Saturday 17 March 2018, 7.30pm
Handel - Dixit Dominus Bach - Christ Lag In Todesbanden
St Andrew’s Garrison Church, Queen’s Avenue, Aldershot
Complimentary Programme
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
Handel – Dixit Dominus Bach – Christ Lag in Todesbanden
Roy Rashbrook, Conductor
Modulus Quartet
Lizzy Humphries, Soprano Matthew Sargent, Counter-Tenor
John Marston, Harpsichord
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
WELCOME FROM OUR CHAIR
Welcome to tonight’s concert.
I am extremely pleased to be able to welcome you as Chair of Hart Voices for what is undoubtedly the choir’s biggest vocal challenge to date. It is a source of constant pride to me to be part of such a dedicated and talented group of singers, and this term particularly we have worked incredibly hard to get to grips with Dixit Dominus!
2017 was a busy and genuinely rewarding year for Hart Voices.
With a magnificent performance of Haydn’s Nelson Mass kicking off our concert year last March, we then had the great pleasure of performing with renowned folk duo Ninebarrow in July, which was great fun and something completely different for us and our loyal audience.
In October, we were joined by Collegium Vocale Blieskastel from Germany for a most enjoyable joint concert and then in December the rafters were ringing with a wonderful programme of choral music for Christmas, including excerpts from Handel’s Messiah and L’enfance du Christ by Berlioz.
2017 was nicely rounded off with our highly popular annual Carols by Candlelight for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.
Looking forward to the rest of 2018, we are very excited to be heading off to Prague in April for the annual Prague Spring Choral Meeting where we will sing with choirs from around the world.
July will see us perform a rousing programme of popular music entitled Hollywood: Stars of Stage & Screen. After our summer break, with an Open Rehearsal in September, we will start rehearsals for Fauré’s Requiem, to perform in November.
There has been a significant amount of effort put into tonight’s concert from my fellow committee members. Our work together ensures the smooth running of the choir and our concerts. And thanks as ever go to our Musical Director, Roy Rashbrook for his belief in our ability to rise to tonight’s challenge and his dedication to getting us concert-ready.
Thanks also to local businesses WC Baker and Son Limited and Captured Moment in Fleet, and to Organically Speaking in Hartley Wintney for helping to sell tickets for the concert and also to Empyrean Construction for their sponsorship of tonight’s concert programmes.
And finally, thanks to you for coming along to support us tonight. I very much hope you enjoy it.
Linda Hore, Chair, Hart Voices, March 2018
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
PROGRAMME OF MUSIC
Eliot Lloyd Short – Golden Road Suite Passage Bittersweet Journey
Johann Sebastian Bach – Christ Lag in Todesbanden Christ lag in Todesbanden - Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn - Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm - So feiern wir das hohe Fest Wir essen und leben wohl
- Interval -
Please join us for some light refreshments during the interval
George Frideric Handel – Dixit Dominus Dixit Dominus - Virgam virtutis - Tecum principatus Juravit Dominus - Tu es sacerdos - Dominus a dextris tuis Judicabit in nationibus - De torrente - Gloria Patri
Thank you for coming tonight.
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Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
PROGRAMME NOTES
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Christ Lag in Todesbanden, BWV4
Christ Lag in Todesbanden survives in a version from the 1720s when Bach held the position of Thomaskantor (director of church music) in Leipzig. There is however documentary evidence suggesting that this Easter Sunday cantata was premiered in 1707. It is known that Bach performed a cantata of his own composition at Easter in 1707 as a part of his application for the post of organist of Divi Blasii church in Mühlhausen, and this may have been Christ Lag in Todesbanden.
By this time, Bach was already demonstrating ingenuity in keyboard music, as known from the early works in the Neumeister Collection. Christ Lag in Todesbanden is a significant milestone in his vocal music and was completed seven years before his sequence of Weimar cantatas (begun in 1714) and 17 years before he started a complete annual cycle of chorale cantatas in Leipzig in the middle of 1724.
The cantata’s themes are all based on the chorale “Christ lag in Todesbanden”, Martin Luther’s adaptation of the triumphant ancient Easter sequence Victimæ paschali laudes (“Praises to the Paschal Victim”). It opens with a short orchestral sinfonia in which the first violins play an ornamented version of the chorale melody. In the following chorus, the sopranos sing the melody in slow, unornamented notes.
In the soprano and alto duet, each soloist sings themes which are small sections of that chorale. The next two arias contain a virtuosic single line for all the violins, while the tenor and bass soloists, respectively, sing the chorale melody again.
Bach then breaks the traditional cantata mould by including a second major chorus in the middle of the cantata; here, the altos take the chorale melody in long notes while the other voice parts sing short motifs that are, again, based on that same chorale.
The final duet again uses the same melody, this time with the tenor singing in a different key from the soprano, and both with a great deal of ornamentation. Finally, in the last chorale, everyone comes together to sing the final verse of Christ Lag in Todesbanden.
Extracted from Wikipedia
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
1. CHRIST LAG IN TODESBANDEN
Christ lag in Todesbanden, Christ lay in Death's dark prison, für unsre Sünd' gegeben, It was our sin that bound Him; der ist wieder erstanden This day hath He arisen, und hat uns bracht das Leben. And sheds new life around Him. Des wir sollen fröhlich sein, Therefore let us joyful be Gott loben und dankbar sein And praise our God right heartily. und singen: Halleluja! So sing we Hallelujah! Halleluja! Hallelujah!
2. DEN TOD NIEMAND ZWINGEN KUNNT
Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt O'er Death no man could prevail, bei allen Menschenkindern, If mortal e'er came near him; das macht' alles unsre Sünd, Through guilt all our strength would fail, kein Unschuld war zu finden. Our sinful hearts did fear him. Davon kam der Tod so bald Therefore Death did gain the day, und nahm über uns Gewalt, And lead in triumph us away, hielt uns in seinem Reich gefangen. Henceforth to dwell emprisoned. Halleluja! Hallelujah!
3. JESUS CHRISTUS, GOTTES SOHN
Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn, Now Jesus Christ, the Son of God, an unser Statt ist kommen For our defence hath risen. und hat die Sünde weggetan, Our grievous guilt He hath removed, damit dem Tod genommen And Death hath bound in prison. all sein Recht und sein Gewalt, All his might Death must forego. da bleibet nichts denn Tods Gestalt, For now he's nought but idle show, den Stach'l hat er verloren. His sting is lost for ever. Halleluja! Hallelujah!
4. ES WAR EIN WUNDERLICHER KRIEG
Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg, How fierce and dreadful was the strife da Tod und Leben rungen; When Life with Death contended; das Leben, das behielt den Sieg, For Death was swallowed up by Life es hat den Tod verschlungen. And all his power was ended. Die Schrift hat verkündet das, God of old, the Scriptures show, wie ein Tod den andern fraß, Did promise that it should be so. ein Spott der Tod ist worden. O Death, where's now thy victory? Halleluja! Hallelujah!
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
5. HIER IST DAS RECHTE OSTERLAMM
Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm, The Paschal Victim here we see, davon Gott hat geboten, Whereof God's Word hath spoken; das ist hoch an des Kreuzes Stamm He hangs upon the cruel tree. in heißer Lieb gebraten, Of saving love the token. das Blut zeichnet unser Tür, His blood ransoms us from sin, das hält der Glaub dem Tode für, And Death no more can enter in. der Würger kann uns nicht mehr schaden. Now Satan cannot harm us. Halleluja! Hallelujah!
6. SO FEIERN WIR DAS HOHE FEST
So feiern wir das hohe Fest So keep we all this holy feast. mit Herzensfreud und Wonne, Where every joy invites us; das uns der Herre scheinen lässt, Our Sun is rising in the East, er ist selber die Sonne, It is our Lord Who lights us. der durch seiner Gnade Glanz Through the glory of His grace erleuchtet unsre Herzen ganz, Our darkness will to-day give place. der Sünden Nacht ist vergangen. The night of sin is over. Halleluja! Hallelujah!
7. WIR ESSEN UND LEBEN WOHL
Wir essen und leben wohl With grateful hearts we all are met in rechten Osterfladen, To eat the bread of gladness. der alte Sauerteig nicht soll The ancient leaven now forget, sein bei dem Wort der Gnaden, And every thought of sadness. Christus will die Koste sein Christ Himself the feast hath spread, und speisen die Seel allein, By Him the hungry soul is fed, der Glaub will keins andern leben. And He alone can feed us. Halleluja! Hallelujah!
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
Dixit Dominus, HWV 232
Handel was a prodigiously gifted musician who by the time he had reached his twenties was already an experienced composer and performer with an established reputation. Like many ambitious musicians he was drawn to Italy, the birthplace of opera, and so in 1707 he went to Rome for three years, where he hoped to further his career as an opera composer.
Though raised in the Lutheran faith, Handel always willingly composed for other denominations and was soon patronised by the Catholic Church in Rome, and by many of the city’s principal movers and shakers.
Dixit Dominus is a setting of Psalm 110 (109 in the Latin Vulgate) which Handel composed in 1707, when he was only 22. Along with other Latin psalm settings and motets composed at about the same time, it very probably formed part of a setting of the Carmelite Vespers for the feast of the Madonna del Carmine. The work is in eight movements, scored for five-part chorus, soloists, strings and continuo.
At that time the talents of the finest Italian instrumentalists were regularly on display in the brilliant concertos of Vivaldi, Corelli and others, and singers were similarly able to parade their skills in opera, the exciting new musical theatre that had become all the rage, thanks to composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti and Antonio Caldara.
Dixit Dominus is a showpiece for both singers and players alike, and whilst its unremitting energy and dramatic intensity presents all the musicians with considerable challenges, the demands that Handel makes on the choir are extremely testing, and seldom equalled in his later works.
The piece is an extraordinary tour-de-force, particularly for a 22-year-old composer, and demonstrates Handel’s precocious mastery of counterpoint, of harmonic and melodic invention and, perhaps most impressively, of powerful dramatic gesture. Clearly, he viewed the commission as an opportunity to display his total command of the Italian style, and so make the most memorable impression possible on his hosts.
Not surprisingly, Dixit Dominus is regarded as one of his finest works.
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
It seems likely that the text was originally intended for a coronation, later becoming part of the liturgy for Sunday Vespers and the ordination of priests. It is one of the most frequently referenced psalms, and from early times has been seen as one of the primary portrayals of Christ as prophet, priest and king not only of his own people but of all nations. Nowadays it seems uncomfortably bellicose, but in Handel’s time it would have been cheerfully read as a prophecy of Christ’s victory not only over his earthly enemies, but also over the devil and all his works.
The psalm is set by Handel to music of exceptional brilliance, the dramatic contrasts within and between movements vividly illustrating and reinforcing the words.
The work is unified by a plainsong cantus firmus - a melody in greatly extended notes, against which the remaining parts weave decorative lines - which appears in both the opening and closing movements.
After the energetic opening chorus comes a simple and elegant alto solo, followed by a beautifully lyrical movement for soprano, built on a repeated triplet figure.
The drama resumes in the fourth movement, one of alternating slow and fast sections, the measured Juravit Dominus being notable for its daring chromatic harmony and bold dissonances.
The sixth and longest movement combines verses 5 and 6 of the psalm text. The unmistakable influence of Corelli can be heard in the instrumental introduction, with the two violin parts and then the voices constantly overlapping in a series of striking suspensions.
The ensuing section, Judicabit in nationibus, is a busy fugato which appropriately disintegrates at the word ruinas.
There follows one of the most remarkable passages in this unique work: a series of percussive chords repeated to the same syllable (a device very reminiscent of Monteverdi) graphically depicts a crushing military victory.
The Gloria brings back the cantus firmus, this time set against even more brilliant figuration than in the opening movement, and the work closes with an extended and superbly executed fugue.
© John Bawden
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
1. DIXIT DOMINUS
Dixit Dominus Domino meo: The Lord said unto my Lord: Sede a dextris meis, Sit thou donec ponam at my right hand, inimicos tuos until I make scabellum pedum tuorum. thine enemies thy foot-stool.
2. VIRGAM VIRTUTIS
Virgam virtutis The Lord shall send tuae emittet the rod of thy strength Dominus ex Sion: out of Zion: dominare in medio rule thou in the midst inimicorum tuorum. of thine enemies.
3. TECUM PRINCIPATUS
Tecum principatus Thy people shall be willing in die virtutis tuae, in the day of thy power, in splendoribus sanctis. in the beauties of holiness Ex utero ante luciferum from the womb of the morning: genui te. thou hast the dew of thy youth
4. JURAVIT DOMINUS
Juravit Dominus The Lord hath sworn, et non paenitebit eum. and will not repent.
5. TU ES SACERDOS
Tu es sacerdos Thou art a priest in aeternum for ever secundum ordinem Melchisedech. after the order of Melchisedech.
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
6. DOMINUS A DEXTRIS TUIS
Dominus a dextris tuis, The Lord at thy right hand confregit shall strike through kings in die irae suae reges. in the day of his wrath.
7. JUDICABIT IN NATIONIBUS
Judicabit in nationibus, He shall judge among the heathen, Implebit ruinas, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; conquassabit capita he shall wound the heads in terra multorum. over many countries.
8. DE TORRENTE
De torrente He shall drink in via bibet, of the brook in the way, propterea therefore exaltabit caput. shall he lift up his head.
9. GLORIA PATRI
Gloria Patri, Glory be to the Father, et Filio, and to the Son, et Spiritui Sancto, and to the Holy Spirit. Sicut erat in principio, As it was in the beginning, et nunc, et semper, is now; and ever shall be, et in saecula saeculorum. world without end. Amen. Amen.
Saturday 7 July 2018, 7.30pm Victoria Hall, Hartley Wintney
HOLLY WOOD STARS OF STAGE & SCREEN
Tickets: £15 (Under 16: £2)
Get tickets via the website or in person at: Organically Speaking (Hartley Wintney) & Captured Moment (Fleet)
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
ROY RASHBROOK Musical Director
Roy Rashbrook was educated at Dauntsey’s School, going on to study Music at Goldsmith’s College and Singing under Alexander Oliver, William McAlpine and Rudolf Piernay at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Rashbrook Polla of courtesy Image After a brief flirtation with a career in teaching, Roy became a professional singer in 1998, joining the world famous choir of Saint Paul’s Cathedral the following year; a position which offers some precious stability in the life of a freelance musician!
In addition to the broadcasts, concerts, special events and daily services there, Roy also sings regularly with such groups as The King’s Consort and The Clerks, combining their various performing, touring and recording schedules with his work as a soloist, singing teacher and conductor.
He has conducted several choirs and ensembles, including the Goldsmiths’ Chorus, The University of London Union Chorus, The Hanover Singers and Candlelight Opera. He is currently musical director of three choirs: Hart Voices (Fleet, Hampshire), The Chantry Singers (Guildford, Surrey) and a special project, Cantorum Nicolai, an upper voices choir.
Roy has performed as a soloist with many of Britain’s leading orchestras including the City of London Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Mozart Players. In addition to performances in all London’s best-known concert venues, his work has taken him all over the country and throughout Europe as well as to Israel and the States. He has appeared on many CD recordings, film soundtracks and radio and television broadcasts, both at home and abroad.
Recent conducting work includes performances of Stainer’s Crucifixion, Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices, both sets of Mozart’s Vespers, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Handel’s Coronation Anthems, Victoria’s Requiem, Ramirez’ Missa Criolla and Copland’s Old American Songs.
Recent singing engagements include the Tenor arias in Bach’s St John Passion at St Paul’s Cathedral, Messiahs in Worcester and again at St Paul’s and performances in Durham and Cardiff of Jesu Meine Freude, sung one to a part with the Clerks, as part of The Orgelbüchlein Project (www.orgelbuechlein.co.uk).
He was language coach on a recently released CD of Mendelssohn’s version of Handel’s Israel in Egypt, which the Guardian described as being “. . . in German”, so that’s all right then.
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
MODULUS QUARTET Violin 1: Jonathan Truscott Violin 2: Craig Stratton Tonight the Quartet is joined by Viola: Mircea Belei Cello: Nick Allen Double Bass: Kate Addis
Modulus Quartet is a London based ensemble specialising in performing original string quartet repertoire written in close collaboration with a number of international composers. Drawing on its collective experience, the quartet seeks out music of an individual style, developing creative relationships with composers and artists. The quartet explores new ways of presenting music, performing in unusual venues and incorporating visual arts and multi-media technology.
Modulus released their debut album, 12 Seconds of Light, in 2017. The album features music by composers Terry Davies, Veera Lummi, Ash Madni, Richard Norris, Eliot Lloyd Short and Matthew Slater. Their first UK tour to promote the album took place in May 2017 and took in a variety of unusual locations including Honister Slate Mine in the Lake District and Carnglaze Cavern in Cornwall. Visuals were created by videographers Tom Brown and Diego Barraza. The tour was supported by Arts Council England and the quartet was featured on BBC Spotlight South West. The album will be released as a limited edition double vinyl in March 2018.
The quartet is currently working on material for their second album. This will feature new compositions by Eliot Lloyd Short, Veera Lummi, and Maria Muraru amongst others. They will be recording film scores by Ash Madni and Matthew Slater in early 2018.
They will also be collaborating with the Charlie Pyne Jazz Quartet creating original compositions for octet. Their first major project will be new scores written for silent Surrealist films from the 1920s.
For more information about Modulus Quartet visit: www.modulusquartet.com
Image courtesy of Martin Abela Photography
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
LIZZY HUMPHRIES Soprano
Soprano, Lizzy Humphries is currently studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal Studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under the tuition of Sophie Grimmer.
Lizzy graduated with First Class Honours in Music from The University of Manchester in 2016.
While at university, Lizzy was awarded a place on The Sixteen’s young artist programme, Genesis Sixteen, and has since performed on a freelance basis with both The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia Voices.
Solo work includes arias at the London Handel Festival with the Trinity Laban Baroque Orchestra, soprano soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers with London Oriana Choir at St Martin- in-the-Fields and soprano soloist in Mozart's C minor Mass with the Academy of St Martin- in-the-Fields.
Lizzy frequently records live services for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4, returning to Manchester to perform as part of the BBC Daily Service Singers.
She has also sung on the ‘Today’ Programme and ‘In Tune’.
Lizzy is part of the Fellowship octet programme of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and also the VOCES8 Scholars programme, both for 2017/18.
At Trinity Laban, she is a member of Rubythroat, a contemporary music octet directed by ex-Swingle Singer, Linda Hirst.
Lizzy is supported by the Harold Hyam Wingate scholarship and also a Trinity College of London scholarship to support her second year singing with the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir.
Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
MATTHEW SARGENT Counter Tenor
Matthew Sargent is 18 years old and currently studying at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford.
Aside from juggling his academic and acting commitments, Matthew retains an active musical life, singing in the school’s four choirs, including the close harmony group and Schola Cantorum.
For the RGS courtyard opera in 2016, he sang the role of Cupid in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis and last year he sang the role of the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
He enjoyed his professional debut in April 2017 alongside the Chantry Singers, performing Bach’s Cantata No.4 and Handel’s Dixit Dominus, since which he has done further work with the choir, performing Purcell’s Music for a While last November.
He has also worked with the Leith Hill Music Festival as a soloist during one of their Come and Sing days and, in recent weeks, reached the final stages of the RGS Musician of the Year competition.
Alongside singing, Matthew enjoys playing the piano and clarinet and has achieved success at the Godalming Music Festival on the organ, winning the Nicholas Darnton award for most promising organist. He has a conditional offer to study Classics at Cambridge next year.
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Hart Voices – in memoriam - 19 November 2016
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JOHN MARSTON Harpsichord
Until October 2007, John Marston was in General practice in Barnstaple, Devon, but has always been interested in music from an early age.
At Ardingly College he first encountered and started playing the harpsichord, having played the piano since the age of 5yrs. Also at school he took up the oboe, and reached the final audition for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
He sang alto in the school choir, and later with the Elizabethan Singers under the direction of Louis Halsey.
Tutored by Alfred Deller, he gained a Choral Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1966. He has played the harpsichord ever since, and now owns two harpsichords and a fortepiano, as well as a small chamber organ.
Love singing? Considering joining a new choir? Or simply looking for a fulfilling new hobby?
Then come along to our open rehearsal, meet the choir & sing with us (if you want to) as we rehearse for our 18-19 programme which includes Fauré’s Requiem
Find out more about us at: www.hartvoices.org.uk
Rehearsals - Wednesday Evenings - 8pm to 10pm All Saints Parish Centre, Church Road, Fleet
Musical Director: Roy Rashbrook
Hart Voices is a mixed voice choir based in Fleet, Hampshire which achieves a high-standard of singing from a non-auditioned choir. We perform four concerts each year across three terms, running from September to July. Our programme varies from stunning major choral works to satisfying chamber music programmes and the occasional light programme of popular numbers!
Singers come from Fleet and the surrounding area, as well as many of the outlying towns including Guildford and Basingstoke. Choir membership is currently around 55 voices, many of whom have sung with the choir for several years. The combined experience and enthusiasm of our members enables us to explore new musical horizons - both in repertoire and venue.
We aim to broaden our experience, strive for quality and musicality in our performances and involve young singers wherever possible. Soloists are often drawn from the choir, although for more complex works we regularly invite professional singers to perform with us.
Our collective enthusiasm for music makes us a very sociable choir and we also make an effort to have regular trips away; previous trips have included Hungary, Lithuania, Belgium, Llangollen (Wales), Barnstaple, Glasgow and Ayrshire. Our next adventure is to Prague in April 2018.
Follow us on Twitter: @hartvoices HART VOICES ONLINE Like us on FB: facebook.com/hartvoices
Soprano 1 Soprano 2 Altos Tenors Basses Sylvia Beedie Nessie Black Anne Elcock Eloise Bruce Richard Dexter Eve Borsey Ann Bradford Liz Oliver Linda Hore Graham Gillies Clare Downer Sarah Gallagher Polla Rashbrook Judith Layzell Malcolm Hitchcock Eszter Faulkner Hilary Godbold Jill Rowe Deryck Martin Mike Huddie Mary Gibb Anne-Mary Hine Fiona Smith Bill Wickenden Richard Joyce Kirstie Hennessey Catherine Schlieben Helen Smith David Price Katy Lethbridge Jackie White Jenny Spencer Michael Soul Sharon Price Kate Wickenden Sally Stonard Laurence Welch Clare Thomas Pat Vidler Di Tilston Liz Teo Pam Whittle
Fancy joining? We don’t have a formal audition process but if you can sing in tune and read music and fancy making Wednesday night your choir night, then contact us at [email protected] or simply come along to our next rehearsal!
Hart Voices (Charity No. 264333) is affiliated to Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies)
Find out more about us at: www.hartvoices.org.uk
Rehearsals - Wednesday Evenings - 8pm to 10pm All Saints Parish Centre, Church Road, Fleet
Musical Director: Roy Rashbrook
What Choir Means to Me
Choir Members tell us about how important being a part of the choir is to them.
This month, we hear from Eloise Bruce
Choir Member: 1½ years Voice Part: Tenor 2
Music has always been an important part of my life from singing in church and school choirs, the choral society at University and various local choirs.
So, after a long break while my children were young and following a house move to Fleet I began thinking about singing again.
In the summer of 2016 I saw an advert for an open rehearsal with Hart Voices and, prompted by a work colleague, I went along.
Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it felt exhilarating to sing again in a group, especially with such a talented musician as Roy at the helm. I felt as though I had come home and a little piece of me that had been missing for many years had returned!
I sing in the tenor section, which I love and although it can sometimes be challenging to sing in a mixture of treble, tenor and bass clefs my fellow singers are always on hand to help. It didn’t take long for my fellow tenors to feel like my Hart Voices family!
Since joining Hart Voices I feel that I have grown in confidence as a singer and I get as much enjoyment from the rehearsals as I do from performing at the concerts. We sing such a great variety of music from old favourites like Handel’s Messiah to debut performances of brand new pieces composed by our very own musical director. Each new term brings a fresh challenge but also a great feeling of pride when our hard work culminates in our final performance.
So, what does Hart Voices mean to me? It means friendship, joy, pride, community but most of all it means being part of something wonderful and having the opportunity to sing my heart out every week! I hope you enjoy tonight’s concert!
Eloise Bruce, March 2018
www.hartvoices.org.uk
Saturday 17 November 2018, 7.30pm Conducted by Roy Rashbrook REQUIEM
Join us for Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and a selection of other works for Remembrance Day
Tickets: £15 (Under 16: £2) Get tickets via the website or in person at: Organically Speaking (Hartley Wintney) & Captured Moment (Fleet)
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