The Boxford Masques At Welford Park Wed. 26th - Sun 30th July 2017

All A ATMusical Community SEA! Play for West Berkshire

By Geraldine McCaughrean Directed by Ade Morris Designed by Libby Todd Musical direction by Dave Stephens Choreography by Debbie Camp

Evenings at 7,30 Saturday 2.30 and 7.30 Tickets £6 - £11.00 £2.00 extra on door Gates open at 5.30 /12.30 Sat. Bar from 6.00pm

BRING A PICNIC Welford Park RG20 8HU Tickets from Watermill Theatre Box Office 01635 46044 or online at www.watermill.org.uk

The Programme

Felix Mendelssohn Elijah There will be an interval of 20 minutes at the end of Part One.

Conductor: Cathal Garvey Orchestra: Southern Sinfonia Soprano: Sarah Helsby Hughes Alto: Hannah Pedley Tenor: Nick Sales Baritone: Paul Carey Jones Treble: Daniel Blaze The alto solo in Movement 28 will be sung by Kay Douglass.

We are grateful to the following organisations for their support:

The Englefield Charitable Trust

This programme was printed by Newbury College Print Room.

5 Programme Notes by Jane Hawker

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Elijah

The Composer

Mendelssohn was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. He was born into a privileged, well-connected and intellectual Jewish family, but was not brought up in that faith and was baptised as a Christian at the age of seven. His parents recognised that he was a child prodigy, and encouraged rather than exploited his talents. He had piano lessons in Paris with Marie Bigot, whose playing had been admired by Haydn and Beethoven. He gave his first public concert aged nine, and had his first composition published when he was thirteen. The Mendelssohns had connections with the family of Johann Sebastian Bach, and an aunt had a collection of Bach's manuscripts. In 1829, at the age of twenty, Mendelssohn arranged and conducted the first performance of St Matthew Passion since Bach’s death. This great oratorio had in effect been forgotten, and its rediscovery brought Mendelssohn widespread acclaim and informed the rest of his short musical life, especially in his composition of Elijah. Some criticised him for harking back to the Baroque period when other young composers, such as Berlioz and Liszt, were pushing boundaries in their work. The enduring appeal of Mendelssohn's works is due to his thorough grounding in composition techniques of the ‘old masters’, combined with the lyricism and expressiveness of his own period. Like his compatriot Handel, Mendelssohn spent much time in Britain where his work was well received. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert 6 were great admirers of his music. Prince Albert inscribed a copy of the libretto of Elijah with the words: 'To the noble artist who, surrounded by the Baal-worship of false art, has been able, like a second Elijah, through genius and study, to remain true to the service of true art.' On a visit to Britain in 1847, Mendelssohn performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 and conducted his Scottish Symphony with the Philharmonic Orchestra in front of the Queen. The tour left him physically and mentally exhausted, and the death of his sister Fanny just months later caused him to have a series of strokes, leading to his death at the age of thirty-eight. Robert Schumann was one of his pallbearers, and he is buried in Berlin. Newbury Choral Society performed Elijah fifteen times between 1889 and 2001, including to mark significant dates such as the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Society; to celebrate the choir's Golden Jubilee; and in 1979 to say farewell to conductor John Russell after thirty years at the helm.

Elijah

Ever since his performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion, Mendelssohn had wanted to compose his own oratorio, and in 1836 he presented St Paul in Dusselfdorf. He intended to follow this with a second oratorio, and on studying the dramatic story of the prophet Elijah in the Book of Kings, he knew he had found his subject. Pastor Julius Schubring, Mendelssohn's spiritual mentor and librettist for his previous works, was tasked with producing the text, which he took from the German Lutheran Bible. Schubring felt strongly that the aim of the oratorio should be to emphasise the sacred nature of the story, whereas Mendelssohn wanted to convey the human drama, portraying the universal through the personal. In this regard, he was following in the footsteps of the great Protestant oratorios of Bach

7 and Handel, in their depictions of Christ not only as a spiritual symbol but as a man. The structure of Elijah echoes that of the Baroque oratorio, with soloists singing arias and recitative, and the chorus acting as the voice of the people, furthering the plot and commenting on the action. At the same time, the contemporary audience could have been in no doubt from the very start that they were about to hear something new: Schubring argued for an overture, in the tradition of oratorios, but Mendelssohn wanted to take the audience straight to the heart of the action. The first sound they hear is that of Elijah intoning his prophesy, followed by the overture, and then the choir enters, already at fortissimo, begging God for mercy from their suffering caused by drought. Work on the German libretto was well under way when Mendelssohn was asked to write a new work for the 1846 Birmingham Triennial Music Festival (which ran from 1784 to 1912). He decided that this would be a fitting premiere for Elijah. He asked William Bartholomew, a poet and composer himself, who had already translated many of Mendelssohn's previous works, to translate the oratorio into English. This turned out to be more of a collaboration, with Mendelssohn supervising the translation in minute detail. Mendelssohn wrote the soprano part for the 'Swedish Nightingale', Jenny Lind, with whom he was in love. She organised and sang in a sell-out performance of Elijah at Exeter Hall in London in 1848, as a fundraising event to found a musical scholarship to promote the talent of young people. Its first recipient was the fourteen-year-old Arthur Sullivan. After the 1846 premiere of Elijah in Birmingham's Town Hall, The London Times critic wrote: 'The last note of Elijah was drowned in a long-continued unanimous volley of plaudits, vociferous, and deafening. It was as though enthusiasm, long- checked, had suddenly burst its bonds and filled the air with shouts of exultation. 8 Mendelssohn, evidently overpowered, bowed his acknowledgements, and quickly descended from his position in the conductor’s rostrum; but he was compelled to appear again, amidst renewed cheers and huzzas. Never was there a more complete triumph - never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.'

The Plot and Libretto

Part One

At the beginning of the oratorio, King Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel, whose historical reign took place in the ninth century BC, have established the worship of Baal in place of the God of Abraham. Elijah, a fervent and fiery prophet even by Old Testament standards, prophesies that God will punish the people of Israel by sending a severe drought to their land. Starved and suffering, the people pray for mercy, and are encouraged to repent by the faithful believer Obadiah. An angel appears to Elijah and sends him to the home of the widow of Zarephath, whose dying son Elijah miraculously restores to health. King Ahab accuses Elijah of causing the drought he prophesied, to which Elijah responds that it is the King’s worship of Baal that is to blame. He challenges the priests of Baal to demonstrate their idol’s supposed power by praying for him to light a fire under a sacrificed bullock. Despite their frantic prayers, the followers of Baal do not succeed; by contrast, Elijah's prayers to Jehovah are answered and fire descends from heaven. The people proclaim a miracle, and Elijah instructs them to rise up and kill the false god’s prophets. Obadiah implores Elijah to pray for rain, and the long drought finally comes to an end. 9 Elijah As God the Lord of Israel liveth, before whom I stand; there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Overture 1 The People (Chorus) Help, Lord! Wilt thou quite destroy us? The harvest now is over, the summer days are gone, and yet no power cometh to help us! Will then the Lord be no more God in Zion? The deeps afford no water; and the rivers are exhausted! The suckling’s tongue now cleaveth for thirst to his mouth: the infant children ask for bread, and there is no one breaketh it to feed them! 2 Soprano, Alto and the People (Duet and Chorus) Lord, bow thine ear to our prayer! Zion spreadeth her hands for aid; and there is neither help nor comfort. 3 Obadiah (Recitative) Ye people, rend your hearts, and not your garments, for your transgressions: even as Elijah hath sealed the heavens through the word of God, I therefore say to ye: forsake your idols, return to God: for he is slow to anger, and merciful, and kind and gracious, and repenteth him of the evil. 4 Obadiah (Aria) ‘If with all your hearts ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me.’ Thus saith our God. Oh! That I knew where I might find him, that I might even come before his presence! 5 The People (Chorus) Yet doth the Lord see it not: he mocketh at us; his curse hath fallen down upon us; his wrath will pursue us till he destroy us! For he, the Lord our God, he is a jealous God; and he visiteth all the fathers’ sins on the children to the third and the fourth generation of them that hate him. His mercies on thousands fall, fall on all them that love him, and keep his commandments. 6 An Angel (Recitative) Elijah! Get thee hence; depart, and turn thee eastward: thither hide thee by Cherith’s brook. There shalt thou drink its waters; and the Lord thy God

10 hath commanded the ravens to feed thee there: so do according unto his word. 7 Angels (Double Quartet) For he shall give his angels charge over thee; that they shall protect thee in all the ways thou goest; that their hands shall uphold and guide thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. An Angel (Recitative) Now Cherith’s brook is dried up, Elijah, arise and depart, and get thee to Zarephath; thither abide: for the Lord hath commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. And the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 8 The Widow (Aria) What have I to do with thee, O man of God? Art thou come to me to call my sin unto remembrance? To slay my son art thou come hither? Help me, man of God! My son is sick! And his sickness is so sore that there is no breath left in him! I go mourning all the day long; I lie down and weep at night. See mine affliction. Be thou the orphan’s helper! Help my son! There is no breath left in him! Elijah Give me thy son. Turn unto her, O Lord my God; O turn in mercy, in mercy help this widow’s son! For thou art gracious, and full of compassion, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child return, that he again may live! The Widow Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? There is no breath in him! Elijah Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child return, that he again may live! The Widow Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Elijah Lord, my God, O let the spirit of this child return, that he again may live! The Widow The Lord hath heard thy prayer, the soul of my son reviveth! 11 Elijah Now behold, thy son liveth! The Widow Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that his word in thy mouth is the truth. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? Elijah Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. The Widow ... with all my soul, and with all my might. Both O blessed are they who fear him! 9 Chorus Blessed are the men who fear him: they ever walk in the ways of peace. Through darkness riseth light to the upright. He is gracious, compassionate: he is righteous. 10 Recitative and Chorus Elijah As God the Lord of Sabaoth liveth, before whom I stand, three years this day fulfilled, I will show myself unto Ahab; and the Lord will then send rain again upon the earth. Ahab Art thou Elijah? Art thou, art thou he that troubleth Israel? The People Thou art Elijah, thou, he that troubleth Israel! Elijah I never troubled Israel’s peace: it is thou, Ahab, and all thy father’s house. Ye have forsaken God’s commands: and thou hast followed Baalim! Now send and gather to me the whole of Israel unto Mount Carmel: there summon the prophets of Baal, and also the prophets of the groves, who are feasted at Jezebel’s table. Then we shall see whose God is the Lord.

12 The People And then we shall see whose God is God the Lord. Elijah Rise then, ye priests of Baal: select and slay a bullock, and put no fire under it: uplift your voices and call the god ye worship; and I then will call on the Lord Jehovah: and the God who by fire shall answer, let him be God. The People Yea; and the God who by fire shall answer, let him be God. Elijah Call first upon your god, your numbers are many; I, even I, only remain one prophet of the Lord! Invoke your forest gods and mountain deities. 11 Priests of Baal (Chorus) Baal, we cry to thee, hear and answer us! Heed the sacrifice we offer! Baal, O hear us, and answer us! Hear us, Baal! Hear, mighty god! Baal, O answer us! Baal, let thy flames fall and extirpate the foe! Baal, O hear us! 12 Recitative and Chorus Elijah Call him louder, for he is a god! He talketh; or he is pursuing; or he is in a journey; or, peradventure, he sleepeth: so awaken him: call him louder! Priests of Baal Hear our cry, O Baal! Now arise! Wherefore slumber? 13 Recitative and Chorus Elijah Call him louder! He heareth not. With knives and lancets cut yourselves after your manner: leap upon the altar ye have made: call him, and prophesy! Not a voice will answer you; none will listen, none heed you. Priests of Baal Baal, hear and answer, Baal! Mark how the scorner derideth us! Hear and answer! Elijah Draw near, all ye people: come to me!

13 14 Elijah (Aria) Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! This day let it be known that thou art God; and that I am thy servant! O show to all this people that I have done these things according to thy word! O hear me, Lord, and answer me; and show this people that thou art Lord God; and let their hearts again be turned! 15 Quartet Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He never will suffer the righteous to fall: he is at thy right hand. Thy mercy, Lord, is great; and far above the heav’ns. Let none be made ashamed that wait upon thee. 16 Recitative and Chorus Elijah O thou, who makest thine angels, spirits; thou, whose ministers are flaming fires, let them now descend! The People The fire descends from heav’n. The flames consume his off'ring! Before him upon your faces fall! The Lord is God! O Israel, hear! Our God is one Lord! And we will have no other gods before the Lord! Elijah Take all the prophets of Baal; and let not one of them escape you. Bring them down to Kishon’s brook; and there let them be slain. The People Take all the prophets of Baal; and let not one of them escape us; bring all, and slay them! 17 Elijah (Aria) Is not his word like a fire: and like a hammer that breaketh the rock into pieces? For God is angry with the wicked ev’ry day: and if the wicked turn not, the Lord will whet his sword; and he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 18 Alto (Arioso) Woe unto them who forsake him! Destruction shall fall upon them, for they have transgressed against him. Though they are by him redeemed, yet they have spoken falsely against him. From him have they fled. Woe unto them! 14 19 Recitative and Chorus Obadiah O man of God, help thy people! Among the idols of the Gentiles, are there any that can command the rain, or cause the heav’ns to give their showers? The Lord our God alone can do these things. Elijah O Lord, thou hast overthrown thine enemies and destroyed them. Look down on us from heaven, O Lord; regard the distress of thy people! Open the heavens and send us relief! Help, help thy servant now, O God! The People Open the heavens and send us relief: help, help thy servant now, O God! Elijah Go up now, child, and look toward the sea. Hath my prayer been heard by the Lord? The Youth There is nothing. The heav’ns are as brass, they are as brass above me. Elijah When the heavens are closed up because they have sinned against thee, yet if they pray and confess thy name, and turn from their sin when thou dost afflict them: then hear from heav’n, and forgive the sin! Help! Send thy servant help, O God! The People Then hear from heav’n, and forgive the sin! Help, send thy servant help, O God! Elijah Go up again, and still look toward the sea. The Youth There is nothing. The earth is as iron under me. Elijah Hearest thou no sound of rain? Seest thou nothing arise from the deep? The Youth No; there is nothing.

15 Elijah Have respect to the pray’r of thy servant, O Lord, my God! Unto thee will I cry, Lord, my rock: be not silent to me; and thy great mercies remember, Lord! The Youth Behold, a little cloud ariseth now from the waters; it is like a man’s hand! The heavens are black with cloud and with wind: the storm rusheth louder and louder! The People Thanks be to God for all his mercies! Elijah Thanks be to God, for he is gracious, and his mercy endureth for evermore! 20 The People (Chorus) Thanks be to God! He laveth the thirsty land! The waters gather, they rush along; they are lifting their voices! The stormy billows are high, their fury is mighty. But the Lord is above them, and Almighty!

INTERVAL

Part Two

Queen Jezebel is furious that the priests of Baal have been destroyed and that Elijah has shown himself more powerful than her husband, the King. She commands the people to kill the prophet. Warned by Obadiah that he is in danger, Elijah escapes to the desert, where he succumbs to despair and doubt. He is comforted by angels who tell him to go to Mount Horeb, where the power of God is revealed to him in mighty winds, heaving seas, earthquakes and fires, and finally a still, small voice. His faith restored, Elijah returns to Israel to continue his holy work. When his time on earth comes to an end, he is carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot. 16 21 Soprano (Aria) Hear ye, Israel; hear what the Lord speaketh: ‘Oh, hadst thou heeded my commandments!’ Who hath believed our report; to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him oppressed by tyrants; thus saith the Lord: ‘I am he that comforteth: be not afraid, for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee. Say, who art thou, that thou art afraid of a man that shall die; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, who hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the earth’s foundations? Be not afraid, for I, thy God, will strengthen thee!’ 22 Chorus Be not afraid, saith God the Lord. Be not afraid; thy help is near. God, the Lord thy God, sayeth unto thee, ‘Be not afraid!’ Though thousands languish and fall beside thee, and tens of thousands around thee perish, yet still it shall not come nigh thee. 23 Recitative and Chorus Elijah The Lord hath exalted thee from among the people: and o’er his people Israel hath made thee king. But thou, Ahab, hast done evil to provoke him to anger above all that were before thee: as if it had been a light thing for thee to walk in the sins of Jeroboam. Thou hast made a grove and an altar to Baal, and serv’d him and worshipp’d him. Thou hast killed the righteous, and also taken possession. And the Lord shall smite all Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall give Israel up, and thou shalt know he is the Lord. The Queen Have ye not heard he hath prophesied against all Israel? The People We heard it with our ears. The Queen Hath he not prophesied also against the king of Israel? The People We heard it with our ears. The Queen And why hath he spoken in the name of the Lord? Doth Ahab govern the 17 kingdom of Israel while Elijah’s power is greater than the king’s? The gods do so to me, and more, if, by tomorrow about this time, I make not his life as the life of one of them whom he hath sacrific’d at the brook of Kishon! The People He shall perish! The Queen and the People Hath he not destroyed Baal’s prophets? Yea, by sword he destroyed them all! He also closed the heavens, and called down a famine upon the land. The Queen So go ye forth and seize Elijah, for he is worthy to die; slaughter him! Do unto him as he hath done! 24 Chorus Woe to him, he shall perish; for he closed the heavens! And why hath he spoken in the name of the Lord? Let the guilty prophet perish! He hath spoken falsely against our land and us, as we have heard with our ears. So go ye forth; seize on him! He shall die! 25 Recitative Obadiah Man of God, now let my words be precious in thy sight! Thus saith Jezebel: ‘Elijah is worthy to die.’ So the mighty gather against thee, and they have prepared a net for thy steps; that they may seize thee, that they may slay thee. Arise, then, and hasten for thy life; to the wilderness journey. The Lord thy God doth go with thee: he will not fail thee, he will not forsake thee. Now begone, and bless me also. Elijah Though stricken, they have not grieved! Tarry here, my servant: the Lord be with thee. I journey hence to the wilderness. 26 Elijah (Aria) It is enough, O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but vanity! I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have broken thy covenant, and thrown down thine altars, and slain

18 all thy prophets, slain them with the sword, and I, even I, only am left; and they seek my life to take it away. 27 Tenor (Recitative) See, now he sleepeth beneath a juniper tree in the wilderness, and there the angels of the Lord encamp round about all them that fear him. 28 The Angels (Trio) Lift thine eyes to the mountains, whence cometh help. Thy help cometh from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He hath said, thy foot shall not be moved. Thy keeper will never slumber. 29 Chorus He, watching over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps. Shouldst thou, walking in grief, languish, he will quicken thee. 30 Recitative The Angel Arise, Elijah, for thou hast a long journey before thee. Forty days and forty nights shalt thou go to Horeb, the mount of God. Elijah O Lord, I have labour’d in vain; yea, I have spent my strength for naught. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down; that the mountains would flow down at thy presence, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, through the wonders of thy works! O Lord, why hast thou made them to err from thy ways, and hardened their hearts, that they do not fear thee? O that I now might die! 31 The Angel (Aria) O rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him, and he shall give thee thy heart’s desires. Commit thy way unto him, and trust in him, and fret not thyself because of evil-doers. 32 Chorus He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved. 33 Recitative Elijah Night falleth round me, O Lord! Be thou not far from me! Hide not thy face, O Lord, from me; my soul is thirsting for thee, as a thirsty land. 19 The Angel Arise, now! Get thee without, stand on the mount before the Lord; for there his glory will appear and shine on thee! Thy face must be veiled, for he draweth near. 34 Chorus Behold, God the Lord passed by! And a mighty wind rent the mountains around, brake in pieces the rocks, brake them before the Lord. But yet the Lord was not in the tempest. Behold, God the Lord passed by! And the sea was upheaved, and the earth was shaken. But yet the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there came a fire, the sea was upheaved, the earth was shaken. But yet the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came a still small voice; and in that still voice, onward came the Lord. 35 Alto (Recitative) Above him stood the Seraphim, and one cried to another: Seraphim (Quartet and Chorus) Holy, holy, holy is God the Lord, the Lord Sabaoth! Now his glory hath filled all the earth. 36 Chorus Go, return upon thy way! For the Lord yet hath left him seven thousand in Israel, knees which have not bow’d to Baal. Go, return upon thy way. Thus the Lord commandeth. Elijah (Recitative) I go on my way in the strength of the Lord. For thou art my Lord, and I will suffer for thy sake. My heart is therefore glad, my glory rejoiceth, and my flesh shall also rest in hope. 37 Elijah (Arioso) For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but thy kindness shall not depart from me; neither shall the covenant of thy peace be removed. 38 Chorus Then did Elijah the prophet break forth like a fire; his words appeared like burning torches. Mighty kings by him were overthrown. He stood on the 20 mount of Sinai, and heard the judgements of the future, and in Horeb, its vengeance. And when the Lord would take him away to heaven, lo! There came a fiery chariot, with fiery, fiery horses; and he went by a whirlwind to heaven. 39 Tenor (Aria) Then, shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in their heav’nly Father’s realm. Joy on their head shall be forever lasting, and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away for ever. 40 Soprano (Recitative) Behold, God shall send Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children unto their fathers; lest the Lord shall come and smite the earth with a curse. 41 Chorus But the Lord from the north hath raised one, who from the rising of the sun shall call upon his name, and come on princes. Behold, my servant and mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth! On him the Spirit of God shall rest; the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of might and of counsel, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord: ‘I have raised one from the north, who from the rising, on my name shall call’. Quartet O come ev’ry one that thirsteth, O come to the waters. O come unto him. O hear, and your souls shall live for ever! 42 Chorus And then shall your light break forth as the light of the morning breaketh; and your health shall speedily spring forth then; and the glory of the Lord ever shall reward you. Lord, our Creator, how excellent thy name is in all the nations! Thou fillest heaven with thy glory. Amen!

21 Cathal Garvey - Musical Director

Since moving from his native Ireland to London in 2009, Cathal Garvey has conducted Southern Sinfonia, London International Orchestra, Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra, I Maestri, London Repertoire Orchestra, London Medical Orchestra, King's College London Symphony Orchestra and Morley College Choir. He was Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor for two seasons at Grange Park Opera. He is currently on the conducting staff of the Royal Academy of Music. Cathal is conductor and Artistic Director of the London-based Ulysses Symphony Orchestra, which he founded in 2015. More recently, he took its professional sister-orchestra, the London Ulysses Orchestra, on a six-city tour of China at the end of 2016, which included a performance at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Cathal was appointed Musical Director of Newbury Choral Society in 2009. Since 2015 he has been Musical Director of Billingshurst Choral Society.

Cathal began violin and piano studies in Cork at an early age, continuing at the Cork School of Music and later reading music at University College Cork. After completing his Masters Degree in Conducting, he studied for two years at the prestigious College of Moscow Conservatory. Cathal began his career as an Opera Chorus Master working for most of Ireland’s major opera companies including Opera Ireland, Opera Theatre Company, Anna Livia Opera Festival, Opera South and Lyric Opera. He worked on over fifty productions with these companies and acted as Assistant Conductor for many of them.

During his ten years in Dublin, Cathal conducted many orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Dublin Baroque Players, and from 2001 to 2006 was Principal Conductor of the Dublin Orchestral Players. From 2004 to 2009 he was Musical Director of the Dun Laoghaire Choral Society.

22 Sarah Helsby Hughes - Soprano Having completed her studies at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Sarah's opera performances to date have included the title role, Madame Butterfly for Nottingham Festival Opera and Heritage Opera; Violetta, La Traviata for New Devon Opera and Chiswick Opera; Tosca for Focus Opera; Senta, The Flying Dutchman for Focus Opera; title role, The Merry Widow for ClassicFest, Harrogate and Lanzarote; Elsie Maynard, Yeomen of the Guard for the International G&S Festival in Gettysburg, USA and Mary Crawford in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park for Heritage Opera. She has also been a member of Carl Rosa Opera, and The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

Her widespread concert experience includes Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder (Italian Tour), Verdi's Requiem, Britten's Phaedra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mozart's Davide Penitente in Haarlem, The Hague and Amsterdam.

23 Hannah Pedley - Alto

Hannah has just returned from playing the title role in Bizet’s Carmen in Dublin and London. She recently recorded Elina Firsova’s Night Songs with the Marsyas Trio for Meridian Records, and made her US debut singing Mozart’s Requiem with Harry Christophers and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society. She also performed St Matthew Passion with Harry Christophers and Streetwise Opera which was televised on BBC4. In 2015 she toured the UK with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, and again sang Carmen for ROH2 at the front of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Other roles have included Olga (Eugene Onegin), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) and Rita the Rat (Fantastic Mr Fox) all for Opera Holland Park; Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) for Grange Park; Ottavia (The Coronation of Poppea) and Medea (Giasone) for English Touring Opera; Nancy (Albert Herring) for New Kent Opera; Melissa (Anna Nicole) (cover) at the Royal Opera House, and the title role in the Rape of Lucretia in Oxford. She has performed as a soloist many times for Buxton Festival, ROH2 and the Dynamic Second Movement. On the concert platform, highlights include Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Symphony No.9 and Handel's Messiah with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Messiah with Manchester Camerata; and Les Agrémens (Brussels and Namur); and Verdi's Requiem at The Lighthouse, Poole. She has performed galas in Italy, Russia and South America, and recitals for Opera Diversa in Prague, Wexford and Buxton Festivals.

24 Nick Sales - Tenor Born in Staffordshire, Nicholas recently made his debut at the Royal Opera House, where he played Leibboyar in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. His other operatic appearances include Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Opera North, Longborough Festival Opera, Opera Project, Heritage Opera); Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Komische Oper, Berlin); Mitridate in Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto (Welsh National Opera); Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni (Theater Lübeck, Oper Halle, Diva Opera, Heritage Opera); Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Teatro del lago, Chile, Opera Project); Narciso in Rossini's Il turco in Italia (Buxton Festival); Ramiro in La Cenerentola (Diva Opera); Lindoro in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri (Opera Project) and Grimoaldo in Handel's Rodelinda; the title role in Handel's oratorio Belshazzar; Lurcanio in Handel's Ariodante; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte; Arturo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Froh in Wagner's Das Rheingold and Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier (Oper Halle). In 2011 he created the role of Henry Crawford in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove's opera Mansfield Park, which was commissioned by Heritage Opera.

He regularly performs throughout the UK and Europe in oratorio, in repertoire including Messiah, The Creation, Elijah, Carmina Burana and Verdi's Requiem at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Royal Albert Hall, Ripon Cathedral, The Royal Hall, Harrogate, and Haarlem Cathedral.

25 Paul Carey Jones - Baritone Paul Carey Jones was born in Cardiff, and studied at The Queen’s College, Oxford, The Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. In May 2013 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, and he was joint winner of the 2013 Wagner Society Singing Competition. His current work is supported by the Carole Rees Award for Advanced Musical Studies.

His operatic work includes principal roles for companies including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera, Northern Ireland Opera, Scottish Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Teatro Comunale Bolzano, Teatro Rossini di Lugo and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Recent highlights have included his Covent Garden debut as Ivan Ivanovich in Shostakovich's The Nose; his house debut at the Teatro Comunale Bolzano as Dr Schön/Jack the Ripper in David Pountney's production of Lulu; the role of the Priest in Scottish Opera's production of Philip Glass' The Trial; and his role debut as Wotan in Die Walküre for the Berwick Festival.

His oratorio repertoire includes over fifty major works, including Brahms' A German Requiem, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony and Mendelssohn's Elijah, as well as several world premieres by living composers. His recent recordings include two song albums, Enaid – Songs of the Soul with Llyr Williams for Sain, and Songs Now with Ian Ryan for Meridian.

His future plans include a return to Nevill Holt Opera as Scarpia in Oliver Mears' award-winning production of Puccini's Tosca.

26 Daniel Blaze - Treble Daniel Blaze began his singing career in the local church choir in Kingston, five years ago, when he was in year 4. He now attends Tiffin School and has appeared as a member of Tiffin Boys’ Choir with many of the leading international orchestras and conductors. These include performances of Mahler's Symphony No.3 with Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as a Prom with Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with Tiffin at Titanic Live in the Royal Albert Hall, the UK premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Stravinsky’s Persephone with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been lucky enough to perform at the Royal Opera House in productions of Tosca, Tannhäuser and the very final performance of John Copley’s iconic production of La Bohème, which was conducted by Placido Domingo. As a soloist, he has performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a contemporary music broadcast, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in the York Early Music Festival, as well as Bach’s St John Passion, Mozart's Requiem and Mendelsohn’s Elijah with the Tiffin Boys’ Choir, conducted by James Day. He has also been involved with trance music DJ Evian Christ, performing in the ICA, and later featuring on his first album, yet to be released. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys playing his horn. He is an active member of the music ensembles at school and has recently joined the local youth orchestra, Thames Youth Orchestra.

27 Steve Bowey - Accompanist Steve studied organ and piano from an early age, playing the organ regularly at St Francis and St Andrews churches in Coulsdon. After studying Engineering at Salford University he moved to Newbury to work for Vodafone. In 1991 Steve was appointed as accompanist of the Cromwell Singers and became their musical director in 1993. From 1992, he was Director of

Music at St Mary's Church, Shaw-cum-Donnington, and regularly accompanies for local choirs, including the Douai Choral Society, the Downland Chorale, the RSCM Southern Cathedral Singers, Berkshire Maestros youth choirs, Worcester College Oxford and Newbury Choral society. In June 1995 an opportunity at work took Steve to live in Holland. On returning to Newbury in 1997 he returned to St Mary's Shaw-cum- Donnington as organist. He is a regular performer in the Newbury and District Organists' Association lunchtime recital series and has also given recitals in Thaxted, Caterham and Manchester and Farnham. In 2001 he was appointed Musical Director of the Sandham Singers. In 2006 Steve joined the Royal College of Organists, and in July the following year took the examination for Associate (ARCO) in which he was awarded the Limpus prize for performance, as well as the Sowerbutts and Samuel Baker prizes. After further study, he was awarded the Fellowship diploma (FRCO) in January 2011.

28 Southern Sinfonia

Southern Sinfonia’s reputation continues to grow as the leading professional Chamber Orchestra in the South of England. With Sir Roger Norrington as its Patron and David Hill as its Music Director, the orchestra was established in 1990 and is based in Somerset and Berkshire. Its unique ability to play modern and Baroque instruments, and therefore music from the 1600s to the present day, at the correct pitch and with informed playing style, puts it in huge demand, as does its commitment to contemporary and new music. The orchestra is Orchestra in Residence at the Corn Exchange and the University of Winchester, has an association with Reading University, and performs in venues throughout England, including London, Wells, Exeter, Canterbury, Cambridge, Nottingham and Romsey. As well as regular orchestral concerts and performances with the South of England’s most established chamber choirs and choral societies, the organisation runs biennial Young and Older Musician of the Year competitions, provides a performance platform for the Hampshire Singing Competition winner and runs regular and extensive educational programmes, as well as a popular lunchtime series of Café Concerts. Southern Sinfonia’s most recent releases include the Monteverdi Vespers, on the Signum label, the world premiere of Carl Rütti’s Requiem (Naxos), and the Bach B Minor Mass, with Ralph Allwood and the Rodolfus Choir (Signum). For further information about the orchestra, sponsorship opportunities or to become a Friend of the orchestra please email [email protected]

29 NCS members singing in tonight's performance Honorary Life Patron: Lady Knill Chairperson: Liz Wallace Secretary: Nat Smith Treasurer: Tracy Smith Concert Manager: Mike Barthorpe Rehearsal accompanist: Steve Bowey SOPRANOS ALTOS Rachael Atkinson Margaret Owen Katharine Andrews Kiki Kettunen Rebecca Berger Pauline Phillips Gayle Ashby Ceinwen Lally Helen Bomgardner Kathryn Pollard Margaret Baker Mary Lawler Teresa Brown Monika Rutecka Hilary Banks Emma Leader Christine Castle Brigitta Small Denise Barthorpe Viv Masson Marion Croxford Judith Stock Angela Bates Clare Owen Becky Dabbs Fenisia Stopher Helen Cook Susanne Padel Ann Doyle Heather Yule Leonie Cooke Bridget Purr Sarah Foley Jacquie Cooper Georgina Seaman Janet Freer Liz Coughlan Sally Sinclair Ellie Gibson Eirlys Davies Tracy Smith Gill Hitchcock Helen Douglass Ann Turner Monica Huddie Kay Douglass Vicci Vaughan Emily Hunt Nicola Foster Liz Wallace Murrie Jackson Margaret Freeman Sally Walsh Lauraine Leigh Fiona Friend Margaret Yates Klugman Elizabeth Hanning Beverley Lewis Lynette Harper Penny Lovelock Jane Hawker Katie Massey Jenny Hayward Lynne Moore Mavis Hughesdon Debbie Murphy Gwenda Hutchinson TENORS BASSES Peter Angwin Neil Rendall Gerald Atkinson David Hunt Mike Barthorpe Andrew Salisbury Peter Bell Alexander Jackson Matthew Evans Angela Whitcomb David Bomgardner Richard Moore Russell George Jeremy Wright Mike Braide Brendan Murphy Derek Harwood Nick Yates Greg Choules Barrie Seaman Nic Lampkin Anne Ware David Craig Jon Trickey Richard Papworth Peter Donnelly John Garbutt

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Newbury Chamber Choir

Spiritual Sounds ancient & modern Jacob Obrecht: St Matthew Passion Arvo Pärt: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis Anon: The Visit to the Sepulchre

arranged by Edward Lambert

Conductor: Edward Lambert St John’s Church, Newbury RG14 7PY

Saturday, 8 April 2017 at 7.30pm

Free admission, retiring collection More information: www.newburychamberchoir.co.uk

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Newbury Choral Society is unique in this area in staging large-scale performances of the choral repertoire, keeping alive our tradition of over one hundred and thirty years of choral music. Such events require a huge commitment from everyone involved (as our nearest and dearest will testify), and no small amount of money. We are currently raising funds to help with the costs of our summer concert, In the Mood: Sacred and Secular Jazz, via the website The Good Exchange. If you, or someone you know, would like to make a financial donation, however small, it will be matched by the Greenham Common Trust. Please visit www.thegoodexchange.com, search for Newbury Choral Society and you will see our concert flyer.

Thank you for supporting NCS as we continue to strive for musical excellence. If you would like to tell us about your experience of this performance, please go to www.newburychoral.org.uk/ConcertFeedback.

On the right is a photograph of the frontispiece of a conductor's score for Elijah (Elias in German) which belongs in our archives. It is inscribed 'Presented to the Newbury Choral Society by Miss Arkwright, Jan 4th 1894'. We believe that this is Marian Ursula Arkwright (1863-1922), a well-known composer, co-founder of the English Ladies Orchestral Union and conductor of the Newbury Amateur Orchestral Union. She was the first woman to be awarded a doctorate in music from the University of Durham. Her brother, musicologist Godfrey Edward Pellew Arkwright, was an honorary member of Newbury Choral Society for many years in the early twentieth century.

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