Latest News
The following details have been slightly amended and expanded from those previously published on the "News" page:
- November 27 - JS Bach: Mass in B minor
- December 18 - Gala Christmas Concert
- March 26 - Bob Chilcott: Salisbury Vespers; WA Mozart: Requiem
- July 16 - Concert by KCS Summer Singers: "Enchanted Evenings" - Belbroughton Church, 7.30 pm
Other events during the season will include:
- September 11 - Concert by Wyre Forest Young Voices and the
Spatzen-Chor from Ulm, Germany - St. Mary's Church, Kidderminster - 5.30
pm
- October 7 - Annual General Meeting before rehearsal
- October 20 - Talk by Geoff Weaver: The Mass in B minor - Pinnacle of Baroque Creativity - Baxter Church Hall at 7.30 pm
- November 26 - Concert by Wyre Forest Young Voices and Primary Chords - "How can I keep from Singing?"
- Town Hall, 7.00 pm
- December 12 - Come and Sing Carols - a fun afternoon ending with a short Carol Concert - Baxter Church Hall, 2.30 - 5.00 pm
- January 8 - Wyre Forest Young Voices Graduates' Weekend concert - Holy Innocents' Church, 7.30 pm
- March 4 - Quiz Night at Baxter Church Hall; teams of 4-6; fish
and chip supper
- March 11 - Annual Dinner at the Brasserie Restaurant
- March 18 - Concert by Wyre Forest Young Voices and Primary Chords:
"When the Stamp made its Mark", with local schools, professional actors
and the Carnival Band -
Town Hall, 7.00 pm
- April 9 - Choir Away-Day in Malvern
- July 2 - Wyre Forest Young Voices Concert: "Summer Night on the River" - St. Anne's Church,
Bewdley, 7.30 pm
- July 10 - Primary Chords Concert: "Peter Pan" - Baxter College Theatre (time to be confirmed)
- July 23-30 - Wyre Forest Young Voices tour to Ulm, Germany (to be confirmed)
Further details will be announced as they become available.
Later in July a group from the Young Voices
will set off for North-East England, where
they will give three concerts as well as visiting some of the famous places in
that area and enjoying themselves on the beach and at parties. As usual, they
will be accompanied by Geoff, Mike and Suzzie, together with a number of
parents and helpers.
The concerts will take place in Trinity
Centre, Gosforth (July 27 at 7.30 pm), in the lovely surroundings of Lindisfarne Parish
Church on Holy
Island (July 28 at 1.00 pm), and at St. Michael’s Church, Alnwick
(July 29 at 12 noon).
This tour follows successful tours to
Yorkshire in 2008 and Exeter
in 2007, and we are sure that they will enjoy themselves and also bring a lot
of enjoyment to audiences in Northumberland.
Suzzie Vango has been vocal coach to the
Wyre Forest Young Voices for the past five years. In that time she has made a
major contribution to the development of the choir - helping to produce the
beauty of tone which is such an admired feature of the Young Voices, looking
after the voices of individuals within the choir, and generally being a much-loved
"older sister". In her five years in Kidderminster
she has remained very committed to the choir, despite a burgeoning career which
has included singing with Ex Cathedra and Polyphony, developing a career as a
solo singer, directing singing weeks for the National Children's Choir and
directing the boys’ choir of the Farnham Youth Choir. We shall miss her
enormously - but we are pleased that James Jones, who is equally distinguished as a
singer and a musician, will take her place from September.
Geoffrey Weaver
For
the first time since 2005, Kidderminster Choral Society was able to welcome a
large number of the Theodor Storms Chor members from our
twin town, Husum in North Germany. Twenty-
five TSC members, together with two non-singing partners, arrived by air to
stay for four nights, from Thursday May 20 until Monday May 24. Two members,
who were afraid that the volcanic ash would prevent their planned return, chose
to stay at home. Heinrich and Renate Linkogel, the organisers, had arrived on Tuesday May 18 to stay with Bob and
Pauline Powell for a week, and Georg Weßler, who is a frequent visitor to Kidderminster, elected to travel all the way by train,
staying once again with Penny and Ray Harrowing.
Eight
TSC members had chosen to stay in a hotel, so were booked in at the
Gainsborough House on Bewdley Hill.
Choral Society members acted as their taxi drivers for the long weekend.
The others were hosted by KCS members.
There
was a very full programme, beginning straightaway on
the Thursday evening with a rehearsal at Baxter Church Hall of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. This was the first time that
the two choirs had had a combined rehearsal. On Friday there were a few hours
free for everyone until 4.00 p.m., when Charles Talbot took many of the guests
on a guided tour around the Town Hall. This was followed by a full rehearsal
from 5.30 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. in the Music Room. Immediately afterwards 59
members of the two choirs, with their partners, enjoyed an excellent meal
provided by Plyvine in the Corn Exchange.
Saturday
morning was free for everyone. At 2.00 p.m. all assembled in the Town Hall for
the final rehearsal of the Rossini, conducted once again by Geoffrey Weaver.
The concert began at 7.30 p.m. Unfortunately the audience was small but the
performance was excellent and was well-received. Marcus Huxley and Beverley
Wragg accompanied the singers on the organ and grand piano respectively. The
soloists were Margaret Cooper (soprano), Helen Evora (mezzo soprano), Russell
Painter (tenor) and Alan Fairs (bass) - a last-minute replacement for Tom
Stoddart who was unable to take part due to illness.
On
Sunday all 27 TSC singers and 35 KCS singers travelled to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham to take part in a Simon Halsey
Singalong with the CBSO. This time the work to be performed was Brahms’s German Requiem – performed in German.
The choir numbered over 1300!! Rehearsals began at 1.30 p.m. with the
'performance' at 7.00 p.m. It was great fun as usual. On Monday everyone had to
be up early for our guests to catch the coach to Birmingham at 8.15 a.m. The sun had shone
brilliantly throughout the weekend with amazingly hot temperatures. Everyone
was sad to say Goodbye after such a busy and enjoyable few days.
The two choirs have a wonderful relationship which we
all hope will last for many more years.
Pauline Powell
On Saturday
27 March, in Kidderminster
Town Hall, a
near-capacity audience enjoyed a concert of Czech and Hungarian music performed
by the Choral Society, a fine quintet of guest soloists, and the Elgar Sinfonia
- all under Geoffrey Weaver’s baton.
The evening
began with Smetana’s rumbustious Dance of the Clowns, and continued with
Dvořák’s gorgeous Song to the Moon, sung with great passion by soprano,
Linda Richardson. Then came the intensely emotional Missa Brevis by
Kodály. The familiar words of the Mass sounded strange against the often exotic music!
Kodály made use of plainchant, but this work is imbued with the influences of
Hungarian folk music, with its characteristic rhythms, phrasing and modal
nature. Taking into account the fact that Kodály completed this piece in Budapest during the
horrors of World War II, while he and his wife were actually in hiding, the
final Dona nobis pacem plea of the Agnus Dei becomes all the more
compelling.
The evening
ended with Dvořák’s youthful Stabat Mater, a work of lush orchestral colours, and
the composer’s melodic gifts well to the fore. Much of the work is operatic in
style, especially the writing for the four soloists. In Dvořák’s setting, the
liturgical sequence is divided into ten parts, with the first (Stabat Mater
Dolorosa) and the last (Quando corpus morietur) thematically linked.
The final section contains a complex, but wonderfully exhilarating Amen fugue.
Peter Knott
The Michael-Praetorius-Chor presented a programme of
religious music at St. John’s Church in Kidderminster
that was outstanding in its vocal perfection, variety of moods and purity of
sound. The choir – the youth choir of Halberstadt Cathedral in Germany – is linked with St.
John’s through the Worcester
diocesan link with the Diocese of Magdeburg, and has also given concerts in
Malvern and Worcester during this visit.
The choir sang a
capella music, ranging from early 17th century Praetorius to the present
day, as well as a number of accompanied items. At one point three groups were
ranged around the church to give an authentic “surround-sound” experience, and
the choir processed down the aisles at the start and finish of the concert to
Anders Nyberg’s arrangement of “Freedom is Coming”.
The choir’s Director, Claus-Erhard Heinrich, is also
the Cathedral organist, and displayed, too, a considerable talent as a jazz
pianist and as a composer. At various points in the programme his playing was
supplemented by skilled and sensitive accompaniment on drums, violin, horn and
clarinet, all by members of the choir.
An added bonus in this concert was the contribution of
Angela Kunze-Beiküfner, a mime artist, whose interpretations (with piano
accompaniment by Herr Heinrich) of Psalm 23 and the Gospel story of Jesus and
the children were riveting and by turns humorous, exhilarating and deeply
affecting. Frau Kunze-Beiküfner is a
pastor in the Evangelical-Lutheran
Church, and her deep
involvement with the subject of her performances was clear for all to see.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to the folk at St. John’s, the Worcester
Diocese and of course Pastorin Kunze-Beiküfner and the choir leadership for
granting us this unforgettable evening.
Ray Harrowing
Once again, on March 19, the Town
Hall saw an almost capacity audience for the Spring concert of Wyre Forest
Young Voices and Primary Chords. We were treated to some first-class
performances, including a soprano solo, There’s
a fine, fine line (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) by Natalie Evans and a
French horn solo, the Romanze from
Mozart’s concerto no. 3 in E flat, by Rachel Stone, for both of whom these were
their first solo performances. The Young Voices began the proceedings with Les Raftsmen (traditional Quebecois,
arr. Mark Sirett), Ose Shalom (John
Leavitt) and Dry Bones (trad.
Spiritual arr. Mark Hayes). The Young Voices Chorale – the senior and more
experienced members of the group – contributed Geoff Weaver’s arrangement of Somewhere over the Rainbow (Harold
Arlen) and the ever-popular Chatanooga
Choo Choo (Harry Warren).
The 24 members of the youngest group
in the KCS family, Primary Chords, sang two groups of songs in the first half
of the concert. In the first group we heard two songs relating to Spring – Silver the River (Paulus and Browne) and
Uno ballada amarilla (Bob Chilcott),
followed by two songs from My Fair Lady –
The Rain in Spain and I could have
danced all night. In the second group any lingering inhibitions vanished as
they rendered The Ugly Duckling and The King’s new Clothes, made famous by
Danny Kaye in the Disney film, Hans
Christian Andersen. Once again, we saw in the expertise, the range of
expression and the confidence of this young group of singers ample evidence of
the high quality of the training they receive from Carol Hill and Nicci Lane.
The second half of the concert
consisted of a concert performance of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour
Dreamcoat. For this the Young Voices were joined by a five-piece band –
Carolyn Hiscock and Chris Gumbley (woodwind), Rob Willis (bass), David Howles
(percussion) and Mike Elden (keyboard) – which contributed in no small measure
to the kaleidoscope of rhythm and sound colour of this extremely varied work.
The soloists were Nicole Stone (Joseph), Faith Newrick (Narrator), Christina
Lloyd Hall (Reuben), Lydia Hiles (the Butler), Lizzie Field (the Baker) and,
back from college in Manchester for one night only, Stuart Orme (Pharaoh).
Faith was unfortunately suffering a touch of laryngitis, which muted her
customary incisive tones, but more generally the soloists were hard pressed to
make themselves heard above the band and the serried ranks of the chorus.
Nonetheless, a solid performance full of variety and beautiful sound.
The concentration, discipline and
self-confidence fostered by this activity of choral singing shines through
every performance by the Young Voices, who evidently appreciate the great
privilege that is theirs of working with professionals of the high standard of
Geoff Weaver, Mike Elden and Suzzie Vango. The choir will have further
opportunities to showcase their skills at a “Choirworks Showcase” for members
of choral societies from around Worcestershire and Herefordshire, in May, a
concert at Great Witley
Parish Church
in June, and on a tour to North-East England
in July.
Ray
Harrowing
Renault died
peacefully on August 2, 2009. He was 86,
and had been in failing health, exacerbated by the death the previous January of
his wife Joan, whom he had nursed through a distressing degenerative illness
for some years.
Renault was a
Quaker and his funeral at Stourbridge Crematorium on August 20, at which around
ten of us from KCS were present, took the form of a Quaker meeting. The silence was broken only by warm
recollection and anecdotes from members of his family. Finally a recording of Mozart’s Laudate Dominum was played – most noble,
soaring music which seemed entirely fitting to the occasion.
Renault was for
many years a highly respected local businessman and a significant benefactor in
the Kidderminster area. In the 1880s his grandparents had set up a
leather tannery business in Stourport.
After gaining a degree in chemistry at Leeds,
Renault joined the family business, which at the time specialised in leather
for garments. He started making bellows
from the off-cuts: the engineer in him realised there was enormous potential
for bellows to protect moving parts in engines and other machinery – pistons,
shock absorbers and so on. Subsequently Renault
founded Beakbane Ltd in 1954 to manufacture bellows, and the factory
established at Oldington in 1960 continues to make bellows, covers and other
machinery protection items – leather now entirely replaced by polymers, metals
and composite materials. It is a very
specialised business and the company has a highly successful international
presence.
Renault joined
KCS in the late 50s and served on the Committee for several years. He and Joan hosted a number of gatherings at
“Jacobs Ladder” for KCS – notably Christmas “At Homes” and summer parties. As many will remember, Renault’s company for
some years sponsored our concert programmes, with quirky cartoons by the
illustrator Marc Vyvyan-Jones, and such captions as “…Sponsored by
Beakbane….Purveyors of Music to the Cognoscenti and Bellows to the Masses”! One memory of Renault was during rehearsal
breaks when he would produce a tin of “Melloids”, offering them to the first
basses and to selected altos! When we
were learning the Britten War Requiem – completely new to most of us – Renault
issued an open invitation to KCS members to come to “Jacobs Ladder” to listen
to his CD of the work. I went on one of
the appointed evenings, I was a little late, and the only one from KCS that
night to call, but he and family members made me most welcome.
In later years
Renault kept horses and rode with the Ludlow Hunt - for the riding, he said. For
a time he was Master of the Worshipful Company of Glovers which must have given
him an entrée into some interesting, certainly esoteric aspects of London life!
In the nicest possible
way Renault was quite an eccentric man, and stories and anecdotes about him are
legion. He drove from South Africa to the UK
in an early Land Rover, crossing the Sahara. He built a 12ft dinghy at Kidderminster
College of Further Education and sailed single-handed across the English Channel.
He arranged a Beakbane publicity stunt employing elephants from a
travelling circus which was in town at the time. He overcame exclusion from a trade exhibition
at Olympia by
pitching a caravan outside the hall. He
organised incredible outdoor children’s parties, one escapade involving
scrambling down at night with torches into the head of Habberley Valley!
He was a kind
man, cheerful and considerate. He
certainly had a long, active and fulfilled life.
Peter Knott
Wednesday 10th March 2010 Centre Stage
At Choral Society concerts in the Town
Hall, even when the organ is not being played, its presence at the very centre
of proceedings is unmistakeable. That is
how the builder, William Hill, meant it to be – a concert organ, taking pride
of place in the Music Room of the then new Town Hall. Completed in 1850, it was in fact one of the
earliest concert organs, and it continues to be used in that way , despite the
difficulties that are inevitable in a 160-year-old mechanism.
Audience members and singers alike will
know how much the organ contributes to our concerts, but it is also very
well-known as a solo instrument. Over the years since it was last rebuilt in
1982, such leading organists as Francis Jackson, Nigel Ogden, Carlo Curley and
Thomas Trotter have given concerts, and the group that is dedicated to
publicising it – the Hill Organ Promotion Society – continues to arrange a
number of lunchtime recitals during the year at which the organ can be heard to
best advantage. In the Spring and Summer this year, concerts are as follows:
- April 8 – Tim Morris (Town Hall Organist)
- May 20 – Trevor Tipple (St. Martin’s
Church, Worcester)
- June 10 – David Brookshaw (King’s School, Worcester)
- July 8 – John Wilderspin (Royal
Grammar School, Worcester)
Recitals start at 1.10 p.m., and last for
about an hour.
Later in the year, recitalists will include
Birmingham Cathedral’s Marcus Huxley, who is well-known to Kidderminster Choral
Society.
Full details of all the recitals can be
found on www.Concert-Diary.com or www.organrecitals.com.
Ray Harrowing
We're pleased to report that the concert on February 9 was a huge success, with a choir for the Faure Requiem numbering about 150 and the Wyre Forest Young Voices also in large numbers. The audience filled St. Mary's Church. We haven't yet got a final figure for the proceeds of the concert, but it's likely to be about £5,500.
A great big "thankyou" to all who were involved, and to all who contributed to such a wonderful result!
|