Well well what a fantastically enjoyable tour. It would be too easy to blame the post tour “emotional” hangover for the late arrival of this final blog entry. In fact it was a flurry of subsequent holidays and the impending doom of A-level results which are my most reasonable excuses for the delay. Nevertheless, I hope the intervening time has allowed me to reflect more soberly and reasonably on what was a truly once-in-a-lifetime trip for me as a tour debutant. I hope it makes for entertaining and insightful reading.
To pick up where Edan left us, on our way to the Crowne Plaza in Vilnius, we interrupted this long coach journey with a lunch stop at the Hill of Crosses. Cynically referred to as a “forest of superstition” and reminiscent of the eerie Elephant’s Graveyard in the Lion King, it certainly was a monument to be remembered. Our packed lunch from the hotel, consisting of left-overs from breakfast sandwiched in stale bread, was even more bizarre and in stark contrast to the succession of restaurant food we had enjoyed until then. However such inconveniences as rotten apples and grotesque religious idols are quickly forgotten among friends and we conspired to enjoy our stop nonetheless.
Arrival at the Crowne Plaza was most welcome and eagerly anticipated, due equally to the length of time spent on a coach and its five-star status. Messrs Ferris and Putt’s encyclopedic knowledge provided the format for a very enjoyable tour quiz after dinner. The quiz was yet another example of good-natured banter amongst boys from all years typical of the tour, with team names that were both undeniably humorous but unfortunately unrepeatable and intense rivalry between teams which consisted of boys from each year group. All in all a good first evening in Lithuania.
The following morning’s guided tour of Vilnius ended at the Museum of Genocide Victims in the old KGB prison. As you may expect this was an extremely sobering contrast to our usual merriment, but as in Riga and the Occupation Museum it also provided an important reminder of the tragic recent history of the Baltic States and personally an inspiring context to pieces such as Tippett’s Five Spirituals. After an independent lunch we returned by coach to the hotel and got suited and booted for our concert in St. Casimir’s Church, one of the sights our tour had covered that morning. The rehearsal went well and there was a general excitement about the evening’s performance our only worry after Riga was, how many people would turn up?
Any worries harboured by members of the choir turned out to be unfounded and our performance fully justified the full-house. Highlights were the Tippett which had improved and been refined with every performance. Zadok the Priest was particularly satisfying if not for anything other than the choreography. Following their performance of the Gibbons, the chamber choir was required to hot-foot their way up to the organ loft from the altar in the small amount of time granted them by rapturous applause and the sympathetically long organ instrumental-introduction to the piece. This turned out to be a master-stroke as the choir was restored to its full complement in plenty of time and Zadok received a standing ovation in the middle of the concert. Given that this was the last occasion that this collection of people would sing pieces such as Zadok and Rejoice in the Lamb together, I am glad to say we gave them a good send off.
As a reward for a successful concert the previous evening, those of positions of power within the choir decreed the guided tour of Kaunas cancelled and afforded the entire tour a welcome extra hour in bed. After a long journey by coach; a nutritious lunch in Pizza Jazz, Hesburger and other local eateries and a successful rehearsal the moment finally came. Cramped into a quite intimate organ loft in a packed St. Michael the Archangel Church the choir delivered another exceptional performance which was one again well received by a an enthusiastic audience.
Opening with a rousing and nerve-quelling rendition of Britten’s Jubilate Deo provided a good platform for what was an extremely satisfying performance of Finzi’s Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice with some particularly impressive solos. The entire concert was a great success and earned another standing ovation and led to our now customary encore of Riu Riu Chiu. Walking past applauding audience members, who returned to their feet after the encore, left the whole choir and especially Mr Toyne glowing. Our good spirits were maintained throughout the return journey by a raucous rendition of the entire tour repertoire on the top deck. Dinner was in a traditional Lithuanian restaurant. After which Mr Toyne delivered a short, heart-felt and fondly received speech about each departing Upper 6th Chorister. To which the choir replied with humble gifts for each member of staff on the tour, without whom this wonderful trip could never have taken place let alone done so with such enjoyment and absence of incident! After such and emotional and memorable evening it is hard to believe that the entire choir and touring staff returned straight from the restaurant and directly to bed, but it’s true. In no case were any establishments explored or beverages imbibed!
It merely remains for me to give short personal and universal messages of gratitude. Thank you to all the Staff who joined us on tour and made it possible, I have mentioned them all far less than their endeavour merits. There are some moments that will stay with me forever, mostly linked to the enigma that is Piters Jekels. And finally thank you to you reader, for staying with me to reach the merciful end of my, I know, extremely long blog entry. I apologise profusely for wittering on for so long and continuing to do it, but even as I come to my conclusion I know there a more things I could add and plenty of anecdotes I simply dare not! On that enticing and perhaps dangerously mysterious note I wish to bid farewell to a choir I only joined for four months of my seven years at Tiffin (even I don’t know what I was doing the rest of the time probably chasing a load of muddy men and a muddy ball around a muddy field) and wish it well for next year and all of the years, concerts and tours to come.
Sam Dowsett
Upper 6th
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Latvia
After a 3-hour coach journey that included various degrees of boredom and lack of things to do (aside from card-games, sleeping and listening to Jack Bazelgette’s ukelele), the choir were not ungrateful to finally step off the bus outside “Hotel Riga” and breathe some mercifully fresh air. Although it was around 10 o’clock in the evening, it seemed that the last thing on every treble's mind was to go to bed as soon as they found their room as key cards were distributed outside the hotel. From as little as 3 seconds of being inside the reception, everyone could tell that the standards here were very much higher than those of “Hotel Shnelli.”
Breakfast the next morning was very much a delicious and pleasant affair. That morning we had a guided tour, as we did in Estonia. We passed many interesting sites, including the “The Statue of Independence” and the “National Occupation Museum” which we would visit later that day prior to our opening concert in the “Riga Dome;” home to one of the world’s largest organs on which I am sure Mr. Jaekal was more than happy to use his talents.
The concert that evening was fantastic, the only downside being the lack of the giant audience for which we had hoped and expected. After an encore of “Riu Riu Chiu” the choir made their way back up to the organ loft where we had left our bags. After congratulations from Mr. Toyne, we walked towards the restaurant where we would eat our dinner. It was raining. A promising sign that, if it carried on through the night and into the next day, we would go to a water-park instead of the beach!
Alas, it did not. Whilst on the coach on our way to the beach, we passed the water-park which we may have gone to had the rain continued. A collective groan was let out as it came into sight, a groan that carried on until the water-park had disappeared from view. But many of us had groaned too soon! We arrived at the hotel in which we would eat our lunch and walked through it to the beach behind. It was incredible. The sand was white and warm and the water itself was also at a comfortable temperature. Soon a large game involving a rugby ball and sixth-formers giving piggybacks to trebles was entertaining almost the entire choir. After some time spent as such and a few choir members going back to shore, the remaining choir members in the sea eventually returned as well. When everyone was ready to go to lunch, it seemed as though a considerable portion of the beach's sand had made its way into the choir’s shoes.
Lunch in the hotel was very good. After many attempts to sit with counterparts and two incidents resulting in to broken glasses from the same Year 8 table, the choir managed to settle. After lunch was over, the choir drove further down the coast to a town where a large music festival was taking place. We were allowed 2 hours of free time around the town and the beach. Many people decided to spend their time in the ocean once again whilst others decided to spend it in the towns’ boulevard. Once our time was up, the choir met at the rendezvous point, where the coach was to pick us up and take us to our dinner venue. That day being Mr. Toyne’s birthday, after rehearsing in the restaurants car park, a Close-Harmony group including two trebles, two basses, an alto and a tenor performed a harmonized version of “Happy Birthday” inside the restaurant. After doing so, Mr. Toyne was presented with a series of awesome presents and a large cake!
Upon returning to the hotel after dinner at about 11 o’clock, all Years 7, 8 and 9 made their way to their rooms. The next morning seemed to have come too quickly: we had barely arrived in Riga before having to leave it. After room checks and quick excursions to the corner-shop just down the street, the choir boarded the coach that would take us to Vilnius in Lithuania...
Edan Umrigar (Year 7)
Breakfast the next morning was very much a delicious and pleasant affair. That morning we had a guided tour, as we did in Estonia. We passed many interesting sites, including the “The Statue of Independence” and the “National Occupation Museum” which we would visit later that day prior to our opening concert in the “Riga Dome;” home to one of the world’s largest organs on which I am sure Mr. Jaekal was more than happy to use his talents.
The concert that evening was fantastic, the only downside being the lack of the giant audience for which we had hoped and expected. After an encore of “Riu Riu Chiu” the choir made their way back up to the organ loft where we had left our bags. After congratulations from Mr. Toyne, we walked towards the restaurant where we would eat our dinner. It was raining. A promising sign that, if it carried on through the night and into the next day, we would go to a water-park instead of the beach!
Alas, it did not. Whilst on the coach on our way to the beach, we passed the water-park which we may have gone to had the rain continued. A collective groan was let out as it came into sight, a groan that carried on until the water-park had disappeared from view. But many of us had groaned too soon! We arrived at the hotel in which we would eat our lunch and walked through it to the beach behind. It was incredible. The sand was white and warm and the water itself was also at a comfortable temperature. Soon a large game involving a rugby ball and sixth-formers giving piggybacks to trebles was entertaining almost the entire choir. After some time spent as such and a few choir members going back to shore, the remaining choir members in the sea eventually returned as well. When everyone was ready to go to lunch, it seemed as though a considerable portion of the beach's sand had made its way into the choir’s shoes.
Lunch in the hotel was very good. After many attempts to sit with counterparts and two incidents resulting in to broken glasses from the same Year 8 table, the choir managed to settle. After lunch was over, the choir drove further down the coast to a town where a large music festival was taking place. We were allowed 2 hours of free time around the town and the beach. Many people decided to spend their time in the ocean once again whilst others decided to spend it in the towns’ boulevard. Once our time was up, the choir met at the rendezvous point, where the coach was to pick us up and take us to our dinner venue. That day being Mr. Toyne’s birthday, after rehearsing in the restaurants car park, a Close-Harmony group including two trebles, two basses, an alto and a tenor performed a harmonized version of “Happy Birthday” inside the restaurant. After doing so, Mr. Toyne was presented with a series of awesome presents and a large cake!
Upon returning to the hotel after dinner at about 11 o’clock, all Years 7, 8 and 9 made their way to their rooms. The next morning seemed to have come too quickly: we had barely arrived in Riga before having to leave it. After room checks and quick excursions to the corner-shop just down the street, the choir boarded the coach that would take us to Vilnius in Lithuania...
Edan Umrigar (Year 7)
Estonia
As we are now well settled into tour routine – the unintelligible vocabulary to anyone who hasn’t seen this year’s Youtube sketch, and the nicknames that inevitably arise with eight people in the choir named Tom, well in place – here’s a look back at the lead up to the tour and what has happened so far.
Months of rehearsals and a phenomenal amount of effort on everyone’s part finally resulted in a highly rewarding Gala Concert in Southwark. It was great to see some old faces back in the substantial audience along with many of the regulars. As many of the pieces were are doing this tour are well known by some members of the choir but were brand new to the newer arrivals at the start of the year, one of the challenges in the lead up to Southwark was to make sure that no-one got left behind, which would have had a negative effect on the sound in Southwark and a lot more time would have to be spent on tour rehearsing pieces such as Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb” and Finzi’s “Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice”. However, these two presented little difficulty in Southwark, and even the punishing “The Twelve” by Walton was tamed.
Southwark was an excellent concert and one which set expectations for the approaching tour high. With the addition of a couple of pieces to the repertoire (old favourites, “Salvator Mundi” and “If ye Love Me” – Tallis, Ave Verum Corpus – Byrd and the 5 Spirituals from “Child of Our Time,” – Tippett) the Founders' Day service on the last day of term approached. This is always one of the most unnerving events in the calendar for the choir as the congregation is made up of friends. Ignoring the suggestion by one member of my form that we sing everything at triple speed so that everyone could go home early, the service went without a hitch, and the choir helped to produce an excellent finish to a very successful year of Tiffin music.
After the Founders' Day service came to an end, and we said goodbye to those members of the choir that would not be joining us on tour, we boarded the bus for Gatwick, realised there weren’t enough seats and waited for the minibus to arrive to take the remainder. After a short flight with “Estonian Air” awaited with thankfully unfounded apprehension, we got our first view of Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Having rescued Ed Tan’s camera and attempted – with varying degrees of success - not to stare at the group of middle-aged men wearing lederhosen at baggage claim, we met our tour guide, Lina, and were herded briskly to “Hotel Shnelli.” We were reasonably close to the centre of Tallinn, especially our concert venues, and had anyone wanted to take the overnight train to Moscow that would play Russian Opera at five o’clock in the morning when it arrived just below the windows of those fortunate enough to be on the right hand side, that would have been even more convenient.
The first day in Tallinn was spent mostly in the old town with guided tours of the centre of Tallinn including the town hall, parliament building, venue for the huge Estonian festival of song and main Russian Orthodox Church. Also during the course of the tour we got a good idea of the way the country’s turbulent recent history (including three occupations in one century) has affected it. It was almost surreal to see ornate churches, brightly coloured buildings and traditional architectural styles surrounded the with dull, square concrete blocks of the Soviet Union, built to house the many Russians resettled in Tallinn in exchange for the mass deportations of Estonians to Siberia.
In the first rehearsal of the tour, in the Matkamaja Hall, we began to learn to compensate for the various changes in acoustics, humidity and temperature we would be dealing with in the various venues during the tour. This would prove to be one of the main challenges over the next few days. After this, we headed across town for a buffet dinner and – the evening’s entertainment – “Toy Story 3” in the Solaris Kino. The film was surprisingly deep with some amusing characterisation, one character in particular bearing remarkable resemblance in mannerisms to various people in the choir of the hair-product persuasion.
Our first concert took place on the following day, in the Niguliste Museum. We had heard on many occasions that the Estonian people were very into choral music, but it wasn’t until now, when so many people showed up, the choir had to give away our off-stage seats to the audience that we really gauged how much. Our main challenge in this concert was communication with Peter Jaekel at the organ, which was at the other end of the museum concert hall, the distance producing tuning and timing issues, one eventually sorted with some careful listening, the other by, I quote, “Peter Jaekel’s mad skills”. It was very gratifying to have such a full house and especially at the first concert of tour. When combined with the great musicality and some excellent solos in the pieces, this seemed to bode extremely well for the rest of the tour.
The following day began with a rehearsal, followed by a church service in Kaarli Church. The service itself was an interesting insight into the religious system that has played a major part in Estonian culture and history; although not being able to speak any Estonian may have had some effect on the quality of the hymn singing on our part.
The journey to Rakvere Castle which followed was accompanied by Jack Bazalgette’s ukulele which has received various death threats throughout the course of the tour. After lunch in the castle, we split into two groups and were given an eventful – if somewhat surreal – tour of the castle, involving making and burning gunpowder, putting Matthew Edmunds in the stocks, using various torture devices to the point of mild discomfort on Adam Mirsky and Toby Hasler-Winter and a short trip to “hell”. We were also told a fair bit about the history of the castle: its various additions over the years; the three times it was occupied; its destruction – twice – each time by different sides to prevent it falling into enemy hands, and its eventual partial reconstruction. The main attraction for many of the trebles was yet to come however, as they spent the remainder of the afternoon staging mock fights with foam swords and riding a small and heavily overburdened wheeled wooden horse down a hill, whilst the rest of us sat around watching and pretending not to be amused.
Dinner regrettably marked the end of our stay in Tallinn, and after a last look round for the older members of the choir, we returned to the hotel and packed for Pärnu and eventually Riga. Upon arrival in Pärnu the following morning, we gave what was to be our final concert in Estonia (in the Eliisabet Church) before crossing the border to Latvia. Although in a smaller venue, once again we were gratifyingly greeted by a full house. The concert produced an excellent pianissimo sound, particularly in the unaccompanied pieces contrasted by a very powerful one in numbers such as Handel’s “Zadok the Priest.” Peter Jaekel – aided by Adam Mirsky, regrettably hors de combat – also wrestled with a particularly difficult organ to produce a fantastic conclusion to the evening in the form of “Rejoice in the Lamb”.
This marked the end of our time in Estonia. After dinner we boarded the bus and crossed the border to Latvia. If it produces a similar experience to what we have experienced so far, it’s shaping up to be a brilliant tour.
Peter Lidbetter (Year 11)
Months of rehearsals and a phenomenal amount of effort on everyone’s part finally resulted in a highly rewarding Gala Concert in Southwark. It was great to see some old faces back in the substantial audience along with many of the regulars. As many of the pieces were are doing this tour are well known by some members of the choir but were brand new to the newer arrivals at the start of the year, one of the challenges in the lead up to Southwark was to make sure that no-one got left behind, which would have had a negative effect on the sound in Southwark and a lot more time would have to be spent on tour rehearsing pieces such as Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb” and Finzi’s “Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice”. However, these two presented little difficulty in Southwark, and even the punishing “The Twelve” by Walton was tamed.
Southwark was an excellent concert and one which set expectations for the approaching tour high. With the addition of a couple of pieces to the repertoire (old favourites, “Salvator Mundi” and “If ye Love Me” – Tallis, Ave Verum Corpus – Byrd and the 5 Spirituals from “Child of Our Time,” – Tippett) the Founders' Day service on the last day of term approached. This is always one of the most unnerving events in the calendar for the choir as the congregation is made up of friends. Ignoring the suggestion by one member of my form that we sing everything at triple speed so that everyone could go home early, the service went without a hitch, and the choir helped to produce an excellent finish to a very successful year of Tiffin music.
After the Founders' Day service came to an end, and we said goodbye to those members of the choir that would not be joining us on tour, we boarded the bus for Gatwick, realised there weren’t enough seats and waited for the minibus to arrive to take the remainder. After a short flight with “Estonian Air” awaited with thankfully unfounded apprehension, we got our first view of Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Having rescued Ed Tan’s camera and attempted – with varying degrees of success - not to stare at the group of middle-aged men wearing lederhosen at baggage claim, we met our tour guide, Lina, and were herded briskly to “Hotel Shnelli.” We were reasonably close to the centre of Tallinn, especially our concert venues, and had anyone wanted to take the overnight train to Moscow that would play Russian Opera at five o’clock in the morning when it arrived just below the windows of those fortunate enough to be on the right hand side, that would have been even more convenient.
The first day in Tallinn was spent mostly in the old town with guided tours of the centre of Tallinn including the town hall, parliament building, venue for the huge Estonian festival of song and main Russian Orthodox Church. Also during the course of the tour we got a good idea of the way the country’s turbulent recent history (including three occupations in one century) has affected it. It was almost surreal to see ornate churches, brightly coloured buildings and traditional architectural styles surrounded the with dull, square concrete blocks of the Soviet Union, built to house the many Russians resettled in Tallinn in exchange for the mass deportations of Estonians to Siberia.
In the first rehearsal of the tour, in the Matkamaja Hall, we began to learn to compensate for the various changes in acoustics, humidity and temperature we would be dealing with in the various venues during the tour. This would prove to be one of the main challenges over the next few days. After this, we headed across town for a buffet dinner and – the evening’s entertainment – “Toy Story 3” in the Solaris Kino. The film was surprisingly deep with some amusing characterisation, one character in particular bearing remarkable resemblance in mannerisms to various people in the choir of the hair-product persuasion.
Our first concert took place on the following day, in the Niguliste Museum. We had heard on many occasions that the Estonian people were very into choral music, but it wasn’t until now, when so many people showed up, the choir had to give away our off-stage seats to the audience that we really gauged how much. Our main challenge in this concert was communication with Peter Jaekel at the organ, which was at the other end of the museum concert hall, the distance producing tuning and timing issues, one eventually sorted with some careful listening, the other by, I quote, “Peter Jaekel’s mad skills”. It was very gratifying to have such a full house and especially at the first concert of tour. When combined with the great musicality and some excellent solos in the pieces, this seemed to bode extremely well for the rest of the tour.
The following day began with a rehearsal, followed by a church service in Kaarli Church. The service itself was an interesting insight into the religious system that has played a major part in Estonian culture and history; although not being able to speak any Estonian may have had some effect on the quality of the hymn singing on our part.
The journey to Rakvere Castle which followed was accompanied by Jack Bazalgette’s ukulele which has received various death threats throughout the course of the tour. After lunch in the castle, we split into two groups and were given an eventful – if somewhat surreal – tour of the castle, involving making and burning gunpowder, putting Matthew Edmunds in the stocks, using various torture devices to the point of mild discomfort on Adam Mirsky and Toby Hasler-Winter and a short trip to “hell”. We were also told a fair bit about the history of the castle: its various additions over the years; the three times it was occupied; its destruction – twice – each time by different sides to prevent it falling into enemy hands, and its eventual partial reconstruction. The main attraction for many of the trebles was yet to come however, as they spent the remainder of the afternoon staging mock fights with foam swords and riding a small and heavily overburdened wheeled wooden horse down a hill, whilst the rest of us sat around watching and pretending not to be amused.
Dinner regrettably marked the end of our stay in Tallinn, and after a last look round for the older members of the choir, we returned to the hotel and packed for Pärnu and eventually Riga. Upon arrival in Pärnu the following morning, we gave what was to be our final concert in Estonia (in the Eliisabet Church) before crossing the border to Latvia. Although in a smaller venue, once again we were gratifyingly greeted by a full house. The concert produced an excellent pianissimo sound, particularly in the unaccompanied pieces contrasted by a very powerful one in numbers such as Handel’s “Zadok the Priest.” Peter Jaekel – aided by Adam Mirsky, regrettably hors de combat – also wrestled with a particularly difficult organ to produce a fantastic conclusion to the evening in the form of “Rejoice in the Lamb”.
This marked the end of our time in Estonia. After dinner we boarded the bus and crossed the border to Latvia. If it produces a similar experience to what we have experienced so far, it’s shaping up to be a brilliant tour.
Peter Lidbetter (Year 11)
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Soutwark and beyond
As our more grown-up contingent of the choir face the varied challenges of this summer’s musical program, their public examinations must seem laughably easy. However, these exams are (apparently) almost as important as music, so the sixth-formers and year elevens had to juggle their growing commitments in order to attend necessary rehearsals, which of course continued regardless.
As the choir sound continues to develop for the better, and real blend and colour begin to emerge, the treble line were confident in facing one of their first major tests – a professional engagement sing as the treble line (or “third chorus” ) for Berlioz’s Te Deum with Twickenham Choral Society, the Brandenburg symphony orchestra, conducted by the inspiring Christopher Herrick. Following this success, a cut down ‘chamber choir’ sang at the Rose Theatre’s Youth Arts Festival. As last act of the night, we were able to fully enjoy the varied and eclectic program which we were required to follow, with the Orlando Gibbon’s beautiful Songs and Canticles taken from the original, hymns and songs of the church, with Alto and tenor lines by the contemporary composer Anthony Pitts. We have been told that our performance was exceptionally well received.
As the impending dates of the Southwark Cathedral Concert and (incredibly it seems) the tour to the Baltic States draw ever nearer, one can visibly see the change in intensity during rehearsals which now are spent preparing a wide variety of pieces that we will soon be performing to paying audiences. The sheer amount of music being performed and the closeness of the deadline certainly seem to have a focusing effect on the choir; a drastic change in the alto line sees a form of religious zealousness etched on their faces during rehearsals and many a time can one wander upon a group of countertenors fervently practicing their parts in a dark corner of the music department.
Musically, challenges are provided by several of our upcoming pieces, namely Walton's the Twelve and Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten), both of which are unfamiliar to many of the choir's youngest members. If rehearsals are sometimes tough, they are outweighed immeasurably by those rare golden moments of true unity whilst singing, something the choir can work towards, a constant reminder in the collective memory of the choir of what can be achieved.I personally am now working hard at solos in The Twelve and Orlando Gibbons' songs ands canticles. The solo singing is a unique facet of the varied experience provided by the choir, and one that was relatively new to me. Facing a full house with nothing left to do but sing the piece –all preparation aside – is a thrilling, terrifying and yet calm experience. With less than a day until curtain up its time to knuckle down and finish final preparations; and afterwards all that’s left is a 10 day concert tour to three countries...easy!
Jack Hawkins
As the choir sound continues to develop for the better, and real blend and colour begin to emerge, the treble line were confident in facing one of their first major tests – a professional engagement sing as the treble line (or “third chorus” ) for Berlioz’s Te Deum with Twickenham Choral Society, the Brandenburg symphony orchestra, conducted by the inspiring Christopher Herrick. Following this success, a cut down ‘chamber choir’ sang at the Rose Theatre’s Youth Arts Festival. As last act of the night, we were able to fully enjoy the varied and eclectic program which we were required to follow, with the Orlando Gibbon’s beautiful Songs and Canticles taken from the original, hymns and songs of the church, with Alto and tenor lines by the contemporary composer Anthony Pitts. We have been told that our performance was exceptionally well received.
As the impending dates of the Southwark Cathedral Concert and (incredibly it seems) the tour to the Baltic States draw ever nearer, one can visibly see the change in intensity during rehearsals which now are spent preparing a wide variety of pieces that we will soon be performing to paying audiences. The sheer amount of music being performed and the closeness of the deadline certainly seem to have a focusing effect on the choir; a drastic change in the alto line sees a form of religious zealousness etched on their faces during rehearsals and many a time can one wander upon a group of countertenors fervently practicing their parts in a dark corner of the music department.
Musically, challenges are provided by several of our upcoming pieces, namely Walton's the Twelve and Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten), both of which are unfamiliar to many of the choir's youngest members. If rehearsals are sometimes tough, they are outweighed immeasurably by those rare golden moments of true unity whilst singing, something the choir can work towards, a constant reminder in the collective memory of the choir of what can be achieved.I personally am now working hard at solos in The Twelve and Orlando Gibbons' songs ands canticles. The solo singing is a unique facet of the varied experience provided by the choir, and one that was relatively new to me. Facing a full house with nothing left to do but sing the piece –all preparation aside – is a thrilling, terrifying and yet calm experience. With less than a day until curtain up its time to knuckle down and finish final preparations; and afterwards all that’s left is a 10 day concert tour to three countries...easy!
Jack Hawkins
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Spring Singing
So, Spring singing (Springing?) is upon us! Easter is gone and we’re all back from our holidays, if not a tad later planned for some of us… With a few additions to the ensemble – namely a couple of new members and a beard – preparations for summer music and the tour are in full swing. This is a brief note of what we’ve been up to over the last couple of months.
Before the Easter break the boys sang an Easter week service of music, punctuated by poetry. The very moving evening included Tallis’ Lamentations of Jeremiah, an appropriate piece which was depicts the composer’s own struggle against the religious oppression in Tudor England; and the singer’s favourite Lo the Full Final Sacrifice by Gerald Finzi. Also performed for the first time for a long time was Gustav Holst’s This Have I Done For My True Love, a fantastic piece of music set to a familiar text, part of which is often sung at Christmas in a setting by John Gardner. The poetry included works by W.H.Auden and Christina Rossetti, evoking thought and reflection as well as conveniently giving the singers a decent breather between each piece!
Shortly after, the choir sang an evensong of British music. The ATB sang the Rose responses, and the canticles were the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat by Edmund Rubbra, a piece whose fortissimo moments especially marked a great development of this year’s choir sound; focused and resonant. The anthem was a reprisal of Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice which has proved a successful choice for the choir this year and will continue to feature in concert and tour programmes this summer.
After the Easter break the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland meant the choir were left conductorless for a while. So while Mr Toyne was sunning himself in the Middle East and enjoying the delicacies Jordan has to offer, choir practices continued led by Mr Ferris, James and myself. On top of preparation for an All Saints’ Kingston concert in May a number of us rehearsed a short number (‘You Need Hands’ by Max Bygraves, arr. S Ferris) to sing at Malcolm McLaren’s funeral. Perhaps the most bizarrely wonderful gig we will ever sing, the non-religious funeral was not so much an occasion to grieve but a celebration of the great man, and saw stripey blazers fundraising for the tour whilst rubbing shoulders with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Johnny Rotten, Adam Ant, Bob Geldof and many more.
The concert we had been preparing for was soon upon us. With Herr Toyne back in the driving seat, rehearsals intensified and the hefty programme was thoroughly worked at. It included pieces by Purcell, Byrd, Tallis and Handel in the first half, followed by the Rubbra in A flat, Britten Rejoice in the Lamb and Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice. The audience was treated to passionate, emotional and focused music; quite a feat for the young trebles especially who hadn’t sung such a vast concert before! A personal favourite was definitely the welcome return of the Britten, which we hadn’t sung since February 2009 where the choir performed it in Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand.
And that brings us to the status quo – busy preparations for a Gala concert in Southwark Cathedral and a tour of the Baltic States. Audiences can look forward to a mix of recently performed repertoire plus some new (possibly contemporary…) additions, almost certainly to include a return of Walton’s The Twelve due to popular demand. Watch this space!
Kieran Brunt
Before the Easter break the boys sang an Easter week service of music, punctuated by poetry. The very moving evening included Tallis’ Lamentations of Jeremiah, an appropriate piece which was depicts the composer’s own struggle against the religious oppression in Tudor England; and the singer’s favourite Lo the Full Final Sacrifice by Gerald Finzi. Also performed for the first time for a long time was Gustav Holst’s This Have I Done For My True Love, a fantastic piece of music set to a familiar text, part of which is often sung at Christmas in a setting by John Gardner. The poetry included works by W.H.Auden and Christina Rossetti, evoking thought and reflection as well as conveniently giving the singers a decent breather between each piece!
Shortly after, the choir sang an evensong of British music. The ATB sang the Rose responses, and the canticles were the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat by Edmund Rubbra, a piece whose fortissimo moments especially marked a great development of this year’s choir sound; focused and resonant. The anthem was a reprisal of Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice which has proved a successful choice for the choir this year and will continue to feature in concert and tour programmes this summer.
After the Easter break the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland meant the choir were left conductorless for a while. So while Mr Toyne was sunning himself in the Middle East and enjoying the delicacies Jordan has to offer, choir practices continued led by Mr Ferris, James and myself. On top of preparation for an All Saints’ Kingston concert in May a number of us rehearsed a short number (‘You Need Hands’ by Max Bygraves, arr. S Ferris) to sing at Malcolm McLaren’s funeral. Perhaps the most bizarrely wonderful gig we will ever sing, the non-religious funeral was not so much an occasion to grieve but a celebration of the great man, and saw stripey blazers fundraising for the tour whilst rubbing shoulders with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Johnny Rotten, Adam Ant, Bob Geldof and many more.
The concert we had been preparing for was soon upon us. With Herr Toyne back in the driving seat, rehearsals intensified and the hefty programme was thoroughly worked at. It included pieces by Purcell, Byrd, Tallis and Handel in the first half, followed by the Rubbra in A flat, Britten Rejoice in the Lamb and Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice. The audience was treated to passionate, emotional and focused music; quite a feat for the young trebles especially who hadn’t sung such a vast concert before! A personal favourite was definitely the welcome return of the Britten, which we hadn’t sung since February 2009 where the choir performed it in Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand.
And that brings us to the status quo – busy preparations for a Gala concert in Southwark Cathedral and a tour of the Baltic States. Audiences can look forward to a mix of recently performed repertoire plus some new (possibly contemporary…) additions, almost certainly to include a return of Walton’s The Twelve due to popular demand. Watch this space!
Kieran Brunt
Monday, 22 March 2010
Welcome
Welcome to the blog, and to our new website (if you're just reading this on the blogspot page, then please check out www.tiffinboyschoir.com. We hope that this will give you an up-to-date, informative and entertaining picture of what the choir is getting up to. The boys themselves will be updating the blog every fortnight - they will write about what they are rehearsing, how the performances have been, and much more besides.
At the moment, in addition to launching the website and the start of our fundraising campaign for the summer tour, we are preparing for a performance next week, in Kingston Parish Church on Tuesday 30th March at 7.30 pm. Entitled "Love So Amazing", this is a one-hour sequence of music and literature associated with Holy Week.
It's quite rare for the bulk of Holy Week to be within a school term, so we are using the opportunity to get acquainted with some wonderful music associated with the season. The Tallis Lamentations are very special indeed, and it has been quite an experience rehearsing these with the Altos, Tenors and Basses: it's so exciting to conduct singers who have no prior experience of the piece they're singing - that sense that the page-turn is going to bring profound, lasting discoveries - and they have taken the piece to their hearts. We are also singing Stainer God so loved the world, Purcell Hear my Prayer, Holst This have I done for my true love, and Finzi Lo the Full, Final Sacrifice - it should be a very moving evening.
At the moment, in addition to launching the website and the start of our fundraising campaign for the summer tour, we are preparing for a performance next week, in Kingston Parish Church on Tuesday 30th March at 7.30 pm. Entitled "Love So Amazing", this is a one-hour sequence of music and literature associated with Holy Week.
It's quite rare for the bulk of Holy Week to be within a school term, so we are using the opportunity to get acquainted with some wonderful music associated with the season. The Tallis Lamentations are very special indeed, and it has been quite an experience rehearsing these with the Altos, Tenors and Basses: it's so exciting to conduct singers who have no prior experience of the piece they're singing - that sense that the page-turn is going to bring profound, lasting discoveries - and they have taken the piece to their hearts. We are also singing Stainer God so loved the world, Purcell Hear my Prayer, Holst This have I done for my true love, and Finzi Lo the Full, Final Sacrifice - it should be a very moving evening.
Developing the sound of the choir is a constant activity, much like developing a fine wine - voices are constantly changing, as is the mix of voices in the choir. We currently have 55 boys in the choir (of whom 28 are trebles): having lost a large number of ATB last year (due to completing their seven years at the school) and quite a few trebles (for natural, biological reasons!), it has taken time for the distinctive sound to reform, but it's very much on the right lines now - a rich, colourful ATB sound (perhaps our best ever) is supporting a young treble sound which has brightness and character.
Keep checking back here for the boys' opinions in future weeks!
Simon Toyne
Director
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