Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2021 i Choir & Organ

EDITOR’S LETTER Music matters A move to Oxford earlier this year meant that, once Covid restrictions were relaxed, I’ve been able to start exploring some of the city’s cultural riches. First port of call was the Pitt Rivers Museum, home to more than half a million objects from around the globe and from all ages. This anthropological treasure trove includes a collection of 9,000 musical instruments, ranging in technological sophistication from South American single whistles, Pacific conches and African mbira (thumb pianos) to electronic keyboards. Also in the city is the university’s Bate Collection, with a further 2,000 instruments from the western European classical tradition; and the Ashmolean, housing a fine array of stringed instruments, including the earliest dated violin – by Andrea Amati in 1564 – and Stradivari’s 1716…

NEWS & PREVIEWS FOUR CHOIRS NOMINATED FOR RPS INSPIRATION AWARD THE 2021 ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY (RPS) AWARDS will take place in front of a live audience at London’s Wigmore Hall on Monday 1 November. The awards celebrate the outstanding, the pioneering and the inspirational in both amateur and professional classical music. This year, in addition to the usual categories, the winner of the Inspiration Award will be decided by the public for the first time. The Inspiration Award was introduced in 2020 for those who inspired the nation in the first months of lockdown, commending professional and non-professional musicians alike. This year – and from now on – the RPS will present the award outright to a non-professional ensemble or to an individual who works with such groups and is…

NEWS & PREVIEWS PAST LIVES MARTIN SCHELLENBERG (1959-2021) COURTESY THE MARTIN SCHELLENBERG MUSIC TRUST The organist and conductor Martin Schellenberg has died aged 62. After completing three years at Birmingham Conservatoire studying organ and cello, Schellenberg continued his organ studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Jean Langlais. He took up the post of assistant organist at Bristol Cathedral in 1980, starting in the final years of Clifford Harker’s lengthy tenure as organist before Malcolm Archer took over the post in 1983. During his time as organist and master of the choir (1986-95) at Christchurch Priory, Schellenberg forged links with several local schools, founded and directed the Christchurch Consort Choir and Orchestra, and was director of the Rilstone Singers in Bournemouth. In April 1994, he directed the music for the BBC…

NEWS & PREVIEWS RECITAL ROUND-UP Alton, St Lawrence at 8pm Anthony Froggatt (7 Dec) 01420 543628, altonorgansociety.co.uk Chester Cathedral at 1.10pm Philip Rushforth (4, 11 Nov), Alexander Palotai (18 Nov), Simon Russell (25 Nov) 01244 500974 Chichester Cathedral at 1.10pm Timothy Parsons (23 Nov) 01243 782595, bit.ly/3ACc40w Gloucester Cathedral at 7.30pm Alexander Ffinch (17 Nov) bit.ly/3ktR1HH Leeds Cathedral at 1.15pm Paul Carr (1 Nov), Michał Szostak (8 Nov), Ourania Gassiou (15 Nov), D’Arcy Trinkwon (22 Nov), Darius Battiwalla (29 Nov) 0113 378 6600, leedsconcertseason.co.uk London E1, Christ Church Spitalfields at 7.30pm Gerard Brooks (22 Nov) 020 7377 2440 London EC2, St Margaret Lothbury at 1.10pm Mark Fitze (4 Nov), Richard Townend (11, 25 Nov), David Löfgren (18 Nov) 020 7726 4878 London EC3, St Michael’s Cornhill at 1pm Stefan Donner…

Freestyle Da doo Prom Prom Prom, da doo Prom Prom… BY GRAEME KAY ROB SHIRET Well, it was a rum BBC Proms* season, notwithstanding that, as promised, the organ featured prominently thanks to the artistic management’s understandable desire to reflect the 150th anniversary of the Royal Albert Hall and the significant part the Father Willis organ has continued to play in the narrative of the Hall’s life since the opening celebrations on 18 July 1871, when W.T. Best gave the inaugural recital. Daniel Hyde kicked off the entire season with his performance of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto on the opening night. Olivier Latry’s scheduled matinée of Bach and Bach-inspired improvisations in honour of Anton Bruckner’s appearance in the 1871 season was nixed by Covid-related problems; Martin Baker, himself a brilliant improviser,…

CHOIR & ORGAN NEXT ISSUE DECEMBER 2021 NEXT ISSUE DECEMBER 2021 THE WEGSCHEIDER ORGAN, BERLIN/HOLGER PETSCH OXFORD BACH CHOIR/COURTESY OBC DANIEL HYDE/LEON HARGRAVES, KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE OXFORD BACH CHOIR The works of J.S. Bach form only part of the repertoire of this choir, which during its 125 years has given 18 world premieres. BERLIN BRIEF Henry Fairs launches a series on organs in the German capital with a new instrument by Wegscheider in the style of Buchholz. THE MAHOGANY PROJECT A new Washington Chorus initiative is committed to ‘celebrating the voices and visions of creators of color’. OUT OF THE DUST SHEETS A historic T.C. Lewis has come out of storage and is installed in its new home – the Laidlaw Music Centre, University of St Andrews. DANIEL HYDE King’s…

REVIEWS CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS KEYBOARD CDS KeyNotes: Early European Organ Music Corina Marti, clavisimbalum by Andreas Hermert (2010), claviciterium by Emile Jobin (2000), organetti by Stefan Keppler (2013 and 2017), and organ by Johannes Koch (1498) /Johann Hinrich Klapmeyer (1727), Altenbruch, Germany Ramée RAM 1916 [65:54] ★★★★ Liturgical and secular contexts of the earliest known keyboard music, preserved in sources such as the Robertsbridge Codex, Buxheimer Orgelbuch, Codex Faenza, Montpellier Codex, etc., are difficult to define and identify with. Corina Marti’s research and her assembly of historical reconstructions of early European instruments have enabled her to record an effective sequence of music mostly known only in anthologies. Apart from Vitry and Landini, most music is anonymous,…

REVIEWS CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS CHORAL SELECTION Anthems by Gareth Treseder and Robert A. Hobby, arrangements by James Vivian and Wayne L. Wold, and Cecilia McDowall’s tribute to crystallographer Rosalind Franklin The coronavirus pandemic has inevitably distorted the definition of ‘new’ music, at least as far as this column is concerned. In 2020 there were few live performances, and many music publishers understandably drew in their horns. So I make no apology for catching up a little with music produced last year: if I didn’t take a look at some of these pieces, a number of exceptional compositions would go unremarked. One such is Cecilia McDowall’s Photo 51 (SSATB unacc.; Oxford University Press ISBN 9780193543621, £3.15), a…

NEWS & PREVIEWS NEW NICHOLAS DANBY TRUST SCHOLAR COURTESY OF THE NICHOLAS DANBY TRUST OPHELIA AMAR HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED as the 2021 Nicholas Danby Trust Scholar. Amar, who is French and British, has been living in France and studying with Éric Lebrun at the Conservatoire de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. She was also an organist in Créteil and at the Danish Frederikskirken in Paris. The recipient of an ABRSM postgraduate scholarship, Amar arrived in the UK in September to study for a master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music with David Titterington and Bine Bryndorf. Amar holds bachelor degrees in History and Political Science from Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and in Musicology from Sorbonne University. As a postgraduate enrolled in the Franco-German Master in History programme, offered jointly by Panthéon-Sorbonne University and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in…

IN BRIEF Presto Music has reported a 700 per cent year-on-year rise in choral music sales for July 2021, reflecting the then imminent return of choirs post-lockdown. Choral music sales account for nearly 10 per cent of Presto Music’s total sheet music revenue over the previous three months, compared with less than 2 per cent in the same period last year. The Choir Schools Association has welcomed Clive Marriott, headmaster of Salisbury Cathedral School, as its new chairman. Marriott succeeded Neil Chippington, headmaster of St John’s College School, Cambridge on 1 Sep. His new role coincides with Salisbury celebrating the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of England’s first cathedral girls’ choir. Warner Classics has appointed Sean Michael Gross as director of Warner Classics UK. Gross has previously served as a…

BBC RADIO 3 CAROL COMPETITION RETURNS BBC RADIO 3’S CHRISTMAS CAROL COMPETITION is returning for 2021. Music lovers and amateur composers aged 16 and over are invited to write a tune for Christina Rossetti’s seasonal classic Love came down at Christmas. Rossetti’s poem was first published without a title in Time Flies: A Reading Diary in 1885. It was later included in the collection Verses in 1893 under the title Christmastide. As a Christmas carol, it is rare in not having assumed a recognisable tune. However, the text has received many choral settings by composers such as Harold Darke, Nancy Grundahl, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Jacques, John Joubert, Richard Lloyd, R.O. Morris, Philip Moore and John Rutter. The compositions shortlisted for the finals will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. As…

READERS’ OFFERS Your chance to WIN CDs and sheet music CD A TRIBUTE TO NICOLAS KYNASTON Nicolas Kynaston, organs in Bonn Selby Abbey Organ Masters SAOM 007 Here is a chance to remind yourself, or discover for the first time, the qualities that made Nicolas Kynaston legendary among British organists, among them ‘rhythmic drive, faultless technique and ultra-nuanced presentation of tone colours’ (see review, p.71). This release is a compilation of recordings Kynaston made during the 1980s of Widor’s Symphony no.8 and works by Karg-Elert. Courtesy of Selby Abbey Organ Masters, we have 5 copies to give away; quote code ‘KYNASTON’. CD ROBERT FAYRFAX (1464-1521): MUSIC FOR TUDOR KINGS AND QUEENS Ensemble Pro Victoria/Toby Ward (dir) Delphian DCD 34265 ‘Fresh scholarship and sensitive interpretations, full of contrast and drama’ (see…

DENMAN Denman’s delight The magnum opus of a little-known 19th-century York organ builder has found a new home in its native city. Chris Bragg investigates its return from oblivion. PHOTOS BY CHRIS BRAGG I have visited York countless times, but never found reason to visit an organ. However, the recent recapturing of the Minster’s Imperial masterpiece and projects elsewhere have transformed the organ landscape of that enchanting place. At St Denys, Martin Renshaw and an enterprising group of volunteers have installed the ex-St Ebbe’s, Oxford Father Willis (1879), and there is hope that the splendid early Forster and Andrews at the Oratory might be returned to its original state. And a little to the east of the city centre, the remarkable renaissance of another significant Victorian organ has come to…

CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS REVIEWS CHORAL CDS Robert Kyr: In Praise of Music Antioch Chamber Ensemble/Joshua Copeland (dir) Bridge 9558 [58:28] ★★★★ Odes to music can be bear traps. If the composition or the singing isn’t sufficiently transcendent and joyful, they can make the listener pray for silence instead. Covid changed all that. The mere fact of performing became almost an end in itself. The Antioch Chamber Ensemble recorded this a full six months before the pandemic bit, but, inevitably, we hear it with post-Covid ears. Kyr’s music and texts do, indeed, offer the most full-hearted praise for the ability to turn life-experience, good or dark, into music. It’s a disciplined choir and they and conductor Joshua Copeland…

REVIEWS CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS CHORAL MUSIC Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem (arr. Joachim Linckelmann) S,M-S,T,B sols, SATB chorus + chamb. orch. Carus 27.308/00 full score €139.00 If you are considering mounting a 150th-anniversary concert of Verdi’s Requiem on or around 22 May 2024, then you might wish to consider using Carus’s new arrangement for chamber orchestra. The 1874 Milan premiere used 235 performers – 120 in the choir, 110 in the orchestra, four vocal soloists, and the composer as conductor. Most of us don’t have the space or the budget to match those forces, and even if we did, our choruses might struggle to be heard over such a large orchestral bed. Carus has a solution;…

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Live Conductor refresher days 30 & 31 Oct, St Gabriel’s Church and Hall, London As the country moves back to live singing and rehearsing, abcd presents an opportunity to revive and refresh conducting technique in the company of Amy Bebbington and Sarah Tenant-Flowers. Limited places available. Autumn webinars Running monthly from mid-Oct to Dec abcd’s webinar series continues with a discussions and lectures led by the abcd team of tutors and special guests on a wide range of choral topics. Webinars take place on Saturdays from 11am-12.30pm (unless otherwise advertised) and are hosted on Zoom. There is a fee of £5 for each webinar. All abcd webinars are recorded and a copy sent to everyone who books, so you can watch live or on catch up at your convenience. The…

EVENTS Antwerp and Ghent host the 11th edition of the World Choir Games (30 Oct-7 Nov). Choirs unable to visit Flanders in person may register for the virtual competition. The Flemish Video Award will be awarded for the best presentation of a Flemish choral composition or arrangement. wcg2021.com A new annual festival of Polish sacred music from the 13th to 21st centuries will be launched on 2 Nov. ‘Joy & Devotion’ takes place at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, from 2-5 Nov under the artistic direction of composer-conductor Paweł Łukaszewski. Featured choirs include The Gesualdo Six, Tenebrae and Echo, with Rupert Jeffcoat (organ). Tickets and info from stmartin-in-the-fields.org. Royal College of Organists events include: Towards CRCO and ARCO keyboard, five hour-long sessions with Anne Marsden Thomas and Frederick Stocken. Weekly on Mondays…

PREMIERES [RP = REGIONAL PREMIERE] Peter-Jan Wagemans: Carnival of Shades Groot Omroepkoor, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest/Hermus 6 Nov, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL Phillip Cooke: Hymnum Sanctae Mariae Marian Consort/McCleery 11 Nov, King’s College Chapel, University of Aberdeen, UK Richard Barnard: I Am The Song Richard Barnard: Hurt Not The Trees City of Bristol Choir/Ogden 12 Nov, Clifton Cathedral, Bristol, UK John Rutter: Three Shakespeare Songs Purcell Singers/Ford 13 Nov, St George’s RC Cathedral, Southwark, UK Howard Goodall: Unconditional Love Choir of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, Houston/Goodall 14 Nov, St Luke’s United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas, US Sasha Johnson Manning: A Spiritual Musick Saint Louis Chamber Chorus/Barnes 14 Nov, Third Baptist Church, St Louis, MO, US Bob Chilcott: The Pear Tree Carol Birmingham University Singers/Chilcott 19 Nov, Elgar Concert Hall, University of…

ERROLLYN WALLEN Opening time In June this year, Errollyn Wallen CBE was the recipient of the ISM’s 2020 Distinguished Musician Award. She talks to David Wordsworth about the influences on her compositions, and the importance of avoiding elitism in classical music GILLIAN EDELSTEIND Described by the Observer as ‘the renaissance woman of British music’, Errollyn Wallen’s career has taken her in a great many directions, her music being fuelled and inspired by her love of a hugely eclectic collection of influences. Alongside the traditional songs of her native Belize and Methodist upbringing, one should add the memory of singing madrigals and the music of Benjamin Britten under an enthusiastic and supportive teacher at school. She has been a dancer (a huge rhythmic energy is central to whatever Wallen writes); a…

TRAVELLER’S JOY TRAVELLER’S JOY Stephen Pritchard hears new music under ancient mosaics at the Ravenna Festival, sees goldfish swim beneath a church, and savours the local pasta MAURIZIO MONTANARIS t Augustine was wading ashore in Kent to bring Christianity to pagan Britain when high up in the vaults of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, artists were completing the magnificent mosaics that would make this northern Italian city the Constantinople of western Europe. Here, today’s visitors have to recalibrate their mental history and keep reminding themselves that they are looking at religious art completed 1,000 years before Italy’s more familiar renaissance period. It’s dizzying – and not a little neck-straining, too. But it’s not quite such a stretch as it was to 5th-and 6th-century pilgrims. Ravenna lies on the…

REVIEWS CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS EARLY MUSIC Rebecca Tavener rounds up the latest releases Here are four fine programmes, each appealing in highly contrasted ways. A 14th Century Salmagundi [Blue Heron BHCD 1011] is just what it says on the tin – a miscellany. Having been commissioned to record material from the late 13th and early 14th centuries for academic projects in 2010 and 2014, Blue Heron decided to release these works together on one short and sweet disc. Perhaps 40 minutes is enough, however, when it comes to music which is introspective and complaining, including what they term ‘three cranky Italian songs’? It seems fitting for these distracted times that the seven singers and three instrumentalists…

REVIEWS CONCERTS • KEYBOARD CDS • CHORAL CDS • DVDS • ORGAN MUSIC • CHORAL MUSIC • BOOKS BOOKS Nicholas Thistlethwaite: The Organs of York Minster 1236-2021 Positif Press, Oxford (2021), ISBN 978-0-906894-73-6, 224 pp, 81 illus, p/b, £30.00 (available from shop.yorkminster.org) The Grand Organ of York Minster must have had a more chequered life than most. Its destruction by fire in 1829 by the arsonist Jonathan Martin is as well-known as the inability of the Hill organ of 1829-33 to make a loud enough sound to satisfy the organist at the time, Dr Camidge. There is more to the story than this and all is clearly set out in this well produced and lavishly illustrated book. Few details of the organs survive until we reach Dallam’s contract of 1633.…