The Banbury Choral Society


	Recent Concerts The Society and the Cherwell Orchestra, under the leadership of Sue Meteyard, performed the Fauré Requiem and "The Song of Destiny" by Brahms on Saturday 5th April 2008 at Saint Mary's Church in Banbury. The soloists were Emily Rowly-Jones (Soprano) and Andrew Finden (Bass) who also performed the duet "Graceful Consort" from Haydn's Creation with the orchestra. In addition, the orchestra performed Verdi's overture "The Force of Destiny" and the tone poem "Finlandia" by Sibelius. The choir sang Keith Smith's arrangement of the hymn "Be Still My Soul" to one of the movements of the tone poem. Requiem - Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924) Song of Destiny (Schicksalslied) - Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) The choir performed a "Festival of Christmas Music" on Tuesday, 18th December 2007 at St Mary's Church, Banbury. The soloists were Alice Wratton (Soprano) and John Lofthouse (Baritone) with David Coran (Organ). The Choir and the Cherwell Orchestra performed Handel's "Messiah" on Saturday, 24th November 2007 at St Mary's Church, Banbury. The soloists were Alice Wratten (Soprano), Sylvie Bedouelle (Mezzo-Soprano), John Davies (Tenor) and Duncan Rock (Baritone). The Society and the Cherwell Orchestra performed Vaughan William's "A Sea Symphony" on Saturday, 2nd June 2007 at St Mary's Church, Banbury. The Choir performed a "Festival of Christmas Music" on Saturday, 16th December 2006 at Saint Mary's Church, Banbury The concert featured the Banbury Choral Society and the Southampton Youth Brass Group. The soprano soloist was Stephanie Edwards. The Society and the Cherwell Orchestra performed Mozart's Requiem Mass and Bach's Cantata No. 147 "Jesu, joy of man's desiring" on Saturday, 25th November at Saint Mary's Church, Banbury. The soloists were Sarah Haigh, Rebecca Mitchell-Farmer, Julian Forbes and Mark Heather. The Society performed a 'Gala Opera Evening' with the Cherwell Orchestra on 24th June at St Mary's Church, Horsefair, Banbury. The soloists were Christina Haldane and Randy Nichol. Elgar's Kingdom was performed on Saturday, 1st April 2006 at Saint Mary's Church, Horsefair in Banbury 100 years after its first performance. A concert of Christmas Festival Music was performed at Saint Mary's Church, Horsefair, Banbury on Saturday, 10th December 2005. This featured the Banbury Choral Society with members of the Southampton Youth Brass Band. The soprano soloist was Christina Haldane. On Saturday, 18 June 2005, in St Mary's Church, Banbury there was a programme of short works for solo tenor, chorus and string orchestra that included: Music's Praise - Michael Hurd Awake My Lyre - John Blow At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners - Brian Kelly The tenor soloist was Adrian Ward Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" was performed at Saint Mary's Church, Horsefair, Banbury on Saturday, 19th March 2005. The choir performed Haydn's "Saint Nicolas Mass" and Vivaldi's "Gloria" on Saturday, 4th December, 2004 at Saint Mary's Church in Banbury The Choir performed Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" at Sibford School on Saturday, 3rd July. The choir performed Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" on Saturday, March 20th, 2004 in St Mary's Church, Banbury. This work was commissioned by the Royal Armouries to commemorate the millenium. The idea was to compose a modern mass based on the traditional theme that "the armed man must be feared". The mass reflects on war and peace in a multi-cultural, global society and the composition uses lyrics from classic poets, biblical verses, and traditional mass, as well as from Muslim, Hindu, and Japanese sources. The first song, "The Armed Man" is a simple tune based on a 15th century original that is strong call to arms and a prelude to the darkness to follow. The second song is the traditional Muslim "Call To Prayers" and this contrasts with the more elaborate third song, "Kyrie," which stately requests divine blessings in the Christian tradition. This is followed by the dark sounds of "Save Me From The Bloody Men". This starts like a traditional Gregorian chant for male voices, however, in the final phrase a sudden drumbeat and some ominous notes provide a sense of doom. "Sanctus" is a song of ecclesiastic praise and is followed by the much darker "Hymn Before Action" which, using words by Rudyard Kipling, establishes motivation for fight and sacrifice for the greater good. "Charge!" using text from several sources announces the start of battle with powerful vocals, trumpets, and drums. "Angry Flames", a slow melody, starts with the sound of a lone trumpet followed by the ringing of a bell and then quiet, sad solo vocals. The lyrics, translated from the Japanese, reflect the violence of the nuclear explosions of 1945 and powerfully describe the horrors left behind. This mournful mood is continued in the ninth song, "Torches", which, using words from The Mahabharata, describes the sad fate of victims of war. "Agnus Dei" then requests divine peace using traditional Latin invocations. "Now The Guns Have Stopped" is a song of mourning and loneliness sung by a weary battle survivor. This beautiful, sparse composition describes the horror of war at a very intimate level. "Benedictus" starts out as a quiet instrumental. The choir follows, sounding as if singing from a great hall or church in the distance. The chorus becomes a powerful song of praise with a strong melody. The concluding track, "Better is Peace", initially sets its message to the same melody that started the song cycle, "The Armed Man". however, using joyful instrumentation, cheerful choral vocals, and encouraging words by Tennyson, this song establishes a new beginning, with high hopes and good wishes. The powerful imagery of this song cycle cannot easily be separated from world events. Karl Jenkins notes this as he dedicates the work to the victims of the Kosovo tragedy. At the present, this composition rings true once again and the incorporation of both Christian and Muslim texts and melodies provide a powerful commentary on the disagreements between followers of these and other faiths. The choir made its third trip to Banbury's twin town Hennef in November 2003 where they joined forces with the Hennef Madrigal Choir for a performance (in German) of Mendelssohn's 'Elijah'. The Midsummer Madness Concert was held at Carrdus School on Saturday, 21st June. The concert featured arrangements of songs by John Rutter and George Gershwin and a selection of Lennon and McCartney songs. The soloists were Tara Overend, Soprano and Alexander Evans, Tenor and the accompianist was Tony Swift. The Gershwin pieces were Embraceable You, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off and They Can't Take That Away From Me. The John Rutter pieces were taken from The Sprig of Thyme and Birthday Madrigals. - Information on John Rutter - Information on George Gershwin Earlier on March 29th, 2003 the choir performed Brahms' 'German Requiem' at St.Mary's Church in Banbury.