| The Hertford
Choral Society has been enthusiastic to perform contemporary
works. For example, Michael Berkeley’s Or Shall We Die?
was performed in the presence of the composer in what is understood
to have been the first performance by an amateur choral society
(soloists were David Wilson-Johnson and Tracey Chadwell). Full
details of what the Society has performed since 1948 can be
seen on the Repertoire page.
The Society recently gave the first performance
of Summer Serenade by Douglas Coombes. This was written for
the Society and scored specifically for just chorus and strings.
The New London Orchestra played for that performance in 2004.
This performance was picked out in Classical Music by Andrew
Green as his nomination for “most notable first performance
of the year”.
For the Christmas Concert in 2006, the Hertford
Choral Society, together with the Hertford Symphony Orchestra
commissioned Howard Burrell (formerly Professor of Music at
Hertfordshire University) to make a special arrangement of “We
wish you a happy Christmas” to close the concert. In 2007,
Ian Harrold was asked to write the arrangement of “We
wish you a Merry Christmas”. In that concert, there was
also the first performance of “The Mystery of Christmas”
by HCS member Harold Chaplin who kindly dedicated the piece
to “Derek Harrison and the Hertford Choral Society”.
As part of the Joint Herts Choirs, the Society was involved in the commissioning of a fanfare for the
concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London on 4th November 2007.
It was called BLAST! and was written by Daniel Basford. It
is scored for the full orchestral resources of Berlioz Grande
Messe des Morts (which was the main work in the concert), and was the opening piece in the concert.
In the Summer Concert of 2009 (All Saints
Church, 27th June), HCS gave the première of Two
Folksongs (The Rose
and Stars trembling o’er us) by Daniel Basford.
This commission was made possible by a bequest from a former
member of the Society. In the same concert, the choir
gave the première of Three Folksongs in new arrangements commissioned
from Elizabeth Shepherd: Sweet
Nightingale; Sally Gardens; Dashing away with the smoothing
iron. All this new music (and much more) will be
recorded for a new CD in the Autumn of 2009.
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