A concert at St. John's Holland Road which concluded the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Giltspur Singers, which were formed by Dr. Christopher Maxim in 2003 - the name comes from the street in which the church where they rehearse is based.
The programme featured a wide range of music, mostly from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, and many with a country theme - including items by Reginald Spofforth, Samuel Webbe the elder, William Horsley, Robert Pearsall and others. Most of them were quite light-hearted and fun, rather than serious and heavy.
The first half ended with Gerald Finzi's "Lo, the full, final sacrifice", with its haunting introducation.
Following the interval, at which wine and soft drinks were available, there was a section entitled Three Pastoral Partsongs, with words by John Keats, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Thomas Hardy set to music by Christopher Maxim.
Then came the special feature of the evening: a number of pieces under the heading "Songs of Gods and Mortals" composed Christopher Maxim especially for the anniversary:
Hymn to Pan - words: John Fletcher (1579-1625)
Mistress Margery Wentworth - words: John Skelton (c.1460-1529)
Hymn to Bacchus - words: Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Jenny kissed me - words: Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
Hymn to Venus - words: Ambrose Philips (1574-1749), based on Sappho (c.625-c.570BC)
Mad Tom - words: Anon.
New music, but very old words, and all of them very, very different.
The programme concluded with two pieces for lute and voice.
The Giltspur Singers are a mixed choir, who all have other jobs during the day, although several are trained musicians and singers and all are enthusiastic about music.
St. John's is a wonderful church for concerts; the beauty of the church itself gives it an atmosphere that no normal concert hall can offer, and is especially suitable for pieces which are haunting and emotional, as so many of this evening's pieces were.
No comments:
Post a Comment