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During the summer term, five boys passed
the Grade 3 Singing Exam of the ABRSM. Congratulations to them on these results,
after much careful preparation in learning by heart four songs and practising
the aural tests and sight reading. The training that they underwent will
have done much to increase their self-confidence in performance.
The last month of the term was notable for the orchestral mass sung on the morning of Sunday 6 July, Ipswich Music Day. The two choirs combined in a performance of Mozart's 'Coronation' Mass, together with orchestra. The service also included the premiere of David Bednall's new anthem 'The Law of the Lord', commissioned by The Friends of St Mary-le-Tower in memory of the late David Bellamy, a loyal and enthusiastic member of the choir for many years. This is the third piece to be commissioned for our choir in recent years and represents another very effective and beautiful addition to the repertoire. The autumn brings with it many new challenges for the choirs, as well as the familiar calendar of the Church year leading up to the great services of Advent and Christmas. First among these will be the service on 22 September at which our new Vicar will be installed and welcomed. On 19 October, rather greater numbers than usual are expected at Matins when the High Sherriff and members of the legal fraternity will be attending. Mrs Diana Hunt and her husband have taken a great interest in the music of this service and it promises to be a splendid occasion. Following soon after that will be the Requiem Mass for All Souls Day, 2 November, which this year actually falls on a Sunday. This will be sung to the wonderfully atmospheric music of Maurice Durufle, with an expanded choir for the occasion. A further important event in the life of the choir of boys and men is the Open Evening for choristers to be held on Tuesday 14 October from 6pm to 7pm. This is intended for boys aged six to ten who might be interested in joining the choir. Please make this very important occasion known to any boys who might be encouraged to attend. The concerts have continued on Tuesday lunchtimes throughout the summer and have been unusually well-supported. Once again we have been extremely fortunate in the visiting artists, who have maintained very high standards indeed, both in their performances and in the interest of the programmes. Olivier Messiaen has been well represented, especially in the three major cycles of pieces, 'La Nativité du Seigneur' played by James Thomas, 'L'Ascension' played by Daniel Hyde and 'Les Corps Glorieux' played by Anthony Gowing. The chamber music piece, 'Quartet for the End of Time', for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, also made a great impression on those who were lucky enough to hear it. The other composer whose music has been strongly featured this year has been Ralph Vaughan Williams, who died just fifty years ago. Works by VW will be included in the concerts on 14 and 21 October. I am also delighted to announce that the Winter Series will begin on Tuesday 25 November with a performance of Vaughan VVilliams's 'On Wenlock Edge', the early song cycle with poems by A E Housman, scored for tenor, piano and string quartet. This will be sung by Daniel Turner, a very promising young singer from The Queen's College, Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music. He will be accompanied by students from the Royal Academy of Music. Composed in 1909, just after WV's period of study with Ravel in Paris, this work did much to establish his reputation as a powerful new voice in English music. Full details of this series of concerts, including the annual concert by the church choir, will be available on a special leaflet available shortly. Thanks are due to the many people involved in presenting the concerts week by week. David and Liz Todd have done a wonderful job as 'front-of-house' managers, greeting regulars and newcomers alike in a friendly and helpful way. Pat Chatterton and Angela Pantelis have organised the many volunteers who help to serve refreshments week by week, and have taken a lead themselves in maintaining this much-appreciated facility. Keith Foulds and Roger Whittell have also assisted in many different ways, Roger particularly in erecting weekly the screen and other equipment which enables us to bring to the audience a picture of the organist at the console. Many thanks also to William Saunders for organising this, and to his parents who have donated the camera and projector, for which we are very grateful. Thanks also to Gordon Bryant, who has arranged for the permanent loan to us of the large screen. Finally, please make sure that you have in your diary the date of the performance of the B Minor Mass by Bach to be given by the Tower Chamber Choir on Saturday, 8 November. The performance will start at 6.30pm to enable some who are travelling quite long distances to get home in reasonable time. This remarkable work stands at the very peak of the choral repertoire and is a formdable challemge for any choir. However, I am confident that the highly experienced singers of the Chamber Choir will present a splendid account of the piece. They will be supported by some exceptional soloists: Simon Baker (alto), Mark Wilde (tenor) and James Rutherford (bass). All of these began their careers at Norwich Cathedral, Simon and Mark as choral scholars and James as a chorister in the Cathedral Choir. They will be matched by the ladies - Lindsay Gowers (soprano) and Sarah Shorter (mezzo-soprano). Don't miss it. MBN.
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