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Choral Society is not a choir or a club. We've all heard about High society, the café society and so on, which identify people collectively who share a common interest. There exists amongst singers a bond which identifies and unites them in the same way. So this web-site is a WebMag for choral singers who are passionate about their singing. If you’d like to contribute an article, please tell the Web-master |
Coming soon... 1. Norah Day, The Planets, Gustav Holst. |
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News about this site, Summer 2019 A bit of site history. CHORAL SOCIETY WebMag is on Facebook. Like or Not Like? Choral Society I have temporarily lost Admin Rights. Use the Group below. The site receives over 35,000-40,000 hits per month! With this level of traffic, it is mutually beneficial to have reciprocal links. Please tell your web-master. This site is changing and developing as a result of your input and my self-indulgent additions! Here’s a list of contributors’ Facebooks. Alexander Campkin Let me know if you would like to be added. There is not enough room to list individuals excepting composers, soloists, accompanists, conductors, etc. Slots seeking singers If you need singers or you are a mélomane and can’t (or don’t want to) stop singing, you’ll find “The Choral Agency” on Facebook very useful Small bleat. Looking for a choir or Frequently I am asked by singers where can they find a choir. The best answer is to try these sources first. Gerontius.net It is difficult to answer the question put by new singers. I advise them to try any local choir. If that choir doesn’t suit, most singers are helpful and will suggest others. It is also a good idea to go to a few choral concerts If you are a choir then make sure you are listed on these web-sites.. See the Composers & Performers page. Here is a new app for the iphone to help you become note-perfect! Click this link to learn about Learn my part. Editorial messages. You can click on FEEDBACK to send me a message but e-mail is quicker. Archives from 2007 to 2011 can now be found under Links & Archives. Please, please give this site a link to yours. It is mutually beneficial. If you want a logo, right-click to download and save here. Please make the link to this site simply as Here’s something interesting; a site called Helping You Harmonise. It is all about Liz Garnett and what she as a professional musician, can offer singers. In her own words “Helping You Harmonise offers ideas to help choral directors and singers in vocal ensembles to rehearse and perform more effectively.” We now have reciprocal links because we both feel that we can benefit one another. Take a look. It’s an interesting site. www.helpingyouharmonise.com BBC Performing Arts Fund, a charity that was set up within the BBC in 2003 to help everyone achieve their musical ambitions, from choirs, hip hop artists and musical theatre performers to folk musicians. Since its inception the fund has awarded over £3m to aspiring musicians, performers and groups across a range of genres through funding instruments, training and development. To learn more about what the fund does and how you can apply, visit the website Tired of singing the same old thing? Want something different? Write your own One of many useful contributions from Brian Maskell is this. He has used NoteWorthy Scriptorium to prepare electronic versions of pieces for himself and fellow choristers are learning. He says it is a very versatile tool and fantastic value for money. He adds, “I am not on commission!” Like-minded... John Hooper is a like-minded singer, musician and doer of all the sort of things which would interest you. The title of his site is "John's (downloadable) Midi File Choral Music".Go to www.learnchoralmusic.co.uk where there are lots of Midi Files that might be of assistance to Choral Singers far and wide. Also very good advice on how to play midi files and what NOT to expect when you play them. He has a new web-site which I don’t find the easiest to use! Sage Gateshead
The Silver Programme is a part of the overall Sage Learning & Participation Programme. It provides a wide variety of daytime musical activities for the over 50s, including singing. There are sessions at Sage Gateshead and elsewhere in the North East. Participants work with experienced and accessible tutors. Through workshops and performances the Silver Programme expands the current and dormant skills as well as encouraging new ones in Rock, Folk, Americana, Skiffle, Bluegrass, Mandolin, Guitar, Wind, and much more visit here to see what is on offer. Silver Singers is a community Choir for anyone over 50 who likes to sing. The material is a mix of world music, popular songs, folk songs, spirituals, Geordie songs, anything from Cole Porter to Annie Lennox!, Silversmiths: Blues, jazz, gospel. Silver Breves: Classical music singing group seeking a challenge. Elizabethan madrigals to contemporary settings of religious works. Silver Chorus: Auditioned SATB choir with a mixed repertoire of show tunes, pop, folk, classical, world and gospel. Solo opportunities within choral arrangements. Mood Indigo and Project Singing which are audition only ensembles. Music Theory See the full Silver Programme here and the next concert here Davies Music runs Concert Directory International, which has been providing vocal soloists throughout the UK and abroad for over 35 years with repertoire ranging from Monteverdi through the Bach Passions, to Verdi and Mahler and on to the 21st century. Concert Directory International is now run by Do you bother to look at the Composers’ & Performers’ Page?
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Edenbridge Parish Church
Rupert Street recalls his first visit to It is many years since I first experienced the pews at St. Peter's and St. Paul's, Edenbridge. Remarkably, they are still as uncomfortable as they were thirty years ago. More remarkable is that the church sings Choral Eucharist and Evensong every Sunday. Not many churches in Kent or elsewhere can claim this. To those of you who think Edenbridge is out in the sticks, it is about 45 minutes by rail from London. Unusually you can take a train West to Guildford or East to Tonbridge. It is only a couple of miles from Hever. What's more, Edenbridge even has a Waitrose! The new MD will find St.Peter & St. Paul Church a very agreeable WORKPLACE
The WORKBENCH has a very fine 3-manual pipe organ. It was updated and refurbished recently (full specification here) It is tuned and maintained regularly. It has West end and Chancel sections. The Console allows the organist to play both sections either separately or together. The West end organ is controlled by draw-stops, the Chancel organ by stop-keys The console can be moved to various parts of the church. |
There is an experienced WORKFORCE. The Junior choir currently comprises 9 members. The main SATB choir numbers 16. The Deputy MD keeps everything and everybody in order. Attendance is very good! She is also one of the choristers.
The choir has sung as a Cathedral Visiting Choir and is keen to do so again. On occasions, the choir will put on a concert in the local community. The Music Library is one of the best I have ever seen. It is comprehensive and beautifully organised. The MD is responsible to the Parish Priest for selecting the music for Services. The choir likes to venture into less familiar modern and ancient music. Morning hymns are selected by the Ministry Team. Responsibilities include taking weekly choir practice, playing for weekly Sunday morning Eucharist and BCP sung Evensong, with an anthem sung at both services. There are additional services at Easter and Christmas and full Choral Evensong at major festivals. Remuneration will be in accordance with RSCM recommendations. There are extra fees for Weddings and Funerals etc. The process of APPLICATION AND SELECTION will be kept simple; no intimidating HR application forms. Two References will be required and DBS clearance. Apply in letter form and send it by A short list of candidates would be invited to attend an interview in Edenbridge. If you are on the final list you will be invited to conduct the choir and to play the the organ.
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Canterbury Cathedral
It looks as though the regular Canterbury Cathedral Newsletter has been replaced by E-Newsletter to which you have to subscribe if you want to read it. This is the last open edition thst I have. Open Gardens The weekend will also include a classic car display, the chance to get up close and personal with Birds of Prey, Dover Beekeepers’ Association and a workshop for families run by The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral. Graffiti in the Cathedral Stained Glass Talks Talks by Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, Professor Vincent Lloyd and Professor Ben Quash and Dr Michelle Fletcher will take place on 1 May, 8 May and 15 May respectively. Cathedral Constable Attestation Read the Canterbury Cathedral Newsletter here Caterham Community Choir “The Choir is aimed at all members of the community, regardless of age, ability or wealth. We are a truly inclusive choir for those who wish to benefit from the enjoyable and therapeutic effect of singing. We may arrive tired and stressed but always go home feeling happy and revitalised. No audition or the ability to read music required. We all share the love of singing.” The choir meets on Tuesdays at 7.00pm in The Music Room, de Stafford School, Burntwood Lane, Caterham, Surrey Concert venues in the North East
I have been asked whether I know of any concert venues in the North East other than The Sage Gateshead! Here are some I know. Newcastle City Hall This has a very fine Harrison & Harrison organ which is in need of money for restoration. Pics here soon. Please send your suggestions and details of your gigs. There is loads of music in the North East, choral in particular. Are your concerts a sell-out? Rupert Street talks to Di Masters, former Publicity Manager of Ashtead Choral Society and discovers that it Pays to be Pushy. Remember the Easton Rabble Chorus? Fancy a trip to Ipswich? Easton Rabble Chorus’ repertoire is very eclectic. Folk songs, 'pop' songs by bands like Divine Comedy and the Kinks, world music, songs from musicals and the odd bit of classical for special occasions eg. Really Big Chorus events. Basically they perform whatever their MD, Kirsty Logan, feels will work for the voices and has time to arrange! Take a look on YouTube here to see a choir really enjoying themselves. Recitals
____________________________________ Do you ever complain and wish somebody would listen? There was an interesting item on Radio 4’s Today programme which I followed up. There is a complaints organisation called Complaints Choirs Worldwide here and if you want a bit of fun, go to this item on YouTube. The things which people complain about (up with this I will not put) transcend nationalities and geographical boundaries. Why not compose your own piece and I will post it on this site Here is something you can use on your PC.
You can use your mouse to play the notes or you can use you computer keyboard. Try a link on your mobile. Here’ s another VirtualPiano.net |
Test your hearing. Something to make you listen When I started learning the violin at the age of seven, I learned that all pianos are out of tune! To the violinist’s ear, you heard a 5th etc as perfect intervals. It wasn’t my ear! Some years later I discovered ‘The Scope of Music’ by Sir Percy Buck (he taught me harmony and composition). Like all of his books, it is easy to understand and is fairly compulsive reading. Here is an extract with an experiment you might like to try.
"A musical sound has three characteristics: pitch, intensity, and quality. We have discussed pitch and intensity, and I now want to tell you how your ear distinguish between two sounds of different quality. It may surprise you to know that, just as nearly everything we have ever tasted is a combination of certain elements which a chemist could analyse, so almost every sound you have ever heard, even when you thought it was a single note, is a combination of other sounds. If you would like to train your ears I beg you, when you get home, go to the piano and strike the C which is two leger lines below the bass stave. Strike it hard several times, holding it down the last time, and listen attentively until it is almost inaudible. After a very few trials - possibly the first time - you will notice there is another note sounding strongly, the G in the top space of the bass stave. After a few more trials you will plainly hear the E on the bottom line of the treble stave. You will then have discovered a fact known for ages to men of science, viz. that a note is almost invariably a combination of sounds. These various sounds which combine to form a note are called the ‘Partial Tones’ of that note, which is itself called the ‘Fundamental Partial’.” Read the full section here.
____________________________________ Treat yourself to a book When I had the pleasure of meeting Poppy Holden recently in Newcastle, she introduced me to “How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony”. This is a fascinating book written by Ross Duffin who is a Professor of Music. After reading this you might wonder whether you are always singing out of tune!
Advice for conductors. “Wave your arms until the music stops then turn round Wondering what to buy as a present? Try this one for yourself. Lev Parikian, the joint author of WAVING NOT DROWNING was telling me that choral singers should not read Chapter 20. Or did he say Chapter 21? Anyway, find out for yourself. It costs £5.85 on Amazon or the Kindle Edition for £1.97
"A revolutionary exposure of the conductor's darkest hours, ... painfully perceptive. Read it!" - Sir Neville Marriner "Brilliant.. a must for any would-be conductor of an orchestra, electricity or a bus...!” - Sir Ronald Harwood ____________________________________ A must for all-year reading is this... Boy choristers have sung the liturgy in English cathedrals for fourteen hundred years. Until now, their history has never been written. The author Alan Mould takes you from the Middle Ages, through the upheavals of The Reformation, Georgian neglect to the Victorian revival to the present day. Buy from www.continuumbooks.com or £16.11 (pencil not included) on Amazon
____________________________________ How do you score? You can read the reply here from Michael Grave who is Publicity Officer RSCM Durham Area and also MD of St Mary the Virgin, Whickham, Tyne & Wear Recently I had to return hired scores to their owner. When I cleaned them up, it was very interesting to see singers' markings. Of the thirty copies, four had no markings at all. Only two-and-a-bit marked the next note overleaf. Altos were the most prolific writers. The parts with most Big Breaths marked were the sops. One score had the corner of every page turned over excepting the covers (ugh!). Men scored lower than the ladies but then they don't read maps, they don't ask for help when they are lost and they don't turn round. Mind you, ladies can only read maps upside down so perhaps they need more markings. It was pleasing to see that nobody had used a ball-point or a yellow highlighter (double-ugh!). Wonderfully, all scores were returned. Make your comments on FaceBook or e-mail Web-master.
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If you do you will have seen the new entry for Nicola Hooke. She is 
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