Welcome to our 2008-9 season!
As we hope that the weather will show some sign of turning into summer, I would like to extend to you all a very warm thank you for your loyalty and commitment for the previous season and to welcome friends old and new to the new choral season. We are particularly looking forward to welcoming back those of you who did not sing with us last term and those of you joining us for the first time!
The programme for the forthcoming year is as full and exciting one as the previous one, although different – no plans for singing abroad this year. However, we are intending to sing in Norwich – more details will become available next term. We are also intending to hold more workshop opportunities to improve our technique, particularly as the last one held to support the Brahms was so successful.
We have been delighted as always to work with Andrew and also with Jonathan Lilley, increasingly more involved with us as our accompanist and performer.
As always please continue to support Andrew and the choir by attending rehearsals as regularly and as punctually as possible. It makes such a difference to the quality and efficiency of our rehearsal time. As our knowledge of the music increases during the rehearsals, singing together becomes a truly enjoyable and rewarding experience and we can then look forward to the concert day with confidence.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support for the Committee over the past 12 months and we look forward to another happy and successful year for the choir and all its members.
Lis Every
Chair
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Reflections on last year
The Society goes from strength to strength each year, not only through mounting such successful concerts, but also by branching out with its diversity of activities. Our first concert in October, the stunning combination of ‘Faure’s Requiem’ and our own commissioned sacred choral work from Andrew, ‘Music Divine’ urged a reviewer (concerning the latter work) to pen ‘what impressed me most, along with the inspired quality of Andrew’s piece, was the total focus of the choir’s abundant energy … the salient characteristic of the performance of ‘Music Divine’ was that it was very much Ely Choral Society with Andrew at its head, trimming its sails to the wind and driving it onwards to new horizons. An exhilarating experience!’
August 2008
This must surely reflect how we all felt, and indeed regularly feel, in performance. An ‘off the cuff’ remark from Andrew also suggested that he was ‘dead chuffed’! On a more serious note, he felt that everyone had risen to the occasion and he had been delighted with the outcome.
Our next performance in St Mary’s Church at Christmas overwhelmed us by the number of singers and the size of the audience. Always a popular concert just before Christmas, the numbers provided us with some logistic headaches which we will need to address in the future.
Car Parking fund raising in December in the Downing Car Park in Cambridge raised over £1,200. Our grateful thanks to Pam for organizing this yet again (her last time regrettably) and the volunteers who cheerily dealt with Christmas happy shoppers. We are hoping to continue with this event again this year – so are looking for volunteers!
At the Christmas Dinner in the Almonry (our first Social event of the choral year), following an admirable dinner, we were entertained by Margaret Haynes with her ‘Ghosts of Ely’ stories.
Then … focused and fantastic rehearsal sessions for the Brahms Requiem to be performed in March in the Cathedral. As we endeavoured to master the German language and our singing techniques, we became more confident that it would be a really enjoyable experience for ourselves and our audience – and it was. There were even several positive remarks about our German diction! On the basis of our experience of this, we were asked for volunteers to sing this work in the Cambridge Festival in July. A considerable number of the members did sing and thoroughly enjoyed the whole occasion.
We were delighted that Barry Stevenson agreed to host our February Social, the very popular, ‘Antiques Road Show’. It was good to see him again in his ‘professional’ capacity and to enjoy his outstanding knowledge about our artefacts. The occasion was so enjoyable, we ran out of time. Many thanks to everyone who brought their precious items and also contributed to the excellent buffet.
The trip to Vercelli, which is well documented later in the newsletter, was our first ‘simple tour’. We feel that we now have a lasting ‘friendship’ with our contacts in Vercelli and are hopeful that we may personally host them (as at present they do not have a similar choir) and, possibly, make a return visit to hear the restored organ to which we made a donation.
The summer concert ‘Over the Rainbow’ included the two delightful primary school choirs from St John’s School, Ely and the Rackham’s School in Witchford.
This fulfilled part of one of our plans to support junior singers and encourage them to pursue their interest in singing further. It was a great programme (different for
many of us, but nevertheless enjoyable). The Mayor, who attended, in his ‘thank you’ letter was particularly impressed with ‘Mission Impossible’. The blend of the pure young voices with our own filled the hall and the audience expressed their appreciation of the whole occasion.
So, basking in the successes of last year, we now need to be …..
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Looking Forward
You will remember that in the last newsletter and at the following AGM, we outlined the plans that we had for the next 3 years. Having completed Year One, it will be appropriate to review what we have achieved so far.
We had considered the following:
§
The employment of a rehearsal accompanist as required;§ Putting on skills workshops for improving choir skills, eg vocal technique, stylistic demands, mastering languages, sight reading;
§ Engaging additional professional help as required on a fees basis;
§ Free subscriptions for 16-18 year old members from September 07;
§ Commissioning a new work;
§ A simple tour;
§ A Young Apprenticeship project, which will be investigated by a small sub-group, including Andrew;
§ Supporting and working with primary, secondary and special school choirs;
§ Choral Fest in 2009 or 2010;
§ Forming a Youth Choir.
We are delighted that we have achieved so many of our first year aims and, in particular, our commissioning of ‘Music Divine’ and our tour to Vercelli.
We commissioned the new sacred choral work ‘Music Divine’ from Andrew following a unanimous decision at committee. This decision was made not only because Andrew, as Musical Director, had taken the choir to new heights in performance, but also as we much admire his long and distinguished record of service to Cathedral and other sacred choral music. We had also much enjoyed singing Andrew’s own compositions and arrangements at past concerts. The decision was supported by the membership who were delighted to
have the opportunity to undertake such a venture. To
support the funding for this, a successful bid to the
Williams Society Church Music Fund put together by Jonathan and Andrew, realized a grant of £2,500. Our own members and Friends also supported the whole process with generous donations for which we are very grateful. The commission culminated in a wonderful candlelit performance, in October. The partnership had undoubtedly worked extremely well.
It had been suggested at an AGM that we should consider a trip abroad and investigations immediately took place. As you will now know, a very successful trip was undertaken to Vercelli in June. Jeremy and David have both written really interesting accounts of what we got up to. This extra commitment which was so exciting, however, did impinge on the rehearsal schedule and we are mindful of the impact that this had on some of our members for which we apologise. When planning our very busy schedules for the future, we will carefully plan additional rehearsals to ensure minimum impact on those not involved in any particular concert. We are a community choir and we know our
members come to enjoy singing!
And for the next year and beyond …
This Year One review will be used as a basis for planning the next 3 years. 2011 is the Choir’s 50 th birthday so this gives us all an opportunity to start thinking about a programme to celebrate this.
More immediately, we are planning to put on a Saturday Workshop Day with Debbie Miles-Johnson in the New Year – final details to follow.
If you have any further ideas that you would wish the Committee to consider, do please let one of the Committee know and it will become part of our
discussions.
Subscriptions
Due to good results for this financial year, we are pleased to tell you that subscriptions will stay the same for 2008/9.
To remind you, these are: Full Year £80, payable either – total amount in September or in 2 instalments - £40 in September and £40 in February. For members joining in January £60, and for the summer term £30.
16-18 year old members – free; under 25 £10 per term. If there are any issues of hardship, do please talk to me.
Tony Cropper, Hon Treasurer
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Gift Aid
The usual reminder that because ECS is a Registered Charity we can claim tax rebate on our subscriptions under the Treasury’s Gift Aid Scheme. If you pay tax in the UK, then Gift Aid is a simple way to increase the value of your subscriptions to the Society without any cost to you. We do, however, need your permission to collect this. If you are in this category and would wish to participate, but haven’t done so yet, please talk to me and I will give you further details.
Tony Cropper, Hon Treasurer
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Thank you for the following contributions from our members
6-8 June 2008
More than 40 of us shared the Great Vercelli
Experience – 38 singers, Andrew, our Maestro di Coro, Jonathan Lilley, organista straordinario, Sheila Friend-Smith, the Mayor of Ely, and a complement of other loyal supporters with cameras. A few preferred a peaceful train journey, but most of us travelled by air and admirably organized coaches, to arrive in Vercelli at midnight in relentless rain. It might have seemed an ominous start, but next day the weather cleared, the puddles vanished and we were welcomed with wonderful enthusiasm.
Our guide, interpreter and hostess throughout the visit was the delightful Professoressa Gianna Baucero, President of the Chesterton Association of Vercelli. She conducted us (in a fleet of cars) to our first stop, the Cathedral Treasury, where we were allowed to examine the famous Anglo-Saxon manuscript known as the Vercelli Book; it was a moving experience to glimpse in its beautiful pages the very beginnings of English poetry. On to the Municipio, the City Hall, for the ceremony of welcome. We sat in the councillors’ stalls, each with its name-plate: on the platform Gianna and Sheila were joined by the Councillor for Culture and the President of the Twinning Association, who renewed the Pact of Friendship signed in 2006 (when the Ely Cathedral Choir visited Vercelli) and presented Sheila, Andrew and Jonathan with token keys of the city. We heard for the first time the phrase which was to become a theme-tune of our visit: ‘legami di amicizia’, ties of friendship.
We met for a noticeably convivial lunch at a nearby pizzeria, where the padrona handled 40 different offers (artichoke risotto for me) with great good humour and the occasional snatch of song. Then there was a short time to recover with a little shopping, strolling or snoozing in the sun before we had to submit ourselves to concert dress.
The coach carried us to the Basilica of Sant’Andrea, where we were to sing. We learned that this great gothic church was founded by the Cardinal Guala Bicheri, who in 1217, for his work as Papal Legate in England, was rewarded by Henry III with the church of St Andrew in Chesterton. This connection between 2 foundations dedicated to ‘a saint particularly venerated in the British Isles’ was the first link between Vercelli and Cambridgeshire. The lofty interior of the Basilica makes a fine space to sing in, with an impressive echo brilliantly exploited by Andrew in his timing of the pauses.
After some furniture-moving, including the manhandling of a small but hefty temporary organ, we settled down to a necessarily swift rehearsal. To begin with our singing was too relaxed, and Andrew was
driven to a couple of sharpish comments. This touch of sternness paid off, since the concert itself seemed to go well – at any rate it was enthusiastically received by a packed audience with many listeners standing. Most of the 13 pieces in the programme were well-loved favourites, but a few were unfamiliar, including the Britten Jubilate and a short and touching work by the troubled Piedmontese composer Lorenzo Perosi, almost a local man since he came from Tortona, just south of Vercelli. In each half of the programme there was an opportunity to hear Jonathan on the main organ; nobody could have told from his playing of Bach that the instrument itself is still being restored. Our final piece, ‘I was glad’, was greeted with a standing ovation and a couple of cries of ‘Bravo’. After the concert we were entertained to supper in the magnificent candle-lit cloister, with swifts wheeling overhead; it seemed that most of the audience joined us. On our return to the hotel, late as it was, the bar was obligingly opened for us and the party continued outside in the balmy darkness.
Next day, Sunday, we were invited to High Mass in the Basilica, not just as guests but as full participants. We were asked to sing no less than 6 items from the concert, ending, appropriately, with ‘I was glad’. The Rector himself, Monsignor Carlo Orecchia, smilingly beckoned forward those of us who wished to take Communion. Lesley and I read the lessons in English and Jonathan gave the address in his fluent Italian; he spoke once more of the Pact of Friendship and offered graceful and fitting thanks; he spoke too of the ideals of the Choral Society – apparently Italy has nothing comparable to the choral societies and church choirs which are part of the British musical tradition.
The hotel laid on a splendid farewell lunch. The wine-bottles were inexhaustible, treat followed culinary treat (including a delectable vitello tonnato, veal with tuna sauce) and time passed so merrily that we were suddenly dashing for the coach with no chance even to raise a glass of thanks to our tireless organizers, Jonathan, Gillian, Kathryn, Lis – I’m sure there were others too. Then, by way of the long drive past gleaming rice-fields and glimpsed mountains, the inevitable traffic-jam on the approach to Bergamo airport, the not entirely tender ministrations of Ryanair, and another coach-ride under red skies, home to Ely and the promise of a fine day.
Jeremy Lemmon
Why did I decide to go by train? First because the suggested Ryanair flight was no longer on their web site, but really because for me, train travel is far more interesting and relaxing than flying. Also it’s still a sort of busman’s holiday after working on railways all my career and I still retain some travel concessions. I also wanted to try the high speed new Eurostar line from our
own super terminal, St Pancras International, just across the road from King’s Cross, and finally know I’m reducing my carbon footprint for the grandchildren.
Our ECS resident guru (Jonathan – who else?) helpfully
suggested various ways of rail booking by internet through www.raileurope.co.uk after getting general travel information from the intriguingly named
My actual journey timings were Friday 6 th , 06.58 Ely, 08.14 ** King’s Cross, 09.26 Eurostar St Pancras, 12.47 Paris Nord, 13.50 TGV Paris Lyon, direct to Vercelli 20.26, taxi to Hotel in time for late supper …. Returning Monday 9 th 08.57 TGV Vercelli direct to Paris Lyon 15.15 **, 17.13 Eurostar Paris Nord, 18.34 St Pancras (** allowed good time for Eurostar check in).
Gordon Chesterman and Roger Hill were my companion minders on the Continental trains and our time passed in pleasant comfort, meeting in the buffet car for drink and light refreshment, of course conscientiously practising our bass parts sotto voce, and Gordon occasionally wondering what we’d do if the rest of you didn’t arrive!
I’m left with memories of racing through lovely countryside, then emerging after 8 miles in tunnel into Italy past the Alps into more dramatic scenery. Then on the return journey in full sunlight we saw the miles of rice fields in a landscape not unlike the train ride from Ely to Cambridge.
David Catling
An observation from Roger Hill: ‘Experience beat youth on the London to Ely return rail journey as David arrived back in Ely nearly an hour before Gordon and I did by out pacing us to the earlier train!’
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Website information
The website is now fully updated, including sound clips from Music Divine and Faure’s Requiem. It can be accessed via
www.elychoralsociety.org
or a search engine where it is listed as Ely Choral Society New Website (we are still seeking a solution to removing the
old one). We will always be looking for photographs for inclusion on the website. If you wish any to be
considered or have ideas for additional pages, etc, please contact Alex Richardson on
akrich@btinternet.com
.
We are really grateful to Alex who has been working on this project for some time and who will be regularly
updating the website. We appreciate the number of hours that this has taken and are delighted with the result.
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Membership Matters
At the end of the year we have on our records the names of 125 people who have sung with us during the course of the year, AND paid their subs! Not all of them have sung with us for the whole year, or for all our concerts, and some of them will not be returning next year, but this is a very good indication of the health of the choir and its standing in the local community. The numbers were made up of 46 sopranos, 47 altos, 11 tenors and 20 basses. Obviously we would like to see more gentlemen join our ranks, so do encourage any potential members to come along.
There are two members this year who have attended every rehearsal throughout the year. They are Ginny Klein from the sopranos and Christine Pownall from the altos. They deserve our congratulations and thanks for their commitment to the choir – it’s quite an achievement. There were a number of other members who only missed one or two, so congratulations to them also.
Could I ask for members’ co-operation in letting me have changes of address, particularly postcode changes round Cambridge and emails, which some of you seem to change with amazing regularity! Also, if you have signed a Gift Aid form and there is any change in your tax status, please let me know.
See you in September!
Margaret Bowles
01353 659451: fbowles@waitrose.com
Thanks to you, Margaret, on behalf of the committee, on your sterling and efficient work with our established and new members. Your continued support is much appreciated.
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.
Notes from the Library….
….otherwise known as Kathryn’s dining room!
I am writing to describe the life of Ely Choral Society’s librarian and to ask for your help and understanding in the coming year. For those of you that only know me as librarian and alto, I am also a full-time scientist, occasional steward at the Maltings cinema, walker and
an evening-knitter. I work at the Sanger Institute in Hinxton where I manage resources for a research group investigating the molecules involved in the biochemical communication between neurons in areas of the brain associated with learning and memory; work which may ultimately be utilized in therapies for Alzheimers and other types of dementia. My Choral Society work begins when Andrew has drawn up the programme for the next concert and he lets me know what music I need to source and which he can supply. My first port of call is the Music Hire Department of Cambridge Library who can contact libraries around East Anglia. If they can supply us with at least 100 copies of each score then I arrange to collect them from Ely library. If not, then Wakefield Library is generally the next contact and so on, down my list of potential sources. There are, of course, costs involved in this process, generally higher the further afield the sources are, especially if postage and packaging is involved. Sourcing at least 100 copies of each score is not always possible so costs may include photocopying expenses. Once the boxes arrive in my dining room, I then prepare them for distribution by numbering each score, having record sheets ready and I calculate unit cost for members to hire. Then I arrive on a Monday night with a trolley-load of boxes, a pot of change and a decorating table and set out my stall with the help of some willing volunteers! The quietest times of the concert process for me are the later rehearsals though I generally have music to source for the next concert during this time. Once the concert has been performed I then ensure that all the scores are collected in and returned to the source, usually within 3-4 weeks. That time frame can be tight – I need to erase our marks from the scores and I also need to contact some members to ask for music to be returned. I realise that I could save the time I spend
erasing scores by letting you all complete the chore. However, sometimes we do not meet to rehearse for 2-3 weeks after the concert so that wouldn’t leave much time left to gather in all the scores. However, there are a few ways in which you could help:
·
Please add an eraser to your music bag and use it to remove as many existing marks in the score as possible during rehearsals.
·
Please also add some paper for notes on announcements, rehearsal schedules, etc
rather than using the front, back or inside cover of the score.
·
Please don’t use a pen..
·
If you attend rehearsals and collect music but know that you are not going to be singing in the concert for whatever reason, please return your scores to me or pass them to another choir member who can return them for you. I am always contactable on 01353 659470 and Margaret Bowles is also willing.
Sadly, there are increasing occasions where I fail to collect back all the music and need to purchase
replacement copies which only increases the costs we all incur.
And if anyone has time to help with erasing I would appreciate the company at my kitchen table and a glass of wine is always available!
I also promised that I would let you know which edition of Mendelssohn’s Elijah we would be using for the spring concert – Andrew wishes to use the Novello version, so we’ll be singing in English!
Kathryn Elsegood
01353 659470
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Ely Choral Society Friends
Yes, we all need friends, and we at Ely Choral Society truly appreciate ours! The group began several years ago in a very modest way and has grown slowly and steadily since. Currently, we have 22 good people who are our Friends and who support our concerts on a regular basis.
A number of our Friends are the spouses or partners of our members; but over the past year we have seen a steady growth in Friends who are truly friends, rather than relations. Of course, all are equally welcome.
Donations to Ely Choral Society through Friends’ memberships over the past year amounted to over £300. This year we plan to enable our Friends’ donations to be ‘gift aided’, if they so choose, to increase the benefit to the Society. When you consider that it can cost around £12,000 to stage one of our grand orchestral concerts in the Cathedral, the contribution from our Friends is very much valued.
Even more important is the feeling of being supported which the choir has from knowing that we have Friends out there in the audience. This is especially so in those moments just before a concert begins when excitement is heightened by a few ‘butterflies’.
Many of our Friends are extremely knowledgeable musically and the constructive criticism we receive after a concert is very much appreciated by the choir and, especially, the committee. One Friend recently put pen to paper after our summer concert with a number of
constructive observations which I hope we shall be able to act upon.
I have written about the benefits the Society receives from our Friends, but what do our Friends receive from the Society? For your donation, benefits to Friends are as follows:
·
Priority booking for the Friend + 1 (or more by special arrangement)· Four regular newsletters throughout the season.
· Complementary glass of wine at a number of our concerts
· The knowledge that Friends are supporting amateur music making of a high standard right here, in Ely.
Membership of Ely Choral Society Friends becomes renewable in September this year for the coming 2008/2009 season. Please consider renewing your membership if you are already one of our Friends. To Choral Society members, please consider trying to recruit more Friends to our Society. Molly will have Friend’s membership forms available from the beginning of September. We have a very full and demanding programme ahead, both musically and financially. Ely Choral Society needs all the Friends we can get!
Molly Dyson
A Farewell …from Sarah Sharpe
Dear ECS
Thank you for the pleasurable experiences of singing with you, under the direction of Andrew Parnell, for the last 5 years. I have sincerely enjoyed the weekly rehearsals and the introduction to choral music and resonating requiems which led to stunning concerts in the Cathedral. There are many fond memories which made me proud to be involved with the Society.
I will be getting married to Dr Joe A Wolverton II. I hope you don’t think that I am a traitor, but I will be
having the Ely Cathedral Choir sing at the wedding! I am thoroughly pleased at the prospect of having such a
prominent aspect of ‘home’ being present at the wedding.
After that I will look around for a choir to participate in. Maybe there will be a completely different style of choir to get involved with – like Gospel!
So bye for now until I see you again and I will get a wedding picture sent over just as soon as possible!
Sarah Sharpe
Many congratulations, Sarah, on your forthcoming wedding. Do send us the photographs and we will put them on the website! We will miss you as a choir member and friend but look forward to hearing from you. A perspective of an American choir would be a great contribution for the next newsletter!
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(A full rehearsal schedule will be available at the first rehearsal)
1 September 08 7.30 pm First Rehearsal, St John’s School
29 September 08 AGM
25 October 08 ‘Penitence and Praise’, Presbytery, Ely Cathedral, 7.30 pm
6 December 08 Christmas Concert, St Mary’s Church, Ely
St Mary’s Church Rehearsal 10.00- 12.30; Performance 7.30 pm December 08 Christmas Buffet, The Almonry.
February 09 Saturday Workshop Day (tbc)
4 April 09 Mendelssohn ‘Elijah’ with Hertfordshire Chamber Orchestra
Summer Concert, date and details to be confirmed
See you at our first rehearsal on
1 September!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the newsletter in any way – by providing articles, proof reading or distributing.
