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September Newsletter 2018

Dear Fellow HCS members,

I hope you have all had a well-deserved and restorative summer break, enjoyed the amazing weather we have had, and are in good voice for the new term.

The last year has been an eventful and significant one for the choir.  After thirteen years at the helm, Chris conducted his last concert with us last Christmas.  Over those years he developed and encouraged us to become the choir we now are.  Under his baton, we successfully performed numerous concerts with ambitious and challenging works, including Bach’s St John Passion and Brahms’ German Requiem.  In all, a huge achievement and we are very grateful to Chris for all he did for us, as he knows from the sentiments expressed at the concert and at his subsequent leaving party.  We wish him a happy and productive retirement.

We have been very lucky that Chris has been succeeded by Janette Ruocco who, in our new rehearsal space at The London Road Church, has led us onward and upward.  The choir has warmed to her consummate musicality, encouragement and humour and has responded by working hard to produce the sound she is aiming for.  Our summer concert of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonellewas a triumph in many ways and I hope that it will be the first of many led by Janette.  We have also benefitted greatly by having a terrifically musical and witty accompanist, Karen Smith, and again, I hope that we have a long and happy time working with her.  We had gone a long way as a choir with Chris and I feel that with Janette and Karen we now have renewed energy and confidence and will go on to even greater heights.

As well as these big changes there have been others that I hope have improved the life of the choir.  Not least, as mentioned above, the new rehearsal venue, which is more comfortable than St John’s, but I am happy that we can continue to use St John’s for our concerts.  Our website has now been transformed by Paul Cope and includes a very useful members’ section, which will enable us to keep you all up to date with events and announcements.  There is a lot of information on the website about HCS, our concerts, previous and upcoming, photographs and clips from concert recordings.  I do hope you find it helpful.  Many thanks to Paul for his continuing sterling work on keeping the website flourishing.

Because we meet on Monday evenings, we tend to lose precious rehearsal time to Bank Holidays, especially in the summer term in the build-up to a concert so, in another change, we have now started to meet on those dates.  When we did this in May, most of the choir were able to attend and we had a very productive rehearsal, so we will continue to do this.  All the dates can be seen on the website.

We have also had a number of very enjoyable and successful social events during the year.  In March the Quiz evening was well attended, and great fun.  Many thanks to our question master, John Formston, and to all who helped to set up, and to produce the delicious food.  Joanna Barfield, our Membership Secretary organised a trip to St Andrew’s Hall in April to hear the UEA Choir sing the Petite Messe Solonelle, which was a great preparation for our own performance. The finger buffet after our own concert was a lovely occasion which enabled us to mingle with our audience and to enjoy their very positive reaction.  This meant a huge effort on the part of those organising, preparing and setting out the food, to whom many thanks, in particular to Julia, Margaret and Sheena, who went above and beyond.  Finally, the garden party held in Julia and John’s beautiful garden, in glorious weather, and with more delicious food.  Again, many thanks to all who contributed, and especially to Julia and John.

On to more prosaic matters.  Risk Assessments have been done on both the churches which we use and I thank Malcolm for all his work on this necessary legal requirement. Another is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which has caused a lot of confusion for many organisations. Jenny and John have produced the necessary documents, based on the very helpful information from the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) and Joanna has attended a course on GDPR, which has helped to clarify what we need to do to comply.  Our GDPR policy will be posted on the Members’ area of the website, and on Monday you will all receive an information document and a consent form to complete when you sign in for the new term.  All this is to ensure that the data which you have given us is safely protected.

Also on Monday you will receive papers, including ballot papers, for the upcoming AGM which will be held during the practice on Monday 24thSeptember.  Last year I said that I would be standing down as I will have been Chair for four years. Likewise Jenny anticipated standing down as Minutes and Publicity Secretary.  We have met and discussed the current situation with the rest of the Committee and have decided that, unless other choir members step up at the AGM to take on these roles, we could stay on for a further year in order to help the choir bed down with its new leadership.  Heather will be resigning from the Committee, though will still format and print our programmes, and design the posters and tickets, for which we are very grateful and thank her for all she has contributed and continues to do.

There will now be three Committee vacancies, one caused by Heather’s resignation, and two because under the Constitution we are allowed up to twelve members.  We hope to fill at least some of these vacancies at the AGM.  If you would like to stand but are unsure what is involved, please do come and ask me or any other Committee member and we’d be delighted to enlighten you.  It would be great to have new blood and fresh ideas.

I would like to give heartfelt thanks to my fellow Committee members: Jenny, Caroline, Malcolm, Heather, Joanna, Richard, Julia, John and Carol for their commitment, hard work, encouragement, enthusiasm and support.  In addition to the Committee, there are, of course, many other people who give their time and energy to HCS and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to them all:  Sheena and Pat for organising musicians for our concerts; Margaret and her team for their ever-efficient front-of-house organisation; John, and Malcolm and their team of helpers, who erect and dismantle the staging; Julia in her role as Music Librarian, and for organising the famed musicians’ teas; Sheila for running the Bonus Ball; Fiona for organising the raffles; Lynda and Chris for doing refreshments during our breaks; and Nathaniel for being a supportive, encouraging Patron.

Sadly, Bryan Fisher has had to leave the choir because of ill health.  We will miss him and thank him for his wonderful contribution over the years.

Earlier in the year, a gratifying number of you responded very positively to the questionnaire I put out and made a number of suggestions which the Committee has taken on board.  So, with increased social occasions, the change in rehearsal venue and the improved website, we hope that you feel involved in what is happening. It is your choir and if you have any comments and/or suggestions, please do communicate them to me or one of the other Committee members.  We’d be particularly interested in ideas for recruiting new members and increasing our income.

I very much look forward to seeing you all again on Monday and to singing together.

Best wishes,

Jo

A thank you letter from Janette Ruocco Sunday, June 24th 2018

Rendlesham
Sunday, June 24th 2018

Dear Members of Harleston Choral Society

Many, many thanks for all of the hard work that each of you put into making Saturday’s concert such a success!

I was so very proud of your musical achievements – the level of attention to pronunciation was very good throughout the performance and made all the difference in terms of keeping the pitch. You were super attentive to my conducting gestures, which helped enormously in projecting the vitality of the piece to the audience and making clean endings of phrases (no mean achievement with such a large ensemble).

We’ve been on a bit of a musical rollercoaster in terms of learning hundreds of notes and then staying focussed in the endless repetitions of certain words in rehearsals. Those challenges were made all the more onerous where we kept going over and over certain passages.

I am sure that it is now apparent to every one of you that through that learning process we have been developing our collective understanding of how best to sing those notes and words in order to bring out the drama of the music in the concert performance. On Saturday night you really brought the music off the page and gave a totally committed and very dramatic performance. To be honest, there’s not much more that a conductor can wish for in an end of term concert performance!

My extra singers enjoyed singing with you and were keen that I passed on their thanks for making them feel so welcome. Understandably they were bowled over by the hospitality that they received in between the rehearsal and the concert.

It seems to me that hospitality is a great strength of HCS. You have the collective knack of making new singers, guest singers, instrumentalists, soloists (and new conductors) feel welcome and valued. That’s a very special gift and something to be held onto and celebrated.

As Saturday was my first concert experience with you I was keen to see how ‘things’ worked on the day. From the side-lines it seemed to me that there were several teams of people allocated to specific tasks and that those teams got on with their jobs extremely well both before and after the concert – I am thinking particularly about the catering team, the stagehand team and the front of house team.

You may well be aware that the concert was perceived to be such a great success by some members of the audience that they spoke to me about joining the choir in September. What a great piece of recruitment advertising!

I have enjoyed every minute of our collective music-making to date and am very excited about exploring with you the repertoire that has been planned for the next two concerts.

Make the most of your summer break and come back ready for more great music-making in September!

With very best wishes
Janette

Petite Messe Solennelle Programme Notes

Petite Messe Solennelle Gioachino Rossini (1792 – 1868)

1          Kyrie– Choir and soloists

2          Gloria– Choir and soloists

Gratias agimus tibi – Trio: alto, tenor, bass

Domine Deus – Tenor solo

Qui tollis peccata mundi – Duet: soprano, alto

Quoniam tu solus sanctus – Bass solo

Cum Sancto Spiritu – Choir and soloists

3          Credo– Choir and soloists

Crucifixus – Soprano solo

Et resurrexit – Choir and soloists

Et vitam venturi – Choir and soloists

4          Prélude religieux– Piano

5          Ritornelle– Harmonium

6          Sanctus– Choir and soloists

7          O salutaris hostia- Soprano solo

8          Agnus Dei– Alto soloist and choir


Rossini photographed by Étienne Carjat, 1865

Rossini photographed by Étienne Carjat, 1865

Although he composed in other genres, the Italian Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) is most famous as a composer of both comic and serious operas and was prolific in that genre, composing almost 40 operas in a period of just over 20 years. His gift for writing inspired, song-like melodies permeates all his music and gave rise to his nickname ‘The Italian Mozart.’ Such was his facility and proficiency with composition and humorous repartee, that he apparently once quipped, “Give me the laundress’ bill and I will even set that to music.”

Life in the fast lane and the heavy workload eventually took its toll on the composer and, in 1829, aged only 27 and at the peak of his opera writing career, ill-health forced Rossini to retire from the opera stage. In 1855, after many years of debilitating illness, Rossini settled in Paris where he gradually became a leading musical figure at musical soirées in his own salon. From 1857 Rossini returned to composition, famously calling the compositions of this period the ‘sins of my old age.’ These chamber works, which included many pieces for choir and vocal ensemble, were performed by Rossini and the guests at his salon, but he never released any for publication during his lifetime.

Rossini spent the summer of 1864 composing his Petite messe solennelle. It is a chamber piece, originally scored for two pianos, harmonium and a dozen singers including the soloists. Well known for his sense of humour, at the end of the score Rossini adds the following message to God:

“Dear God, there you have it, finished this poor little mass. Is it really sacred music or is it cursed music that I have made? I was born for opera buffa (comic opera), as well you know! Little technique. A little heart, that’s all. So be Thou blessed and grant me Paradise.”

After successful performances in the chamber ensemble format, Rossini was persuaded by his friends, and favourable responses from critics, to orchestrate the piece for performance in a cathedral with larger scale forces. However, despite completing the orchestration, no large-scale performance ever happened in the composer’s lifetime. Rossini had an aversion to the sound of boys’ singing voices and wanted to have women sing instead, but Pope Pius IX was unwilling to provide the necessary papal dispensation required for that to happen.

Like so many of the works that he wrote in France towards the end of his life, Rossini forbade publication of the Petite messe. After his death, several versions appeared quickly across Europe, but none in the original orchestral scoring. The American scholar, Dr Nancy Fleming, prepared a performing edition of the work from the autograph manuscript for her doctoral dissertation and that version was taken up and published as an ‘urtext’ (original version) edition by Oxford University Press in 1991.


1          Kyrie

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy.

Christe eleison. Christ have mercy.

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy.

The movement opens with a quiet eight-bar introduction from the pianos and harmonium which gradually crescendos to the first choral entry Kyrie eleison, at which point the harmonium part supports the voices whilst the pianos have more rhythmic, almost percussive writing. The next section, Christe eleison, contrasts with the opening. It is set a cappella(unaccompanied) in the minor key and is redolent of the sacred polyphony of sixteenth century composers like Palestrina. At the return of the Kyrie eleisontext, the music is much as at the opening, with the very quiet ending gradually dying away.

2          Gloria

Rossini sets this part of the mass as six interconnected, but contrasting movements:

Gloria in excelsis Deo – Laudamus

Gratias agimus Tibi

Domine Deus

Qui tollis peccata mundi

Quoniam Tu solus sanctus

Cum Sancto Spiritu

Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory be to God on high) is very loud – with the choir and instruments creating an immediate impression of energy and celebration after the Kyrie. Rossini sets the next part of the words from the Ordinary of the mass ‘Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis’ for the soloists, leaving the closing ‘Adoramus Te, Glorificamus Te’ to the choir.

 

Et in terra pax hominibus And on earth peace

Bonae voluntatis. Good will towards men.

Laudamus Te We praise Thee

Benedicimus Te We bless Thee

Adoramus Te We worship Thee

Glorificamus Te. We glorify Thee.

The next section,Gratias agimus Tibi, is set as a trio for alto, tenor and bass soloists with a single piano accompaniment.

Gratias agimus Tibi We give Thee thanks

Propter magnam gloriam Tuam. For Thy great glory.

Domine Deusis a substantial solo for tenor and piano.

Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Lord God, Heavenly King,

Deus Pater omnipotens. God the Father Almighty.

Domine Fili unigenite O Lord the only begotten Son

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei. O Lord God, Lamb of God.

Filius Patris. Son of the Father.

Qui tollis peccata mundiis set as a duet for soprano and alto. The combination of close harmonies – mostly in thirds – and poignant imitation between the parts both underline the text. The focus on the vocal writing is achieved by laying it over an almost formulaic accompaniment; the harmonium mostly has sustained chords that support the vocal lines while the piano has an undulating semiquaver arpeggio figure. Rossini’s understanding of the affective potential of word setting is used to optimal effect in the ‘miserere nobis’ phrases.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, Thou that takest away the sins of the world

Suscipe deprecationem nostram. Hear our prayer.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father,

Miserere nobis. Have mercy upon us.

At the start of the next movement, Quoniam Tu solus sanctus, Rossini provides a complete contrast, using a fast and transparent texture in the piano introduction that allows sufficient time for listeners’ ears to adjust before the bass solo starts. Interestingly, that introduction has more than a hint of the opera house about it – suggesting, perhaps, that Rossini felt that there had been enough dwelling on the pious nature of the text and that a change of direction was required.

Quoniam Tu solus sanctus, For Thou alone art holy,

Tu solus Dominus. Thou only art the Lord.

Tu solus Altissimus, Thou only art most high,

Jesu Christe. O Jesus Christ.

The final section, Cum Sancto Spiritu, reuses musical ideas from the Gloria in excelsis. This time, however, the setting is anything but brief with florid repeated ‘amen’ phrases that become ever longer. It is almost as if Rossini is testing the performers – to see how long a melisma (one syllable sung to several notes) could be before it was no longer possible to sing – and himself, to see how creative he could be setting a single word multiple times in the same movement. There is a false ending about two-thirds of the way through punctuated by two tremendously loud ‘amens’ before Rossini dovetails back to the opening of the movement and a last romp through a coda to the final ‘amen’.

Cum Sancto Spiritu With the Holy Ghost

In Gloria Dei Patris. In the glory of God the Father.

Amen. Amen.

3          Credo

Rossini sets this part of the mass as four interconnected contrasting movements:

Credo in unum Deum

Crucifixus

Et resurrexit

Et vitam venturi

Credo in unum Deumis set as a series of alternating passages for choir and soloists. These contrasts make the considerable amount of text more intelligible for the listener and provide opportunities for the inventive Rossini to highlight certain phrases through inspired musical means. He uses a musical phrase that descends with the words ‘nostram salutem descendit de coelis’ which is followed by the soloists singing very quietly, ‘Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine’ which is punctuated first by the upper and then by the lower voices bringing us back to the temporal world ‘Et homo factus est.’ A short piano coda draws the movement to a close.

Credo in unum Deum, I believe in one God,

Patrem omnipotentem, the Father Almighty,

Factorem cœli et terrae, Maker of heaven and earth,

visibilium omnium et invisibilium. of all things visible and invisible.

Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, And in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

Filium Dei unigenitum, the only-begotten Son of God,

et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. born of the Father before all ages.

Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, God from God, Light from Light,

Deum verum de Deo vero, true God from true God,

genitum non factum, begotten, not made,

consubstantialem Patri, consubstantial with the Father,

per quem omnia facta sunt. by Whom all things were made.

Qui propter nos homines et propter Who for us men and for our salvation

nostram salutem descendit de coelis. came down from Heaven.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost

ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. out of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

The opening of the Crucifixusis marked pianissisimo (very, very, quiet). The lilting piano accompaniment is supplemented with sustained chords on the harmonium that support the solo soprano line. Where the Credois expansive and emphatic, this movement is reflective and intimate.

 

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, He was also crucified for us,

Sub Pontio Pilato passus, Suffered under Pontius Pilate,

et sepultus est. And was buried.

From its startling a cappella ‘et resurrexit’ declamation from the sopranos, the Et resurrexit movementis anything but subtle, with emphatic and loud choral ‘Credo’ (I believe) interjections punctuating the texture at strategic points. The contrasting pianissimo choral ‘et ascendit in coelum’ is taken up by the four soloists.

 

Et resurrexit tertia die, And on the third day rose again,

secundum Scripturas, according to the Scripture,

et ascendit in coelum, And ascended into Heaven,

sedet ad dexteram Patris. and sits on the right hand of the Father.

 

The choir takes on the rest of the life-affirming musical passage that states the tenets of Christian beliefs.

 

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, And He shall come again, with glory,

judicare vivos et mortuos, to judge the living and the dead,

cujus regni non erit finisOf His Kingdom there shall be no end;

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, And I believe in the Holy Spirit,

Dominum et vivificantem, the Lord, and Giver of Life,

qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Who proceeds from the Father and the Son

Qui cum Patre et Filio Who, with the Father and the Son,

simul adoratur et conglorificatur: is together adored and glorified,

qui locutus est per prophetas. Who has spoken through the Prophets.

 

The soloists’ quiet affirmation, ‘Et unam sanctam, Catholicam et Apostolicam Ecclesiam’ is immediately broken by the choir’s loud ‘Credo’ before they continue on their statement of the Creed.

 

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic

et apostolicam Ecclesiam. and Apostolic Church.

Confiteor unum baptisma I confess one Baptism

in remissionem peccatorum. for the remission of sins.

Et expectoAnd I await

resurrectionem mortuorum. the Resurrection of the Dead.

 

The final section of the Credo, Et vitam venturi is reminiscent of the Cum sanctoin the Gloria, with its fugal beginning and the many musical variants on the word ‘Amen.’

 

Et vitam venturi saeculi. And the Life of the world to come.

Amen.Amen.

 

4          Prélude religieux

French masses in the mid-19thcentury frequently included additional movements that were not part of the Ordinary of the Mass, such as an instrumental Offertoiremovement. The Prélude religieuxappears to have been lifted wholesale from a pre-existing ‘sins of old age’ collection and just inserted into the mass. As to whether the piano or the harmonium is intended to play the Prélude, the autograph score is ambiguous, and the question is academic asit works with either instrument. This evening we have chosen to use the piano.

 

5          Ritornelle

Rossini may have created the preceding movement as an opportunity to give his singers a break in the performance, but he then had to write a musical ‘fix’ to enable the singers to be able to pitch the opening a cappella passage at the start of the Sanctus. The short, somewhat quirky Ritornelle in C for the harmonium performs that function perfectly and adds to the unique charm of the entire piece.

 

6          Sanctus & Benedictus

 

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Holy, holy, holy,

Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Lord God of hosts.

Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.

Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

The entire movement is intended to be sung a cappella, that is, without any accompaniment. In the opening phrase the word sanctusis repeated. It is louder each time before the soloists dovetail their phrase. The alternation of choral and solo passages is a feature of this movement.

 

7          O salutaris hostia

French masses in the mid-19thcentury frequently included an additional motet movement, such as O salutaris hostia,or Domine salvum fac. Rossini honours that tradition by including a version of the former that had been composed for solo soprano and piano before he started writing the Petite messesolennelle.

 

O salutaris hostia! O saving Victim!

Quae coeli pandis ostium, Opening wide the gate of Heaven to man below,

Bella premunt hostilia. Our foes are pressed hard on every side.

Da robur, fer auxilium. Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.

 

8          Agnus Dei

 

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi: Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world:

Miserere nobis. Have mercy upon us.

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi: Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world:

Dona nobis pacem. Give us peace.

 

The final movement opens with a dramatic seven-bar piano introduction which has some stark contrasts of dynamics and conspicuous use of rests. The accompaniment to the alto solo starts at the eighth bar, with an ostinato-like figure (persistently repeated) on the piano and sustained chords from the harmonium on the half bar.

The alto solo, Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us, which complements the rhythmic intensity of the piano accompaniment, is punctuated by ‘sotto voce’ pleading from the choir, Give us peace. This pattern is repeated and, on the third time through, the choir joins the alto in a coda section based on the words who takest away the sins of the world, which appears to be drawing to a quiet close. Rossini, however, has others ideas and the erstwhile ‘sotto voce’ Give us peace phrase from the choir becomes a dogmatic fortissimo, which could be the proper ending. Yet again Rossini diverges from what he has established; he does not end the work with this final loud flourish and returns instead to the instrumental opening eight bars of the Agnus Deiplayed very quietly, as it was at the start of the movement.

 

 

 

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