Good afternoon friends, I hope you’re all well! It’s been so long and I’ve desperately missed making music with you all! I’m really looking forward to our first rehearsal of the Autumn ’24 term on Thursday 19th September. Below is a load of information for you, which I hope you all find helpful.
Summer Term Feedback
I can’t believe I never shared my thoughts on the Come-and-Sing day we ran back in May! I was so pleased with how it went, and the vibe I got was that everyone (members and non-members) thoroughly enjoyed it! I hope we were able to gain a few new singers from it too.
It was great fun to do those 5 rehearsals working on the music without the pressure of a concert at the end of it, but instead an enjoyable day full of silly exercises, interesting stories, and fantastic music-making! A massive thank you to Robin Wilson, our G&S expert who guided us through the background of each song and opera we sang. An enormous thank you to Fiona for her stellar accompanying (as always), and our two soloists Robert and Harriet for their gorgeous singing. And the most ginormous thank you to the Committee and everyone who played their part in making the day such a success. Without you it wouldn’t have been possible.
I think it’s testament to what we can achieve, both organisationally and musically, and I look forward to the next one!
Autumn Term 2024 and Other Future Dates
We begin our 2024-25 concert season tomorrow, and there’s a fantastic line-up of music, both this term and for the rest of the year! Below are all the details you’ll need for this term, and please do check out the yearly plan too!
Autumn Term Dates:
Our first rehearsal back is Thursday 19th September.
Half term break is Thursday 7th November. This is a week later than the school half term (during which there’ll be a rehearsal), but this is so I don’t miss multiple rehearsals with you when I take paternity leave.
The concert is on Saturday 30th November.
Repertoire:
It’s a celebration of Classical music, so we’ll be performing some excellent pieces, accompanied by Fiona and her string quintet, the Cotswold Ensemble.
Schubert, F – Mass in G
String pieces
– Interval of 25 minutes –
Set 1
Haydn, J – The Heavens are Telling from The Creation
Gibbons, O – Drop, drop, slow tears
Cherubini, L – Veni, Jesu, amor mi
Set 2
Bruckner, A – Locus Iste
Mozart, W.A – Ave verum corpus
Franck, C – Panis Angelicus
Wesley, S.S – Lead Me, Lord
Set 3
Spohr, L – Selig Sind die Toten
Elgar, E – Ave Verum Corpus
Beethoven, L.v – Auld Lang Syne
Below is the schedule for the whole year! Get the dates in your diary, and start getting excited for some excellent music!
Learning Resources
Below are some resources to help you learn the music:
- As always, I’ve provided a playlist on Spotify of my suggested recordings. You can check it out HERE.
- Please do use these learning guide tracks to help you learn your notes. Other resources are available for the second half, but John Fletcher Music has some good guides for the Schubert HERE.
- My Marked Scores are below. Please don’t share these as they’re for rehearsal purposes only. You’ll be given physical copies at the first rehearsal, with markings in the booklet for the second half (you’ll need to mark up the Schubert yourselves please).
Finally…
There’s a road closure nearby from 9pm on the 19th September… you may need to plan a different way home from rehearsal – Thanks for flagging this Steve M.
See you all on Thursday 19th, I can’t wait!
–Ben
Cumnor Choral Society 