WYRE 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)
