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Guildford Philharmonic Choir
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NEWSLETTER
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GPC
Editor: Margaret Dentskevich
1SSUE S -NOVEMBER
1999
»COmmunications
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The Freiburg link — Norman Carpenter
The purpose of this article is to give
new members a flavour of this
wonderful link and to let me wander
down memory lane (thank you -- Ed.).
The choir link was originally started by
Kathy Atkins (then manager of the
GPO) and Cornelea Grisebach (who
was already involved with school exchanges).
1992: Civic Hall, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem,
conducted by Hans Beuerle
1994: Stadt, War Requiem by Benjamin Britten,
conducted by Neville Creed
1996: Guildford Cathedral, Stabat Mater by Dvorak,
conducted by Hans Beuerle
1998: Konzerthaus, Israel in Egypt by Handel,
conducted by Jeremy Backhouse
In Freiburg the first ‘obstacle’ newcomers meet is the
half-hour warm-up before rehearsals and concerts -Jeremy’s few snatches of Sibelius V has nothing on this
torture!
When you go to
Freiburg you can
understand why
the ‘good
burghers of
Guildford’
selected it for
twinning and
axchange visits.
It's a stunning
medieval town,
'
:
-
albeit that much was rebuilt after the last war. The
proximity of the Black Mountains just adds to its
attraction. The warmth and hospitality of the families you
stay with is outstanding -- you won't starvel!
Our trip to Freiburg always includes an excursion to a
place of interest in the locality and a superb ‘Black
Forest’ meal. Many of us have made friendships
stretching far beyond the formal link, with later visits
S
The 1990 visit was outstanding for the bus breaking
down in deepest Belgium, but it bonded the choir
together like no event before. We also had to build our
staging (not ready-made), put out 1000 chairs before the
concert and reverse the process afterwards.
The 1994 concert was particularly poignant in that it
coincided with Germany’s Remembrance Day. The
tenor soloist, lan Bostridge, had completely enraptured
the Guildford audience the previous week. In rehearsal
in Freiburg he had the whole choir in tears with his
singing of the Agnus Dei. (We certainly cannot afford
him now, since he’s become recognised as the ‘new
Peter Pears’.) John Britten also emphasised how proud
his uncle would have been to hear his War Requiem
being made both ways.
Since 1990, GPC and the Freiburg Bachchor have
combined to give special concerts as follows:
1990: Guildford Cathedral, Missa Solemnis by
Beethoven, conducted by Sir Charles Groves
1990: Munster, Handel's Messiah, conducted by
Hans Beuerle (Freiburg Director)
R
performed by combined English and German choirs in
Germany.
Last year’s visit saw us singing in the Bachchor’s superb
rehearsal hall and Freiburg’s new Konzerthaus (see
opposite). The event was partly sponsored by EEC
funds -- for which we attended a talk on the EEC by their
MEP (Who was our MEP?). We wondered whether the
‘flies and lice’ etc of Israel in Egypt might be strange to
our German friends, but they sang it with gusto.
These trips do not just happen. Their success is very
much down to the hard work done by Max New (in the
early days), JohnTrigg, Stephen Jepson and Cornelea
Grisebach.
The Freiburg Konzerthaus
I’'m sure that new and old members will enjoy singing the
St Matthew Passion with the Freiburg Bachchor on 11"
March, 2000, and eagerly anticipate future visits to
Freiburg with Guildford Philharmonic Choir.
NFMS - The National Federation of Music Societies — Laurie James
The NFMS is Britain’s largest single
concert promoter. Its 1,400 member
societies promote some 6,500
concerts each year and spend £6.5
million on the engagement of professional musicians.
Founded in 1935, its three main aims are:
®
to represent amateur music-makers to government,
sponsors and the arts industry generally;
®
to provide artistic, legal, financial and information
services to members;
®
to develop skills necessary to help amateur societies
to survive in the increasingly competitive arts scene.
It also encourages local initiatives, particularly involving
projects within the community, and sponsors young
artists.
The NFMS disseminates a huge amount of information
to member societies through their ‘Contacts’, whose job
is to receive material (which thuds on to my doormat at
regular intervals) and make it available to the approp- TM
riate officers, or to choir members.
There are some lighter moments: a couple of weeks
after the Mahler concert last season, | was asked to
pass on an invitation to our chorus-master to attend a
course -- on basic conducting!!
Notices of general interest giving details of concerts or
music courses are usually displayed on or near the GPC noticeboard at rehearsals. I'll be very
happy to answer any further
questions about the scope of the
NFMS.
2
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Concerts: background and reviews
Summer Concert 99 — Hilary Trigg
You'll be pleased to hear that John
was able to present CHASE with a
cheque for £7,000 towards building the
Children’s Hospice at Losely. They
hope to start building next summer.
£3,000 was from Moore Stephens, who sponsored the
concert and who also purchased lots of tickets, and
£4,000 came from profit on the ticket sales. This was
possible only because the Surrey Mozart Players gave
their services free and because we had such a large
audience. We've received a letter from CHASE thanking you all for a wonderfully successful concert.
The Freiburgers are coming ...
On Friday 10" March, 2000, the Guildford Philharmonic Choir welcomes the arrival of members
of the Freiburg Bachchor. They will join forces with us to sing Matthaus Passion by J.S. Bach in
Guildford Cathedral the following day. So here’s a pen-portrait of JSB to set the scene ...
o
Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 at Eisen-
(including the orchestral suites and the six Branden-
bach in Germany, into a family of notable musicians
that went back many generations. After his parents
died when he was 10 years old, he went to live with his
organist brother and began his musical education. At
15 he became a choirboy at Luneburg, studying the
theory and technique of composition. On at least one
occasion he is known to have walked 30 miles to
Hamburg to hear the famous organist Reinken play.
burg Concertos).
In 1720 his wife died, leaving him with four children.
18 months later he married again, his new wife being
an intelligent and musically cultured 20-year-old
soprano, Anna Magdalena Wilcken. In all, Bach had
20 children, but many did not
survive infancy.
In 1707, aged 22, he married his cousin Maria
Barbara, and secured the post of organist at Muhl-
About this time, the Prince
hausen. An inadequate salary and religious differ-
interested in the arts, and in 1723
married a Princess who was not
ences caused him to move swiftly to Weimar as court
Bach moved to Leipzig, where he
organist and violinist to Duke William Ernst, where he
Wi
remained for nine years.
remained for the rest of his life,
desplte many difficulties. He wrote the St Matthew
Passion there, in 1727-28.
When he was refused promotion to Kapellmeister in
1716, he was able to take up a similar position at the
In later years his sight began to fail, and in 1750 he
court of Prince Leopold in Cothen. He got on well with
had a stroke from which he died.
the Prince, but had neither an expert choir nor a really
good organ, so during his six years at the court he
turned his attention to secular instrumental music
And then in the summer... ...
Although the visit of our Freiburg friends, and our joint performance of the St Matthew Passion, W|II probably form
the highlight of our year, it's by no means the end of our singing this season. On Saturday June 10" Jeremy
conducts us again in William Walton’s magnificent Belshazzar’s Feastin Guildford Civic, accompanied by the
Forest Philharmonic Orchestra, who helped made our Bruckner/Mahler concert such a memorable occasion last
season.
"
-+
Fund-raising - co-ordinated by Jackie Alderton
* Plant Sale — Hilary Trigg
Here’s a reminder for all keen gardeners!! Please remember to plan (and plant) for the salein early June next
year (probably 12" June, after Belshazzar). Not onlyis it a good fund-raiser, but we get good, reasonably priced
plants for our gardens, too. Last June we made more than £100 on the GPC plant sale.
Car-boot sales at Slyfield Market, Guildford
6" June
about a dozen dealers, desperate to see what goodies
We took a vast quantity of items, all donated by choir
members, to sell at the Saturday car-boot sale, raising
we had to offer. However, we'd learned from the
a grand total of £150 for choir funds. And thenon ...
tables were in place. In June they'd been practically
previous time not to open the car-boot until the sale
unloading the car for us in their rush to get at the
6" November
boxes -- very disconcerting.
Jackie, Chris & Charlotte Alderton, Mary Clayton & |
had to get up early to be at Slyfield shortly after 7 am.
Sales were steady throughout the morning and by
We had a good pile of items to sell, loaded into two
11.45 am we started to pack up. Even when we were
cars. On arrival we were immediately besieged by
o iBSs
almost completely packed, the odd customer would
appear, wanting to buy. Jackie even managed to sell
the box of stuff that we thought unsellable.
Jackie, Charlotte and Mary on the job —
Total income for the morning was £212.65. Many
thanks to choir members and others who donated
items for sale.
Nobble your notelets now
Don’t forget that we have our own excellent, specially designed notelets on sale every week. See Laurie James to
purchase them and support choir funds.
Quiz Nights are Fun! — Jackie Alderton
Many people commented favourably on the spread of
food, which was as tasty as it was colourful.
Those of you who couldn’t come to the
Quiz Night on 13" November missed a
Tg
good evening.
It was held at St Nicholas Church Hall,
an ideal venue for the occasion. The
questions were varied in topic and degree of difficulty,
as some found out to their cost (remember that a
question is only difficult if you don’t know the answer).
They were delivered with geniality by Geoff Bourne.
The instant ‘heads and tails’ event earned us an extra
£60, making a total of £312 raised for Choir funds.
Thank you to everyone who supported and helped us
on the night.
100 Club — Noreen Ayton
Here are the winners and their ticket numbers for 1999 so far:
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
87
2
100
10
57
71
F{
SEPTEMBER | 9
OCTOBER
58
NOVEMBER
12
DECEMBER
£20
Joy Hunter
24
Jean Munro
54
Andrea Dombrowe | 79
Rosalind Plowright | 44
Lesley Scordellis
8
£15
Stephen Jepson
Margaret Dentskevich
Margaret Parry
Peter Herbert
Norman Carpenter
28
22
96
66
78
*** £100 prize: ticket 87 — Joy Hunter ***
Valerie Edwards
62
Rachel Edmondson
33
Christine Wilks
74
Noreen Ayton
40
Margaret Tingley
47 Tony Macklow-Smith
41
Rachel Edmondson | 99 Bob Bromham
46
Iris Ball
51
Jackie Alderton
70
*** £100 prize TM
£10
Graham Barwick
Chris Robinson
Jeremy Backhouse
Christine Wilks
Susan Hinton
Geoffrey Forster
Stephen Jepson
Judy Smith
Gillian Rix
Joanna Andrews
7
first rehearsal of each month. June and December each
year are special, as you can see! Please talk to me ata
rehearsal, or phone 01932-221918 if you're interested.
You've a far higher chance of winning a prize in this Club
than in the National Lottery!
el
)
Members and personalities
Mike Bradbeer — Roger Penny
It was with great sadness that we learned in mid-September of Mike Bradbeer’s
death from a brain tumour. We knew he beenin ill health for a while, but the news
was still unexpected.
Mike had been a stalwart member of the Second Bass section since 1984, and was
well liked by all who knew him. Although his main interest outside the family was
photography, music played a large and important part in a busy life.
His widow Anne maintains links with the choir through several of Mike’s friends, and
it was a pleasure to see her and their daughter Jane at the recent performance of
tThe Creation.
Our regular accompanist, Jeremy Filsell
An established piano recitalist, Jeremy has appeared at
On Monday evenings we all
many festivals and major UK concert venues, including
the Wigmore Hall & St John’s, Smith Square, and has
come to rehearsals and
marvel at Jeremy’s prow-
worked regularly with the BBC Singers, City of London
ess on the keyboard. But
Sinfonia and many others.
he’s not just a pretty piano
player! There’s a bit more
As a concert organist, Jeremy won 2TM prize in the 1993
to him than that.
St Albans International Competition. He has recorded
recitals and concertos for BBC Radio 3 and toured over-
Jeremy was educated at
the Bluecoat CE School,
seas in the USA and Europe. His most recent recording
was the complete organ works of Marcel Dupré on 12
Coventry, where he won
CDs, issued in June this year to critical acclaim.
prizes for Music and RE. He was also captain of the
School Hockey and Cricket 1% Xls. At 13 he made his
pianistic debut, appearing in the Finals of the BBC TV
‘Major Minor’ Competition.. After leaving school he read
Music as Organ Scholar at Keble College, Oxford His
interest iin sport continued, and he was in the 1% Hockey
"
XI and 2TM Rowing VIII.
postgraduate at the Royal School of Music for three
years. Then he taught Music at Cranleigh School while
singing as a Lay Clerk at Guildford Cathedral. In 1989
he was appointed Assistant Organist at Ely Cathedral.
Since 1991 he’s been a freelance pianist and organist
with several appointments, including Director of Music at
St. Luke’s, Chelsea, and since 1996 has been organist
of St. Peter’s, Eaton Square, SW1.
next
page ...
for Tideway Scullers, Chiswick, skiing and squash. He
and our esteemed conductor share a passion for Italian
sports cars (Bertone X1/9 Owners Club).
This year Jeremy was married to Jenny. We extend our
After Keble, Jeremy studied Piano Performance as a
On the
Despite a busy professional career, Jeremy still finds
time for sport: playing cricket for Blackheath CC, rowing
congratulations and best wishes to them and to their
children: Miranda (11), Christopher(8) and Charles (7) .
Solo CDs, released on the Guild label:
e
Complete Piano Music of Eugene Goossens (1997)
e
Piano & Organ Sonatas of Julius Reubke (1997)
e
Virtuoso Works for Organ (1998)
.. plus others!
Zfle&ame to new & returning members!
il
%
Isabel is a part-time State Registered General nurse,
interested in gardening and the Arts. This year she remarried, so we extend our best wishes and congratulations to her and her husband.
Alan Batterbury, Bass Il
Alan has lived in the Guildford
area for 25 years, singing with the
Epworth Choir and Guildford
Choral Society. Norman
Carpenter and Marion Arbuckle
both recommended him to join
GPC.
Carol Jones, Alto |
'
When Carol recently moved into the
Sandhurst area, she used the Internet to search for a choir to join. She
contacted Rod Cuff through our
Web site and consequently joined
us. Previously she sang with the
English Arts Chorale in Reigate and
with a cathedral group in summer.
:
Alan has retired from the computer
[
stry He is a member of Rotary and enjoys a bit of
painting and drawing, and walking. His catholic tastein
music includes both early and modern styles.
Alan’s been a member of GPC since early summer and
very much enjoyed the concert in May. He’s now
looking forward to singing the St Matthew Passion in
March with the Freiburg Bachchor.
Carol works in the sales support
department of an IT company. She enjoys playing the
piano and doing up her new house and garden. Her
preference in music includes “anything with a tune”.
She finds the GPC “nice and friendly”.
Elizabeth Blake, Soprano |
Elizabeth has rejoined the GPC after a two-year break,
because the prospect of singing in the St Matthew
Passion appealed to her very much. She previously
enjoyed singing the St John Passion with the choir some
years ago.
Elizabeth says it's lovely to be back, and she was
touched by the warm welcome when she returned.
Tony Cousins, Tenor Il
Tony has been living in the Guildford
area since 1975. He sings with the
Guildford Occasional Singers at the
Cathedral and with Guildford Opera,
and previously sang with the Guildford Singers and Chorale. He joined
GPC because he particularly wants
to sing in the St Matthew Passion in
March, having last sung it in 1965.
It's one of his favourite choral pieces, along with Mozart’s Requiem.
Gayle Mayson, Soprano Il
Gayle came from Anchoragein
A
Alaska 272 years ago with her
English husband. They have three
children: two are at university in the
US, and their 15-year-old daughter
attends the American School.
Previously she sang with the
:
Anchorage Concert Chorus, which
is vnsmng the UK next year. Her interestin music is
wide-ranging, from classical to rock. Hobbies include
walking, reading and sewing. At home in the US Gayle
works as a physiotherapist, but she isn’t working at
present.
Gayle took a while to find the GPC, but eventually came
on the recommendation of her voice-teacher, Rosalind
Rolands. She says “It's great, just what | was looking
for - and just like my US choir!’.
Lisa McCully, Alto Il
Lisa lives in Frimley and is studying Primary Education
at Kingston University, with music as her main subject.
She plays the clarinet and flute, and is
starting to learn to play piano. Music
is the love of her life and she likes all
sorts of music for all sorts of reasons,
from classical to jazz.
Although Tony is now retired, he does voluntary work
with the Citizens Advice Bureau and is interested in archaeology.
Tony thinks GPC is great, and is impressed by the
efficient organisation of the choir and the prompt
availability of music.
Previously Lisa sang with the Surrey
Isabel Hyde, Alto |
Isabel has been a member of GPC
since January 1999, but somehow was
missed out in Newsletter No. 2 — sorry,
Isabel! Before joining us she was a
member of the Waverley Singers, but
after 30 years with them decided to
have a change. So she auditioned for
the Guildford Chorale and GPC, and
= obviously chose the latter!
Isabel “likes all sorts of music, Mahler in particular”.
She feels GPC is “nice, friendly, relaxed with a happy
atmosphere”.
y
. Youth Choir. Sue O’Connell (who
works wi
he SYC) suggested that shejjom the GPC.
She’s enjoying singing with us, but feels “a bit young”!
Ros Milton, Alto |
Ros is a very busy lady. For most of her life she’s lived
in the Farnham area. Now she helps to run the family
farm, where there are lots of sheep and horses. She’s a
part-time PE teacher with two children aged 10 and 7.
She plays the flute and is broadminded in her choice of
:
music.
e
AN
In the past Ros sang with the
assistant. Hobbies and interests include playing piano,
Waverley Singers, but was enticed
walking, mountain biking and volleyball. She likes a va-
to join GPC by this year’s pro-
riety of music, “a bit of everything -- from gospel to jazz”.
gramme. She says she finds people
very friendly and welcoming. She
When asked about how she felt about joining the GPC,
enjoys the tempo and pace of re-
Caroline said she was very pleased to find such a good
hearsals, the lovely atmosphere and
the confidence that Jeremy B gives to the choir.
choir, and “When you’re new it's nice to find people so
friendly, and it's a good way to get to know others’.
Alison Rawlinson, Soprano Il
Tessa Wilkinson, Soprano |l
For the past 20 years Alison has lived
Tessa has rejoined GPC after an
in Godalming. Until recently she
absence of several years. A
sang with Godalming Choral Society,
housewife and very part-time violin
but found that rehearsal night clashed
teacher, Tessa enjoys travel in France,
with family activities; so she’s joined
GPC at the suggestion of friends who
visits to the theatre, opera and art
exhibitions and playing chamber
music, her favourite.
are already members. She says
she’s finding GPC “terrific, great fun,
with a nice bunch of people -- and the
standard is very high’.
She previously sang with the Guildford Singers.
Since coming back to GPC she’s found us very friendly
and hard-working.
Alison is married with three children aged 10, 15 and 16.
She’s now working as a part-time psychiatric nurse, as
Pamela Woodroffe, Alto |
Pamela has livedin the Farnham
well as running her own 10-year-old desktop publishing
area since 1964 and until recently
business. Her interests include handicrafts (such as
was the Chairman & Artistic
Director of the Farnham Maltings.
candlemaking) and being a Scout leader. Her musical
tastes are eclectic, but her favourite music comes from
She previously sang with the
the 16" century, in particular Orlando Gibbons.
Waverley Singers, but felt like a
change, and friends recommended
Caroline Starck, Soprano Il
GPC to her.
Originally from Sweden, Caroline
moved to Guildford in August. Before
that she was in Somerset for a year
and travelling abroad. In the past she
has sung with church choirs in
Sweden and Spain and with her
university choir in Sweden. Now
settled in Guildford, Caroline
discovered GPC when her boyfriend,
Jerome, picked up a leaflet in town.
Caroline and Jerome are engaged and plan to marry
Since joining us she says she finds the choir “lovely,
very friendly and relaxed”, and she appreciates the
punctuality of rehearsals.
Pamela likes 20TM Century music best, in particular
Tippett, Britten and Arvo Part (a contemporary Estonian
composer).
pe
-
News of ex-members
twice as much good wine as I'd done down south. And
Rod Cuff, ex-Bass Il
When | left GPC at the end of last
a stylish haircut costs me £3. (On the other hand, my
season, John Trigg said | was
car was stolen from my drive ...)
‘emigrating’, which he took to be a
My partner Brenda and | live in Guisborough, on the
practical synonym for the more
edge of the North York Moors, not far from
accurate ‘moving to the north-
Middlesbrough, Stockton and Darlington, and an hour
east’. People warned me that that
or less from Leeds, York, Durham, Whitby,
the temperature rarely rose above
freezing, and that culture was lim-
Scarborough and Newcastle — in combination providing
lots of good music, theatre and other entertainments.
ited to whippet-breeding and tasting Newcastle Brown.
I've joined the University of Durham Consort of Singers,
a chamber choir about 28-strong singing (mostly
Well, for three months after | moved in mid-July, the
sun shone, the temperature stayed high (not as muggy
unaccompanied) 19TM- and 20"-century music,
as in Surrey, mind), | kept finding yet more glories
particularly British. We're currently rehearsing the VW
around every corner of Cleveland and North Yorkshire,
Mass in G-minor, Moeran’s Songs of Springtime,
| couldn’t find a whippet for love nor money, and | drank
Brahms’ Warum ist das Licht gegeben, Howells’
Spotless Rose, bits of Cornelius, Rachmaninov,
g
Tchaikowsky ... There's another second bass a few
months older than me, but we can give 30 years to
everyone else, | think!
Do | miss GPC, its music and its comradeship? Of
course | do. Working on the Web site and this Newsletter keeps me in touch, and we plan to be at the St Matthew Passion. Old mind-sets are hard to break: the
conductor of the Consort is Dr Jeremy Dibble — | just
can’t seem to kick that Jeremy habit ...
Good wishes and seasonal greetings to everyone — see
you in March.
Rod (rod@rodcuff.demon.co.uk)
Michael Dawe, ex-Bass |
We were sorry to say goodbye to
Michael Dawe at the end of the
summer season. Michael has moved
to Saxmundham in Suffolk to live, and
we send him our best wishes for the
future in his new home.
Michael asks us to pass the following message to choir
members:--
HELP........ Lost, stolen or strayed........ n
If you have in your possession any tapes, CDs or
music scores that | may have lent out at any time,
please return them via Margaret Dentskevich or
another committee member. I'm particularly
anxious to trace the Corydon Singers’ cassette
recording of the Bruckner E Minor Mass.
5
-+
General items
Recordings — June Windle
| can obtain CDs of music we are practising from
Record Comer at a discounted rate. Tom, the very
helpful proprietor, will order any CD and usually have it
for you within a week. He offers a discount to choir
members on all full-price CDs. I'm happy to make
enquiries for you, or do call in yourself: the shop is off
Godalming High Street in Pound Lane (just up from
Lloyds Bank), telephone 01483-422006. Park in one of
the town car parks and walk from there.
From now on | would ask for cheques (payable to June
Windle) or cash with any CD orders.
Another choir member has passed me details of Music
Dynamics’ ChoraLine Rehearsal Cassettes. These can
be bought or hired and are produced with a separate
instrumental sound for each part so that all parts can
be clearly distinguished. The 'target voice' part is on
one loudspeaker and the remaining parts on the other.
You can therefore alter the relative volume of your part
against the others simply by adjusting the stereo
balance control. Please speak to me if you want more
information.
(Note from Rod Cuff: The “links” page of our Web site
includes a link to ChoraLine’s site, which has full
information about their products.)