WELLS CATHEDRAL VOLUNTARY CHOIR President Lady Gass DCVO Chair Charly Dando Newsletter September 2021 Issue No 66 This will be the last newsletter for WCVC because from Sept 1st the Choir has been reformed as the Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir. The last 18 months has been difficult for all singers and musicians and we are now gradually emerging from the many lockdowns. During this period, under the direction of David Stevens and Alex Hamilton the Voly Choir where possible has been singing services in the Cathedral all be it with a much reduced number of singers. We would like to thank those Members who kept the Voly Choir going in this difficult time to provide music when required for Cathedral Services. Membership Andrew and Jane James have decided to move to pastures new in Shropshire. We wish them well in their new home. Party Simon and Joanna kindly hosted a party at their house in August when we were able to thank Michael, Matthew and Dilys for their contribution to the Choir over many years. It was also a chance for us to meet former members. A presentation was made to all three from the Choir. Michael has let us know that he has purchased a grandmother clock which features coloured glass panels reminding him of ecclesiastical stained glass. The clock itself is Danish with possibly a Swiss movement, including Westminster chimes and a strike which pleasingly sounds an A major added 6th chord. The balance of the gift to Michael went to Cancer Relief UK and Macmillian Cancer Support. We hope the sounds of the striking clock will bring memories of Michael’s time with the Choir. Summer Residencies Unfortunately the residencies at Hereford in 2020 and St Edmundsbury in 2021 had to be cancelled owing to the covid restrictions. MGC’s Desert Island Discs, as at September 2021 In NO particular order: • John Taverner Dum transisset Sabbatum, sung by the Tallis Scholars under Peter Phillips, a serenely beautiful and satisfying confirmation of the Easter resurrection, performed by such talented friends formed in the 1990s. • Gerald Finzi Dies natalis, passionately sung by Ian Bostridge with immense insight, just eclipsing for me the heartfelt and warm-toned Wilfred Brown’s performance of Traherne’s mystically astonishing text, with Sir Neville Marriner conducting the Academy of St Martin-in- the-Fields. • J S Bach The Goldberg Variations, arranged and played by Parker Ramsay on solo harp in the fabulous stillness of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, intense and focussed but proof again that Bach’s music works in so many media. • Johannes Brahms Alto Rhapsody, in the unfussy and moving interpretation by the one and only Dame Janet Baker with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult. As an undergraduate, I used to warm up my voice by singing along to this classic performance with its myriad of inflections and control. • Edward Elgar Symphony No. 1 in A flat, in fabulous recorded sound by EMI’s Christopher Bishop of the LPO again under Boult. If I feel at all troubled, by the end of the first movement I have unfailingly regained my spirits. • Thomas Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah, sung in the version for ATTBarB by the Hilliard Ensemble. I sang this dozens of times in “Long Vac” summer tours with fellow choral scholars, and from the earliest days of learning it to enjoying the dark and close harmonies in resonant concert venues, often secluded and remote in a church chancel, its endless murmuring of counterpoint through short movements to a truly satisfying major finish is surely unrivalled in all Tudor repertoire. • Psalm 78, sung by King’s under Sir David Willcocks, beginning with its memorable quadruple chant by A.H. Mann. As a story, it is still true today. We still ask, "Why do people not obey God, when he is so good to them?" . The recording features quaint but definitive 1960s pronunciation, too. • Blue Eyes, by Sir Elton John, a gentle but simple ballad with some lush harmonic twists, expertly arranged and performed, this is an enduring favourite of mine and Jane’s! My luxury: a Director’s chair, wood-framed. My book: Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph, a very weighty (1.5kg) and thorough examination of this enigmatic genius by the gifted and readable American music historian Jan Swafford. I have this book already, awaiting The Right Time to tackle Thanks to Michael for contributing his Desert Island Discs and to all the members, editors and supporters who have contributed items to the newsletters over the years. .