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Saturday 24th July 2010

Programme for 2010-2011

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.

Friday 2nd July 2010

Wyre Forest Young Voices on Tour

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.

Tuesday 29th June 2010

Farewell, Suzzie

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

Friday 4th June 2010

Theodor Storms Chor visit 2010 - May 20 to May 24

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

Friday 4th June 2010

Prague Spring - March 27

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

Tuesday 20th April 2010

German Youth Choir at St John's - April 8

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

Monday 22nd March 2010

Joseph in the Spring - March 19, 2010

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

Wednesday 17th March 2010

In Memoriam Renault Beakbane

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

Wednesday 10th February 2010

Concert for Haiti

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!