MUSIC NOTES - JANUARY 2025
A very happy new year to all our readers.
Looking back 2024 was a year of good and bad. For me, personally, it started badly as my wife, Kate contracted pneumonia and was admitted to hospital three times. In all she spent a month in hospital. Fortunately, she made a good recovery. Then at the end of the year the Choir lost John Moore, a tenor in our choir for over 16 years, in a terrible accident on his way to sing Evensong. He will be greatly missed but particularly by Kate and me as he was also a very close friend. A full choir sang for his funeral on 6th December; a most moving service.
On the good front the Choir has maintained its high standard despite losing some senior choristers who left to go to university at the end of the summer term. We now need to recruit some more junior choristers to fill the gaps and, in this respect, we welcomed Ted Pink as a probationer in December.
The big event of the year was the Festival to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Restoration of the Church. As well as displays and lectures there were seven concerts. The Choir sang a special service for the opening of the Festival in July and again sang for the final service in October. They also sang one of the concerts and our resident chamber choir, the Scholars and Gentlemen sang the opening concert and one of the four part series 'Music for a Summer‘s Evening‘
In December we had our first full length Advent Carol Service since the covid pandemic. It was very well attended and beautifully sung. I can‘t comment on the Christmas services as this is being written before Christmas but I fully expect that the standard will be as good as ever. It‘s always a pleasure during the holidays to welcome back some of our old choristers and I already know that four have expressed a wish to return for the festive season.
Now it's full steam ahead into the new year with a very full programme of music to enhance our services. We have some vacancies in the choir, particularly for trebles/sopranos and tenors so if you are interested, or know someone else who might be, please have a word with me.
Recently, a regular member of our congregation and keen supporter of the music said that he had missed a number of events because he cannot get out in the evening. As a result, our Chamber Choir, The 'Scholars and Gentlemen' will be giving a concert on Saturday 1st February at 3.30pm.
We will be featuring the music of Palestrina, considered to be the greatest of the Italian Renaissance composers. Do come along; entry is free with a retiring collection for the music at St. Oswald‘s Church.
FRIENDS OF THE MUSIC
I am re-running the following from last month‘s magazine and ask you to particularly consider the final paragraph.
A reminder for existing 'Friends‘ that subscriptions become due on 1st January and a chance for those readers who are not already 'Friends‘ to join up. The subscription is a donation of your choice (usually £10 - £15).
Running a choir of the high standard that we have at St. Oswald‘s takes much time and effort. It also costs a considerable amount of money. We have to provide, not only music and robes, but the training that produces what is instantly recognisable as the traditional Choral sound and sets our choir apart from all others in the town. This training involves buying materials for use at home, but the bulk of the cost is in sending choristers on training courses, the main one being the one-week summer school held in Bath every August.
I would like to give the Friends a much more active role in the future but this requires more time than I have. If there is anyone who would be willing to get involved, or perhaps become Chair of the Friends, do please get in touch.
Mike Donkin
Director of Music