Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir

Our Musical Director Jim Bate loves to give us a challenge, and in the first fifteen months he has been with us, he has set the bar high with a variety of repertoire that has pushed our boundaries as a choir. Our concert in All Saints’ Church on Saturday November 8th, celebrating the legacy of St Cecilia, was no exception.

St Cecilia, a Christian martyr in Roman times, is the patron saint of music and musicians, so - not surprisingly - a great deal of music has been written in her honour. Our concert began with a little known work by George Dyson, his Live Forever, Glorious Lord. Written for the annual St Cecilia service in 1952, this sets a text by the 17th century poet John Austin. The atmospheric organ part was played by our regular accompanist and concert partner Colin Druce, with a solo soprano line weaving above the voices of the choir.

The composer Benjamin Britten felt a particular affinity with the saint because he was born on her feast day, November 22nd; his Hymn to St Cecilia sets a poem by W H Auden. The words paint a picture of Cecilia’s childlike innocence and startling musical ability, and Britten’s music similarly combines purity and complexity in its response to the text. His setting is for unaccompanied five-part chorus, with a middle section for a small semi chorus (made up of choir members) and a soprano solo. We were fortunate to have Alice Martin, who is currently studying for her Masters in Vocal Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, as our wonderful soprano soloist in both the Britten and the Dyson. Alice also contributed two beautiful solo arias from G F Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia to start the second half of the concert.

Between the Dyson and the Britten, we were treated to two much-loved arias from Handel’s Messiah, by our splendid tenor soloist Tim Burton, who has just begun his second year of the MPerf programme at the Royal College of Music. Tim also had a starring role in the final work in the first half of the concert, Gerald Finzi’s For St. Cecilia, his tenor line in dialogue with the choir presenting a catalogue of saints, leading up to a tender evocation of St Cecilia herself. The poem is by Edmund Blunden, and the work was written for the St Cecilia’s Day festival at the Royal Albert Hall in 1947. It was originally performed with an orchestra of woodwind, brass, percussion and strings, which Colin Druce masterfully evoked on the organ of All Saints.

Finally, we rearranged ourselves into double choir formation for Josef Rheinberger’s Mass in E flat major, a truly sumptuous a cappella work for eight voice parts in which the composer cleverly combines the Classical principles of developing themes with the carefully woven textures of Renaissance polyphony. This music is a joy to sing, with its lush and sometimes unexpected harmonies, and the interaction between the two choirs - now echoing one another, now picking up a phrase and extending it. Audience feedback on this rarely performed work was particularly appreciative; most if not all of them had not heard it before.

It was a wonderfully uplifting experience to be part of this concert, and to get to know such unusual and rewarding repertoire. We are grateful to our MD Jim Bate for devising such an original programme and training us so patiently, to Colin Druce for his hard work in rehearsals and inspirational organ playing on the night, and to our two vocal soloists for singing their hearts out (like St Cecilia!) and being such a pleasure to work with. From here, we can only go onwards and upwards!