Hertford Choral Society- Newsletter

A happy new year to you all and I hope that you all had a pleasant Christmas. Thank you to everyone who
made the Christmas concert so enjoyable. As always I would be interested in your feedback on the concert.
Your comments are always worthwhile and do impact on future planning.

This term we have a wonderful concert – Elgar’s ‘The Kingdom’. I am sure it is going to be a splendid occasion,
and I hope that you will all be able to help fill the church with your supporters. This term we are holding an
open rehearsal for singers and audience alike. If you know of anyone you would like to invite, please see me
as we have ‘welcome’ letters for you to give out. You might be interested to know that we do keep a track
of people who attend our open rehearsals so if you invite someone, please let me know. We are also working on welcome packs full of information concerning the choir, so we do need to know the number of people attending; please let me know of people you are inviting.

Our workshop is on Saturday 11 March when we have a great opportunity to learn a little more about ‘The
Kingdom’ in the relaxing surroundings of Richard Hale school….well it is good to be able to concentrate on the
singing rather than the usual Saturday activities.

Now that Christmas is over, our thoughts will be slowly turning towards summer. Just before the summer break
we have THE EVENT of the year - our Annual General Meeting. I hope that you will be considering whether you
would be able to join us on the committee, initially for one year only but, should you like us, you could stay for
four years! Do give it a thought! Chat to any of the committee members for further information.

There is also subcommittee work when you can give some help. Juliet Bernard is running a publicity group this
January. Please see her or Trish Goldsmith if you would like to help.

Derek’s message

Happy New Year. I hope it's going well so far. If you like Elgar's music, it's about to get a lot better! In April,
we shall be performing one of his greatest choral pieces. As you may know, for me Gerontius stands at the top
of the list but I am very excited at the prospect of performing The Kingdom. Sir Adrian Boult said that "it is
more than a match forGerontius ....... it is a much more balanced work and throughout maintains a stream of
glorious music….". No doubt we shall continue to debate that over the coming months!

I am also thrilled with our team of soloists: we have greatly enjoyed Fiona's performances of baroque and
classical repertoire but when she last sang for us I thought she would be excellent at putting over the part of
the Blessed Virgin; Margaret gave a stunning performance as the Angel in Gerontius for us many years ago so
it is lovely to welcome her back again to sing Mary Magdalene; I've enjoyed working with Philip (singing the
part of John) on several occasions (not least for a Soundbites recital), I'm glad we've found a free moment in
his busy schedule; Julian has sung beautifully for us before and having studied this piece with our former
President, Jumbo (David Wilson-Johnson, who you can hear singing this on the Hickox recording), will keep us
enthralled in the part of Peter.

If you are used only to the choral pieces of earlier generations you may find this work more difficult to get to
grips with - it doesn't have "set pieces" in the same way. It really pays to get to know the flow of the whole
piece and know how the chorus moments fit in and how they add to the picture. Either get a CD (see page 2
for details of the two available through Crotchet on our website) or even better, borrow and listen to several!

There will be a workshop on Sat 11 March which I hope you will find enjoyable, challenging and instructive as
we move into the final stage of preparations for the performance.

We must also not forget to make sure everybody knows about the great concert we are going to give in
St Albans Abbey on 15 July!

Derek Harrison

Eric W. Crew BSc FIEE FRAS 1916 - 2005

Eric died on 2 December aged 89 years. He was not a member of HCS but
he was co-editor of all (with the exception of two) of the HCS newsletters
for the last 20 years. Since retiring from BP, where he was an electrical
engineer, he had pursued his interests in theoretical astronomy. His papers
on electricity in astronomy, Mars, terrestrial and cosmic lightning were
published in Nature, the Observatory Magazine and the Quarterly Journal of
the Royal Astronomical Society among others. He was a member of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies. His website is www.brox1.demon.co.uk.

Eric died from pneumonia three weeks after suffering a severe stroke which
left him almost speechless and paralysed on his right side. Not a person who
liked fuss or convention, he had wished to be buried in a cardboard coffin
under a tree. A suitable ’green’ burial site (www.woodlandwildlife.co.uk) was
found in Essex, where, incidentally, Ann Bedford (soprano) too was buried, in
February 2005. The site will, eventually, becomea bluebell wood. The bamboo
(cardboard disintegrates too quickly) coffin was carried on a handcart
followed by family and close friends. Two fiddles and a flute were played by
family members as we walked to the graveside, where Eric’s three sons and
one of his daughters lowered the coffin into the grave. Letters and
poems were read and anecdotes told. Flowers and foliage from our gardens
were strewn in and around the grave. The thick early morning mist cleared
revealing a blue sky. Birds twittered in the adjoining wood. Ironically, a
squirrel ran down a tree (Eric was always chasing them from the garden).
Everything seemed right with the world but my soulmate and best friend
was dead. June Crew

Eric W. Crew 1916 - 2005

Thank you to all who have written such lovely letters and messages.

A few quotes follow….

From Christa and Hartmut from Germany

"We are both very sad but we are thankful that we have known Eric and remember nice hours with him and
mails from him. Perhaps he is lucky that he must not live longer with so many handicaps but you and your
children and friends will miss him.
Just now, Hartmut played for him the last chorale of Bach’s St John’s Passion ‘Ach Herr, lass dein liebe
Engelein’."

John Jermain

"What a ‘one-off character!’ If the phrase ‘lateral thinker’ could be applied to anyone it was tailor-made for
Eric. But in addition he was such an incisive thinker too. I very much hope I will retain his great capacity to
play silly buggers up to and beyond the age when decorum is expected."

Sheila Mander
"Everyone who knew Eric will miss him. He was such a loveable and eccentric character. I still have a photo of
him throwing me into a bath-cum-cattle trough on an HCS walk."

Jan and Mike Robinson

"Eric was always first up the hills waiting for the rest of us to catch up. He was an amazing person and a true
original; full of ideas, vigour, life and mischief. We are privileged to have had Eric as a dear and loved friend."

Sheila and John Dorling

"He has been such a good friend to HCS; we shall miss him not least for his partnership (with June) in
producing the newsletter."

Jill and Pam

"HCS has been so lucky in the support that Eric, your great pal and soulmate, has given you especially the
huge contribution he made to the newsletter."

Choir member Dr W. Huw Davies, who died in October, was a scientist who gained his initial degree at the University of Wales, Bangor and a PhD at Aberystwyth before embarking on a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Following his first post at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, Huw came to the Hertford area in 1966 to work for Allen & Hanbury’s and remained to hold senior posts in research and administration in the UK pharmaceutical industry as companies went through various amalgamations. For several years before retiring in 1997, he was based at the UK headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline at Welwyn where he dealt with international product registration.

Huw was born in Maesteg, Glamorgan, and was married to choir member Maureen in 1962. They have one son, Aled, who although born in Bengeo was thoroughly inculcated by his father to be an avid Welsh rugby supporter which was thoroughly justified, much to Huw’s pleasure, by this year’s Grand Slam! A particular delight for Huw was Aled’s marriage to Diana in 1999 and the birth in 2003 of his grandson Owen Samuel for whom he proved a proud and enthusiastic ‘Bampa,’ though sadly for so short a time.

Huw joined Maureen as a choir member following his retirement and thoroughly enjoyed both the artistic exertions and the social activities. His other interests included walking, wine-tasting and playing golf. During the time they had golden retriever Heidi, Huw became a dog obedience trainer; when he took to beer brewing, he won a county championship; and on their canal boat ‘Elen’ he and Maureen happily navigated the canals of England and Wales, particularly to Llangollen where they enjoyed the International Eisteddfod annually.

A proud Welsh-speaking Welshman glad to visit brother Hywel and sister-in-law Charlotte back in Wales, he came to love Bengeo and Hertford and was in his element walking the lanes and riverbanks of the surrounding countryside - as well as quaffing the odd pint of good local beer. Aled Davies

Lynda Brown is hereby named a Paul Harris Fellow in appreciation of tangible and significant
assistance given for furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of
theworld.

Congratulations to Lynda Brown who became a Paul Harris Fellow in 2005. This is the highest award that can
be given by the Rotary Club. She has been very coy about receiving this well-deserved award but you will
have read of Lynda’s work over the last four years, to improve the lot of Romanian orphans, in previous
newsletters. Few people would have had the courage or the willingness to travel to Romania on a lorry in a
convoy but Lynda is made of sterner stuff . The first convoy collection, made in year 2000, was divided
between the Convoy of Hope to Croatia and Convoy 2000 to Romania. In 2004 thirteen loaded lorries left for
Romania. Lynda’s task that year was to convert a disused single-decker bus into a playbus. This didn’t go
according to plan as the bus had been sold for its scrap metal value but Lynda, ever resourceful, was able to
transform a garden room instead. Jill Hall’s husband, David, who died three years ago, made many trips to
Croatia. Lynda organised a wonderful concert, with Derek’s help, in February last year, in memory of David, all
proceeds going to the Convoy of Hope charity.

Who was Paul Harris?
Paul Harris, finding himself a stranger in Chicago, founded Rotary in 1905 to bring together businessmen at
regular intervals for fellowship. There were just four founder members who met at each other’s place of
business by rota - hence the name Rotary.

You may have realised that we have not been holding regular raffles in the hopes that more members would be
willing to participate in the 200 Club. This has not happened, as perhaps members are unaware of our need for
continual fund-raising in order to meet the costs of the high quality concerts we provide, with payment for
inspiring soloists and professional orchestras. We shall therefore run one raffle in house this season for
members and friends of HCS only, with no need for a gambling licence. This will give those inclined to go for
‘flutter for funds’ the opportunity to participate.

Have you seen the HCS website lately? (www.choral-society.com)

I have had Christian Forshaw’s ‘Sanctuary’ on order from Amazon for 6 months and from a local shop for a
couple of months, to no avail. When I tried ‘Crotchet’ via HCS website, it arrived within 3 days.
(Have you tried ‘Crochet’ yet? – Ed)

By the way, last summer I was feeling very low and tired for weeks after an unusually bad cold. I made myself
go to the gospel singing master class by Ken Burton and, in spite of it all, enjoyed it very much. To my
surprise, the following morning I felt well and full of energy! Is singing and hard exercise a cure for post-viral
syndrome? Ulla Taylor

"Dear Auntie Di
Isn’t all that floral stuff and decoration at concerts a little over the top – not to say expensive?
Malcolm McTaggish"

It’s about ambience, atmosphere, audience appeal and is put together for a song by creative Clare, Jill, Agneta, Hilary, Christine et al. Bless ‘em all.

Di