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The Rotary Club of Guildford
and the Vivace Chorus present
THE MAYOR OF GUILDEORD’S
CHRIETRIAS
R
CONCERT
in aid of the
MAYOR’S CHRISTMAS DISTRESS FUND
and COMBATSSTRESS
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
‘
Sun day
12th Dec 2010
7 pm Holy Trinity Church
Guildford
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD
Councillor Marsha Moseley
It gives me great pleasure to be joining you tonight
for
this
evening's
traditional
family
Christmas
concert, organised by the Rotary Club of Guildford.
By
attending
this
concert,
you
will
also
be
supporting Combat Stress - my chosen charity this
year - and also the Mayor's Local Distress Fund.
Set up over 90 years ago, Combat Stress is the
UK's leading charity for British Veterans, who have
been
profoundly
traumatised
by
harrowing
experiences during their military career.
With the
recent
conflicts
in
Irag
and
currently
in
Afghanistan, this charity has seen a 66% increase
in referrals in the past 4 years and 1,200 people
seeking its help in the last year alone. To raise
awareness of the plight of those veterans suffering psychological injury and
to encourage them and their families to seek help earlier, the 'Enemy
Within' Appeal was launched by its Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales last
March, with the aim of raising £30 million to enhance and develop mental
health services for veterans.
| hope you'll agree with me that this is a very
worthy cause and | thank you for your generous support.
More information
can be found at www.combatstress.org.uk
Despite Guildford Borough being one of the most affluent parts of Surrey, it
still,
nonetheless,
has
pockets
of
social
deprivation.
The
Mayor
of
Guildford's Local Distress Fund gives small grants to people in genuine
need; those who don't have even the most basic items, many of which we
would just take for granted.
So again, on behalf of these people, | thank
you for your generosity.
| must also thank the Rotary Club of Guildford, not only for organising this
marvellous charity concert but also for the fantastic financial support, they
give to Guildford and its wider community throughout the year, with their
Finally, please do enjoy this evening and
may | wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful
wonderful fundraising projects.
New Year.
° g
Mayor of Guildford
THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD'S CHRISTMAS CONCERT
featuring THE VIVACE CHORUS
Conductor : Jeremy Backhouse
Organist : Graham Thorp
THIS EVENING'S PROGRAMME
Welcome by the Rev. Jonathan Hedgecock
Choir
This is the truth sent from above
(arr. Vaughan-Williams)
Audience Carol
(arr. Vaughan-Williams/Willcocks)
O Little Town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary
And, gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the Holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
T
oy
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven,
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend on us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas Angels,
The great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
Choir
Up! Good Christian Folk, and Listen
(arr. G.R. Woodward)
Gabriel's Message
(Basque carol : arr. David Willcocks)
Audience Carol
(arr. David Willcocks)
It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From Angels bending near the earth
To touch their hearts of gold;
Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,
From heaven's all-gracious King!
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the Angels sing.
-~
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O're all the weary world;
Above its sad and lonely plains
They bend on hovering wing;
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed Angels sing.
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the Angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring:
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the Angels sing!
For lo! The days are hastening on,
By prophet-bards foretold,
When, with ever-circling years,
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
lts ancient splendours fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the Angels sing.
Reading
'‘Noel : Christmas Eve 1913' by Robert Bridges
read by Philippa Walker
Choir/Organ
The Cherry Tree Carol
(English trad. arr. David Willcocks)
il
Choir/Organ
In the Bleak Mid-Winter
(arr. Harold Darke)
Audience Carol
(J.F.Wade arr. David Willcocks)
O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord
God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin’s Womb;
Very God,
Begotten, not created;
O come, let us adore him...
Sing, choirs of Angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above,
Glory to God,
In the highest:
O come, let us adore him...
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesu, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing;
O Come, let us adore him.......
o B
Choir/Piano
Child in a Manger
(John Rutter)
| saw three ships
(John Rutter)
INTERVAL
Wine, Soft Drinks & Mince Pies available
Choir/Organ
Sir Christemas
(William Mathias)
Away in a Manger
(arr. Nigel Short)
Audience Carol
God rest you merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this day;
To save us all from Satan's power,
When we were gone astray,
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy.
From God our Heavenly Father,
A blessed angel came,
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name;
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
P
The Shepherds at these tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a feeding,
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway,
This blessed babe to find
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Choir only
But when to Bethlehem they came
Whereat this infant lay,
They found him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Choir/Organ
No Small Wonder
(Paul Edwards)
Joys Seven
(English trad. arr. Stephen Cleobury)
P DS
Reading
'Christmas' by John Betjeman
read by Jonathan Long
Choir/Piano
Nativity Carol
(John Rutter)
A Merry Little Christmas
(Carol medley arr. Goff Richards)
Address by the Mayor of Guildford
Councillor Marsha Moseley
Introduced by the President of the Rotary Club of Guildford
Professor Rodney Cartwright
Audience Carol
(Charles Wesley : arr. Felix Mendelssohn)
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the new-born King:
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With the angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
Christ by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold him come
Offspring of a virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! the herald-angels sing......
v
B8 5
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace !
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings;
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald-angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
Encore
We wish you a Merry Christmas !
(English trad. arr. Arthur Warrell)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Rotary Club of Guildford would like to thank
the following people and organisations
for their help in staging this year's
Mayor of Guildford's Carol Concert:The Members of the Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse : Graham Thorp
Canon Robert Cotton : The Surrey Advertiser
The Parish of Holy Trinity and St. Marys, Guildford
BBC Radio Surrey : Eagle Radio 96.4
~ O
THE SINGERS OF THE VIVACE CHORUS
FIRST SOPRANOS :
Helen Beevers, Mary Broughton, Rachel Edmondson, Susan Norton,
Rosemary Spalding, Carol Terry, Nikki Vale
SECOND SOPRANOS :
Barbara Barklem, Alison Dawson, Mandy Freeman, Judith Lewy,
Krystyna Marsden, Alison Palmer, Kate Peters, Isobel Rooth,
Philippa Walker, Frances Worpe
FIRST ALTOS :
Penny Baxter, Liz Durning, Jane Hedgecock, Sheila Hodson, Lois McCabe,
Kay McManus, Christine Medlow, Karen Prodger, Lesley Scordellis,
Catherine Shacklady, Hilary Trigg
SECOND ALTOS :
Valerie Adam, Hannah Andrews, Evelyn Beastall, Andrea Dombrowe,
Carolyn Edis, Elizabeth Evans, Jo Glover, Carol Hobbs, Brenda Moore,
Jacqueline Norman, Beryl Northam, Prue Smith, Jo Stokes,
Rosey Storey, Elisabeth Yates
FIRST TENORS :
Nick Manning, Martin Price, Chris Robinson, John Trigg
SECOND TENORS :
Bob Bromham, Tony Chantler, Stephen Chowns, Geoff Johns,
Stephen Linton, Peter Norman, John Scott
FIRST BASSES :
John Britten, Michael Golden, Brian John, Jeremy Johnson,
Jonathan Long, Eric Kennedy, Chris Newbery, Chris Peters, Robin Privett,
David Ross, Philip Stanford
SECOND BASSES :
Peter Andrews, Roger Barrett, Alan Batterbury, Norman Carpenter,
Dave Cox, Geoffrey Forster, James Garrow, Stuart Gooch,
Michael Jeffery, Mike Osborn, Roger Penny, Clive Perry, Michael Taylor
e
ABOUT THE VIVACE CHORUS
We enjoy a challenging and varied repertoire from the 16th Century
onwards; some pieces are well-known, others are rarities deserving
of to be heard by a wider audience.
In the 2004/5 season, we
introduced our Contemporary Choral Classics Cycle, an innovative
series of works from the late 20th and 21st centuries.
To show the variety of recent programmes, we started the 2008/9
season with a spectacular performance of Verdi's Requiem, in
combination with our twin choir, the Freiburger Bachchor and the
Romsey Choral Society. Then, as a complete contrast, our Venetian
Baroque concert included some of the earliest music we have ever
sung.
A
-
These were masterpieces from Gabrieli, Schutz, and Monteverdi,
with Vivaldi's uplifting Gloria to end the evening. The season finished
with Will Todd's Te Deum - a world premiere and first commission by
the choir, which we recorded in July of this year and has just been
released on CD.
In June 2009, half the choir and Jeremy embarked on what quickly
became known as the Tour de France. We gave concerts of music
from the early 16th to late 20th centuries in the cathedrals of Paris
(Notre Dame), Rouen and Beauvais. This proved to be both inspiring
and emotionally moving - and we had great fun too!
The 2009/10 season started in lively fashion with Haydn's The
Creation, to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's death.
Our ltalian evening in March showed the operatic composers Verdi
and Puccini in a light new to many, and lastly we brushed up our
Russian pronunciation, returning to Prokofiev, this time with
Ivan the Terrible.
Our biggest project to date, to mark the centenary of Mahler's death,
will be a performance of his monumental Symphony No.8 in the
Royal Albert Hall on May 15th. 2011.
Apart from our annual appearance at the Mayor of Guildford's
Christmas Concert, we also regularly sing in a Last Night of the
Proms charity concert in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon.
With our good friends the Brandenburg Sinfonia, we also sing at least
once a year in the superb venue of St. Martin-in-the Fields,
performing works such as Mozart's Requiem.
If you are interested in singing with us, please contact Jane Brooks
on 01483 - 539088. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings in
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford, and prospective members are
welcome to attend rehearsals on an informal basis before committing
For more information, please see our website at
to an audition.
WWW.vivacechorus.org
~12
~
JEREMY BACKHOUSE
Jeremy
Backhouse began his musical
career in Canterbury Cathedral, where he
was
Head Chorister, and later studied
music at Liverpool University.
He spent 5
years as Music Editor at the Royal National
Institute of Blind people (RNIB), where he
was responsible for the transcription of print
music into Braille.
In 1986, he joined EMI
Records as a Literary Editor and from April
1990 combined his work as a Consultant
Editor for EMI Classics and later Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers with
his career as a freelance conductor.
In January 1995, Jeremy was appointed Chorus Master and subsequently
Director of the Guildford Philharmonic Choir (now the Vivace
Music
Chorus).
Jeremy
has
presented
and
conducted
some
ambitious
programmes, including Howell's Hymnus Paradisi and Szymanoski's Stabat
Mater,
Mahler's 'Resurrection' Symphony (No 2) and ‘Symphony of a
Thousand' (No 8), Vaughan Williams ‘A Sea Symphony' Mendelssohn's
Lobgesang' (Symphony No 2), and Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and
Ivan the Terrible. Major classical popular works have included Elgar's The
Dream of Gerontius, Verdi's Requiem and most recently, in November
2009, Haydn's The Creation.
Since
1980,
Jeremy has been the conductor of the Vasari Singers,
as one of the finest chamber choirs in the country,
performing music from the Renaissance to contemporary commissions.
Jeremy is totally committed to contemporary music and to the
commissioning of new works. He and Vasari have commissioned over 20
works in their recent history and this enthusiasm has spread to the Vivace
Chorus, who, in May 2009, performed the premiere of their first commission
acknowledged
- local composer Will Todd's Te Deum.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading choirs,
including the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral Society and the
Brighton Festival Chorus. For 6 years, to the end of 2004, Jeremy was the
Music Director of the Wooburn Singers, following Richard Hickox and
Stephen Jackson. In January 2009, Jeremy was appointed Music Director
of the Salisbury Community Choir.
~13
~
THE ROTARY CLUB OF GUILDFORD
The Rotary Club of Guildford formed in
1921, when only six such clubs existed
in Great Britain. Today, there are 1,840
Rotary Clubs in the UK, with over
million
1.2
members and
55,000
members in 33,000 Clubs wordwide.
Besides the '1921' Guildford Club, there
are two other Rotary Clubs in the town the Guildford District Club, which was
founded in 1975 and the Guildford
Chantries Club, founded in 1991.
One of the Club's earliest fundraising projects in the 1920s was its
'Big Brother' scheme, which was launched to help the town's
youngsters, some of whom had lost their fathers during the First
World War. In 1927, the Club embarked on a project to raise enough
money to install radio sets in the wards of the Royal Surrey County
Hospital, so the patients could 'listen in'.
During the Second World War, one of the Club's most memorable
humanitarian events was dealing with the reception of the survivors
from the beaches of Dunkirk, when the special troop trains arrived
back at Guildford Station in June 1940. In 1951, the Club established
its annual 'Mayor of Guildford's Christmas Concert' in aid of local
charities, which still continues to this day and in the 1960s, the
Rotary Club of Guildford played a significant part in establishing the
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in 1965 and the University of Surrey in 1966.
Today, the Club continues to raise money to support Calcutta's Eye
Hospitals through their 'Calcutta Eye Project'. There are now 25
Hospitals in operation in Calcutta alone and these eye clinics help to
restore the sight of 30,000 people every year. The Club also
continues to sponsor its 'Jaipur Limb Project', which was established
in 1975. Since then, over 960,000 patients have been fitted with new
artificial limbs free of charge at the project's 14 centres in Jaipur, New
Delhi and Bangalore.
s - Ll
During the past year, the Rotary Club of Guildford has actively
supported the local Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Group based at the
Samson Centre in Guildford. Working with the Rotary Foundation
(the international charitable arm of the Rotary Movement) and a
Rotary Club in India, they have raised funds to provide an exercise
bike, a Delta standing frame, a vibrating standing plate, along with
some smaller items of equipment and furniture.
This much needed equipment will help both Samson Centre clients
and their relatives. This Centre continues to be supported by the
Rotary Club of Guildford along with other local charities and
Rotarians continue to provide support for those in the Guildford
community, who are at risk from being missed by official bodies.
Y
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS BY
THE VIVACE CHORUS
BROADLY BAROQUE
from Allegri to Handel
The Vivace Chorus and the Brandenburg Sinfonia
Allegri ~ Miserere Mei
Pachelbel ~ Canon
Pergolesi ~ Magnificat
Handel ~ Dixit Dominus
JS Bach ~ Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G major
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO 8
Conductor : Jeremy Backhouse
SUNDAY, MAY 15th 2011
THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Tickets range from £5 to £40 and are available from either
07958-519-741 or tickets @ VivaceChorus.org or 0207-589-8212 or
www.royalalberthall.com
Ticket sales are already going well and we urge you not to miss out
on a rare opportunity to hear this wonderful masterpiece
- 16
~
A
gy!
We wish you a
Merry
Christmas
www.VivaceChorus.org
Registered Charity No 1026337