Heroes for Peace - a fitting tribute
11 November 2018
We were delighted to be invited by the Lord Lieutenant of
Northamptonshire to lead the event commemorating the centenary of
the Armistice in the Derngate on 11/11/2018. The first half of the
event explored the heroes of Northamptonshire, telling the stories
of Edgar Mobbs, Walter Tull, The Anglian Regiment, and many more
local people. This was led by BBC Radio Northampton’s John Griff and
Grham McKechnie, Dr Helen Stringer of Northampton High School, and
the Lord Lieutenant himself, with performances by members of Royal &
Derngate’s Youth Theatre and our friends at the Northampton Male
Voice Choir.
Walter Tull (1888-1918)
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The Lord Lieutenant in Rehearsal
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For the second half we were joined by the Daventry Choral Society
and members of Earls Barton Music, alongside the Northampton Male
Voice Choir and Orchestra da Camera, to perform Sir Karl Jenkins
The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace. The thrill of nearly 300 voices
combined was quite astonishing, and because of careful and subtle
amplification, the small band of twelve players were at all times in
perfect balance with the choir. Our Musical Director, Lee Dunleavy,
directed with great finesse, keeping the speeds true to the markings
in the score by the composer, and increasing tension as the work
proceeded.
Getting Ready for The Armed Man
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250 Singers Assemble
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Following this we were delighted to give the first performance of
an arrangement - by the composer - of Dr David Bednall’s stunning
setting of Siegfried Sassoon’s verses Everyone sang. This was
a real tour de force, which clearly had a huge impact on the
audience - which numbered just under the 1000. The climactic point
featured organ, piano, cello, percussion and flute, crowned with a
trio of trumpets, and the chorus at the very highest point in their
registers, and this gradually gave way to a truly poignant
conclusion where our Musical Director was able to create the
timeless feel so essential. We offer our sincere and grateful thanks
to Dr Bednall for creating this arrangement for us.
The concert concluded with Jerusalem, sung by the combined
voices, orchestra, and the whole audience - over 1250 singing voices
in all, the playing of The Last Post and the dropping of
poppies over the whole auditorium.
Dr David Bednall
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The Last Post
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We offer thanks to our friends and partners who played and sung
alongside us, to those who helped put this remarkable event
together, and especially to Lee for bringing the music together to
create such a fitting tribute to the Fallen of the First World War.
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