time in the
evening? Come along on
Mondays at 7.15 pm to
Millmead in the heart of
Guildford and join in with
one of our rehearsals.
Vivace
Saturday
9 July 2022
7 pm
Holy Trinity
Guildford
vivacechorus.org
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Retiring collection in aid of:
Walton:
Belshazzar’s
Feast
Vaughan
Williams:
The Lark Ascending &
Five Mystical
Songs
Email: Becky membership@
vivacechorus.org to ensure that
we are ready to welcome you.
The National
Symphony
Orchestra
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
YEARS
Saturday
19 Nov 2022
at 7.30pm
Vivace
Guildford’s state-of-the-art
entertainment venue
Majesty-Programme.indd 1