In the Spring of 2020 the global pandemic knocked out our planned
performances of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Bach’s St John
Passion, and Bruckner’s Mass in E minor, but undeterred
we quickly migrated to Zoom and raided our Musical Director’s garage
for a source of music which could be sung for pure enjoyment. We
quickly found that getting used to singing virtually was quite a
challenge - you can only hear yourself and the piano, so it doesn’t
feel very “choral”.
The songs Lee selected were from an incomplete project he had with
the Choirs of All Saints Northampton to record a large number of the
pieces written by Herbert Howells CH CBE (1892-1983) which have not
yet been recorded. Many of these songs are in two parts, which saved
time in “note bashing” as soprano and tenor were the same, and alto
and bass the same. As the term continued we opened up into the two
four-part male voice choruses from 1914, and the extraordinary A
Maid Peerless which divides into as many as eight parts for just
sopranos and altos.
We worked alongside our Musical Director’s choirs in Huntingdon,
Leamington Spa, and Wellingborough, including singing together in
joint sectional rehearsals, which was great - especially to have
nearly 30 tenors all together at one time! We also welcomed guest
experts to talk about Howells’s music, including the Musical
Director the Bach Choir (London), Dr David Hill MBE, and Dr Jonathan
Clinch who is currently writing a new biography of Howells.
More information on what we achieved can be found here.
Programme:
Northampton Bach Choir
Conductor - Lee Dunleavy
The Choral Songs of Herbert Howells
A Golden Lullaby (1920)
A Maid Peerless (1931)
A New Year Carol (1939)
Delicates so dainty (1931)
Pink Almond (1957)
Piping down the valley’s wild (1938)
Sweet content (1931)
The Saylor’s Song (1927)
The Tinker’s Song (1914)
The Winds Whistle Cold (1914)
Tune Thy music (1927)
Weep you no more, sad fountains (1914) |
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