8th October

Rutter – Star Carol
Telemann – Magnificat first movement

We are looking forward to welcoming you all  to the new term of Harleston Choral Society practices.

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HARLESTON CHORAL SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held on Monday 24 September 2018

at 8.30 pm in The Church at London Road, Harleston

Jo welcomed Janette, Karen and choir members and declared the meeting open.

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Nathaniel Gee, Tom Crisp and Kate Peacher.

2. Minutes of the last AGM (25 September 2017)

On the proposal of Richard Thomas, seconded by Julia Awty,

the Minutes were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

3. Report by Musical Director

Janette began by saying how much she has enjoyed working with us.  She said that although she only started working with the choir in January 2018, she came along to the December 2017 Christmas Oratorio concert as a member of the audience, and quickly learnt a lot about the way this choir presents itself musically and socially. Sitting at least two-thirds of the way back from the choir she was delighted to hear every word that we all sang – no mean achievement with an orchestra accompanying the choir in a relatively large church building. Chris had obviously trained us well and had set the standard for future concerts! Janette was also rather overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome from the many choir members to whom she was introduced.  She said that learning our names is going to be an ongoing process for at least the rest of the 2018-19 season, but she still remembers how welcome she was made to feel at that very first concert.

In January 2018 we began our long and somewhat arduous journey with our newly appointed accompanist Karen Smith, on the single work for our June concert, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. It is one of Janette’s all-time favourite choral works and she loves the quirky humour in it and the many, many singable melodies. However, there were times when she wondered how we all felt being herded through pages of ‘amens’, being subjected to microscopic scrutiny regarding intonation and Italianate Latin pronunciation, the mini-lectures about stylistically appropriate singing, and being required to sit in a range of different, preordained arrangements.

Whatever it was we thought about what Janette was doing we went along with it, and that planning and preparation paid dividends in performance. Janette doesn’t know how many of us realised it, but in the concert, the Palestrina-like a cappella section in the first movement that we had rehearsed so very hard week after week to sort the intonation and the musical understanding of exactly how and why things had to be sung in a specific way, actually came off brilliantly; and it stayed at pitch! From that bold opening we went on to do a great job on the rest of the piece. Of course the quality of the soloists and the star-studded trio of keyboard players helped us to raise our game, but no one else sang the choruses for us! Janette was very proud of the performance and enjoyed it immensely, and hopes that we did too.

We are now looking forward to two concerts for the 2018-19 season. The first combines traditional seasonal choral music with some Christmas carols for choir and audience. The second is a foray into a range of different works by Henry Purcell; the first half includes several anthems for choir, soloists and strings and the second half is a concert performance of his opera, Dido & Aeneas.

Janette feels that our Monday night rehearsals are great fun and said that it’s been a pleasure to be working with all of us and with our excellent accompanist, Karen Smith. The musical relationship between the choral conductor and the accompanist is key to the success of every choir. If the chemistry is wrong, the musical outcomes for the choir will always be hard won. Harleston Choral Society has an excellent musician who is sensitive to and supportive of the choir’s needs. Janette thanked Karen, and said that we couldn’t have done any of it without her.

4. Chair’s Report

Jo began by thanking Janette for her kind words.  She continued by saying that in her newsletter just before term started, she said that it has been a year of great change for the choir with the departure of Chris after a very successful Christmas concert performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and the arrival of Janette and Karen and the equally successful performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonelle in the summer.  The committee was worried about filling Chris’s shoes but need not have been.  Janette, ably accompanied by Karen, has brought a refreshing and energising approach to our music making and we feel very confident that we are in the best of hands.

Though undoubtedly, our concerts are the highlight of our year and much of what we do is working towards making them the best we can, much else goes on in the life of the choir.  Jo hoped that we will all agree that the move to The London Road Church for our practices has made them more comfortable and enjoyable occasions. We have also put on several successful social events: a coffee get-together after the Christmas concert; the quiz evening in March; the trip to St Andrews Hall to hear the UEA choir; the finger buffet after the summer concert and the garden party in July.  Jo hoped that we have enjoyed these occasions and feel that the committee has responded to requests in last year’s questionnaire for more social events

Jo went on to say that all of these events and the day to day running of the choir are planned and organised by an enthusiastic and dedicated team of people whom she would like to thank hugely for all the work they put into making the choir the thriving organisation it is.  Firstly, Janette, who has put so much time and thought into conducting and leading us and creating our future concert programmes; and Karen for her terrific, good-humoured accompanying. Then Jo’s fellow committee members: Jenny, Caroline, Malcolm, Heather, Joanna, Richard, Julia, John and Carol for making our meetings a pleasure and for all the hard work we have put in and continue to do so.

There are many other people who contribute greatly to us in so many ways: Sheena and Pat for organising the musicians for our concerts; Margaret and her team for the ever efficient running of the front of house; John, Richard, Malcolm and their team of helpers who erect and dismantle the staging; Heather for designing and printing the programmes, posters and tickets; Julia in her role as music librarian and for organising the famed musicians’ teas; Paul for the fabulous transformation of our website; Joanna for organising outings and being a welcoming membership secretary; Sheila for running the Bonus Ball; Fiona for organising the raffles; Lynda and Chris for doing refreshments during our breaks; The Friends of the choir; and, of course, our very supportive patron, Nathaniel, who cannot be here today but has sent a report which will be included in this AGM.  Jo said that she wanted to give special thanks to Heather, who is standing down, after many years of being a committee member and Jo is very pleased to say that Heather will continue to design and produce the tickets, programmes and posters.

Malcolm will be talking to us about our financial situation in his report.  This is something that we need to be thinking about for our future existence.  It is very pleasing that we have had so many new and returning members, which will certainly help our funds.  To that end, we will also be applying for grants and considering other fundraising ideas. Jo then thanked Malcolm very much for his unstinting work as Treasurer

Jo continued by saying that we have approved the minutes of last year’s AGM, which contained in her report her intention for the second year running to step down as Chair.  In fact both Jenny, our untiring and incredibly efficient publicity & minutes secretary, and Jo were planning to step down from the committee this year, but despite ample notice, so far no possible replacements have stepped up.  HCS is a very well run organisation and we hope will continue to be so but it cannot legally exist without a chair and so, after discussion, we have decided that, we are prepared to continue, in order to consolidate the progress the choir has made under Janette’s leadership.  However, Jo said that she has to ask choir members to look for replacements for her and Jenny’s posts by the end of 2018 so that we will have plenty of time to mentor them by next year’s AGM. Other members of the committee have agreed to take on some of their tasks to ease the transition process.

Looking forward, we are already working on an exciting Christmas concert which will include a first, our very own carol, Blessed be that babe, specially written for us by Janette.  An honour indeed. Then in the summer ‘An Evening with Henry Purcell’ including Dido and Aeneas, also a first for us and which Jo is really looking forward to.  All in all it has been an amazing year in which we have taken on board a great deal of change and developed enormously, and Jo thanked all of us for the warmth, enthusiasm and commitment which has made that possible and which makes singing with HCS such a treat.

Finally, Jo paid tribute to Brian Fisher, who died a week ago last Saturday and who was a dedicated and supportive member of our bass section until very recently.  His sense of humour, as well as his wonderful voice will be much missed and his family are pleased that members of the choir will be performing one of his favourite pieces, Danny Boy, at his funeral service this coming Thursday.

5. Report by Nathaniel Gee, HCS Patron

For the benefit of new members, Jo explained that Nathaniel is the son of Anne Gee, who founded HCS in 2000.  She said how fortunate we are to have Nathaniel as our Patron. Nathaniel is unable to be here this evening and has sent in his report, as follows:

I am sorry that I am not able to be with you this evening in person. It has certainly been an eventful year. Following Chris’s departure, Janette conducting of her first concert with the Choir in the summer, Rossini’s the Petite Messe Solonelle, with that lovely chamber organ accompaniment, was a triumph. As a member of the audience and not singing with the Choir on that occasion, the sound coming from the Choir was of a high quality. It was obvious that much hard work and attention to detail by Janette had gone into the rehearsals.

I was very pleased to learn that Jo and Jenny have offered to stay on the committee for another year, if no-one steps up to replace them.  This will provide some much needed continuity at this stage of transition.

I really want to thank the Committee members for their hard work this past year. Last year I noted that there were 22 people to be thanked. That number has probably not changed very much, and I do know how much hard work goes into providing the wonderful concerts we have by all those concerned.

Last year I spoke about commissioning a piece of music for the Choir, and I can report that this is moving ahead.

6. Treasurer’s Report

Copies of the annual accounts were distributed (a copy of these will be filed with the Minutes).

Malcolm reported that during the year we staged two very enjoyable and successful concerts.  The first one

in December was the final one under the conductorship of Chris, and the second one, which was in June, under the conductorship of Janette.  Income from the two concerts came to £2800. The expenditure for the Christmas concert came to £4,747 and for the June concert it was £3,387.   So the overall deficit from the two concerts was £5135. The previous year the net deficit for the two concerts was £4,016. So the costs this year were 25% higher than the previous year.  Two very different events, with an orchestra of 26 instrumentalists and 4 soloists for Chris’s final concert, so it was a big show, good fun, and a big cost. The June concert, completely different in style, with a successful buffet after the concert, was not so expensive and it was also very enjoyable.

We had very low choir membership numbers last year.  We numbered 35 for the Christmas concert and it improved to 42 for the June concert.  At the moment I am very pleased to announce that if everybody remains in the choir we will be up to 59 members. This makes such a difference to the financial well-being of the choir.

Income from subscriptions for the year just ended was £4920.  With the extra choristers for a full year the subscriptions will be just short of £7000.  This would be really marvellous and it gives us more flexibility with regard to planning concerts and selection of orchestra and soloists.  Add additional gift aid collections to this income of around £400, plus enhanced refreshments and bonus ball income on practice evenings, it gives a different, much more healthy look to the choir’s funding.

We held a very enjoyable quiz evening, with lots of good food, in March at St James Village Hall and made a much improved net income of just over £300, compared to the previous year of £180.  Additionally, we also received a very generous anonymous donation in the summer. All these extra pieces of income help.

We have not had any exceptional expenditure this year, but the deficit from the two concerts have been enough to reduce our bank balance down from £7,730 to £4,360. We now need to work hard to maintain and hopefully increase this amount of money in our funds.  You can see what two concerts will cost. At present we can’t afford another year of high concert costs, but we can maintain the balance by keeping up choir numbers and this is why Malcolm is so pleased and relieved to see the numbers rise. We, the committee, need to make sure that when we plan our concerts we ensure that our expenditure is going to be realistic.  We can’t guarantee selling tickets and generating much greater income but we can control our costs.

Malcolm added that he is in the process of producing a two year forecast so that we can more clearly predict what the cash flows are going to be.  This is a vital piece of work and should in future form part of the accounts for the Society. Last year he was very concerned that falling numbers and higher costs were going to put extra strain on the choir’s funding and its future.  He is a lot more optimistic about our future now and this is largely due to being able to maintain choir membership numbers. So he looks forward to the year ahead which he hopes will be a huge success.

On the proposal of Helen Smith, seconded by Pat Green,

it was agreed to accept the accounts.

7. Appointment of Auditor

On the proposal of Jenny Hyams, seconded by Jo Curry,

Mr Robin Farrar was appointed as Auditor for the year.

8. Election of Officers and Committee for the year 2017/2018

It was noted that Heather Butcher has resigned from the Committee and there is therefore one vacancy to be filled on the Committee caused by this resignation.  However, the HCS Constitution allows for a maximum of twelve members, so there are an additional two vacancies to be filled, or left vacant.

It was further noted that those Committee members who were re-elected for three years at the 2015 AGM, and who wish to continue on the Committee, need to be re-elected, preferably en bloc, at this 2018 AGM.  This includes Jo Curry (Chair), Caroline Rodbourne (Vice Chair), Julia Awty (Music Librarian), Malcolm Butcher (Treasurer), Jenny Hyams (Publicity and Minutes Secretary) and Richard Thomas.  Carol Hammond and Joanna Barfield were elected to the Committee at the 2016 AGM and therefore do not require re-election until 2019. John Awty was elected to the Committee at the 2017 AGM and therefore does not require re-election until 2020.

In the absence of any nominations to fill the three Committee vacancies, or to replace those Committee members due for re-election, on the proposal of John Awty, seconded by Joanna Barfield, Jo Curry, Jenny Hyams, Julia Awty, Caroline Rodbourne, Malcolm Butcher and Richard Thomas were re-elected en bloc for a further three years.

9. Friends of Harleston Choral Society

Carol Hammond said that there are no changes to report.  The Friends of Harleston Choral Society remain supportive and committed to our choir, although one or two people have let her know that they no longer feel able to attend our concerts, but continue to support us.

The Friends receive a copy of our Newsletter as well as the AGM Agenda and the Minutes of last year’s AGM.  They are a well-informed group. Carol also lets them know when we are holding fundraising events, so that they may join us if they wish to do so.

They have been coming to our concerts for many years.  It is always interesting and usually encouraging to receive their comments.  As most of you know, the Harleston Choral Society was born in the year 2000 under the direction of our founder Anne Gee. The Friends Scheme began the following year.

Carol said that she would like to record our thanks to our Friends for their sustained loyalty and enthusiasm.

10. Any Other Business

Dido & Aeneas at Snape:  Joanna reported that ETO will be performing this as part of a triple bill, on Saturday 3 November at 7.30 pm.

As there was no further business, Jo thanked everyone for attending the AGM, and declared the meeting closed, at 9.05 pm.

Signed …………………………………………………………………………  Date ………………………………………….

HARLESTON CHORAL SOCIETY

REPORT of the Committee Meeting held on Thursday 20 September 2018

at 7.00 pm at Church Farm, All Saints

Present: John Awty, Julia Awty, Joanna Barfield, Malcolm Butcher, Jo Curry, Carol Hammond, Jenny Hyams

In attendance: Janette Ruocco

1. Apologies for Absence

Received from Heather Butcher, Caroline Rodbourne and Richard Thomas.

2. Minutes of the last meeting (7 June 2018)

Confirmed and signed as a correct record.

3. Brian Fisher

Brian’s funeral will be on Thursday 27 September at St John’s Church at 2.30 pm, followed by burial at Needham Church and a gathering afterwards at The Swan in Harleston. At his son’s request, some choir members will sing one of Brian’s favourite pieces of music.

4. Matters arising

Data Protection:  40 consent forms have been returned plus two from Janette and Karen, leaving a shortfall of 17.  Jo thanked John, Jenny and Joanna for their hard work in getting the new GDPR regulations in place for HCS.

5. Treasurer’s Report

This was deferred until the AGM on 24th.  Malcolm reported that the accounts have been audited and returned. All subs for the current term are now in, with the exception of those from new members.

6. AGM

The arrangements for the AGM on 24th were briefly discussed, and the seating arrangements agreed. Nathaniel will not be there but will submit his Patron’s Report.  So far no ballot papers have been received. In the event that there are no nominations, Jo and Jenny will stay in their posts for one more year, John will take on Jo’s responsibility for church and hall bookings, and Joanna Jenny’s for keeping the website up to date.

7. Summer Concert, June 2018

There was very good feedback on the concert, although some of the audience said that they would like to hear more of the choir and less of the soloists. The Committee thanked Janette for her very helpful and easy to follow conducting.

8. Concerts Christmas 2018 – Summer 2019

(i) Christmas Concert, Saturday 8 December 2018, Blessed be that Babe

Janette distributed her paper on the soloists and musicians, the programme running order, and the concert day arrangements, under the title of her composition for the choir, Blessed be that babe (a copy of Janette’s paper will be filed with the Minutes).

Julia said that she will organise tea for the soloists, Karen, and the Ensemble, plus a possible additional three Basses and two Tenors. Wine only will be served in the interval, charged for, not by donation.

(ii) Summer Concert, Saturday 22 June 2019, An Evening with Henry Purcell

Janette distributed an updated paper on the music we will be singing, the soloists, and the musicians for the evening (a copy of this will be filed with the Minutes). She is considering giving the parts of the First and Second Witches to Soprano and/or Alto choir members. Choir music will be obtained for free from the Essex Music Education Hub.

(iii) Christmas Concert, Saturday 14 December 2019, The Twelve Days of Christmas

Janette distributed an updated paper on this concert (a copy of this will be filed with the Minutes).

(iv) Summer Concert, 20 June 2020, Songs and Cries

Janette distributed copies of her ‘First Thoughts’ for this concert (a copy of this will be filed with the Minutes), which might include jazzy items, spirituals, a children’s choir, and a piano duet.  To be discussed further at the next Committee meeting.

(v) Christmas Concert, 5 or 12 December 2020, The First Nowell

Janette distributed her ‘First Thoughts’ for this concert (a copy of this will be filed with the Minutes), which might require four soloists and nineteen instrumentalists. It was suggested that because of the potential cost of this concert, it might be worth considering joining forces with another of Janette’s choirs/orchestras.

9. NCC Music Lending Library

Julia said there is nothing to report because we are borrowing less music from NCC MLL.

10. Website

Jenny said that the website is up to date, and the Home Page is a tribute to Paul’s talent. The Committee sent congratulations to Paul on his doctorate.

11. Sponsorship/funding

Jenny distributed copies of her paper on possible funding sources (a copy of this will be filed with the Minutes), and apologised for not having had adequate time to consider sponsorship. All the five funders listed ask for an identified project for which funding is being requested; Adnams and the Garfield Weston Foundation both require information on ongoing/previous fund-raising activities, and the amount raised; and The Norwich Freemen’s Charity’s priority funding areas emphasises the educational benefit of any project for which funding is being sought. However, the Garfield Weston Foundation’s Revenue/Core Costs is the only one of the five listed charities which will consider grants towards an organisation’s running costs.

It was agreed that Jenny, Jo and Malcolm will look into an application to the Garfield Weston Foundation for a grant towards HCS’s running costs; Malcolm in the meantime will produce costing evidence for this; further discussion on a possible identified project and current fund-raising to go to the next Committee meeting; sponsorship also to be considered at this meeting

12. Quiz Evening

Caroline will find out availability in March of St James Village Hall.

13. Dates of next meetings

Saturday 10 November: outing to Norwich Cathedral for Brahms Requiem

Monday 3 December: ‘check list’ concert meeting, 7.00 pm, back room of The Church at London Road

Saturday 26 January 2019: Committee meeting

14. AOB

(i) Amended term date:  Spring Term 2019 to end on Monday 1 April rather than 8th

(ii) Beccles Choral Society:  Joanna pointed out that Beccles Choral Society has produced a bookmark listing all their 2018-2020 concerts.

(iii) Meljon Singers:  Janette’s Chamber Choir will be singing ‘Voices of Passion’ on Saturday 13 October 2018 at  St John’s Church, Epping. Programme includes John Tavener’s Svyati and Richard Rodney Bennett’s A farewell to Arms.  Tickets reduced for HCS members.

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 24^thSeptember.  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

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 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

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 finis; Of 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-19^thcentury 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-19^thcentury 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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