|
      
| |
News & Reviews
|
Alvington singers win two cups |
|
The Alvington Singers had an enjoyable spring making music.
We had two successful concerts, one in the
beautiful Church of St Petroc, in Harford, on the edge of Dartmoor (23rd
April), and one
in Dodbrooke Church (25th April), where we sang with a group of children from Kingsbridge
Primary School. We raised £415 for CLIC Sargent children’s cancer charity
and had a joyous time!
The CLIC Sargent Charity provides invaluable help and
practical support for families where children have been diagnosed with
cancer. It can provide specialist nurses and play experts, give support to
other family members and much more. It is particularly pertinent to the
school as two of their staff - Sarah McKinlay and Tonya Reddish, were
running in the London Marathon to raise money for this worthwhile charity.
It was also highly appropriate for our musical event as the charity is a
merger of Sargent Cancer Care for Children, which was initially set up in
memory of the late Sir Malcolm Sargent, and Cancer and Leukemia in Children.
Sir Malcolm Sargent did a tremendous amount to encourage a love of music
among people of all ages and to bring it to a much wider audience, which we
at Alvington Singers always very much hope to do also.
On May 8th we took part in the Torbay and South West of
England Festival, where we were awarded two cups. We won the Lilian Goss cup
for mixed four-part choirs, and also the Endsleigh Trophy for our
performance in the Spirituals class. It is the first time our choir has
entered this festival competition, so we were delighted with our success. It
was an enjoyable and friendly occasion, where we were able to meet with the
other choirs taking part and to hear their performances.
The cup in the photo is the Endsleigh Trophy, being presented
to Alastair Durden, musical director of the Alvington Singers, by the
adjudicator Robin Mundy. |
The Alvington Singers at the Torbay and South West of England Music
Festival, May 2008
The Alvington Singers receive the Endsleigh Trophy at the Torbay Festival,
May 2008 |
Alvington singers sing the Salcombe Fringe
|
|
Rossini. What springs to mind? Opera, of course, with
“William Tell” & “The Barber” at the top. It’s unlikely you’ve thought of
sacred music. After writing 39 operas, Rossini ‘retired’ at the age of 37
and wrote almost nothing of consequence for the next 25 years. His final
work, written in 1863 at the age of 71, was “the last mortal sin of my old
age”. It was the Petite Messe Solonnelle, which was the main work in a
concert by the Alvington Singers in Holy Trinity Church, Salcombe on 20th
June.
The Alvington Singers are well used to singing in a variety
of styles and this proved useful since the movements of the Messe range from
Medieval to Romantic opera, and from counterpoint to Romantic harmonies.
There is also some stunning writing for the four soloists and Rossini is at
his operatic best in these. Caren Friel (soprano) and Timothy Lacy (tenor)
have both been choral scholars; Penny Schroeter (contralto) and John
Wordsworth (bass) both have extensive experience in opera and choral works.
The music allowed them to explore the full range of their skills. The
choir’s brilliant accompanist Kathy Kenny excelled in this marathon for
piano, whilst Judith Henderson provided valuable support on the Harmonium -
an unusual addition by Rossini in some of the movements.
Alastair Durden, the Singers’ conductor, had interpolated a
Rachmaninov Ave Maria and a Bruckner motet Christus Factus est,
one in each half, to provide an interesting framework to a concert in which
all the performers gave a sometimes moving, sometimes exhilarating rendition
of the Messe. |
The Alvington Singers at Holy Trinity Church, Salcombe,
June 2008 |
|
|
|
