Bournemouth Symphony Chorus is celebratinga 100 years of existence thanks to Handel’sMessiah. The Choir has performed the workon upwards of 140 occasions. In mostseasons, only this work attracted sufficientdemand at the Box Office to turn loss into profitin the Choir’s annual accounts. The annualperformances, at Christmas, or early in theNew Year, became a tradition and one that hasbeen maintained until the present day. Tothose members who often asked for alternatefare for Christmas, the committee, egged onby its Hon. Treasurer answered, “Sorry, it’sHandel, or bust.”

The very few breaks have been caused notthrough choice but through external factors: theoutbreak of war, for instance, or the suddenclosure of the Winter Gardens for urgentmaintenance at the start of 1965.

Performing styles in Handel have changedremarkably over the last hundred years. Notuntil 1940, and then with many grumbles, wasthe ancient Vincent Novello edition of the vocal

score ditched by the Choir in favour of the“modern” edition by Ebenezer Prout, firstpublished in 1902, nine years before the birthof the Choir!

To be fair, the next fifteen or so years sawconservative Bournemouth moving from therearguard to the avant-garde in terms ofHandelian practice. It started with CharlesGroves who introduced period practicesbefore they became commonplace. Well doesthe writer, then a member of St James Choirin Pokesdown, Bournemouth, remember thehot debates in quires and places where theysing over a rumour claiming that CharlesGroves was going to scale down theorchestra, possibly reduce the MunicipalChoir’s numbers and was intending to play aHARPSICHORD to accompany therecitatives! What would have been theresponse had Charles Groves featured acounter-tenor, such as Yuri Mynenko whosang with the Symphony Chorus in the 21stcentury? Indeed, Messiah is nowadaysalmost invariably performed by the Choruswith a counter-tenor.

"I feel choral societies should display a bust ofMr. Handel placed in a favoured position in thefirst row of tenors, in honour of their veryexistence: for how many amateur choralsocieties would have gone under but for theall-appealing masterpiece. Some of us musthave heard it hundreds of times, and yet howfresh it is, and how we all love singing it."

Roy Henderson (in a letter to his Choir)

Comfort Ye, My Treasurers

"The two performance concerts were Elijahand Messiah and it will be noted that 800more people attended the two Messiahperformances. This, I think, represents therelative popularity of the two works."

Stanley Arthur (from his 1952 Annual Report as Honorary Secretary)

17.06.56

Charles Groves

Messiah: Saviour and Recruiting SergeantThis is part of a letter from Charles Groveswho couldn’t attend the Choirs’s AGM in June1956 because of a conducting engagementin Newport.

The Choir was formed in an era ofmonumental Messiahs - the more the merrierwas key to a successful performance. By1900, the score had become part of Britain’sheritage. Church choirs might essay one ortwo of its choruses, but to experience the“real thing” it was necessary to join a largeChoral Society. There was safety innumbers. The Christmas Messiah was anideal time to join such a body. Somechoruses would be in the chorister’sbloodstream and (s)he could learn the restunder cover of many experienced voices onher or his part. So many new singers acrossthe country were recruited by the Messiah,and, provided the hurdle of the voice testwas conquered, it offered a facile route intothe thrill and camaraderie of a big choir.

Isobel Baillie sang the soprano solos withthe Bournemouth Choir as soon as shereturned from her vocal studies in Milan. Herautobiography was titled Never Sing LouderThan Lovely and through 45 years of visitsto the South Coast, mainly but not entirely tosing in Messiah, she maintained anexquisitely pure tone without sacrificing clearenunciation making arias, such as I KnowThat My Redeemer Liveth, unforgettable tothose who heard her.

Kathleen Ferrier reigned supreme in thecontralto arias for six performances duringthe war years. Service people wereadmitted at half price; could they have takensweeter or more consoling, memories to the

front? Thereafter, Norma Procter, likeFerrier, a pupil of Roy Henderson became thefirst choice. Amongst the tenor soloists whosang the work with distinction with theMunicipal Choir during its first 50 years werethe Welshman, Parry Jones, and twodistinguished Englishmen; Heddle Nash andEric Greene.

In his youth, the writer was fed on the ringing,dark as gravy, tones of Harvey Alan in thebass solos. He was another pupil of RoyHenderson. However, the most frequentvisitor to Bournemouth was the Australian,Harold Williams. He was admired for brilliantbreath control and the clarity of his Englishdiction - once he’d extinguished his Aussieaccent! Harold was a cricket lover, both asa player in village matches and a spectatorreputed never to have missed an Englandversus Australia Test Match.

Messiah was the choir’s flexible friend. Itmay be the only choir to have sung theoratorio in a cinema (Bournemouth’s Regent)under Sir Malcolm Sargent with timpaniand cinema organ for accompaniment. Allthat in 1930. Bournemouth has heard manyvariations on Handel’s original orchestrationfrom grand Victorian conflations to Mozart’sversion that Richard Stamp essayed in 1974.

After World War II, the work became theChoir’s leading export. Invitations werereceived to sing in Wimborne Minster andChristchurch Priory. The Choir had beeninvited to sing the work in East CliffCongregational Church during 1916 and hadcurtly declined as to do so was inconsistentwith the “construction and procedure of theMUNICIPAL Choir”. Post World War II, themood had changed and this malleable workwas taken and sung with soloists from thechoir on several occasions. Here are twoexamples:

Wimborne Minster February 1951Soloists from choir: Ethel Fullerton(soprano); Muriel Pursey (contralto), EdgarIdle (son of Frank as the tenor); E I Jones(baritone) Organist: Norman Charlton-Burdon

Christchurch Priory February 1951Soloists from choir: Ethel Fullerton(soprano); Muriel Pursey (contralto), ArthurRayner (tenor) & E I Jones (baritone)Geoffrey Tristram on organ (Hammond)

Pictured (clockwise from top left): Isobel Baillie,Norma Procter, Harold Williams, Parry Jones

from Howard Dalton First Bass

POST CA RD

The Choir’s first year of independence (1921-22) was anchored by the twin Messiahs atChristmas. This comes from the Chairman’sAnnual Report:

The Messiah Concert [sic] was a greatsuccess financially and never before havethe receipts reached such a high water mark,and I think it was generally admitted the bestperformance was given; this of course wasdue to the Choir being massed together.

By massed, the Chairman meant in closeorder for the Choir had not returned topre-World War I strength & balance(sopranos 70; contraltos 40; tenors 20;basses 35)

ADVICE (in a letter to the choir'sAGM in 1943 from its conductor,Roy Henderson)

There is one essential. In orderto give itself freedom ofexpression the choir must freeitself from its copies as far aspossible. How about learningat any rate the Messiahchoruses bit by bit so as to beready? You will never regret it;it will stand you in good steadfor many years.

The message remains aspertinent in 2012

Sir Charles Groves took what he had learned aboutperforming Messiah with his Bournemouth Choir to choirsacross the world, as this excerpt from a letter to the Choir’sSecretary, Donald Sheppard demonstrates.

21.xii.82 LONDON NW1 9UV

Charles Groves

Choral music started in Bournemouth with churchchoirs. At key moments in their church’s yearsome of them formed festival choirs to sing largerworks, such as Gounod’s oratorio Redemption.All this amateur singingactivity laid the ground for theformation of Bournemouth’sfirst permanent giant group,Madame Newling’s Choir,brought together to presenta cantata by DalhousieYoung The BlessedDamozel based on the poemwritten by young DanteGabriel Rossetti, the founderof the Pre-RaphaeliteBrotherhood, who laterillustrated this poem with afamous picture. MadameNewling’s Choir started withabout 70 voices. Dalhousie Young (1866-1921),born in India, was a composer who had studied thepiano under Theodor Leschetizky (famous as theteacher of Paderewski). Young wrote the cantataThe Blessed Damozel for performance in Leedsand Frankfurt in Germany but it was the newBournemouth Choir that was entrusted with thework’s première accompanied by the MunicipalOrchestra with the composer conducting.Interestingly, some 13 years earlier a youngClaude Debussy had set the same poem in aFrench translation, La Damoiselle Elue. TheYoung première took place on Saturday 29thNovember 1902 at 3pm.

Therefore, it may be argued that 1902 is thefoundation date for the Bournemouth MunicipalChoir/Bournemouth Symphony Chorus for thelatter choir grew naturally out of the former that

had, itself, been sired by Dan Godfrey fromMadame Newling’s group. The BournemouthGuardian reported that the performance of TheBlessed Damozel was “capital” and that the voices

of the choir“blended well”.The audiencew e r eappreciativeand recalledthe soloists:Emily Squire,Marion Dyke,and HerrR o b e r tHensler, tenor,“of Zurich”.The cantatalasted underan hour

leaving plenty of time after the interval for individualitems from the evening’s soloists and part-songsfrom the choir with the choir’s rehearsal pianist –Miss Craigie Moss – accompanying, wherenecessary.

The intrepid musical explorer, Madame Newling,did not rest on her laurels. Easter of 1903 saw herchoir exploring the Coronation Ode that EdwardElgar had completed in 1902 for the Coronation ofEdward VII. The work ended with Land of Hopeand Glory with Elgar raiding his own Pomp andCircumstance March no 1 for the tune heresplendently scored for Clara Butt’s massivecontralto voice, other soloists, chorus, orchestraand organ. Madame Newling was keen to squeezethe maximum advantage from weeks of rehearsal.It became her wont to run concerts twice, often onthe same day (at 3pm and 8pm). On this occasion,

she organised an open rehearsal for the eveningpreceding two performances on Tuesday 28th April.The choir contained 100 voices and they werejoined by Carrie Silviter (soprano), Harold Wilde(tenor) and Albert Garcia (bass) with May Peters inthe stentorian “Clara Butt” role. Dan Godfrey keptthe massed forces together during theseperformances. Unfortunately, Easter 1903 was fullof miserable weather so the audiences were small.The second half of the programme containedassorted “scenas” for the soli and partsongsincluding Vineta (Brahms), The Long Day Closes(Sullivan) and Song of the Vikings.

The greatest builder of choirs and their audiencesin Britain has been Handel’s Messiah. New recruitsflocked to rehearsals as soon as it became knownthat Madame Newling was scheduling it atChristmas, so that the Choir had doubled in strengthby the performance on December 8th. The largechoir ensured a better attendance. Once again, DanGodfrey conducted the performances but MadameNewling drew the plaudits for her choral training: theend of the Hallelujah Chorus produced vociferousapplause that was silenced only when MadameNewling rose from her seat and took a bow. Seatsin the stalls were priced at 3 shillings and half acrown; with those in the balcony rather cheaper at1/6 and for the fit, musical poor admission withouta seat was a mere 1/-.

By its third season in 1904, the shape of the NewlingChoir’s year had settled down: Concerts in Springand Autumn with annual “Christmas” twin Messiahsat 3pm and 8pm. Easter was celebrated through thechoir’s first Elijah with Maud Santley and BantockPierpoint amongst a strong solo quartet andNovember saw a Wagner Spectacular with ashrewd mixture of orchestral favourites: theTannhäuser Overture and Kaisermarsch, choralnumbers, including the Spinning Wheel Chorus

BC: Before the Choir

from Tannhäuser for whichMadame Newling clearly hada soft spot. Bournemouthianswere operamanes for theWinter Gardens was full ofenthusiastic Wagnerites. TheBournemouth Guardianpurred approval, noting thatthe choir had sung“beautifully”. This c oncertspawned an encore: theGrand Wagner Concert ofNovember 1905 that attractedwhat the BournemouthGuardian termed a “crowdedaudience”. MadameNewling had brought back toBournemouth one of the starsof Covent Garden’s OperaHouse: Madame Albani,perhaps the first French-Canadian singer to achieveworldwide renown who waslater to be honoured as DameEmma Albani. MadameAlbani received a “flattering reception” andMadame Newling a “floral tribute”.

Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius was performedtwice in 1909 &1910, a magnificent achievementconsidering that the first London performance wasdelayed until 1903 and the piece had beaten oneof the country’s finest amateur choirs at the work’spremiere in Birmingham in 1900. In today’s terms,it is the equivalent of an amateur chorus in a newtown such as Stevenage staging a recent scorecomposed by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. It had beenMadame Newling’s Choir that first started aBournemouth throat-tingling tradition of two choralconcert performances on the same day. TheMusical Times spoke well of the choir’s

performances of Arthur Sullivan’s The GoldenLegend in 1907: “The choral portions wereexcellently sung by Madame Newling’s Choir of 200voices, which, of course, received efficient supportfrom the Municipal Orchestra with Mr Mark Quintonpresiding at the organ.” That year also saw aperformance of Frederic Cliffe’s 1905 Ode to theNorth-East Wind, based on words by CharlesKingsley, one of a handful of pieces by Cliffe thathave survived in performable form into the 21stcentury. Both of Cliffe’s symphonies had beenaired in Bournemouth. Unfortunately, this Victoriancomposer (1857-1931), who taught at the RoyalCollege of Music, became comfortably-off and losthis urge to compose, a condition exacerbated by

changes of musical taste afterthe first World War. However,distinguished critics, such asLewis Foreman, who haveheard some of his works ratethem very highly and one ortwo works have beenrecorded in recent years.

Another tradition that passedfrom Mme. Newling’s Choir toThe Municipal Choir was theannual Christmasperformance(s) of Messiah.The Musical Times spottedthe Achilles heel in such atradition: when a workbecomes hackneyed, artisticstandards may drop.Certainly, the choir’sDecember 1910 performance,which the reviewer saw as a“pecuniary success”, drewadverse comments about thequality of the choral singing.

It “lacked breadth and power” and for the firsthour was “hesitant and finicking"(sic!). Thingscannot have been helped by Dan Godfrey whoconducted despite being “temporarilyindisposed”.Having consolidated his working in creating theBournemouth Municipal Orchestra, Dan Godfreywas looking for other challenges as Director ofMusic for Bournemouth and Manager of theWinter Gardens. His political antennae wereacute and he knew that Municipal purse stringsloosened at the sight of anniversaries such asBournemouth: the Centenary 1810 - 1910. Thegreat success of the anniversary celebrationsoffered Godfrey a chance of further expandinghis domain.

Bournemouth Square en fête in 1910, the town’s centenary yearThis picture is a fascinating record. The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra has just finished its morning rehearsal. Some of the playersare pushing their bicycles s across the Square which has been pedestrianised. The two in the centre foreground are trumpeters. Look atthe horse and trap on the left. Do you see the “man in the white suit”? That’s Percy Grainger, doubtless coming away from the samepractice. Edward Elgar and a host of other British composers attended the special centennial concerts. It’s a pity that Elgar couldn’t bepresent when Madame Newling’s Choir, conducted by Dan Godfrey and accompanied by the Municipal Orchestra, reached its apogeein their 1910 performance of The Dream of Gerontius.

Madame Newling fell ill early in 1911. A concert toraise funds to help her was held in the WinterGardens on 7th April. A large choir assembled andthe high esteem in which she was held ensuredthat a substantial sum of money was raised from apacked Winter Gardens. Dan Godfrey was thereto conduct a programme that included a Wagnerchorus: Hail! Bright Abode from the operaTannhäuser. Sadly, Madame Newling died atEaster 1911 on April 15th on the same day as LadyHallé. Madame Newling’s death was a personaltragedy for her family but also a devastating blowto the successful choir that she had formed, trainedand to which she had given her name. With sucha personal identification, there was a chance thather passing would destroy an important part ofBournemouth culture. Her choir’s final event wasa concert performance just ten days afterMadame Newling’s death of Edward German’sLight Opera Merrie England with the composerhimself conducting. As so often happens adversitybrings people together, concentrating minds andattention. The Musical Times reported thatMadame Newling’s choir sang “with moreintelligence and purity of tone than they had evershown before.”

The Musical Times carried this brief tribute:

“Madame Newling, principal of a School ofMusic in Bournemouth and director of the choirthat bore her name [died] on April 15th. Formany years her position in musical circles in thetown had been prominent, and the loss of herbeneficent influence will be felt.”

Rescue acts were to become an all too regularpart of Bournemouth’s musical scene in the 20thcentury and it was fortunate that Dan Godfreywas on hand to don armour and sword and to“fight the good fight”. Dan Godfrey had been theregular performance conductor of MadameNewling’s Choir so he knew of its strengths andhe judged it to be the perfect vehicle to bemunicipalized and made part of the body, thecorporation, of Bournemouth. Civic andcommunity pride rose to grasp the opportunity tobe the world’s first town to boast a MunicipalOrchestra AND Choir.

The Musical Times reported:“A Municipal Choral Society has been

formed under the management of the WinterGardens Committee, and it is proposed, by thecooperation of the new body and Mr DanGodfrey’s orchestra to give a two day festival in1913. [ … ] The prospective programme for thepresent season includes “Merrie England”(German), “Elijah” (Mendelssohn) and“Hiawatha” (Coleridge-Taylor).

The Bournemouth Municipal Choir first took thestage not once but twice on Tuesday 14thNovember 1911 in The Winter Gardens to sing inyet more performances of Edward German’scomic opera Merrie England, written about 8years earlier. That date is the “official” birthdayof the Choir that still exists as the BournemouthSymphony Chorus. It was a very official occasion.The town oozed municipal pride; the eveningperformance had been sponsored by the town’smusical Mayor, Alderman H.S. McCalmont Hill,

and was “attended by the Mayor and Corporationin state”! Dan Godfrey invited the composer backto conduct these inaugural concerts. TheMunicipal Choir was launched in rude health on aloud unison F with the most appropriate text:“SING…”.

In December the Musical Times reported:“… the choir rendering the cheery music withmuch vivacity and spirit.“

The same magazine reported the followingconcert in greater laudatory detail:“The Municipal Choir materially enhanced thereputation it acquired a few weeks ago by itscapital rendering on December 12th ofMendelssohn’s ever-green and ever-impressive masterpiece “Elijah”. The 250voices are fairly well balanced in point ofnumbers, but in actual performance the altosbelie their numerical strength by their lack ofpower. The choir sang with breadth and vigour,and the careful training they had received wasmade apparent in many ways; the chief defectat present is the lack of knowledge respectingthe various shades of tone colour.”

The Municipal Choir’s first Chorus Master was Dr.H. Holloway, local composer and Organist of St.Stephen’s Church, with Alice Harding asrehearsal accompanist and H. Arthur Kettle actingas Hon. Secretary. Singers were required toundergo voice trials and altogether over 200assembled for the première performances. Theinitial repertoire was chosen on a fail-safe basis.The first two years A.D. mirrored the works of thelast two B.C. and were packed with sure-fire boxoffice successes. For a time there was talk ofperforming a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta but theexpense of hiring so many soloists proved aninhibition and Dan Godfrey settled for a repriseof The Golden Legend.

The Birth of The Bournemouth Municipal Choir

Tod und Verklärung AD: After Dan Godfrey

taken at 10.30pm on 12th December 1911 in the old Winter Gardens after two performances of Mendelssohn’s Elijah

It was too soon for the Choir’s name to be established: Bournemouth Municipal Choral Society (sic!) This picture catches a relaxed moment, sounusual for the time. Look at the Mayor leaning towards a young soloist and is she showing a trace of ankle?

It’s a Civic occasion with the Councillors fully robed, yet they are enjoying to the full their obvious pride in their own Municipal Choir.

The First Picture of The Bournemouth Municipal Choir

The ladies wore sashes right from the start. The sopranos, on the left of this image, wore them over their right shoulder and the contraltos were a mirrorimage. The men sport a higher percentage of dinner jackets than they achieved 20 years later. Does that suggest that the choir became less middle classand more representative of Bournemouth as a whole during that period? The soloists were boosted by members of the choir. I think it’s the contralto soloist,Violet Eliott, on Dan Godfrey’s right that has caught the eye of the orchestra’s leader. Dan, himself, looks calm and composed. He came from a family ofmilitary musicians and had been taught the value of good preparation. The other professional soloists were Emily Breare, Ernest Pike (with hands on knees)and the Australian bass, Peter Dawson.

The first season was a busy one. After Elijahthe choir moved to British music with apairing of parts of Coleridge–Taylor’sHiawatha (conducted, naturally, by itscomposer) with The Challenge, a choralballad by the Choir’s own conductor HenryHolloway. The Musical Times reported of thelast event, a concert performance ofGounod’s opera Faust:

“The music, of course, did not put thecapabilities of the choir to any great test, butthe singing was expressive and the work of theorchestra, exceptionally fine.“

Coleridge-Taylor fever gripped Edwardianchoirs and the easy tunefulness of Hiawathamade them select the composer’s later pieceA Tale of Old Japan with great expectations.So, it was in Bournemouth: if 1912 had beenthe year of the North American Indians, 1913started as the time for world music. “CapitalPerformance, … extremely efficient soloists,”yelled the Musical Times’s critic as helistened to a Japanese Cantata by an Englishcomposer of African descent, who, sadly,had died prematurely of pneumonia. Thepiece recaptures the freshness, melodiccharm and rhythmic variety of Coleridge-Taylor’s early Hiawatha trilogy. The story, apoem by Alfred Noyes, plots the love ofSawara, an art student, for O Kimi San, theward of his teacher Yoichi Tenko. Sawaratravels abroad to pursue his career whilstKimi San’s marriage to a rich merchant isarranged by Yoichi Tenko. Sawara returnsfamous but his love for Kimi San has cooled.Sawara’s affection for him remainsundimmed and she dies of a broken heart.

This sensitive, Eastern pastel was coupledwith The Wedding of Shon Maclean, aScottish piece set by a West Countrycomposer that relates how twenty bagpipersdrank and blew themselves to death at awedding reception. (John) Hubert Bath, thecomposer, who had been born in Barnstaple,went on to fame as a writer of film music; hearranged and composed for the first British“talkie” Blackmail (1929). There was a timewhen his Cornish Rhapsody (from the filmLove Story) was ubiquitous on wirelessprogrammes such as Friday Night is MusicNight.

Perhaps, it was singing Bath’s revelry thatinspired the members of the Municipal Choirto hold its first Social and Dance, though, nodoubt, Bournemouth’s reputation for health,salubrity and sobriety ensured that the tenor ofthe evening was not marred by bass instincts.Edward German was back by the seaside andonce more at the helm of his Merrie Englandat Easter 1913. Further repeat performancesfollowed.

Now that the choir has completed onehundred years of continuous existence, 21stcentury choristers may be surprised to learnthat the work most often conducted by itscomposer over the last century has beenGerman’s comic opera.

Fortified by moral support from the town’scorporation the Municipal Choir consolidatedand grew. By 1914, the “Newling” tradition ofthe annual Messiah had been maintained andnotable performances had been given of

Hubert Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens andMendelssohn’s Elijah – both scores requiringdouble choirs. Parry’s piece became almostthe choir’s signature tune. Parry’s birth inBournemouth, where his mother had fled inthe forlorn hope of curing the tubercularcondition that killed her within a fortnight ofthe composer’s birth, ensured that his musicbecame almost as “municipal” as the choirand orchestra.

In those days, concerts by the BournemouthMunicipal Choir had life before birth. It wasthe choir’s habit in its early years to hold itslast dress rehearsal in public andadvertisements in the press ensured thatthose too impecunious to pay for a ticket andthose serious musicians wishing to get togrips with novel scores knew that they weremore than welcome to attend. So, effectively,Tom Jones, was on show on threeoccasions: Monday (public rehearsal),and Tuesday (3pm & 8pm, tickets 1s to 3s),each time with Edward German at the helm.

The choir joined the Orchestra to celebratethe Municipal Orchestra’s 21st birthday at thestart of the Winter Season in 1914 with aconcert version of Berlioz’s Damnation ofFaust that drew plaudits in the local press:“one of the most successful choral concertson local record”.

Most years neither choir nor orchestra wascosting the rate-payers of Bournemouth apenny thanks to the careful (and proud)stewardship of Dan Godfrey.

MADAME NEWLING’S CHOIR

THE FINAL CONCERTSafter her Death

on Tuesday, 25th April 1911

includedthe First Performance

of the Concert Version of

Merrie England

conducted by its composer

Edward German

The cover and three pages from the programme for these historicconcerts may be seen to the left and on the next page.

The Choir remained an arm of localgovernment until 1921 when it became self-governing. This was a defensive measure toensure the choir’s future. Money was shortand the choir had enjoyed favourable terms,and the costs of promoting its concerts andpaying for the Municipal Orchestra and itsconductor Dan Godfrey had come from ticketreceipts, supported, where necessary frommoney from ratepayers.

Councillors were not as supportive of musicand the arts as they had been before the Warand Dan didn’t want the tightening of the towncouncil’s fiscal belt to jeopardise the choir thathe’d nurtured.

Independence gave the Choir freedom toexperiment. The Christmas Messiahs weredeclared great successes, financially andartistically. The Secretary, Arthur Cherrett,reported that “massing” the Choir together hadgiven greater unity and togetherness. Thesecond experiment he judged a failure.Coleridge Taylor’s A Tale of Old Japan tookplace Bournemouth Town Hall during April1922. “Never again” was the verdict on theHall’s acoustics, facilities and ability to attracta decent audience in Holy Week.

At the start of the 1922-23 season, the choir’s220 members were asked to rank which worksthey would like to feature in the season.

They advised:

1st concert Sullivan The Golden Legend2nd concert Handel Messiah3rd concert Dvorak Stabat Mater4th concert Mendelssohn Elijah

Choirs tend to be conservative and thatselection looks Victorian. Maybe the audienceagreed because the November performance ofthe Sullivan was poorly attended. The Choir’sofficers blamed a clash of dates with theunveiling of the town’s War Memorial.

The 1920s : Independence and Consolidation

IN MEMORY OF CHARLES HUBERT HASTINGS PARRY, BT C.V.O. D.C.L.Mus.DocBorn in this town 27th February, 1848

A great musician whose influence on British Music will always be remembered.This tablet is placed here by the Members of the

Bournemouth Centre of the British Music Society 1923

It was Dan, sorry, Sir Dan after he had beenhonoured for services to British music in 1922, whosquashed the idea of Dvorak’s Stabat Mater.Elijah with a strong quartet of soloists featured asthe third concert whilst Sir Dan suggested a Bachand Parry Concert at Easter.

The Choir was conducted by a celebrity guestconductor for the first time: Sir Hugh Allen of theBach Choir. The occasion was connected withthe Bournemouth Centre of the British MusicSociety that was having a plaque erected to SirHubert Parry in the Winter Gardens. Graham Peelwas for a number of years the local CentreChairman of The British Music Society, a nationalbody founded by the enthusiastic Dr EaglefieldHull to promote British music and composers.One of their achievements on the South Coastwas organising the fund-raising for a plaquehonouring Sir Hubert Parry, born by chance inBournemouth, Hubert’s mother having been sentto Bournemouth in a vain attempt to regain herhealth. The plaque was unveiled on 18th

April 1923 by Sir Hugh Allen, in the WinterGardens, the town’s ageing miniature CrystalPalace and Concert Hall. [It now resides inthe town’s Music Library.]

Sir Hubert Parry had assumed the Professorshipof Music at the University of Oxford in 1900 whenPeel was still a post-graduate music student.Whilst Parry’s role at Oxford was not onerous (afew lectures per year) and didn’t require him to bein residence it is likely that the two met during theearly years of the 20th century. Graham Peel heldParry in high esteem. No doubt it was GrahamPeel who ensured that Sir Hugh Allen was presentto do the unveiling honours in Bournemouth. Laterin November of 1923 The Times critic commented

on what he termed a “revival” of Berlioz’s TheDamnation of Faust:

“The Bournemouth Choir gave an interestingperformance. They are settling down after theirre-organization into a competent body of 250singers. They are not yet as responsive as theymight be; their sopranos are sometimesphlegmatic, and the basses are neither sovoluminous nor so profound as might be desired.The tenors, except for some difficulty with veryhigh notes are unusually good, and by somemiracle do not bleat but sing.”

A new Chorus Master, Hadley Watkins, wasappointed to replace Thomas Crawford whohad emigrated. Hadley Watkins had a fine,ringing Welsh tenor voice and he was wontto sing along with the Choir causing severalcomments that if he were to shut up, he mighthear the choir more clearly and be able betterto correct errors.

The last concert of the 1923-4 season at theend of the Easter Festival reinforcedBournemouth’s pride as the birthplace of Parrywith the town’s first performance of his oratorioJudith. Artistically, the venture was a greatsuccess but the Box Office was disastrous,showing a net loss on the Concert. Theseason’s finances, like many to follow, weresaved only by the twin Messiahs at Christmas.But the Morning Post commented:

“It was no empty compliment that the Choirpaid to the memory of the great composer.The task was heavy with many passages wellworthy of the choralists’ skill. The Choirbrought ... improved attack, more resonanttone, and generally showed a marked andgratifying advance on its previous efforts.”

Time for caution: Messiah and Elijah bothappeared in the 1924-5 season to the surpriseof many in the Choir who felt that they knewboth so well that there would be nothing to doin rehearsals. Hadley Watkins quicklydispelled their concerns: his aim was noteperfection which was so necessary in piecesthat the audience, too, knew backwards.Hiawatha ended the season and included RoyHenderson, a future conductor of the Choir,appearing in fine fettle for the first time inBournemouth.

Sir Dan Godfrey pictured late in his career,apparently conducting from a piano score.

This photograph was taken during the visit of Sir Hugh Allen in 1923. Excepting occasions when composers, such as Edward German, conductedtheir own works, without receiving a fee, this was the first time the Choir had been directed and assessed by a visiting conductor. Incidentally,the image reveals a problem of the Choir’s own making. Its habit was to give two concerts in a day, but many in the choir were workers. Thus,the afternoon performance was graced, as was this picture, by a more elderly, sedate section. The standard of those performances were lowerthan the repeats in the evening but critics from London invariably filed early on the basis of the afternoon performance.

photograph by Bailey, Glen Fern

The Bournemouth Municipal Choir outside the Winter Gardens April 1923

1. Sir Dan Godfrey absent Godfather to the Bournemouth Municipal Choir2. Sir Hugh Allen in trench coat and trenchant mood.3. Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie composer4. Miss Elsie Suddaby soprano soloist5. Edwin Evans distinguished critic from The Times

6. Mrs Elizabeth Peel mother of Graham Peel7. Mrs Percy Dixon [née Katharine Graham Peel]8. Graham Peel composer & philanthropist9. Hadley Watkins future Chorus Master of The Choir10 Hamilton Law of the British Music Society

Key to people in this photograph:

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 89 10

The tenor Archibald Winter must be another in the front row. Sopranos are to the left as you look at the picture and contraltos to the right.

This record was probably commissioned and paid for by Graham Peel who lived in Bath Road with his mother, Elizabeth. He was a great enthusiastfor the British Music Society and with Hamilton Law, energised and funded its Bournemouth section. All had gathered not only for the Concertbut also to unveil the new plaque to Sir Hubert Parry. The evidence of their dresses suggests that Mrs Percy Dixon, later to become the Presidentof the Choir, and her mother, both supporters of the British Music Society, joined in with the Choir in its two performances on that chilly April day.

Bizet’s Carmen show-cased Enid Cruickshankin the title role but the audience stayed athome. King Olaf demonstrated the Choir’sincreasing confidence in unaccompaniedpassages but the 1925-6 season was not afinancial success and the Choir was fearfulthat its independence from the Municipalitywas at risk.In the subsequent season, thecommittee responded to Sir Dan’sadvice that they should go for “star”names as soloists by selectingHorace Stevens as Elijah andWalter Widdop, Margaret Balfourand Roy Henderson for The Dreamof Gerontius. Unfortunately, thestars failed to fill the WinterGardens, particularly in the Elgar,and the Choir’s committeecontinued to wrestle withmaintaining the interest of singersyet not sacrificing the support of thepublic. The combination of Acis &Galatea with The MysticTrumpeter (Harty) failed to turn thetide, but German’s Merrie Englandin the presence of its composer,again proved to be a financial saviour. TheChoir’s 17th season should have started witha welcome return of Edward German toconduct his Tom Jones, but serious illnessthat blinded him in one eye had broughtGerman’s conducting career to a sudden close.

Graham Peel had become chairman of theChoir replacing Mr W.G. Cooper, who hadbeen involved with choral music inBournemouth for forty years and had led the

Choir’s committee since 1913. Mr. Cooperremained as a 2nd bass. At Peel’s instigationthe first Bournemouth performance of Bach’sSt John Passion was successfully attempted.Herbert Eisdell was its distinguished, clear-toned Evangelist. John Andrew’s “delightfullymellow” bass was so admired that the Choir’s

committee invited him to sing in its nextConcert - a concert performance of Wagner’sTannhauser. This pair of concerts soldheavily but the earlier, afternoon performanceteetered on the brink of disaster. Its problem,shared by many afternoon concert through the1920s was the absenteeism amongst thechorus, and in particular, its men. The Choirdrew heavily on those who worked on aSaturday afternoon and who couldn’t ask fortime off three or four times a year.

It is possible that poor choir discipline and thefailure of some members to be regulars atpractices undermined the committee’s faith inits voluble Chorus Master, Hadley Watkins.The workload needed in a schedule containingfour pairs of concert was too much, especiallywhen three of the works: Tom Jones, the St

John Passion and Tannhauserwere new to many members.Basses, in particular, suffered aloss of morale and the 1928-29season started with an unusuallylow number of them. Sir Dan,fortunately, had weighed in,declaring three pairs of concerts tobe the ideal season for the Choir.In any case, the season had to betruncated because of the plannedclosure of the Choir’s home: theBournemouth Winter Gardens.The seasons’s new work wasElgar’s The Music Makers,twinned with Coleridge Taylor’s ATale of Old Japan. Sir EdwardElgar himself suggested JoanElwes should take the soprano

solo in his work. The Christmas Messiahs werea great success with soloists suggested byGraham Peel. The Choir banked £227 from thepair of concerts.

The St Matthew Passion should have been theclimax of the season, but its double chorusesexceeded the choir’s capacity to becomeconfident in them, given the foreshortenedrehearsal period. In its place Bach’s St JohnPassion was repeated less than a year on fromits first appearance in Bournemouth.

War years are difficult for all choirs because somany members depart to serve in the forces.Uncertainty caused the Municipal Choir tosuspend its programme in September 1939. Thecommittee ruled that a minimum membership of100 would warrant resumption. In fact, 150 turnedout for the first rehearsal and a revisedprogramme, starting with miscellaneous choraland orchestral pieces in November wasscheduled. Eventually the SATB balance(68;59;29; 33) was declared to be “very good”.

During the Second World War, members of thearmed forces posted to the Bournemouth arearevelled in the musical riches of their temporaryhome. The Secretary, Mr Stanley Arthur, notedthat “the Choir has been strengthened by theadmission of voices in all parts and we havebeen pleased to welcome singers who havebeen evacuated to the town”.

Bus services may have been restricted, but thetensions of war encouraged people to seeksolace through music.

The Choir’s Secretary reported at the end of the1939 to 1940 season, “No fewer than 6,543persons attended our five concerts and it is to benoted that the Pavilion’s share in the profits was£304.”

The programme had been a safe one (Messiah x2, Elijah and Creation). This was necessarybecause Herbert Pierce, the Choir’s newConductor, was enthusiastic, but had succeededFrank Idle one of the finest choir trainers it hasbeen our lot to work under.

One of those whose musicianship was developedwas Pte Arnold W. Jones who was posted toBournemouth for six years. He joined theMunicipal Choir and sang under Dr Reginald

Jacques and Roy Henderson. Arnold Jonesdeveloped a taste for singing and he went on tojoin a broadcasting choir, a male voice choir and achurch choir. He ended up as the conductor ofWolverton’s Light Orchestra and Gilbert andSullivan Society.

Some Bournemouth women fell in love with G.I.sand Commonwealth fighting men. Barbara Sydeeworked in the Bournemouth Music Library and wasa first soprano in the Municipal Choir. She met anAmerican soldier; they fell in love, and when theywere married her wedding gown was fashionedfrom parachute silk. After the War, the couplesettled in Minneapolis, USA where Barbarabecame a lifelong member of the local Gilbert andSullivan Operatic Society.

The Choir During Two World Wars

Chorus Masters and members came andwent during World War I but the beat ofthe “Musical Magician”, Dan Godfrey,pictured here by Bournemouth artistEustace Nash, went on.

To sing Bach’s Mass in B minor for the first timewas an achievement for the war-torn Choir in1941, even if, as reports suggest, theperformance wasn’t terrific. Perhaps for the firsttime, the accompanying orchestra was not theMunicipal but the London Philharmonic.Fortunately, the great choir trainer, Dr ReginaldJacques, came by train to Bach’s rescue. Heperformed the work twice on the same day in theChoir’s next (31st) season, this time accompaniedby the resurrected home orchestra. DonaldBrook, the distinguished viola player, once wrote:

If you ever meet a musician whose enthusiasmstrikes you like a tornado, it will be Dr ReginaldJacques.

Jacques was born in Leicestershire in 1894 andhis prodigious talents were recognised when hewas appointed organist and choirmaster to StLuke’s, Sheffield at the age of fifteen. Seriouslywounded in World War I he spent months inhospital in Oxford, time that he used to gain adegree. Soon, Reginald conducted orchestrasand choirs across Oxford. Choirs loved him andby 1932 he had been appointed to theconductorship of the London Bach Choir. DrJacques became famous for his Bachinterpretations. At the outbreak of World War II,Dr Jacques organised children’s concerts, but theauthorities withdrew their support, fear ing theoutcry that would have occurred if a bomb fellonto a theatre packed with children.

Reginald moved to C.E.M.A. (Council for theEncouragement of Music and the Arts). Being agood organiser, he quickly became its musicalchairman. That organisation later transformedinto the Arts Council of Great Britain. Meanwhile,

travelling under wartime restrictions. BrahmsGerman Requiem framed World War II for theChoir. When Richard Austin conducted it in March1939, few anticipated war with Germany.However, when Roy Henderson revived the workin November 1945, memories of the conflict werefresh and raw. It is interesting to see that the Choirtook precautions and advertised the work asBrahms Requiem.

The Choir responded differently during theaftermaths of the two wars. Britain after World WarI found it difficult to deal with the appalling scale ofits losses. The Twenties were characterised by abrittle gaiety. The Choir caught the mood byreviving Edward German’s Merrie England andthen moving to his Tom Jones. Perhaps there wasa nod towards harsh times when Hamilton Harty’sThe Mystic Trumpeter was sung in 1920, but itseffect may have been negated by beingprogrammed with Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast.

Roy Henderson, deeply moved by World War II,reflected this in his notes to the Choir. In the yearsthat followed he conducted Arthur Bliss’s MorningHeroes. Its an in memoriam piece for thosesoldiers, including Arthur’s brother, Kennard, killedin the World War I. One of the poems that Blissused includes a reference to “the driver desertinghis wagon in the street, the salesman leaving hisstore, the boss, the book-keeper, porter, allleaving.” (Walt Whitman “Drum Taps”) Amongstsuch workers were members of the MunicipalChoir. Henderson performed Ralph VaughanWilliams’ cantata Dona Nobis Pacem in 1948.Choir and audience would have been as one inhoping that peace was there to stay.

back in Bournemouth, Reginald Jacques wasappointed Conductor of its Municipal Choir afteran appallingly unsuccessful interregnum underReginald Goodall. Goodall's concern forcomplete accuracy and his off-putting mannerupset the Choir, but not as much as his tendencyto conduct rehearsals SITTING DOWN! Jacques’bubbling enthusiasm and technical expertiseacted as soothing balm for the Choir. ButReginald was doing too much and he hated

Dr. Reginald JacquesConductor 1941-2

Geoffrey Hughes preparing Britten in 1979

Bournemouth Symphony Youth Chorus (BSYC)

The BSC was invited by the Dorset YouthOrchestra to take part in a performanceof Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony inthe Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, whichwas followed by a collaboration onGrande Messe Des Morts by BerliozRequiem. After this there wascorrespondence between Carolyn andRichard Ely (then Dorset’s Director ofEducation) that a Youth Choir should beset up which would be supported by theBSC who would run awareness raisingworkshops for young people in andaround Bournemouth and Poole. Richardpersuaded Pat Hymers, Chair of theEducation Committee, to take the idea

forward and the BSO agreed to provideprogramming opportunities for the YouthChoir. The first partnership meeting tookplace at Poole Arts Centre attended byAndrew Burn for the BSO, Carolyn Datefor the BSC, plus Pat Hymers & RichardEly for Dorset County Council, DavidNorton for the Dorset Music Service, withSteve Gregson representing schools. TheBSC set up vocal workshops for childrenin the conurbation led by Neville Creedsupported by Liz Nayler, BSC EducationLiaison Officer. Children weresubsequently auditioned by Liz Nayler,who was invited by DMS to become theFounder Director, and Malcolm Burdett was

appointed as accompanist. Thus, the Dorset YouthChoir (DYC) was formed in 1997 with a TrainingChoir for younger children. The BSC stipulated thatthe Children’s Choir must be trained to read music,and be comfortable when led by differentconductors. The DYC was a success from the start,and has since taken part in many high profile eventswith the BSC, the BSO and other bodies. Itsworkshops continue led by well known musicians,including Gareth Malone and Paul Rissman.

The BSC took over formal management of the choirin 2004 when the name changed to BournemouthSymphony Youth Chorus and the BSC becameresponsible for the future viability of the youth choir.The BSYC is supported financially by over 80members of the BSC who are Patrons for theyouth choir as well as providing practical supportfor rehearsals and concerts. Sue Gosling, alsoa BSC member, is Secretary; and she is supportedby De Ashton, Margaret Burdett and other membersof the BSC who act as chaperones and othernecessary roles.

The BSC actively generates opportunities for theYouth Chorus, and has included them in theirCommissions. The BSYC has had four Directors,Elizabeth Nayler, (interim directors Andrew Knightsand Steve Gregson) Cathy Lamb, Fiona Clarkewith Elizabeth Nayler returning to her old postin 2009. Elizabeth Nayler’s work has beenat the heart of the BSYC’s progress. Afterher retirement in 2012 she was succeeded bythe very highly regarded conductor Jean Holt.Malcolm Burdett remained their inspiring accompanistthroughout this period until his untimely deathin 2009, after which his daughter, KatherineWills, has been appointed to this role.

Having left behind church singing as a boy choristerI found the BSYC to be a fantastic opportunity tocarry on with my singing. The experiences I had withthe choir encouraged me to audition for the adultchorus, especially after having collaborated withthem as part of the recording of Carmina Burana in2006. After I left the BSYC I went on to sing with theNational Youth Choir and took part in the EtonChoral Courses. I have recently graduated fromCambridge University reading music where I held achoral scholarship and sang in various guises frommusical theatre to close harmony groups and evena boy band! Singing with the BSYC gave me theconfidence to pursue singing seriously and movingto the BSC gave me an enviable, professional choraltraining not to mention many unforgettableexperiences.

James Partridge first bass

Mum and Dad are members of the BSC so as a childI sat in on rehearsals and went to concerts when theydid tours abroad. When the Youth Chorus wasfounded I was eager to audition and brimmed withpride as I told my parents that I was to be a memberof the new choir. Monday rehearsals proved to beexciting and challenging but above all enormous fun.The music was beautiful and performances gave mea great sense of achievement; it was satisfying tofind that everything came together and all our effortspaid off. Later on I discovered just how therapeuticsinging could be; however stressful my schoolworkor exams were there was nothing that a good doseof singing couldn’t cure. (I still hold this view nowalthough homework has been replaced withhousework, and maths tests with getting my twosmall boys ready to leave for school in the morning!)

We were able to sing in some fantastic venues ofwhich the Royal Albert Hall sticks in my mind for itsgargantuan proportions. Singing alongside the adultchorus with the symphony orchestra made a greatimpression on me and I remember drinking in all theinstruction and advice I could from the celebratedconductors with whom we were working. I lovedlistening to the breath-taking soloists and anyorchestral pieces that were on programme. Thechoir have the best seats in the house! It was at choirthat I first met Maurice. As rehearsals went by wegot to know each other better and became goodfriends. Love blossomed and we became an item -we are now married! We moved away but have sincereturned and so I have been able to join the BSC. Ihad missed singing in a choir. The Chorus isdemanding at times but I relish the challenge. I amdiscovering so much music. Being part of the hugesound created by so many voices is a great feelingand I am not ashamed to admit that I find performingagain exhilarating.

Emily Walters second soprano

I've been connected to the BournemouthSymphony Chorus for several years starting withthe Youth Chorus when I was fourteen. I’veenjoyed so many exciting opportunities with bothchoirs but two in particular come to mind. Onewas my first performance of Carmina Burana- Ihad never sung in anything so loud! The secondwas when I had to dress up as a 'tart' to play thepart of a Gossip in Britten's Noye's Fludde, not myusual concert dress!

I was lucky to have so many opportunities to singwith professional orchestras and soloists from ayoung age. It was experiences like these thatinspired me to go on to pursue a career in singing.I am coming to the end of singing in GenesisSixteen this year, a training choir led by HarryChristophers and the Sixteen, and I'm lookingforward to what the future will bring.

Hannah Ely first soprano

Floreat BSYC, Floreat BSC!The BSYC performances during the BSC’sCentenary Season have been stunning, andinclude Not in Our Time concerts and recording,the David Fanshawe memorial concert, CarminaBurana in Bristol and Poole, and Chalk Legendin Weymouth as part of the 2012 CulturalOlympiad. During that season, the BSC had 14singers who were graduates from the BSYC. Inaddition, other former members have sung withthe Chorus for a while before moving away toattend Universities. All are excellent singers, anda testament to the value of this work. At least eightother members of BSC have come from otheryouth choirs in the area. Youth Choirs representthe future well-being of the BSC, and are animportant musical and social investment.

Carolyn Date Chorus Manager BSC

Four graduates of the BSYC tell their stories …

I joined the BSYC or Dorset Youth Choir as we wereknown then in 1997 when I was 11 years old. Therewere about 40 of us in the original training choir. LizNayler was the boss and Malcolm Burdett playedpiano for us. At first we rehearsed in Hamworthy,Poole before moving to Ferndown Middle School onMonday evenings. One of the first concerts Iremember was at the Poole Arts Centre when wesang 'Snowman' at Christmas. The best memorieswere when we sang Carmina Burana at the RoyalAlbert Hall in London, April 2000, what an amazingplace! A brilliant time was when we went on tourto France and had an great time at Disneylandsinging to fellow tourists, I still remember the words.I feel privileged to be one of the original membersof the BSYC and to still be singing with the BSC isgreat.

Stephen Ballantine first tenor

Royal Occasions

Arthur Bliss visited Bournemouth fairly regularly as composer/conductor.In 1922 he appeared as enfant terrible to perform Rout and his ColourSymphony. A local critic accused Bliss of a further vice: “cleverness”. Thenoisy, cocky brat no doubt gave some of the ladies in the Winter Gardensa touch of the vapours, and the accustomed soothing aroma from the pineswould have made astringent by the opening of “smelling salts”.

By the 1950s Bliss, always a charming, correct, chivalrous man with ano-nonsense military bearing, had mellowed. A knighthood recognised hismusical gifts, and he succeeded Sir Arnold Bax as Master of the Queen’sMusic in 1953. Arthur was a backwards-looking figure, a lover of heritage(he put back a k into the Queen’s Musick) who personified the British musicalscene. What better person to help the Western Orchestral Society in 1954in its bid to rescue the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, from the ashesof the doomed Municipal Orchestra? Bliss became President of the Society,and he brought, if not “by appointment to the Queen”, continuity guaranteedby the establishment.

Thus, when Groves and the Orchestra were invited to perform at the 1959Royal Concert it was appropriate to include a piece by Bliss. Groves chosehis Pastoral: Lie Strewn the White Flocks (1928), one of the first piecesthat showed Bliss moving from the English avant-garde towards a morerestrained, classical style. The work, which is dedicated to Elgar, uses amedley of Greek texts and calls for flute, soprano, strings and a mixed chorus.It allowed the Municipal Choir to sing for royalty for the first time.

Above (left): Assistant Chorus Master and Accompanist, ChristopherDowie gives last minute instructions to the crew of her majesty’s choira.k.a. the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, some of whom are seen tothe right and below.

The date is the 11th October, 2010 and the place is the Ocean CruiseTerminal in Southampton Docks. The BSO, Chorus and BSYC ChamberChoir, conductor Anthony Inglis, soloist Lesley Garrett, bands and musicianshave assembled to entertain the Queen and the guests at the official namingceremony for the new Cunard Cruise Liner M.V. Queen Elizabeth.

A notelet from Alastair Smith (Chairman of the Chorus in 2010)

And ... more recently the Royal trip when the Queen came to Southampton to name the QueenElizabeth. Security was tight - you needed your distemper certificate ... the insight into howstage-managed it was. To be part of that and to sing , , etc. inarrangements that didn't slap on the emotions with a trowel but with a bloody, big shovel. Forme, being Scottish, I noticed a couple of piper - one a wee lassie. That was the only time I've sungaccompanied by bagpipes. The pipes introduced and then there was Lesley Garrett,giving her all. It was "pomp and stomp" stuff, but it was great, being part of history, singing toTerry Waite, and a great diversity of people.

Naming the MV Queen Elizabeth

Close your eyes and think of Beethoven’s NinthSymphony and what do you hear in your mind’sear? Probably the Ode to Joy. But let’s enterH.G. Wells’ Time Machine and travel back toBournemouth in 1925 and Dan Godfrey, the yearbefore Felix Weingartner’s epoch-making firstelectrical recording with the London SymphonyOrchestra. Let’s pose the same question. Theanswers from music lovers then would be veryvaried. Some would remember the hesitant stringfigure that starts the work, others the strikingfusillade in the Scherzo and most of the rest wouldopt for a moment of stillness from the slowmovement. Few might conjure up the finale’smemorable tune despite the symphony havingreceived many performances in the Old WinterGardens, such was Dan’s delight in completesymphonic cycles. Why did the public not registerthe Choral Symphony’s crowning glory?

Well, when Godfrey advertised Beethoven’s 9th ina programme, the small print would mention thatonly the first three movements would be played.Godfrey, Austin, and all the BMO conductors beforeRudolf Schwarz, NEVER conducted the Choralfinale of the Choral Symphony in Bournemouth.

By extension, the Bournemouth Municipal Choirdidn’t sing the work until the Choir was 40 years old.Even then, it couldn’t claim the peak for itself, havingjoined choral societies such as Salisbury’s in staginga performance suitable for the Festival of BritainThat first complete performance included ElizabethSchwarzkopf as a soloist and she sat amongst thechoir’s sopranos. I wonder who had the honour ofsitting beside her!

There is little doubt that Bournemouth and itsorchestra holds the world record for the greatestnumber of non-choral performances of the ChoralSymphony. It’s a title, if not an honour, which it’sunlikely ever to lose because although such practicewas not uncommon then, it would be unthinkable todo this today. What other factors caused the choirand its conductors to delay their assault on one ofthe highest peaks in the Alpine range of choralmasterpieces?

Of course, size matters in such things. With thebest will in the world, Harry Christophers and TheSixteen couldn’t attempt a Choral Symphonywithout mikes, speakers and gizmos. Beethovenneeded something big. The Bournemouth MunicipalChoir always had the numbers of voices; it startedwith over 200 and when it moved to the “new” WinterGardens after World War II, the broad stage couldaccommodate two such choirs, if necessary. Yet,lack of tenors was a hardy perennial. Wessex isn’t

Wales; tenors don’t grow on pine trees. In hisnative South Wales, Hadley Watkins, the BMCChorus Master in the 1920s, could pipe down ashaft, “Tenners”, and a cage of black-faced minerswould be sent up, eager to cast away their pitprops in favour of Hadley’s favourite tonic sol-fascore props. So keen to support the tenor line wasHadley, a mellifluous tenor himself, that he sangalong in rehearsal and performance, causing atleast one member to complain that if Mr Watkinssang a little less, he would hear the flaws andvirtues of the choir a little more.

Whose programme is it anyway? At its inception,the Municipal Choir was an instrument of localgovernment, subservient to the will of theorchestra’s conductor, Dan Godfrey. He was apragmatist: if it worked as written, he’d programmeit; if not, he would adapt it by truncation, selection,or rescoring.

Bournemouth’s Unfinished Symphony

David Lewis was a Choirstalwart for 40 years from1954. A proud Welshman,his bass voiced was heard in16 performances of theChoral Symphony.

Truncation was his recipe for the 9th partlybecause he knew of “the issue”. Say it not in Gathbut for the first half of its existence, the choir’ssoprano line was more stout than svelte, itsaverage age mature and matronly, and its statusrefined and genteel. Ladies don’t push; withoutpush and much support, Beethoven’s blazing topline, which highlights top As sprinkled with Bs forextra glitter, sounds pallid: more joyless than joyful.

The work demands toned bodies, allied to a go forit attitude. Many a modern conductor must rejoicethat the Singing, Swinging Sixties, Women’s Liband the Gym culture have made women fit, free tosing without frisson of fear the great rising phrasethat ends with a fortissimo high A held for eightbars:

“Seid umschlungen, Millionen!Diese Kuss der ganzen Welt.”

“Be embraced, millions!This kiss for the whole world.”

Conductors are as terrified of not doing justice toBeethoven’s most demanding symphony as arechoirs. Rudolph Schwarz wanted to programmethe piece from his earliest days in Bournemouth,but Roy Henderson assessed that his choir wasunready for the challenge.

Some notable recordings in the 1960s faked thechoirs by filling the seats entirely, or almostentirely, with professional singers but still claimingthat the record featured this or that amateur choralsociety or chorus.

In 1970, one conductor brought along someprofessionals to help the Bournemouth choirwithout getting either its, or its chorus master’s,permission to do so. Nothing antagonises choirs

more. It’s as if their collars have been felt, judgedtoo limp and been reinforced by the addition ofvisible collar stiffeners. As for the chorus master,he demanded an apology or else he threatenedto refuse to work again with Maestro XXXX!

Graham Parkin puts his finger on why the ChoralSymphony appears far more frequently duringrecent decades; it’s a long sit followed by adraining sing. Beethoven coined it a “Symphonywith Final Chorus of Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ for fullorchestra, 4 soli and 4 chorus parts”.

Choral societies are more likely to vote for atraditional evening-long oratorio replete withchoruses for a term of busy rehearsals or worksrequiring fewer expensive soloists. Symphonieswith choral finales suit the immediate needs oforchestras better than choirs. After the MunicipalChoir became the Bournemouth SymphonyChorus, the orchestra’s management had agreater say in determining joint programmes.

Works like Beethoven’s Choral and Mahler’sResurrection Symphony have enjoyed a greatincrease in performance frequency by the Chorusin the last decades. They have become repertoirepieces and the choir has been able to diversify, todevote practice time to extra concerts, sometimesunaccompanied, or with organ or small ensembleaccompaniments.

A final thought: if an orchestra can play an un-choral choral symphony, then a choir can finish anunfinished symphony. In Constantin Silvestri’stime, the Municipal Choir “completed” Bruckner’sunfinished 9th Symphony with his Te Deum.(That concert in the 1968 Easter Festival includedsome of the BSO’s finest playing under Silvestri,according to one informed commentator).Stylistically, the two works shout at each other, soarbiters of taste have criticised such programming.Scheduling these two Bruckner works in the sameconcert was as odd as playing Beethoven’s 9thsans finale.

POSTCARDfrom Graham Parkin

first tenor

POST CARD

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is huge sing, even for achoir of 150. One performance that stays in mymemory was with the BSO and Richard Hickox inPlymouth Pavilions about 15 years ago. Amidweek event, its early coach departure and anepidemic conspired to reduce our numbers to 67.Neville sang to boost the basses and Hickox gavelots of encouragement to give our all. When wegot to the bass entry, I could feel the platformshaking with the effort they made. Somehow wedid it. Richard Hickox had a look of amazementat the volume we produced. It just goes to showwhat you can get out of terrified people!

from Jean Harveyvice president

This anniversary was not formally celebrated but itsprogramme had special character. The earlier concert wasa concert performance of Saint-Saens Samson and Delilah,the third grand opera that the choir had performed (Wagner’sTannhäuser and Bizet’s Carmen having preceded it).

The Easter Concert was a second attempt under Frank Idleto do justice to Verdi’s Requiem Mass. Sadly, Noel Eadie,the soprano soloist, was taken ill and had to be substitutedat the last minute. One wonders whether the task of singingthe demanding part twice in the same day overwhelmed her.

Curiously, the Choir held its own, informal celebration, inadvance, as this notice placed in the Annual Report for the24th Season (1934-35) shows:

Silver Jubilee in 1936-37

The choir’s Golden Jubilee was celebrated by a receptiongiven by the Mayor, Councillor Deric Scott. Blanche Fraserand Stanley Arthur both attended. Both had sung in theChoir’s first concert. Stanley Arthur remained as a tenor.Fittingly, he sang solo in part of German’s Merrie Englandand was joined in other excerpts by leading members includingDavid Mills, Ethel Fullerton, Donald Sheppard, Joan Price,Victor Thomas and Anne Dunn. Deric Scott revealed that hehad been a member for five seasons before World War II whenFrank Idle had been the conductor. The chairman, Mr Travis,responded and stated that he could skip the audition andre-join, if he wished!

The anniversary season hadstarted with a performance ofVerdi’s opera Nabucco and endedwith a performance of Bach’s StMatthew Passion at Easter 1962,the first time that a full version ofBach’s masterpiece lasting overfour hours had been heard inBournemouth. Charles Groves,with his usual care for style,employed Millicent Silver onharpsichord and Cyril Knight onorgan. The Choir sang well and itsmen were “notably solid in tone”according to the BournemouthEcho’s music critic.

The rehearsal for the Silver Jubilee Celebrationwill be held in the

Richmond Congregational Church Lecture Theatreon Tuesday, April 30th at 7.30p.m. [1935!]

Please bring your copies of theHallelujah Chorus and Jerusalem.

Choir Celebrations

Golden Jubilee in 1961-62

The Season, technically the Municipal Choir’s 59th, commencedwith Verdi’s Requiem Mass under Bernard Keeffe, the fifthconductor to work on the piece with the Municipal Choir. Althoughthe Choir must have seen this as a special event, Verdi’sRequiem had yet to become the crowd-pleaser that it did in laterdecades and the Winter Gardens was less than two thirds full.

After a successful Messiah sung to an almost full house inmid-January under Brian Priestman,where as well as conductinghe also played the harpichord continuo, the season came to arousing conclusion with a Diamond Jubilee concert that includedtwo stirring Baroque pieces: Zadok the Priest, and Bach’s earlycantata God’s Time is the Best, BWV 106, separated by apeaceful pastoral: Arthur Bliss’ Lie Strewn the White Flocks.

After the interval the pagan splendours of Walton’s Belshazzar’sFeast were unveiled under Meredith Davies. When ColinWheatley, the baritone soloist, translated the words on the theKing’s wall: Thou Art Weighed in the Balance and Found Wantinghe was supported by 174 in the Choir. Did he think for a momentthat his words described the audience: a paltry 815 in a hall builtto house twice as many?

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

The centrepiece of the celebration was a performance of Sir EdwardElgar’s The Apostles in November 1986. Sir Charles Groves, agreat proponent of Elgar’s oratorios was its conductor and therewas a strong cast of soloists; The Apostles tends to be an“occasional work” because it requires 5 soloists. It was forty yearssince Roy Henderson had introduced the choir to the work. Onhearing that the work was being repeated, Roy wrote that the partof Jesus in The Apostles was his favourite Elgar role.

Appropriately, the performance was the Bournemouth SymphonyOrchestra’s annual St Cecilia Concert, an event that raises moneyfor the orchestra’s Benevolent Fund, partly through the musiciansgiving their services for free.

Diamond Jubilee in 1970-71 75 years in 1986 - 87

The Chorus held a party and thepicture shows Chorus Master andChorus Chairman poised to cut theanniversary cake. The Chairman atthat time was Victor Thomas, seen inthe blazer, with Geoffrey Hughesadding a little pressure.

It's unusual for an organisation to celebrate its90th birthday, so it was a sign of vigour andconfidence when the Chorus backed bySouthern Arts, Poole Arts Trust and the JohnS. Cohen Foundation, commissioned a majornew work from the British composer, Richard

Blackford. Whilst the Choir and Chorus hadsung pieces written specially for it, this was thefirst time it had been the commissioner, payingthe composer and entering the exciting creativeprocess from conception, through breathing lifeinto printed notes in rehearsal, to assemblingall necessary elements for the first performance.Importantly, the composer’s brief included a partfor achildren’s choir. The extended Voices of Exileproject was organised to generate involvementacross the community. Three TV programmeswere broadcast by Meridian Broadcasting, theITV company that served the South East andSouth of England: The Frame a 30 minutedocumentary about the commissioning ofVoices of Exile, interviews with artists andpoets, and the history of the Chorus. The work’spremière in Poole was recorded and broadcastby Meridian as two programmes over twoweekends drawing a huge audience in itsregion. A linked education project involved twoschools. Maria Eugenia Bravo Calderara, theexiled Chilean poet, worked with 6th formstudents from Bournemouth School and StPeter’s School. The library service inBournemouth mounted a linked poetrycompetition and Helen Donaldson curated aphotographic exhibition featuring work byrefugees living in Bournemouth at the Poole ArtsCentre to complement the work’s firstperformance.

Refugee, the original working title, waschanged to Voices of Exile shortly before thefinal draft was completed. Richard set poemswritten by exiled poets, framed by a prologueand epilogue freshly commissioned from TonyHarrison. The world première was given atPoole Arts Centre on Saturday 17th November2001 followed by the London première on the19th November to a packed Royal FestivalHall. The Chorus was joined by the BSOcontemporary music ensemble Kokoro, andthe Dorset Youth Choir (now the BSYC) underthe baton of Neville Creed, with soloistsChristine Botes (mezzo soprano), Robert Tear(tenor) and Paul Whelan (baritone). A numberof the exiled poets featured in the workattended the concerts: Gergyi Tsering Gonpo,Maria Calderara, Tanya Czarovska,Mohammed Khaki, with Tony Harrisonattending both performances.

90th birthday, November 2001

Blackford, as a deeply literate and assuredcomposer, senses precisely the responseneeded by each poem. And he has the skill toset them with a graphic immediacy whichnever descends to bathos. In such a work asthis, this skill is rare.

Hilary Finch, The Times 21/11/2001

Richard Blackford had experience of multi-facetted music including Community Operaand his new work included traditional musicrecorded in places such as Macedonia, Bengaland Somalia that had seen people exiled fromtheir home-land during the 20th century, oftenfleeing at short notice in fear of their lives takingwith them only songs and poetry. Blackfordacknowledged the influence of DavidFanshawe’s African Sanctus, the work thathad contributed much to the renewal andredefinition of the Bournemouth SymphonyChorus.

Tony Harrison’s poetry and Richard’s music,linked with sound-bites from recordings thecomposer had prepared from folksongs and thevoices of poets reading in their native tongues,plunges listeners into the world of the refugee.It is a discomforting subject, yet one whichBlackford determined to confront after he wasintroduced to the work of the MedicalFoundation and Prisoners of Conscience in2000. Before the interval of the work’s Londonpremière, Juliet Stephenson presented“Voices” a programme of humour and drama

which included Alan Rickman, Bill Patterson,Fiona Shaw, Emma Thompson and othercelebrated actors. Their performance andVoices of Exile were given in aid of the MedicalFoundation for the Care of Victims of Tortureand the Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund.

The Choir, which started by vigorouslychampioning the light English music of its time,was continuing, doing perhaps a more criticaltask, ensuring that a British composer in thechallenging environment of the 21st centuryhad the support to allow him to pen and hearan oratorio of international social concern andcommitment. The Chorus’ enterprise wasrewarded with a work that developed andextended models provided by Michael Tippettsixty years before in A Child of Our Time, andHans Werner Henze, Blackford’s teacher, inhis Das Floß der Medusa (The Raft of theMedusa) that was written, but not heard,during the turbulent 1960s.

Voices of Exile was later recorded by DavidHill, with the Philharmonia Orchestra and theLondon Bach Choir on the Quartz label.

Richard Blackford cutting the Choir’scentenary cake after a performance of

his Not In My Time in Cheltenham.