Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle St Barnabas Church Calton Avenue, Dulwich Village Saturday 28 March 2015, 7.30pm Brockwell Art Services Established 1979 QUALITY PICTURE FRAMING 232-234 Railton Road, SE24 0JT Telephone 020 7274 7046 Open 11am-7pm weekdays 10am-6pm Saturday 35 years in Herne Hill www.brockwellart.co.uk ESTATE AGENTS VALUERS PROPERT Y MANAGERS Harvey & Wheeler are a long established professional independent Estate Agent concentrating on the upper end of the market for both sales and rentals in Dulwich and surrounding areas. We have sold some of the largest and most valuable houses to have come to the market here in the last thirty five years. Originally established in Belgravia in 1855 we also specialise in the sale of period property in South East London. As a small highly skilled team we aim to take great care of clients and buyers alike and to build a strong relationship based on trust and experience. 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The office is situated in the centre of Dulwich Village. 020 8693 4321 www.harveywheeler.com [email protected] 27 Dulwich Village, London SE21 7BN Mon - Fri: 9am - 5.30pm, Sat: 9.30am - 4pm Saturday 28 March 2015, 7.30pm St Barnabas Church, Calton Avenue, Dulwich Village, London SE21 DULWICH CHORAL SOCIETY GIOACCHINO ROSSINI (1792–1868) Petite Messe Solennelle CAMILLA ROBERTS soprano ROWAN HELLIER mezzo soprano ADRIAN DWYER tenor DAVID SOAR bass 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 with DAVID ELWIN piano RICHARD PEARCE harmonium Kyrie Gloria Credo Prélude religieux Ritournelle Sanctus O salutaris hostia Agnus Dei An interval of 25 minutes follows the Gloria Interval drinks will be available in the Undercroft AIDAN OLIVER conductor PROGRAMME NOTES Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (1792–1868) Petite Messe Solennelle (1863) Phillip Gossett, the American musicologist and authority on Rossini wrote about the composer: ‘no composer in the first half of the 19th century enjoyed the measure of prestige, wealth, popular acclaim or artistic influence that belonged to Rossini. His contemporaries recognised him as the greatest Italian composer of his time’. His achievements in opera caused the work of his predecessors to be forgotten; his contemporaries, Bellini and Donizetti, worked under his shadow, and even Beethoven, piqued by his international recognition, resorted to snide remarks about him. Portrait of Rossini by Friedrich Lieder (1822) the French horn and his mother was a singer). As a boy he learnt the horn and singing and sang in at least one opera in Bologna, where the family lived. He studied there and began his operatic career when, at 18, he wrote a one-act comedy for La Fenice in Venice. Further commissions followed, from Bologna, Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy on 29 February 1792 (a leap year!) into a musical family (his father played 3 Ferrara, Venice again and Milan, where La pietra del paragone was a success at La Scala in 1812. His first operas to win international acclaim date from 1813, written for different Venetian theatres: the serious Tancredi and the farcically comic L’Italiana in Algeri. Two operas for Milan were less successful. In 1815 Rossini went to Naples as musical and artistic director of the Teatro San Carlo, which led to his concentration on serious opera. During this tenure he also composed for other theatres, and from this time date two of his supreme comedies, written in 1816 for Rome, Il barbiere di Siviglia and La Cenerentola. Over the next 13 years, Rossini wrote operas for Naples, Venice, Bologna, London and Paris (where, in 1823, he took on the directorship of the Théâtre-Italien). Rossini refused to have them published. He referred to them as péchés de vieillesse (‘sins of old age’). Characterised by wit, parody, grace and sentiment, these pieces were to influence the younger generation of French composers, including SaintSaens and Chabrier. He died, universally honoured, in 1868. On first hearing the Petite Messe Solennelle, the listener is tempted to adapt a remark attributed to Napoleon III and declare that the piece is neither little, solemn nor especially liturgical in spirit. Even Rossini’s Don Camilloesque inscription would suggest that he himself inclined to such a view: Dear God – behold completed this poor little Mass – is it indeed music for the blest [‘musique Sacrée’] that I have just written, or just some blessed music [‘Sacrée musique’]? Thou knowest well, I was born for opera buffa. A little technique, a little heart, that is all. So bless Thee and grant me Paradise! G Rossini – Passy 1863. The first performance of the piece was given at the town house of the dedicatee, the Countess Louise Pillet Will, and those who attended agreed that, for all Rossini’s protestations, the Mass represented a magnificent feat of creative self-renewal for the 71year-old composer. Rossini c. 1850 (Litho: F. Perrin) By the age of 37 he had written over 40 operas but, in 1829, after completing Guillaume Tell, he retired to live in Italy, but suffered prolonged and painful illness there (mainly in Bologna, where he advised at the Liceo Musicale, and in Florence). His wife, Isabella, died in 1845 and the next year he married Olympe Pélissier, with whom he had lived for 15 years and who tended him through his ill-health. He composed hardly at all during this period, but he went back to Paris in 1855. Here his health and humour returned, together with his urge to compose, and he wrote over 150 piano pieces, songs, small ensembles, including the graceful and economical Petite Messe Solennelle (1863). These works were only performed at his salon, for private audiences, which included most of the great artistic and public figures in Paris at the time. Gioachino Rossini, photographed by Étienne Carjat (1865) 4 the Cum sancto spiritu and Et vitam venturi sæculi). The magnificent tenor solo Domine Deus recalls the Cujus animam from Rossini’s earlier Stabat Mater, while Rossini’s operatic roots are represented in the Quoniam. The insertion of the O salutaris (not part of the liturgy, but often used as a hymn during the Mass or Benediction) provided Rossini with an opportunity to explore the unusual harmonies he was using in his piano pieces at the time. The final, luminescent Agnus Dei for contralto (Rossini’s favourite voice) and choir brings the work to a dramatic close. Barry Creasy Caricature by H Mailly on the cover of Le Hanneton (4 July 1867) Rossini specified 12 as the ideal number of singers (his instructions throughout are that the soloists should also sing the chorus parts when not otherwise involved), although subsequent performances have generally involved a larger chorus and separate soloists. Initially, the instrumental scoring of the Mass for two pianos and harmonium seems strange but, given its context as a salon piece, such instrumentation is not unusual. Following a remark from the critic of Le Siècle (who stated that there was enough fire in the piece to melt a marble cathedral were it to be scored for full chorus and orchestra), Rossini proceeded to orchestrate the piece in the years 1866–67. This orchestration, however, makes very few concessions to orchestral colour and adds nothing to the stature of the work, which depends mainly on melody, line and rhythm. Rossini's final resting place, in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence Rhythm and modulation play an important part in the opening ternary-form Kyrie and the rhythmic excitement continues throughout the Gloria and Credo (especially of note is the contrapuntal writing in 5 TEXT AND TRANSLATION 1 KYRIE Chorus Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. 2 GLORIA Soloists and Chorus Gloria in excelsis Deo; et in terra pax hominibus, bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te. Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee. Alto, Tenor and Bass Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory. Tenor Domine Deus, rex coelestis, Pater omnipotens, Domine fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. O Lord God, heavenly king, God the Father almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ: O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. Soprano, Alto Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis! Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Thou that takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world: receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon us. Bass Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. For thou only art holy. Thou only art the Lord. Thou only O Jesus Christ art most high: Chorus Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Amen With the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Interval 3 CREDO Soloists and Chorus Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium, et in unum Dominum, filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula: Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt: Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis; et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est. I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all ages; God of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made: who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from the heavens, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man: 6 Soprano Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried; Soloists and Chorus Et resurrexit tertia die secundum scripturas: Et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos; cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum, et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum: He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end: I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins and I look for the resurrection of the dead, Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. and the life of the world to come. Amen. 4 PRELUDE RELIGIEUX 5 RITOURNELLE 6 SANCTUS Soloists and Chorus Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis! Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis! Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of his glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. 7 O SALUTARIS Soprano O salutaris hostia, quae coeli pandis ostium. Bella premunt hostilia da robur fer auxilium. Amen. O saving Victim opening wide the gate of heaven to all below. Our foes press on from every side: thine aid supply, thy strength bestow. 8 AGNUS DEI Alto and Chorus Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis! Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem! O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace. 7 SOUTH LONDON MUSIC We are a fast, efficient music supplier with an extensive stock of sheet music. We also sell instrumental accessories (strings, reeds, bags etc) and a growing range of instruments, including violins, guitars, woodwind & brass, recorders, percussion and ukuleles! We also sell CDs, DVDs gifts, novelties and baby percussion. Choral music is a speciality with a comprehensive range of vocal scores and CDs. Open Monday to Saturday 10am-5.30pm 29 Grove Vale, East Dulwich, SE22 8EQ T: 0208 693 9879 M: 07957 461677 [email protected] Owner/ Manager: Rupert Perkins Buy online at www.slmusic.co.uk Please join our Facebook community: www.facebook.com/SouthLondonMusic Richard Hickox, Mendelssohn’s Elijah Philharmonic Hall Liverpool and Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. For Raymond Gubbay she sang at Symphony Hall Birmingham, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, and the Royal Albert Hall, and she performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St John’s Smith Square London and at St David’s Hall Cardiff. Camilla has sung recitals at the Cheltenham International Festival of Music, North Wales International Music Festival, Fishguard Festival and in Milan. Born in Wrexham, North Wales, Camilla Roberts studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio, sponsored by Welsh National Opera. In 2005 Camilla Roberts represented Wales in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Other awards include the inaugural Kenneth Loveland Gift, the Harold Rosenthal Award and the WNO Chris Ball Bursary. CAMILLA ROBERTS Camilla Roberts’ most recent and future engagements include Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the English Touring Opera, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda with Welsh National Opera at the Royal Opera House Muscat, Oman and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Andromache in King Priam with English Touring Opera; Santuzza in Cavelleria Rusticana with Welsh National Opera; Eglantine in Euryanthe with the Chelsea Opera Group; First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Welsh National Opera; Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Bristol Choral Society; and Beethoven IX with the Three Choirs Festival. Camilla’s other roles at Welsh National Opera have included Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Micaela (Carmen), Diane (Iphigenie en Tauride), Blumenmädchen (Parsifal) and Laura (Iolanta), which she also performed at the BBC Proms. Other noted past performances include Irene (Belisario) Opera Rara, Foreign Princess (Rusalka) ETO, Anna (Nabucco) Opera North, Tatayana (Eugene Onegin) Opera Holland Park, Marenka (The Bartered Bride), Mimi (La Bohème) Mid Wales Opera and Anna (Le Villi) Chelsea Opera Group. Camilla covered Elsa (Lohengrin) and Lisa (Pique Dame) Welsh National Opera, Katya Kabanova (title role) and Rusalka (title role) Opera North, as well as Donna Anna and Countess Glyndebourne Festival Opera. ROWAN HELLIER Rowan Hellier was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden where her roles included Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Annina in La Traviata and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. She studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Rowan has worked with leading conductors such as Alexander Vedernikov, Laurence Cummings, Christian Kluxen, Julien Salemkour, Nicholas Collon, Leo Hussain, Alexander Soddy, André de Ridder and Omer Meir Wellber. Concert highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 at the Barbican Hall under David Parry, Rossini’s Stabat Mater at St Endellion Festival under 9 Recent and future engagements include Penelope in Monteverdi’s Return of Ulysses for Iford Festival conducted by Christian Curnyn, Cyrus in Belshazzar and Messiah with the King’s Consort in Versailles, Mahler’s Rückert-lieder at the Bath International Festival, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Messiah with the Dunedin Consort, Wellgunde in Das Rheingold with Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO, Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Trevor Pinnock at Wigmore Hall, the title role in J C Bach’s Adriano in Siria with Classical Opera and Frau Grubach/Washerwoman in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s The Trial with Music Theatre Wales at the Linbury Studio Theatre, the Royal Opera House and on tour. Recent and future highlights include Hermes (King Priam) and Inkslinger/Narrator (Paul Bunyan) for English Touring Opera, Narraboth (Salome) for NI Opera, Huon (Oberon) for New Sussex Opera, Sir Edgar Aubry in Marschner’s Der Vampyr for the Cork Summer Festival, Lemminkainen (Swanhunter) for Opera North, and Trin (La Fanciulla del West) and Trabuco (La Forza del Destino) for English National Opera. DAVID SOAR David was born in Nottinghamshire and studied organ and singing at the Royal Academy of Music. As an organist he held many positions including organ scholarships at Southwell Minster, Chichester Cathedral and St Bride’s, Fleet Street and, finally, as Director of Music at All Saint’s Parish Church, Kingston upon Thames. In 2003 David changed course to pursue a professional singing career, which he began as a member of the chorus of Welsh National Opera. A period of study at the National Opera Studio saw him return to WNO in 2006 as a principal artist. He has since enjoyed a long association with the company, performing many roles including Colline (La Bohème), Escamillo (Carmen), Ferrando (Il Trovatore), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), The King (Aida), Doctor (Wozzeck), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), The Nightwatchman (Die Meistersinger), Sparafucile (Rigoletto) and Leporello (Don Giovanni). ADRIAN DWYER Born in Melbourne, Adrian Dwyer studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio, London. He made his professional debut as Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème in Los Angeles, winning an LA Stage Alliance Award for Outstanding Performance. Since then his roles have included Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict (Opera Comique, Paris), Macduff in Macbeth and Almaviva in Barbiere di Siviglia (Scottish Opera), Andres in Wozzeck, Jaquino in Fidelio, Janek in The Makropoulos Case, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Grailknight in Parsifal and SS Officer in Weinberg’s The Passenger (all with English National Opera), Miroslav/Harpist in Excursions of Mr Broucek, Robert in Skin Deep and Janek in The Makropoulos Case (Opera North), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Giuseppe in La Wally (for Opera Holland Park and Belle Ile Festival France, respectively), Alfredo in La Traviata and Almaviva (Opera Queensland), Rodolfo in La Boheme (Cape Town Opera, Royal Albert Hall), Sam Kaplan in Street Scene (Opera de Toulon) and Ismaele in Nabucco (State Opera of South Australia). Roles elsewhere include Alvise Badoero (La Gioconda) for Opera Holland Park, Donner (Das Rheingold) for the Lucerne Festival, Alfonso d’Este (Lucrezia Borgia) for the Buxton Festival, Masetto (Don Giovanni), Sleep/Coridon/Winter/Hymen (The Fairy Queen) and Mr Flint (Billy Budd) for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia) for Glyndebourne 10 Touring Opera, Masetto and Colline for the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville) and Roy Disney (The Perfect American) for ENO and, recently, Pistola (Falstaff) for the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan. He has an extensive concert repertoire, highlights amongst which are Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Messiah with the English Concert and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with the Halle Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. Last year David performed and recorded Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chandos Records under Sir Andrew Davis, which was received with critical acclaim. Future plans include a return to the Glyndebourne Festival and Nilakantha (Lakmé) for Opera Holland Park, as well as concerts with the Academy of Ancient Music and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. including much contemporary and new music. Richard has a long-‐standing association with the Royal Choral Society, and performs with them several times a year at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In addition, he makes twice-‐yearly trips to Sweden to work with groups in the Stockholm and Malmö areas. Richard is a sought-‐after accompanist for chamber choirs in London and elsewhere, and has recorded several CDs over the last year for Oxford University Press, championing new compositions and composers, and also released a CD for Naxos with Oxford-‐based choir ‘Commotio’ last year. He conducts the Waverley Singers, a choral society based in Farnham, Surrey. Richard is regular organist with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. He also performs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Promenade concerts and recordings, most recently at the Last Night of the Proms. He frequently conducts and plays for services at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster and at the Houses of Parliament. Richard is a vocal coach and staff accompanist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. RICHARD PEARCE Richard Pearce was organ scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, where as conductor and organist he toured and recorded extensively with the chapel choir. After graduating with first class honours in music, he studied piano accompaniment for two years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. DAVID ELWIN David Elwin studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Jean Harvey, Max Pirani and Rex Stephens. His first professional work was as staff pianist with the Royal Ballet, and later with the English National Ballet. He regularly performed as piano soloist with both companies in nationwide venues. Richard is fortunate to work in a variety of musical fields, but working with chamber choirs and choruses has become a speciality. He records and broadcasts regularly with the BBC Singers on both piano and organ, and conducted them on a trip to Vezelay, France, in August; he enjoys the challenge of preparing an extremely wide variety of repertoire 11 In 1992 he left ENB to go freelance, and is now engaged combining activities as an accompanist/répétiteur, duo partner, soloist, instrumental and vocal coach and piano teacher. while as conductor he holds positions at St Margaret’s Church Westminster, the St Endellion Festival and Dulwich Choral Society. He also assists regularly on the staff of the Royal Opera House and at English National Opera, and works with many of London’s leading choirs. From 1987 until 1995 he was accompanist and répétiteur for the distinguished voice trainers Audrey Langford and Andrew Field, working with established singers such as Joan Rodgers, Susan Bullock and Stephen Varcoe, to name but a few. Aidan is one of the UK’s most sought-after chorus masters. He has prepared the BBC Symphony Chorus for broadcasts including Syzmanowski Stabat Mater (BBC Proms) and Walton Belshazzar’s Feast; the BBC Singers for Boulez cummings ist der dichter, Mendelssohn Antigone (BBC Proms) and Ligeti Le Grand Macabre; and English National Opera for Britten Peter Grimes (BBC Proms), Wagner Twilight of the Gods and Beethoven Fidelio. Until 2011 he worked for 15 years with students at the Kent Music Academy in Maidstone, as pianist and coach for concerts and examinations. In 2002 he was accompanist in residence for the first London Lieder Competition. As Assistant Conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen, Aidan has toured with the Philharmonia to the USA, Europe and Russia. He was also invited by the late Lorin Maazel to direct the chamber orchestra in performances under him of Britten War Requiem in London and Hong Kong. As the Associate Conductor of the St Endellion Festival in Cornwall he has conducted works as varied as Macmillan Seven Last Words, Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5, Wagner Wesendonck Lieder, Rachmaninov All-Night Vigil, and Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale, the latter with Rory Kinnear as narrator. David has wide experience as a choral accompanist: he is currently engaged at the Dulwich Choral Society under musical director Aidan Oliver, and at OSJ Voices with former King’s Singer and now chorus master and conductor Jeremy Jackman. As Director of Music at St Margaret’s Westminster, Aidan works with organist Thomas Trotter and a professional choir to provide the music for many highprofile Parliamentary occasions, including memorial services for many leading public figures. Under Aidan, the choir has developed a particular association with contemporary music, premiering works by composers including Joseph Phibbs, Matthew Martin, Gareth Treseder, Alastair Putt and Francis Grier. Aidan Oliver began his musical career as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, later studying at Eton College and at King’s College Cambridge. After graduating with a Double First in Classics, he pursued further studies at Harvard University (as a Kennedy Scholar), the National Opera Studio and King’s College London. He lives in East Dulwich with his wife Lois and their two children. AIDAN OLIVER Aidan Oliver pursues a varied career as conductor and chorus master across the full range of operatic, symphonic and choral repertoire. As Director of Philharmonia Voices he is involved in many of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s most ambitious projects, 12 Dulwich Choral Society Honorary President Dame Emma Kirkby Vice Presidents His Honour Judge Michael Goodman, Roger Page Musical Director Aidan Oliver Chairman Dr Iain Saville CBE Accompanist David Elwin Dulwich Choral Society was founded in 1944. Today it is a thriving, friendly choir that performs at least three concerts a year, including two with professional orchestras and top-‐class soloists. Since 2006 Aidan Oliver, one of the UK’s leading choral conductors, has been the choir’s Musical Director. As well as giving concerts in the Dulwich area, the choir has performed more widely in central London and abroad. Since 1998 the choir has undertaken tours to Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Germany and Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our most recent overseas tour was to Portugal in 2014, where we performed in some very beautiful venues in Lisbon and Sintra. Closer to home the choir performs in several of the wonderful churches in and around Dulwich, and enjoys a strong local following. DCS also organises very popular ‘come and sing’ events; the next opportunity for you to sing with us is on 18 April 2015, when we will rehearse and give an informal performance of Verdi’s Requiem. See p 15 below for details. Do please come and join us for what promises to be a very exciting day! Would you like to join us? New choir members are always welcome. If you are interested in joining the choir, please contact Jo Merry, our Membership Secretary, on 020 7737 3169 or [email protected] for more details. Entry is subject to an informal audition by the Musical Director who, besides a reasonable singing voice, will be looking for basic sight-‐reading ability and general musicality. Membership costs £165 a year and is currently free for those aged under 26 or in full-‐time education. Rehearsals take place on Monday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30pm at All Saints Church, Lovelace Road, West Dulwich, London. The church is about 5–10 minutes’ walk from either Tulse Hill or West Dulwich stations and is served by a number of bus routes, including the 3, P13 and 201. For further details, visit: www.dulwichchoralsociety.org.uk 13 DULWICH CHORAL SOCIETY Sopranos Altos Tenors Nicola Alexander Margaret Bailey Linda Beadnell Nicola Blaney Sue Chandler Marie Pierre Denaro Edith Fehrenbach Sophie Fender Honor Gay Didi Greig Rebecca Harrison Cecilia Hill Tamara Howard Pierce Juliana Kirby Asha Last Denise Lawson Julia Layton Heidi Lempp Ingrid Lucas Kassy Luto Priscilla Macpherson Morven Main Fenella Maitland Smith Teresa Marshall Diane Pengelly Susan Perolls Carmo Ponte Susan Powell Hilary Pu Fleur Read Jenny Thomas Jane Tippe Jessica Watson Gracita Woods Becky Bahar Zina Boykova Amanda Carey Marilyn Checkley Helen Chown Ann Cowan Julia Field Joanna French Vivien Gambling Helen Graham Gill Hancock Jill Harris Sarah Hughes Julie Jones Jo Merry Jane Palmer Nicola Prior Rosemary Publicover Susan Robinson Frances Steele Beini Ye Roger Atkins Forbes Bailey Rowan Barnard Nick Bolt Giles Craven Robert Foster John Greig Steve Harrison Andrew Lang Jon Layton Jonathan Palmer Michael Palmer John Quigley Iain Saville Eric Sneyd Nick Vaisey Jack Wensley 14 Basses Andrew Black Christopher Braun Ian Chown Guy Collins Michael Faulkner Malcolm Field Simon Foster Alex Hamilton Michael Kenny Paul Kinnear Adrian Lambourne Mike Lock Peter Main Duncan Pra Barney Rayfield Mike Shepherd Paul Stern Richard Webb Friends and Patrons Forthcoming concerts Summer Concert 2015 Dulwich Choral Society gratefully acknowledges the financial support it receives from its valued Friends and Patrons: Saturday 27 June 2015, 7:30pm St Stephen’s Church, College Road South Dulwich Summer Loving … Inge Kelly June Cleall-Harding John & Judy Clark Denise & John Lawson Peter Thomas Roger & Scylla Page Carmo Ponte Iain Saville From an English country garden to a balmy Venice evening, Dulwich Choral Society presents a summery collection of romance, heartbreak and joy! The programme will include: Brahms Liebeslieder (excerpts) Offenbach Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann Grainger Shallow Brown Barber Sure on this shining night Gershwin Summertime The Friends and Patrons are a group of people who enjoy coming to our concerts and social events whenever possible and are interested in ensuring the future stability of the choir. Supporters of the choir (and current choir members) will be warmly welcomed as new Friends and Patrons. Benefits of membership of the scheme include: Come and Sing Verdi’s REQUIEM with Dulwich Choral Society on Saturday 18 April 2015 at St Barnabas, Calton Avenue Dulwich Village SE21 7DG • advance booking for concerts • discounts on tickets bought through the choir • reserved seats with tickets bought through the choir • a free interval drink with each ticket bought (at certain concert venues) • a programme signed by a soloist (for patrons) • mailings of details of future programmes Join us for an exciting day to rehearse and give an informal performance of Verdi’s thrilling masterpiece in one day under the direction of Aidan Oliver, with piano and professional soloists Dulwich Choral Society is a registered charity with number 264764. Donations made under Gift Aid will enable the income tax to be recovered as an additional benefit. Please contact Jo Merry on [email protected] and for full details see www.dulwichchoralsociety.org.uk For more information, please contact: Fenella Maitland-Smith 5 Rockwell Gardens London SE19 1HW [email protected] 07786 060640 15
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