C.P.E.Bach Magnificat & J.S.Bach Mass in F
on 29th November 2008 in Eye Parish Church
This is Alf Hayward's report on our November concert (available on the EADT website and in truncated form in the Diss Express) ...
In an unusual and thought-provoking programme choice the Eye Bach Choir contrasted J.S.Bach's little-known Mass in F with the Magnificat by his illustrious son Carl Philip Emmanuel.
First, conductor Leslie Olive guided choir and orchestra calmly through the bravura intricacies of the Magnificat, with rapid passage work at speeds that tested the orchestra. In the opening movement the choir were secure and beautiful, and in Et misericordia the two long duets between the soprano and alto sections were quite lovely, well breathed and much more in tune than the flutes who accompanied them.
The final movement, Sicut erat, is a very long and intricate fugue, harmonically and tonally complex and replete with the devices like stretto and inversion that 18th Century composers used to show their genius - except Handel, whose patience always ran out halfway! This showpiece fazed the Eye Bach Choir not one bit, and we were left with the impression of an imperfect but quite delightful work, full of fun and frolic.
The four soloists were well-chosen for the works in question. Soprano Lindsay Gowers gave an intimate feeling to Quia respexit. Always restrained, she made more sense of C.P.E.Bach's subtle phrases than the orchestra managed. Baritone Edmund Connolly matched her supple accuracy beautifully in Fecit potentiam, while the duet Deposuit potentes was an unusual and very successful movement in which David Webb's light, easy tenor blended beautifully with alto Tim Garrard whose agile, lyrical singing reminded us that the original was probably written for a castrato rather than a modern counter-tenor, though he did produce some slightly eccentric pronunciations of the Latin text.
The orchestra came into their own in the second half, when the Mass in F treated us to a serpentine oboe obbligato by Sue Simington in Qui tollis. Throughout, the continuo parts were well-judged and sensitively played by Jeremy Ard ('cello), Barry Carben (bassoon) and Malcolm Russell (organ), while the horns of Lynne Roberts and Stephen Orris romped spectacularly through the choruses. There were odd moments of drama, as at the beginning of Quoniam which only survived thanks to the steadiness of leader Geoffrey Barker, but in the choruses both choir and orchestra were sublimely secure.
From the start of the Mass in F we were reminded why 250 years after his death we still listen to the music of J.S.Bach and not that of his son Carl, attractive though it certainly is. From the difficult unaccompanied opening of the first movement to the final fugue Cum Sancto Spiritu, this was the music of the master, beautifully poised and balanced, its unstoppable momentum inspiring confidence in the performers. The choir seemed instantly taller, and the orchestra twice the size. Not bad for a work that was, as the informative programme note explained, probably cobbled together from scraps of older compositions!
Eye Bach Choir came slightly unstuck in their last concert, having bitten off more than they could comfortably chew. This time they were back to their own high standard - this was great music, impeccably sung. Their tone was well balanced and rounded, the sopranos soared to great heights with no sign of strain, while articulation and detail were carefully prepared and the intricacy of the Magnificat posed few problems. One might wish that the tone quality of the bass section matched that of the tenors, but overall this was secure and thoughtful singing from a choir that takes itself very seriously.
Unusually for Eye there were a few empty seats in the audience, possibly due to the unfamiliar music. But perhaps it was the weather!
A.E.Hayward
A busy weekend! (1) Karl Jenkins Day on 20th September
Some members of the Eye Bach Choir, Stowmarket Chorale, Woodbridge Choral Society and some people who belonged to no choir at all enjoyed a sunny day of singing at Combs Middle School in Stowmarket.
As guests of Stowmarket Chorale, we were provided with scores of two works by Karl Jenkins, The Armed Man and Requiem. Under Leslie Olive's capable direction we were able to get a good initial glimpse of the style and much of the content of both these works. It was also most enlightening to see the DVD of the film backdrop we are hoping to use in the performance at Snape in April 2009. The whole event promises to be most powerful.
The atmosphere was extremely convivial and a very welcome ploughman's lunch was enjoyed out in the courtyard in the sun. Tea and excellent cake helped to keep up the calories well into the afternoon!
We should like to thank the members of the Stowmarket Chorale for their hospitality.
A busy weekend! (2) "Thank you, David!" tea on Sunday 21st September
Members of Eye Bach Choir gathered, just after the sun had hidden itself behind an unwelcome layer of cloud, at Hoxne Place as guests of Phil and Felicity Golding.
The Goldings provided their serene wooded setting for us to enjoy a more extended chat than we can usually fit into a Friday evening and a fabulous spread of tea laid out in a marquee. Our competitive natures and excellently honed physiques were exercised in games of quoits and horseshoes and rolling balls to accumulate points, and as we know, "points mean prizes".
All this frivolity was really by way of an excuse to be able to express our heartfelt thanks to David Ransom, the outgoing chairman of the Eye Bach Choir. For several decades his confident, reliable and committed hand has been on the tiller. He so perfectly fitted the rôle that we might well not have noticed the exact extent of his contribution. We presented him with a hydrangea and further gift tokens to use in the restyling of his new garden in Framlingham as well as book tokens for him to enjoy in what might be a little more leisure! We also helped him eat a large portion of the most delicious chocolate cake prepared by Beth Baldwin and her daughter and set off by a fizzing firework candle.
Sadly your roving reporter's snapshots scarcely do justice to what was a delightful afternoon!
Our new Chairman
The Eye Bach Choir is pleased to announce that at our Annual General Meeting on 12 September Felicity Golding was elected the new Chairman. She is well respected in her professional life in the Norfolk Education Advisory Service and in her work as a registered schools inspector for Ofsted.
Felicity has been a member of the choir since 1986 and although she readily admits that it might be quite tricky to follow a chairman who has been in place for so long that no-one can remember for certain when he was appointed, she was never one to shirk a challenge! Together with her husband Phil, she has been a pro-active member of the committee for some years and we look forward to the continued development and success of the choir under her chairmanship.
(Dear reader, we have not yet ascertained what Felicity would prefer to be called, but for those of a sensitive PC disposition we apologise - we found "chairpersonship" rather cumbersome!)
Sheila Pryke
Choir members, and especially her colleagues in the soprano section, will be sad to learn that Sheila Pryke has died of a massive stroke in hospital.
Sheila was a valued committee-member, and served for years as secretary to the Friends of Eye Bach Choir. She will be much missed and our fond condolences go to her family. A group of Choir-members sang at her funeral on Tuesday 2nd September 2008.
David Ransom
David has resigned as our Chairman after many years of service. His understanding of the repertoire, intelligent and level-headed diplomacy, thoughtful guidance and whole-hearted commitment have been invaluable to the Choir throughout several decades.
He will be a hard act to follow, and we wish him a happy (and less stressful) retirement into the ranks of the bass section.
John Vandenberghe
John has reluctantly stepped down from the Committee but will continue in his immensely valuable work as our publicity coordinator. Both Choir and Committee are grateful for his long years of service.
Haydn Harmonie Messe & Beethoven Mass in C
on 17th May 2008 in Eye Parish Church
This is Alf Hayward's report on our May concert (available on the EADT website and in truncated form in the Diss Express) ...
In the last year or so the Eye Bach Choir have achieved a quite remarkable standard under the leadership of conductor Leslie Olive, their performances revealing great understanding, skill and rare commitment. Sadly their decision to perform both Haydn's Harmonie Messe and Beethoven's Mass in C at Eye Parish Church on Saturday 17th May proved unfortunate and meant that they were unable to maintain this high standard.
One can understand the reason for the decision. Quite apart from their shared text, there is a strong link between these two works. Both were commissioned by Prince Nikolaus II of Esterhazy, and both caused their composers a certain amount of grief. Haydn wrote his Mass in 1802 as his health was failing, and found the work difficult: he wrote to Prince Esterhazy that he was "labouring wearily at it". Beethoven's Mass in C was written in 1807, but was not a success. The Prince did not like the work at all, and told Beethoven so: Beethoven departed in a huff at what Charles Rosen called his "most humiliating public failure".
The orchestra led by Geoffrey Barker had a good evening (though not, sadly, the organist) but in the Harmonie Messe Haydn's thick scoring proved too much for the choir's habitually restrained singing. Modern instruments simply make more noise than Haydn's 18th Century ones. There was, though, some beautiful woodwind playing especially from Tim Osborne (flute), Cathy Wilcock (oboe) and Barry Carben (bassoon). The restraint of the horns and trumpets did them credit, and the very small string section did excellent work although they were defeated by some very quick passage work in Haydn's Credo.
The performance was also well served by four excellent soloists who sang with impressive accuracy and almost perfect ensemble. Suffolk girl Fiona Hammacott brought authority and flair to the soprano line, while alto Elaine Henson was formidably precise. Tenor Richard Edgar-Wilson sang with subtlety and great beauty, and though Mark Oldfield's light bass sometimes lacked the depth and weight the part demanded he was, as ever, completely reliable. This was easily the best team of soloists the Eye Bach Choir have had in recent years, and one hopes they will all be invited back to sing more rewarding music in future.
The Haydn should have suited the choir best, and there was certainly some fine singing. Balance was excellent, and the tone homogenous. The sopranos' top notes were effortless, though their vowels lacked variety which made their singing less than vivid. The tenors were unconvincing in the contrapuntal "Amen" section of the Gloria, and the long, difficult and pointless Credo was a tedious experience.
There were moments of excitement, though. Some long crescendos were beautifully executed, and the difficult change of tempo at "Osanna in excelsis" brought the heads of the audience up for the first time. Throughout, the choir got everything right but managed to give the impression that they did not know their work well enough to look up and enjoy their own performance.
Although the final Agnus Dei was charming, with comfortable singing from the soloists and some lovely woodwind playing, the triumphant tutti conclusion was hasty and unconvincing. There were few smiling faces among the choir at the end.
The Beethoven Mass in C is probably the 19th Century musical equivalent of half a cow pickled in formaldehyde, the work of a still-young composer intent on playing the iconoclast and making a mark in the world. Any work by Beethoven is automatically a "masterpiece", of course, but it has to be said that this is an unforgiving piece, abstruse and unnecessarily difficult. Other composers have done it better. Perhaps it was nicer to perform than to listen to - certainly both choir and orchestra seemed more at home than in the Haydn.
The choir handled well the many contrasts of dynamic and style, and dealt manfully with the intricacies of Beethoven's rather arbitrary and frighteningly rapid counterpoint. Beethoven's choral music is always difficult to sing, especially for sopranos at the limit of their range, and to the choir's credit this rarely showed. However, in the "qui tollis" section neither orchestra nor choir seemed rhythmically secure, and in the Agnus Dei there were obvious wrong notes from the gentlemen, the first in many years.
The opening Kyrie is a finely crafted movement and was sensitively sung, but the high point of the evening was the Benedictus, surprisingly romantic in style for the four soloists with a supple string obligato and lovely antiphonal singing between soloists and choir.
There was much applause at the end, and rather more smiling faces in the choir - relief, perhaps. The Eye Bach Choir claim in their programme to be one of Suffolk's leading choral societies - and so they are, and deserve to be. But everyone makes mistakes, and on this occasion they bit off a little more than they could elegantly chew.
A.E.Hayward
Dvorák's "Stabat Mater" on 8th March 2008 in Eye Parish Church
This is Alf Hayward's report on our performance of "Stabat Mater" ...
Dvorák's "Stabat Mater" is a glorious work. Written in 1877 following the sad deaths of three of the composer's nine children, it is a moving meditation on the Virgin Mary's grief at the foot of the Cross, and the Eye Bach Choir under conductor Leslie Olive gave an emotional account in Eye's magnificent parish church.
It is not a perfect work - the solo "Inflammatus" is an awkward piece and probably not a cherished part of the contralto repertoire, while the contrapuntal "Amen" section in the last movement, however well sung, seemed incongruously cheerful. "Tui nati vulnerati" was also beautifully sung but has an oddly pastoral lilt for a movement about "punishment"!
It was a night of difficult openings. The first movement with its horns and strings in unison was hard to tune, but quickly settled, the first entry of the Choir's talented tenor section was very beautiful indeed, and "Fac ut ardeat" gave us singing of rare quality from the whole ensemble - not many amateur choirs can teach their orchestras a thing or two about intonation. "Tui nati vulnerati" was also sensitively phrased.
The Eye Bach Choir are undoubtedly impressive, with a well-rounded, homogenous sound. Balanced, precise and highly attentive, they sing with great restraint and make it all seem very easy. If one must criticise, the sopranos' exposed entries in "Virgo virginum" were not entirely convincing. Sometimes a choir needs to be given its head.
Leslie Olive's precise conducting led the orchestra calmly through complex modulations and subtle rhythms, though his unfussy style was not quite equal to the drama of "in planctu desidero". While the intonation in horns and strings was not always perfect, the orchestra gave a vivid account aided by David Morbey's restrained and well-judged timpani playing. With a full symphonic wind and brass section, only two cellos and one double-bass gave insufficient weight at the bottom of the harmony - but if you had more, in this fine parish church wherever would you put them?
The Choir were well served by their soloists, Jay Britton, Catherine Denley, Benjamin Segal and Stephen Varcoe whose ensemble was impeccable. Catherine Denley's rich alto vibrato obscured tonality a little, and she seemed uneasy with the tempo of "Inflammatus", but baritone Stephen Varcoe coped with the astonishingly wide range demanded by Dvorák and wrung every tear from "ut sibi complaceam". Benjamin Segal's clear tenor was outstanding.
This was a great and very moving performance by any standard. That a small country town like Eye should be home to music of this quality is unusual and surprising, and although their audiences are always large and appreciative, such is the ability of the Eye Bach Choir that one wonders how they might seek a wider exposure - they certainly deserve it.
A.E.Hayward
Handel's "Messiah" on 24th November 2007 in Eye Parish Church
... and this is Alf Hayward's report on our performance of "Messiah" ...
All great music needs an airing from time to time, and who better to do it than the resurgent Eye Bach Choir?
Playing to a full house, Leslie Olive directed from the harpsichord though ensemble improved when he stood to conduct the choir. The Overture was woolly, the following allegro crisper. Brisk tempi marked the whole performance as the orchestra gained confidence, though the lovely "Pastoral Symphony" was lacklustre.
Tenor soloist Tom Raskin was a real find with an easy, natural sound. "Thy rebuke" was a real tear-jerker! Mark Oldfield was a rather lightweight Word of God, but responsible for one of the evening's highlights partnered by the flawless trumpet playing of Ian Abbott in "The trumpet shall sound". Soprano Charlotte Newstead was strong and imposed her own variations of tempo in "Rejoice greatly", but she threw the orchestra into some disarray by not delivering the expected piu mosso in the middle of "I know that my redeemer". Contralto Carol Rowlands was clearly unhappy with some tempi, wanting more space to wring drama from each phrase and rendering "O thou that tellest" rather dismal until the choir entered, their dancing copies showing that 6/8 time can be jolly after all.
In works like this the limelight is often taken by the soloists, the choir a mere adjunct whose main function is to give the soloists a bit of a sit down. But this evening belonged to the Eye Bach Choir, whose light touch and fresh tone should be the envy of many younger choirs. Balance is excellent. Superb articulation, diction and accuracy are maintained even in the loudest sections. There were many moments of great beauty and choral virtuosity - the instant when the sweet, high trumpets joined in "Glory to God" was pure joy.
There is a ridiculous tradition that the audience should stand for the Hallelujah Chorus. Luckily the choir didn't know the other tradition - that this should be performed at the top of one's voice, with neither sense nor subtlety! Instead, they sung with delicate intelligence: hackneyed this old war-horse was definitely NOT.
In only a year or so the Eye Bach Choir have transformed themselves from a good amateur choral society into something much more special: a technically-accomplished choir, alert and highly committed, a delight to listen to.
They will be a pleasure to watch, too, when the gentlemen are persuaded to ditch the scruffy polo-necks!
A.E.Hayward
A personal view of Sunday 23rd September 2007 at Ely Cathedral
Sunday morning saw us bright and early on our coach from Eye, enjoying someone else doing the driving, exchanging news with folks who are too often fleeting friendships on Fridays. The journey was trouble-free and we arrived in good time with an air of expectation at the community centre where, like all good school outings, we immediately started tucking into kindly-provided sandwiches and fruit.
For those of us who had not visited the cathedral before, first impressions were pretty jaw-dropping. We were right to wonder whether our voices would carry in such an enormous space, and the rather quirky acoustic didn't do much to reassure us. The thought that John Rutter himself would be there to hear the first performance of his rather personal work "Look to the Day", galvanised us all to maximum effort.
Les coached us in the art of processing and singing simultaneously (no mean feat), and as the cathedral filled with people the tension grew.
Nearly 1,000 people had come to share this service of thanksgiving arranged by Cancer Research. As well as our hymns with new descants written for the occasion by Les, and our anthem "Look to the Day" with really telling words as well as music written by John Rutter, we enjoyed hearing addresses by Harpal S. Kumar, chief executive and Professor Bruce Ponder, director of the Cambridge Research Institute.
There was a perfectly heart-stopping performance of the Fauré "Pie Jesu" by Jay Britton. In all, a moving service - tears were shed, I am informed!
The Lady Chapel, where we had a cup of tea afterwards, was as breathtaking as the cathedral itself and seemed to have a more manageable acoustic. It transpired that Rutter does indeed use this beautiful space for making his recordings.
I for one enjoyed a great day of friendship, music and reflection, and all in the thoroughly beautiful setting of Ely Cathedral.
JB
Concert, 24th March 2007
This is the full text of the concert review by Alfred Hayward which appeared in the Eastern Daily Press and, in a butchered form, in the East Anglian Daily Times ...
On Saturday 24th March the Eye Bach Choir & Orchestra delighted a capacity audience in Eye Parish Church with the first concert under their new conductor Leslie Olive.
An entire concert of music by Mozart is an act of some bravery - Mozart may have been told by the Austrian Emperor that he wrote "too many notes", but he meant every one. Each is essential, and each must be perfect. Sadly in the opening serenade "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", the strings found Leslie Olive's brisk tempi a stretch, and were happier with the robust rhythms of the Minuet.
For the second work, "Solemn Vespers", choir and orchestra were joined by four soloists, Lindsey Gowers, Muriel Kwint, Benjamin Segal and Christopher Wray. The Choir sang with careful phrasing and well-prepared dynamics. Their finest moment was in the difficult and cerebral counterpoint of "Laudate Pueri", while Lindsey Gowers' sweet, effortless "Laudate Dominum" was a delight.
There was plainer sailing in the more familiar waters of the great "Requiem Mass" which Mozart wrote for a supposed mystery patron and never finished. Here were moments of great beauty and high drama - in the "Confutatis" the ladies of the choir were wonderfully ethereal, "Rex Tremendae" was taut and exciting, the choir was comfortable and confident throughout, "Lacrimosa" was gorgeous and "Dies Irae" a triumph.
The four soloists must have been a conductor's dream, well-matched and fluent. True, there were moments of unlooked-for drama among the orchestra in "Lux Aeterna" and the beginning of "Recordare", but these were balanced by some fine woodwind playing particularly from Barry Carbon on bassoon.
The Eye Bach Choir is one of the region's most mature, serious and accomplished choral societies, and in the calm, unfussy but communicative Leslie Olive they have clearly found a conductor to match their talents.
Choral Workshop
On Sunday 25th February 2007 we welcomed a wide cross-section of singers from various parts of Suffolk to our choral workshop. How lovely to meet up with other kindred spirits and exchange notes!
The extremely well-equipped Hoxne Village Hall provided a comfortable setting for a day which offered a variety of challenges, drawn from The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins, Brahms' Requiem, Bach's Magnificat and John Rutter's transcription of Panis Angelicus by César-Franck.
Leslie Olive's expert rehearsal technique exacted enthusiasm and subtlety in equal measure from people who had never previously sung together, and allowed for every shade of levity along the way, not to mention the odd "collapse of stout party"!
Though we are known for our Eye Teas, the "Workshop Lunch" was a near rival - the spread offered and enjoyed by all the participants was delicious, full of variety and comfortably washed down with a glass of wine. Yes, singing on a full stomach did require even more skill and concentration in the afternoon!
The Eye Bach Choir Christmas Concert 2006
A full house at Eye Church heard an exciting seasonal concert from the Eye Bach Choir. As it said in the programme, the challenge for all choirs at this time of year is to perform works which on the one hand will please the audience, and on the other give the choir sufficient challenge and interest. In this concert both objectives were achieved.
The concert opened with Jauchzet, Frohlocket from J.S Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Conductor Adrian Knott set a brisk and joyous tempo with bold timpani and some particularly fine trumpet-playing being more than matched by a choir on top form. This was followed by Morten Lauridsen's setting of O Magnum Mysterium performed a capella to almost magical effect in the wonderful surroundings of a darkened church. This is a work in which dissonance and harmony are skilfully combined, and not resolved until the very last bar.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for the choir followed in Lobet den Herrn, Bach's great motet of praise. It was beautifully sung with careful dynamic shading and great attention to detail. The choir had obviously worked very hard at it.
The Corelli Christmas Concerto - an audience favourite if ever there was one - started with an impressively lively vivace, ending with the familiarly calm and re-assuring largo after some fine solo work from Geoff Barker (leader), Zbys Kaznowski (Violin) and Guy Johnson (Cello).
An engaging Father Christmas appeared (Barrie Golding) to sing a splendidly bucolic rendition of the fifteenth century carol Sir Christmas with the choir, who followed it with the modern setting of the same work by William Matthias. After the Coventry Carol, once again sung a capella and characterised by some exceptional piano singing, the first half came to an end with the audience being swept to its feet to sing a setting of In Dulci Jubilo arranged by Adrian Knott for choir, audience and orchestra - once again with trumpets to the fore.
Highlights of the second half of the concert were the David Willcocks arrangement of Ding Dong Merrily and John Rutter's Shepherd's Pipe Carol both performed with a full orchestral accompaniment, and the performance of the Vivaldi Gloria which closed the concert. The soloists were Catherine Carter (soprano), standing in for an indisposed Lindsay Gowers, and Marjorie Ouvry (Mezzo Soprano). The soprano aria Domine Deus and the mezzo aria Domine Deus, Agnus Dei were enhanced by the most moving, and finely played, oboe (Cathy Wilcox) and cello (Guy Johnson) accompaniment. The mezzo was perhaps not as strong as one would have liked, but the soprano singing had great charm and Catherine Carter's breathing and phrasing were very good. The choir clearly enjoyed their contribution to this popular work, no more so than in the Domine Fili Unigenite when the altos seemed to be almost bobbing up and down to the dance-like music.
At the end of the concert the audience applause for conductor, choir and orchestra was deservedly enthusiastic, and we tumbled out into an unusually (this year) crisp and starlit night feeling that the excitement of Christmas was indeed that little bit nearer.
(Review by Oliver Walker)
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