Message from Jane Turner, Chairman
Welcome to the start of our summer
term. It has been a wonderful Easter, made even more glorious
by the weather. I hope you enjoyed the concert; it was well
received by both critic and audience. Certainly ‘my’
audience enjoyed the whole experience; praise from teenagers
is praise indeed! Concert numbers of singers were down which
meant that there was more space for us all on the stage but
those members who did not sing with us missed a real treat.
The orchestra was delightful and the soloists a lovely group.
So, how did you spend concert day?
For me, the day began at 8.45am picking up Trish to head off
to the farm to help with the staging. From feeling despondent
about how many people would be there, we were lucky to have
a few extra Scout personnel. We were a merry band –
Paul, Tom, Geoff, Trish, Juliet, John and the Scouts and I.
We heaved and pulled, established chains and in record time
filled the two white lorries with all the necessary bits to
keep HCS well supported. From there, Trish and I rushed back
to the church to join another band of willing people to take
everything off the lorries and slowly build the stage. Other
gallant people were numbering seats, arranging flowers, putting
up signs, moving chairs and tables and putting out bottles
and glasses. The church was a hive of activity. Coffee and
biscuits were served during a welcome break. By 11.00am the
stage was ready; the flower arrangers putting in a few last
minute touches to their splendid arrangements. Home for lunch….except
I was off home to catch up on all those ‘little’
Saturday jobs that need to be done. Then, back to the church,
armed with music folder plus extra folders for those who might
forget theirs.
Rehearsal went well and, as always, finished on time. Had
Stephen remembered to put the oven on? Hosting the two female
soloists meant that the meal had had to be prepared the night
before as there would be no time on the day……
Thankfully, the meal was in and cooking. Everything else went
well, and then in concert dress, we returned to the church
in time for the concert. Whole evening was fantastic. Eventually
audience, orchestra and choir dissolved into the night –
except for the few who began the dismantling process and to
fill up the two white lorries – again! My day finished
at 11.00pm. Some members would be up early in the morning
to unload the lorries at the farm. My thanks go to them.
There were many other people whom I know had a day equally
as long as mine and I say a very big thank you to them for
their commitment to HCS. I am often told that the lack of
volunteers is widespread amongst many societies but I am interested
only in HCS. Why are we having such a problem recruiting people
to represent the membership on the committee and to help in
the staging of our concerts. Have you considered what would
happen if those who do volunteer and do represent you simply
stop?
Jane Turner
Congratulations
from Derek There’s
no doubt that Baroque is a great challenge for a large choir.
Largely, I think, because many singers are really too far
from the orchestra ‘engine’ – the source
of the rhythm. And wasn’t our appropriately small orchestra
amazing? I particularly enjoyed the tone colour of the strings
and the beautiful sounds of the woodwind; and it was so immaculately
played. The soloists were a delight too. However, it is right
that we should sing this music – and very successfully
so. There may have been the odd passages that ‘got away’
and an interesting chord in the Handel, but nothing that seriously
affected a very good performance indeed. Congratulations!
I wonder whether any of those delightful images of the HCS
dancers at the workshop in February came to mind on the day?!
Now we turn our attention to a very different collection of
music. The challenges here include coping with a number of
different pieces. They are all 20th century but ranging from
Elgar and Vaughan Williams to Tavener and a piece by our President,
Michael Berkeley. The Revenge by Stanford is subtitled A Ballad
of the Fleet and will require clear story telling. The text
is by Tennyson and is about the part that the little ship
The Revenge played in the Armada. In his lifetime, this was
Stanford’s most successful work – 100,000 copies
of it were printed!
I hope you will find it all enjoyable and something of a foil
to the Baroque music that we’ve just done and the Berlioz
Grande Messe des Morts which we shall start preparing immediately
after the June concert and on into July.
Please make every effort to
attend the workshop on Berlioz on 30 June at Ware Drill Hall
Derek
Review of concert at All Saints Church on 31 March
A thrilled audience, in a packed
All Saints Church, was able to hear a wonderful concert of
baroque music last Saturday evening. Music of the baroque
period still inspires and the two giants of that period, Handel
and Bach, provided the demanding music. The Handel was the
lesser-known Laudate pueri Dominum, followed by two Bach cantatas,
numbers 191 and 156, and ending with the popular Magnificat
in D.
Julia Doyle and Alice Gribbin, who was educated locally, were
the two delightful soprano soloists, having many contributions
in solo and ensemble items. Nicholas Mulroy and Jonathan Brown
were newcomers to Hertford while Timothy Travers-Brown was
making a reappearance. Some bass recitative made for less
rewarding listening but was nevertheless delivered sincerely.
The tenor had difficulty in projecting the lower register,
but otherwise had an effortless flow of silvery tone. There
was lovely artistry to be heard by all soloists in stylishly
phrased and sensitive singing.
The London Pro Arte Baroque Orchestra was making its first
visit to Hertford and provided a knowledgeable contribution
to the performances. There was exuberant string playing in
true chamber music fashion, with sublime baroque flutes, oboes,
timpani and valveless trumpets. The chamber organ provided
firm support though a little reticent at times.
The choral writing of both Handel and Bach makes great use
of florid, instrumental style writing as well as solid harmony.
The choir showed the required stamina to maintain disciplined,
and many times, exciting singing. The division into many parts
was met with confidence with the character of each chorus
having purpose and direction. The mood of the opening work
was effectively set with the plainsong antiphon opening the
performance. Diction was good in the generous acoustic of
All Saints Church, with the choir alert to details of phrasing.
The conductor, Derek Harrison, over many years, has developed
the choral society into a responsive body of singers, keeping
fresh-toned singing throughout the evening. From the many
comments heard afterwards, it was obvious that the evening
had been very much enjoyed and appreciated.
David Penrose
Song for Athene
Song for Athene is to be part of the programme for the summer
concert. It was written by John Tavener (sic), a descendant
of the 16th century composer’ John Taverner. Song for
Athene brought to a close the funeral of Diana, Princess of
Wales but was written to commemorate another young woman, Athene
Hariades, who was killed on her bicycle in a road accident.
The CD sold out in the shops within days of Diana’s funeral.
HCS last sang it in November 1998.
Michael Berkeley, President of HCS
Michael Berkeley recently
became the President of HCS. He was in the audience for the
HCS March concert. Derek said that he (Michael) was favourably
impressed by the performance. But it is not the first time
he has attended an HCS concert. Twenty years ago, in Feb 1987,
he was there (with Brian Kay, our then President) to hear
the 5th performance of his oratorio, Or Shall We Die, libretto
by Ian McEwan (also in the audience); a powerful work about
nuclear war. Eric Crew wrote ‘The poignancy of the words
and music should make audiences more aware of the dangers
and folly of our present cold war situation. It was a courageous
act by all those who performed this excellent work and produced
such a great performance’. Basil Moor wrote ‘One
was conscious of the whole audience utterly absorbed and on
the edge of their seats. The final singing of Love, Mercy,
Pity, Peace fades into silence. There was a moment of complete
silence before the audience rose and applauded this breathtaking
performance’. Tracey Chadwell, the soprano soloist,
wrote ‘No matter how much one rehearses and prepares,
it is a work of spontaneous emotion, energy and concentration,
fuelled by the presence of an audience and we rose to that
occasion. I wonder how many people, when they first saw the
score, thought ‘I’ll never be able to sing this!’
Quite a lot and full marks to Derek and HCS for persevering
because the success of 7 Feb shows to all amateur choirs that
where there is a will there is a way’.
(For the full account of that concert, please refer to newsletter
no. 29. What! You don’t keep them?)
Michael Berkeley was born in 1948, the eldest son of the composer
Sir Lennox Berkeley. As a chorister at Westminster Cathedral,
singing naturally played an important part in his education
and he frequently worked with his godfather, Benjamin Britten.
Michael studied at the Royal Academy of Music but did not
concentrate on composition until his late twenties when he
studied under Richard Rodney Bennett. Since Or Shall We Die,
written in 1982, his music has changed and in pieces such
as For the Savage Messiah (1985) his language has become more
distinctive with the emotional early pieces integrated into
a tauter musical idiom.
Since then he has written (among many other works) an opera,
Baa Baa Black Sheep (based on the childhood of Rudyard Kipling),
Secret Garden, Garden of Earthly Delights a second opera,
Jane Eyre. His works have been performed worldwide. A recording
of Michael’s new work Concerto for Orchestra, premiered
at the BBC Proms in 2005, is to be released on the Chandos
label as part of the ‘Berkeley Edition’. He is
composer-in-Association with the BBC National Orchestra of
Wales. He acts as Visiting Professor in Composition at the
Welsh College of Music and Drama and is now the illustrious
President of HCS!
Ulla Margareta Akesdotter Taylor. 1/12/36 - 26/2/2007
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon on 8th March, when a number
of us from HCS assembled at St. Mary’s Church, Cheshunt,
to sing at Ulla’s funeral; just the sort of afternoon
when she would have loved to be in her garden. She was a keen
gardener with the proverbial green fingers; we always used to
joke that the first really lovely sunny summer’s day was
always on the day of our summer concert, when we would have
to spend the afternoon rehearsing in the church. We
first met Ulla in the early 70s when we sang together in the
East Herts Choral Society, of which she was Treasurer for
several years. Ed Willson, who was their conductor at that
time, subsequently suggested that we join HCS and “share
the driving” with Ulla. It doesn’t seem possible
that we have been doing exactly that for over 30 years.
Ulla came to this country from Sweden in
1957 to learn English; she was taking a gap year from her
study of pharmacy, and took a job in Cambridge as an au pair
to Mike’s cousin; it seems he was rigorous in his insistence
on correcting the language of his au pairs - no doubt the
reason that she acquired such an excellent command of English.
It was here that she first met Mike’s parents and then
later Mike himself. She and Mike became engaged in 1958 and
married two years later, living for a time in Crouch End,
later moving to Cheshunt, and finally in 1965 to Goffs Oak.
They had two children, a son now living in France, and a daughter
in Ireland. Ulla always visited them whenever possible throughout
the year, often taking her turn to look after some of the
eight grandchildren. Ulla always loved to maintain a Swedish
style celebration of Christmas with the family.
We enjoyed an easy relationship based on our weekly journeys
together and as time went on we came to know Mike too; they
always took a keen interest in local issues concerning the
community and environment; Ulla was a founder member of the
neighbouring Lea Valley U3A, where she and Mike were particularly
active in the running of the Gardens Group. And of course
Mike has also been a staunch supporter of HCS, for many years
helping with stewarding etc. Ulla was very attached to her
dog; Katya could always be seen at the window barking her
farewells when we called for Ulla on Tuesday evenings. Her
favourite pastimes though were gardening, music and singing;
she usually had Classic FM on the car radio as we drove to
Hertford.
However despite so many social activities,
Ulla was actually a very private person. She had very definite
ideas about what was right and reasonable and lived by her
principles. She was never very forthcoming about her health,
and one felt that she would not welcome much enquiry; so although
we knew that she had been having outpatient treatment for
a long time, we did not know she had been on chemotherapy
for nine and a half years for myeloproliferate disorder (MPD),
a condition which adversely affects the bone marrow. However,
we all felt some concern for her in recent months, when she
was obviously unwell, but it was only lately she told us the
treatment was no longer working and she was to have blood
transfusions instead. She rejoiced that the first of these
was very effective, but she got an infection just before the
second transfusion was due and was taken into hospital with
pneumonia. It was a tremendous shock to everybody when she
died only a week later. She will be greatly missed by her
family and many friends, not only in HCS but all those who
have enjoyed her company for many years.
Sheila Dorling
My Garden
O my garden, full of roses
Red as passion and as sweet,
Failing not when summer closes
Lasting on through cold and heat.
O my garden, full of lilies,
White as peace and very tall,
In your midst, my heart so still is
I can hear the least leaf fall.
O my garden, full of singing
From the birds that house therein,
Sweet notes down the sweet day ringing
Til the nightingales begin.
Philip Bourke Marston
My Vietnam trek
by Fliss Sandell Trekking
in the mountains of North West Vietnam for MENCAP has left
me with diverse and precious memories. About forty of us were
on the trip which took place between March 2nd and 21st this
year, and was organised from Northern Ireland.
Getting to our trekking region and back
again took four of our ten days. We left Heathrow at midday
on the Friday, having survived an emergency evacuation and
a lot of red tape about baggage, arriving in Singapore's beautiful
air-conditioned airport early the following morning. We then
flew on to Hanoi's steamy un-air-conditioned airport, changed
some of our US dollars into Vietnamese Dong (30,000 to the
£), and travelled by bus into the old town, where we
had hotel rooms for the day.
Every piece of spare land is given to rice
production, and we saw some coolie-hatted workers planting
out young rice plants and others working the land with water
buffalo beneath huge advertising hoardings. There were interesting
houses looking unnaturally tall, built with concrete, one
module piled on another.
After the overnight train to Lao Cai, breakfast
in a local cafe and a minibus trip to a dusty village in the
middle of nowhere, our trek began. The local people gathered
round and we took some lovely photos, feeling over-kitted
for our walk amongst people who had so little. The weather
was unseasonably hot - up in the 80s as mid-day approached
- and I regret that two of us had to come back down while
the rest of the group struggled on uphill to the campsite.
We returned to the village shop, where we sat on tiny, plastic
chairs and ate ice cream. Our guide, Twan, kindly offered
us a length of sugar cane to suck, then decided we might prefer
it in bite-sized chunks without the bark. The taste was intense
and rather sickly but to the locals a great treat.
We were transported in various vehicles
to the following night's homestay, passing back through Lao
Cai city and over the bridge marking the border between Vietnam
and China. We finished in a jeep travelling for half an hour
or so over a road that had just been cut out of the hillside
and not yet smoothed down or surfaced. The freshly-disturbed
orange soil was typical throughout Vietnam.
The rest of the week was spent in homestays,
where we slept on mattresses arranged on upstairs galleries
that surrounded the living areas of the houses, which were
built entirely of wood and bamboo. We ate mostly on outside
areas under a canopy of blue plastic sheeting.
We were amongst hill tribes - what the Vietnamese call "minority
peoples"- each with their own language and costume. Schools
are being built for the children, so a possible future of
integration might be on the cards. We were taken into a local
secondary school built for the Black H’Mong tribe whose
village of woven bamboo huts dotted the upper hillside. I
tried out my newly learnt sentence ‘Doi den do Anh’
(I come from England) which worked the second time and caused
much amusement. The brand new school for Red Dao children
stood opposite; the explanation being that they need different
teachers as they speak different languages.
We walked through villages in the villages
where banana trees were looking lush and where two crops of
rice could be grown each year thanks to good irrigation. Bamboo
pipes running down the hillside achieved this most efficiently.
We climbed beautiful terraced mountainsides covered in dry
paddy fields waiting for the rainy season. Here only ‘dry
rice’ could be grown and harvested once a year.
As the week progressed, we were gradually
climbing at higher altitudes. For water-lovers, there was
the chance of a swim beneath a waterfall. We crossed a number
of rickety suspension bridges as we chased the course of a
river. If we didn’t keep step with one another, they
wobbled rather excitingly.
The weather gradually got colder, until
I was glad of the woolly coat and fleece that I'd packed -
not to mention the all-covering rain cape which frightened
a couple of boys sent to work on the hillside with the only
tool available for tilling the soil; a long handle with a
spade end bent at right angles. Much of our last day’s
walking was in low cloud and uphill, until a final triumphant
entry to Sapa in thick fog brought us to our last night's
hotel, with a banner outside generously demonstrating the
language barrier:
"WELCOME TO MANCAP".
I have fond memories of tiny, lovely people pursuing us in
ever larger numbers with their traditional goods for sale,
living in simple bamboo huts and cooking on wood fires. I
admire the tenacity of the porters, ninety in all, who saw
a group of tourists through the week in difficult conditions,
and wonder what the future holds for them in these times of
change. Those people who sponsored me or bought my Easter
Quiz have helped me to raise a stunning total of over £4000
for this charity, which supports people with learning difficulties
for the whole of their lives.
(Fliss would be happy to receive any further
donations for this very worthwhile charity. I feel sure that
she has understated a gruelling trek; she is to be congratulated
on taking part – ed.)
HCS wishes Ralf and the Kantorei
every success for the premiere performance of Prince of Peace
Hertford Voices
Sat 19 May As the Kantorei
will not be coming to Hertford after all this year, Hertford
Voices (formed as a touring choir to go to Wildeshausen and,
hopefully, other interesting towns and cities), will instead
be having a singing ‘Away Day’ at Cambridge (having
had several Saturday rehearsals). Anyone interested in joining
Hertford Voices should contact Trish Goldsmith tel 01992 589730
or email trishmgoldsmith@btinternet.com
I meant to do my work today
But a brown bird sang from the apple tree
And a butterfly fluttered across the field
And all the leaves were calling me
The Playtex Moonwalk 2007
For the last two years I have had the privilege
of walking through London overnight as part of the Playtex
Moonwalk. The Playtex Moonwalk is an unique event where thousands
of women and a few brave men will not only power-walk a marathon
through the night but do it wearing a decorated bra to raise
money and awareness for breast cancer research and cancer
care.
Last year a dear friend was fighting her own battle against
breast cancer and she is now clear. I am sure we know many
people, both men and women, who have had contact with this
awful condition. Last year, with your help, I and my two walking
friends raised over £500 and we completed the walk in
six and half hours. The weather was cold and wet that night
so not a pleasant experience. This year I have been lucky
enough to be able to take part again, although this will probably
be our last year. So far, the training is going well and we
are hoping to do it again in almost 6 hours.
The walk takes place on May 19th. We will begin at Hyde Park
at 11.00pm. There will be over 15,000 of us taking part and
we aim to raise £6 million. Many of you were kind enough
to support me last year. If you would like to do so again
I would be delighted to accept your sponsorship…it really
does help knowing that so many people have done so, especially
when the going gets tough!!
When my sponsor forms are sent to me I will leave a form out
most nights at choir but if you are unable to fill that in,
cheques can be sent to me. The cheque needs to be made out
to Walk the Walk Worldwide.
Thank you very much.
Jane Turner
Auntie Di
Well, my darlings, Di is in great danger
of becoming redundant. When the ed says ‘I want your piece
and I want it now’, what’s a girl to do? No one
has approached me with questions on affairs of the heart or
affairs of state or even the state of affairs. Contentment or
apathy? Likewise, Jane’s pleas for volunteers has fallen
on increasingly deaf ears. If I don’t get any questions,
I will (Heaven forfend) have to start making them up!
Dates for your diary
All rehearsals at Sele School unless
stated otherwise.
Rehearsals start promptly at 7.30pm.
The 75% attendance rule means that members should attend at
least 8 rehearsals for the next concert.
Tues 1 May
Open rehearsal
Tues 8 May
Short rehearsal followed by ‘a bit of a do’ to
celebrate Derek’s 30th year with HCS and his 60th birthday
Tues 15, 22, 29 May
Rehearsals
Tues 5, 12, 19 June
Rehearsals
Thurs 21 June
Rehearsal at All Saints
Sat 23 June 2pm
Rehearsal at All Saints 7.30 pm concert in
All Saints. Programme to include Vaughan Williams Serenade
to Music, Tavener Song for Athene, Stanford The Revenge, two
pieces (including
one for organ) by our President, Michael Berkeley; also Elgar,
Mendelssohn, Harwood and Bullard
Tues 26 June 7.30pm
AGM followed by first rehearsal for the Berlioz
Sat 30 June 11.00am – 4.30pm
workshop at Ware Drill Hall
Tues 3, 10, 17 July
Berlioz rehearsals at Sele
Tues 4 Sept
first rehearsal of autumn term
Sun 16 Sept 2.00 – 5.30pm
Ware Drill Hall regional rehearsal for Berlioz
(or Sat 15 Sept Hitchin Boys’ School
or Sat 22 Sept St Clement Danes School,
Chorleywood)
Sun 28 Oct 2.00 – 5.30pm
Harlow Sportscentre dress rehearsal for Berlioz
Sun 4 Nov 7.30pm
Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts by Joint Herts Choirs and Westminster
Philharmonic Orchestra in Royal Albert Hall. Rehearsal probably–
2.00 - 5.00pm. For more information, check
www.Jointhertschoirs.org.uk
Sat 15 Dec 2007
Christmas Concert
Sat 15 March 2008
Spring concert
Sat 28 June 2008
Summer concert
Other Dates
QC Chamber Choir
www.qcchoir.org
Sat 2 June 7.30pm St Andrew’s Church,
Cuffley
A programme of music spanning four centuries
Sat 21 July 7.00pm St Nicholas Church, Great
Munden.
Music for a summer’s evening with extended interval; bring
a picnic (wine, candles…)
Tickets on door
Braughing Music Society
www.braughingmusicsociety.co.uk
Sun 13 May St Mary’s, Braughing
Kate Coyston and Greg Castiglioni sing songs from the
West End shows.
tickets@braughingmusicsociety.co.uk
or on door
Harlow Chorus
www.harlowchorus.org.uk
Sat 12 May 7.30pm All Saints, Hockerill,
Irving Berlin and Ivor Novello
Sun 15 July 7.30pm Thaxted Church
Brahms Requiem
Tickets tel 01277 362440 or email tickets@harlowchorus.org.uk
Hertford Music Club
Sun 13 May 3.00pm Friends Meeting House, Railway
Street, Hertford
Christopher Diffey tenor, Belinda Jones piano Britten, Rossini,
Schumann, Chopin
Tickets on door
Hertford Symphony Orchestra
Sun 6 May 3.00pm Castle Hall, Hertford Family
concert: Let’s Dance
Sat 30 June 7.45pm Castle Hall, Hertford
Weber Overture: Oberon
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake – Act 1V
Walton Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario
Tickets Castle Hall Box Office tel 01992 531500
Hoddesdon Music Club
Sat 28 April 7.30pm United Reformed Church
Alberni Quartet; Haydn, Shostakovich, Beethoven
Sat 19 May AGM 7.15pm
8.00pm Nicolai Ryskov; accordian
Tickets on door or tel 01992 462528
North Herts Guild of Singers
Sat 7 July 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Ashwell
African Sanctus by David Fanshawe
Tickets tel 01462 742832
North Herts Guild of Singers
Sat 7 July 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Ashwell
African Sanctus by David Fanshawe
Tickets tel 01462 742832
Serenata Wind Quintet
Sat 7 July 7.30pm St
Leonard’s, Bengeo
Tickets tel 01920 468166 or Hertford Tourist Office tel 01992
584322 Soundbites
Wed 2 May Anything Goes String Quartet And
following Wednesdays A lunch
date with a difference. All Saints, Hertford.
Admission free. Donations welcome. Lunch (soup, rolls, cakes,
etc)
12 .15pm – 1.00pm. Concert 1.00pm
Ware Choral Society
Sat 19 May 7.30pm Drill Hall
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony Tchaikovsky Symphonic Fantasia
The Tempest
Tickets Cannon Travel, Ware or tel 01920 462346
Editorial
June Crew with some remote help from
Victor Crew, who, would you believe is swanning around off
Scotland on his boat (again). Grateful thanks to all contributors.
MORE please to 26 St Davids Drive, Broxbourne EN10 7LS or
email junecrew@brox1.demon.co.uk
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