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Posted on Friday 2nd September 2011WYRE FOREST YOUNG VOICES - PROGRAMME FOR 2011-2012
Wyre Forest Young Voices have another full programme for the coming year. They will take part in the Gala Christmas Concert on December 17, and the KCS Concert "Crown Imperial" on July 14, and will also present their own concerts in November and March - full details can be viewed on our "Programme" pages.
Younger members of the choir will have a chance to shine, in their "At Home" concert on October 16, and older members will take part in the annual "Graduates' Weekend" early in January, when they and former members of the choir will come together for two days' singing and fun, culminating in a concert at Baxter Church Hall.
On July 7 the choir will sing in Great Witley Church, and the concert will be followed by an "end of year" party at Little Witley Village Hall, to which all are invited, and later in July the choir will travel to Derbyshire for a concert tour lasting five days, of which further details later.
Posted on Friday 2nd September 2011A MASS OF MANY PARTS!
Have you heard of Alessandro Striggio? Well, I hadn't, until John Wren of the Border Marches Early Music Forum contacted me about the possibility of putting on a workshop and performance of Striggio's Missa Sopra, Ecco si beato giorno in Kidderminster Town Hall. It transpires that this Mass, which preceded Tallis's Spem in Alium (for eight five-part choirs) is written for five choirs of between 40 and 60 parts! Which basically means that they need 120 (or preferably 240) singers and at least 120 instrumentalists to cover every part.
The workshop will take place on Sunday, November 6, from 11am to 4.30 pm, and participants will be coming from a very wide area.
Leading the workshop will be Robert Hollingworth and David Hatcher, both of whom are well-known internationally as exponents of early music.
Members of KCS are invited to take part, at a concessionary cost of £14. You can find more details and an application form at http://www.bmemf.org.uk/future-workshops.html.
Posted on Monday 22nd August 2011WYRE FOREST YOUNG VOICES' VISIT TO GERMANY
The Wyre Forest Young Voices visited Ulm, in Germany, for a week in July, to meet up with the Spatzenchor which is based in the Cathedral there. They travelled by train, and their journey was not entirely straightforward, but, once there, they had a great time, singing in four concerts (to packed audiences) and enjoying outings and parties. A local newspaper covered the concert with the Spatzenchor, and printed the somewhat unflattering picture shown below. Here is what they said:
GEOFF WEAVER CONDUCTS HIS WYRE FOREST YOUNG VOICES AS ENERGETICALLY AS A POP STAR.
THE ART OF SINGING IN TWO STYLES
The youth choirs of the Spatzen (sparrows) and the Wyre Forest Young Voices win the hearts of the people of Ulm.
The Ulm Sparrows and the WFYV from Kidderminster caused a sensation in the full music-school hall.
Where from? Kidderminster? Whoever 'Googles' will of course find the home of the WFYV in Kidderminster. The town of 55,000 inhabitants lies in central England in the Wyre Forest district of the County of Worcestershire, 25 Kilometers South West of Birmingham. Last year the Ulmer Spatzen visited Kidderminster, among other places, on their tour of England. Cathy Dew, who is married to an 'Ulmer' had organised everything. Now the English choir is visiting Ulm. At the combined concert the audience was so numerous, that the hall of the Music School ran out of chairs.
After entering to the moving melody of the Hebrew song 'Haasina Elohim', the Spatzen youth choir performed the first half of the concert under the direction of their conductor, Hans de Gilde. In works from Bach to John Rutter, the Sparrows sought to overwhelm the audience singing a capella or with Barbara Comes on the piano; there were also solos by 15-year-olds Franziska de Gilde and Theresa Mack.
The choirs then combined to display the most beautiful choral art in a piece from Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Bob Chilcott's moving work Can you hear me? with silent sign language: 80 shining voices giving us goose pimples. Hans de Gilde changed places with Geoff Weaver, who despite his advancing years, was as energetic as a pop star, and his introductions were given with typical English humour. A capella or with Mike Elden on the piano, his 40 teenagers overwhelmed us in a variety of styles, with soloists Nicole Stone's bell-like voice in Brahms' Standchen and the heartfelt entreaties of the baritone [Dominic Lee].
Despite the 20 hours travelling, the English guests were on top form. They came by bus from Kidderminster to London, by train through the Channel Tunnel to Brussels, on to Cologne, then on to Ulm – with some delays, as Canon Rob Jones the Chairman of the choir later explained. Not until very late on Saturday evening did the 10 to 18 year olds arrive. They are lodging at the Brauer Internat on Kuhberg.
Their eight-day tour through the region has taken them to Illertissen. In the college of the 'School Brothers', they took part in a concert yesterday with the Illertissen Chorkids. Today at 12 00, they are performing in Ulm Cathedral. After that they will be received by the Minister of Culture, Sabine Mayer-Dolle in the town hall. Before their last concert in Aalen the English people will spend 2 days holiday in the Liechtenstein resort.
To complete their concert the musical ambassadors sang Coleman’s Rhythm of Life, as a rousing encore saying “Farewell” to an appreciative audience.
(translated by Pauline Powell)
Posted on Friday 22nd April 2011SING AWAY!
April 9 saw a coachload of 38 members of KCS journeying to Knighton, in Powys, to take part in an Awayday, at which we rehearsed and performed Vivaldi’s Gloria and three items from the European Sacred Music Book – Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, Mozart’s Ave Verum, and Mendelssohn’s Verleih uns Frieden.
At the Church Hall we were joined by very welcome additional singers, both local and from further afield. The morning and afternoon sessions brought us up to a reasonable performance standard, and we proceeded to present the works in a short early-evening concert in St. Edward’s Parish Church. A pleasing number of people had gathered to hear us, and they were very appreciative of our efforts.
Nicole Stone, a member of Wyre Forest Young Voices, excelled in the soprano and contralto solos in the Gloria, and Mike Elden was as usual our accomplished and versatile accompanist.
Neil Warrington thanked us on behalf of the audience, praising our singing and inviting us to return next year when he will be organising a musical weekend.
The day included breaks for a picnic lunch and a quick tour of the town, and was rounded off with a very good meal at the Horse and Jockey Inn, a short distance from the church.
We left Knighton at 8.30 pm., tired, but satisfied and happy after a challenging and a friendly day. Our grateful thanks to Pauline in particular for once again organising a splendid event.
Ray Harrowing
Posted on Wednesday 6th April 2011When the Stamp made its Mark - Wyre Forest Young Voices - March 18, 2011
This was indeed a very special concert, bringing together, as it did, atmospheric and moving writing, flawless performance, and a packed audience who hung upon every word.
Children from three of Kidderminster’s Primary Schools (Foley Park, Franche and Sutton Park) had studied the effects that Kidderminster-born Rowland Hill’s new postal system had had on letter-writing in the Victorian era, visiting the Post Office at Blists Hill Victorian Town and learning about the collection at the British Postal Museum. Writer and poet David Calcutt had worked with them to produce a narrative of parted lovers, putting their feelings of trust, loss and longing into letters which were read, most movingly by young actors Emily Chennery and Kieran Knowles. This story was interspersed and garnished with folk-songs that reflected the narrative – for example, the children sang “The Oak and the Ash” as the girl gazed into the ash tree and imagined her lover looking down on her.
Geoff Weaver had written, and Andrew Watts had orchestrated, incidental music, which was performed with their usual style and panache by the Carnival Band (Andrew Watts, Giles Lewin, Steno Vitale and Jub Davis and, in one piece, Wyre Forest Young Voices member Alexander Hill on the snare drum). Geoff had also arranged the folk-songs for performance by the large choir of children from the three schools, augmented by the Young Voices and Primary Chords (Kidderminster Choral Society’s two youth choirs), again accompanied by the Carnival Band.
The work, “The Penny Black Cantata: Letters to a Loved One”, was conducted by Geoff Weaver, and produced by the BBC’s Peter Wild, and proved to be a beautifully conceived drama, executed in fine fashion by all those who took part; a worthy successor to the “ChOral History” project which Geoff and David had produced three years previously.
The Cantata formed the second half of this concert, the first half having consisted of a number of performances by the Wyre Forest Young Voices, mostly of pieces from their existing repertoire. They began with Bob Chilcott’s Give me the Strength, followed by Lean on Me, by Bill Withers. Nicole Stone then sang So in love, from Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate. The Young Voices Chorale performed Dos Baladas Amarillas, again by Bob Chilcott, and Prayer of the Children, by Kurt Bestor. Rachel Stone made her debut as a French Horn soloist with I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Misérables, and the short programme ended with Peter Hunt’s up-beat arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Soloists and choir alike were in fine form, and Mike Elden (accompanist) and Geoff Weaver (conductor) received rousing applause.
Our thanks and appreciation, once again, to Geoff and his “supporting cast”, for a wonderful evening of poetry and music - and to our long-time supporter Cathy Dew, who thought up the whole idea of using the postal system as the basis for a concert. Our thanks and appreciation also to the Heritage Lottery Fund, from which we were fortunate to obtain a very substantial grant for the project, and to the British Postal Museum and Archive for permitting us to use images of stamps and of letters from the collection.
Ray Harrowing
Posted on Friday 4th March 2011Programme for 2011-2012
The programme for the 2011-12 Season is as follows:
October 13 - Annual General Meeting
November 18 - Concert by Wyre Forest Young Voices and Primary Chords - Kidderminster Town Hall, 7.00 pm.
November 25, 2011 - KCS Concert - Town Hall, 7.30 pm. Programme: J Haydn - Missa in Tempore Belli (Mass in Time of War); CPE Bach - Magnificat (Note that this programme has changed since being first announced in May 2011)
December 17 - Gala Christmas Concert - Kidderminster Town Hall, 7.00 pm.
January 31, 2012 - Talk by Geoff Weaver: "Tippett and Kodály - Passion and Protest" - Baxter Church Hall, 7.30 pm.
March 9 - Annual Dinner at La Brasserie, Kidderminster
March 23 - Concert by Wyre Forest Young Voices and Primary Chords - Kidderminster Town Hall, 7.00 pm.
March 31 - KCS Concert - Town Hall, 7.30 pm. Programme: Michael Tippett - A Child of our Time; Zoltán Kodály - Psalmus Hungaricus.
April 28 - Choir Away Day at Knighton
June 30 - Primary Chords 10th Anniversary Concert and Picnic at Greyfields Court, Kinver
July 7 - Wyre Forest Young Voices Concert at Great Witley Church
July 14 - KCS Concert - "Crown Imperial", to celebrate HM the Queen's Diamond Jubilee - Kidderminster Town Hall, 7.30 pm.
Further details of programmes and ticket prices will be published as they become available.
Posted on Saturday 30th October 2010Our Chairman
Our Chairman is Canon Rob Jones, who has been a member of the Society since 1980, when he came to work in Kidderminster as curate at St. John's and Holy Innocents. He says that the late, redoubtable Peg Jordan was one of the people instrumental in getting him to join - in fact the way she put it he doesn’t think he had much choice, and he’s always been grateful to her for that.
Moves for work have kept Rob within reach of KCS; he moved firstly to Dudley and then to Worcester, where he is now working for the Diocese of Worcester in the training and development of clergy and lay ministry across Worcestershire and Dudley.
He started off in the back row of the basses, and has stayed there, where there is a good tradition of chairmen skulking!
Posted on Tuesday 26th October 2010Concert dates for 2012!
At last week's committee meeting concert dates for 2012 were agreed. They are:
March 31; November 24; December 22 (Christmas Concert)
Dates of Wyre Forest Young Voices concerts:
March 23; November 16.
Posted on Friday 15th October 2010A Musical Visit to Germany
Once again, at the beginning of October, I made the trip to Husum via Birmingham and Hamburg to sing with the Theodor Storms Chor. My preparation for our concerts was less than complete; whilst the TSC had rehearsed for nine months, my own work on the programme had been far less comprehensive, with the result that the three rehearsals, in Itzehoe and Husum, formed a steep learning curve!
As on many visits in the past, my kind and generous hosts were Marketta and Georg Weßler, their home very conveniently located five minutes’ walk from Husum’s Marketplace. I arrived on Thursday and left on Tuesday, which made for a less frenzied visit. But Friday, Saturday and Sunday were filled with travel and with music. On Friday we went by coach to Itzehoe, where we rehearsed John Rutter’s Magnificat and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang (Song of Praise). Itzehoe is about 60 miles from Husum, so we got home at about 11.30 pm. On Saturday we set off again for Itzehoe, at 12.30 pm for the final rehearsal and concert with the Itzehoer Konzertchor in their modern and well-appointed theatre. The conductor was their Musical Director Eckhard Heppner, and we had a trio of fine soloists. The orchestra was the KlassikPhilharmonie Hamburg. Sadly the theatre was less than half-full, and the performance somewhat lacked focus and sparkle. Home again at 11.30 pm.
Sunday morning saw us attending the Erntedankfest (Harvest Festival) in St. Marienkirche before setting out at noon for another rehearsal and concert, this time in Husum’s brand-new CongressCentrum. This multipurpose hall is very well suited for choral and orchestral performance, with a good acoustic and state-of-the-art lighting and sound facilities, and the adjoining seminar rooms provide ample off-stage accommodation.
The concert was memorable: it took place on the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Germany, it was the first choral and orchestral concert in the new hall, it was Jens Weigelt’s last major concert after 40 years as the Director of the Theodor Storms Chor, the soloists and orchestra were on top form, and every one of the 700-plus seats had been sold. The music was better-rehearsed, and received prolonged applause. The Bürgermeister, Rainer Maaß, opened the proceedings with a speech welcoming all to the new venue, and at the end presented Jens with a gift from the Stadt.
I should say a bit more about the music. This was the second time that the choirs had sung the Rutter, the first being in 2002 – and that was also a good performance, judging from the CD that they sent me. Some members of the audience preferred this to the Mendelssohn Symphony No.2, which, like Beethoven’s 9th, has a final choral sequence. The soprano duet, Ich harrete des Herrn (I waited for the Lord), was beautifully sung, as was the tenor solo recitative, Hüter, ist die Nacht bald hin? (Watchman, will the night soon pass?). For me, these were the highlights of the concert.
After the concert members of both choirs assembled in the Thomas Hotel for a party, at which Eckhard Heppner and Jens Weigelt both expressed their thanks for the performances and Jens received another gift, this time from the Itzehoer Konzertchor.
Following the concert of Advent music in December, Herr Weigelt’s place as Musical Director of the Theodor Storms Chor will be taken by Christoph Jensen, Director of the Kantorei St. Peter in St. Peter-Ording. He is a former pupil of Jens.
Monday was a more leisurely day of shopping and visits, before my return home on Tuesday. Another hectic, but very exciting, enjoyable and worthwhile visit to our twin town.
Ray Harrowing
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