On Saturday 22nd June, Bishopwearmouth Choral Society completed the performances in its 70th Anniversary Season with a concert of 20th Century American Classics. As well as marking continuous performances in Sunderland over many years, the evening was special in many ways.

To add to the evening the Society were joined by their President, Anne-Marie Owens, and the Bishopwearmouth Young Singers who all contributed to the performance. The audience included both the Mayor, Councillor David Snowdon, and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Harry Trueman, with their consorts. Instead of the usual orchestral accompaniment there were two pianos and percussion but this also allowed David Murray, the Musical Director, and Eileen Bown, the Society’s accompanist, to both take part in an even more involved way than usual – all combining to make for a particularly memorable event.

Our thanks to Colin Greener for allowing us to share the following crit, which was prepared for submission for publication to the Sunderland Echo :

A Celebration of American Classics
Bishopwearmouth Choral Society treated an audience in Sunderland Minster on Saturday 22nd June to the sonorities of the American Musical Classics at their very best. This concert marked the end of a very special season for Bishopwearmouth Choral Society, which saw them celebrating the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Society and was dedicated primarily to the works of Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.

Conducting and accompanying the concert was acclaimed pianist, David Murray. The concert began with two settings of Old American Songs by Copland, entitled Ching-a-Ring Chaw and Stomp your foot. Ching a ring Chaw finds its roots in Minstrelsy, and Copland made a point of rewriting the lyrics to efface any of the song’s minstrel baggage. He said ‘ I did not want to take any chance of it being construed as racist’. It was very energetic and fast and there were many tongue twisters in the text, deftly managed by the choristers. The second piece, Stomp your Foot, is described as a square dance. The effects of this were soon felt: I had to suppress the urge to dance myself. Looking around, I could see that I was not the only one in this predicament.

Anne Marie Owens, who is President of the Society, sang three songs from the great American Musical. Dressed in a splendid navy blue dress for the occasion, she delivered Summertime (Gershwin), Can’t Help Lovin’ that man (Kern), and Broadway Baby (Sondheim) with superb artistry. This much loved singer, who hails from South Shields, has had a glittering operatic career and it was a real privilege to hear her sing these songs from the shows with a mixture of real beauty and deep emotion in the first two numbers, followed by a huge brassy finish in Broadway Baby.

The next items featured the Bishopwearmouth Young Singers. Both Copland and Bernstein, the central composers of tonight’s concert, come from Jewish backgrounds, and the use of the Hebrew language became a theme of the evening’s texts. Demonstrating this I believe in the Sun (Howard Goodall) takes its lyrics from graffiti found on a cell wall in Cologne left by Jewish prisoners held there before being taken to concentration camps. The words Al Shlosha D’Varim (Allan Naplan) mean ‘the world is sustained by truth, justice and peace.” The Bishopwearmouth Young singers delivered these moving pieces with a blissfully innocent and pure sound, making these performances deeply touching.

The final work before the intermission was the most exciting performance by the two pianos (David Murray and Eileen Bown) and three percussionists (Andy Booth, Ollie Newton and Ed Chapman). They treated us to Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. The two piano texture was used throughout most of the concert to accompany the choir. Here the addition of three percussionists playing it seems every possible instrument you could have thought of – was stunning. From timps through to bongos, drum kit, marimba, vibraphone, gong, vibraphone, woodblock, xylophone and even at one point a police whistle this was a dazzling array of sounds. The integration of the two pianos and this percussion feast was truly awe inspiring and it evoked all the atmospheres and emotions of Bernstein’s great musical West Side Story. This was a dazzling, and at times extremely emotional, conclusion to a brilliant first half.

Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was commissioned by the Chichester Festival in 1965. These three psalm settings are in Hebrew, not in English. I wonder what the patrons of the Chichester Festival thought when they first arrived? Nevertheless these settings have found their way firmly into the choral repertoire and are regularly performed all over the world notwithstanding their technical difficultly and the challenge of the texts themselves. Bishopwearmouth Choral Society delivered their account with boldness and confidence and Robert Chavner sang the middle movement with great beauty and expression, showing off the impressive range of his countertenor voice. The performance demonstrated vocal agility, the ability to cope with very tricky irregular rhythms, and then in the last movement the ability to sing expressively and quietly. The final unaccompanied bars were magical and a real feat for any choral group. The atmosphere resonating throughout the Church at the end of this work was one of real devotional calm and peace.

This concert was a resounding success. I have experienced first-hand the teaching ability of the two pianists Eileen Bown and David Murray, so I anticipated a thrilling performance, and I was not disappointed. The audience was large, and the responses to the performances during and afterwards were long-lasting and most complimentary. This was the first time I have experienced listening to a concert in Sunderland Minster with this Society and I can highly recommend that you come see for yourselves the special music making that is happening here.

Colin Greener
22/6/2019

  As their part of the celebrations of our 70th Anniversary season, the Sopranos treated us to a social evening with a fun challenge on Friday 7th June. The Society members and their guests were faced with a carefully planned and very imaginative quiz, led by a suitably resolute Quiz Master to keep us all in order.

As the photographs suggest, much deep thought was needed  to cope with a broad range of topics ranging from ‘Can you identify the scientist’ through emojis and algebra to those with a musical basis. There is no truth in the wicked rumour that members had trouble recognising some of the pieces they had previously performed – it was just that faced with only a few bars of the music, it takes a few minutes to work through all of the possible pieces that have featured over the 70 years.

The winners

The night included sustenance for the body, as well as stimulation for the brain, in the form of pies and peas and a good time was had by all.

Inevitably some teams did better than others and those with the best overall performance were rewarded with chocolate, which they were kind enough to share. Our thanks to the organisers for providing such a comfortable setting and so much fun.

Continuing the celebrations of the 70th Anniversary of the Society, the Bass section organised a social evening in their own style on Saturday 12th May. The evening had three parts – exercise, food, and entertainment. The first element was a coast and country walk around Whitburn which was enjoyed by the majority of the party before they all returned refreshed and in good humour to Whitburn Parish Hall to enjoy the second element – locally sourced fish and chips – which satisfied the needs of the body before the final section.

The Basses were keen to perform but wanted to ensure audience participation in as many ways as you could imagine, so their chosen pieces included singing and action parts for the delighted audience. These were interspersed with a musical quiz which was designed to test mere mortals but the clever team who won were kind enough to share the celebration cake they were presented with.

The finale, and the climax of the evening, was a full dress performance of the Nun’s Chorus ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria’ from The Sound of Music which was performed with panache. Everyone went home having enjoyed something that certainly was different.

BCS rehearsing for their concert

Our thanks to William Harrison for allowing the publication of this crit of our concert on Saturday 30th March 2019, which was prepared for publication in the Sunderland Echo :

On Saturday 30th March, the Bishopwearmouth Choral Society, conducted by David Murray, performed at Sunderland Minster. The evening marked another important milestone for the choir who are celebrating their seventieth anniversary and this performance of ‘The Creation’ by Joseph Haydn was a reprise of their first concert given in March 1949.

“On Saturday evening Bishopwearmouth Choral Society, conducted by David Murray, performed Haydn’s masterpiece, ‘The Creation’, written between 1797 and 1798. During the evening, listeners might have been forgiven for thinking they’d been transported back two hundred years to the first performance in Austria in 1799, such was the quality of the performance.

The orchestra presented the opening orchestral prelude, entitled ‘Representation of Chaos’, weaving their way successfully through the depiction of the nothingness that existed before the beginning of time. Throughout the performance this orchestra and chorus very effectively created an empty canvas onto which the rest of the images of the whole of Creation are painted throughout the piece. Between them Timothy Dickinson as Raphael, the chorus and orchestra created a wonderful state of suspense before the collective smile that broke out amongst the audience at the words, “and there was light”.

Soloists Timothy Dickinson, and Jorge Navarro Colorado, as Uriel, brought awe and wonder to the piece. Their stately telling of the story, their masterful control of dynamic and stylistic phrasing, coupled with the similarly controlled choral and orchestral sonorities, Laurie Ashworth as Gabriel was quite outstanding. Her virtuosity and exquisite control of the high notes was spectacular. Her second aria, ‘With Verdure Clad’ was a thing of beauty with the clarity of her voice and attention to musical detail a joy to behold.

Special mention must go to flautists Margaret Borthwick, Brian Stewart and Jill Hughes and clarinetists, Jennifer Murray and Andrew Smith, bassoonists Robin Kennard and Sharon Clatworthy who, in an ensemble of such quality, managed to stand out. They played complex flourished cadenzas and scales which were pristine, crisp and clear. Arias showed the soloists and the woodwind in perfect harmonious union.

Often church acoustics lose the details at the back of the hall but on this occasion every detail could be heard which is testament to the conductor, David Murray, who had clearly paid great attention to how the piece would, and should, be heard.

Mozart said, “Haydn alone has the secret, both of making me smile, and of touching my innermost soul”. The performers on Saturday evening succeeded in creating the sense of joy that Haydn was trying to capture in this most iconic piece of music. It would be easy to focus on the three soloists, but the orchestral and choral details in this performance were flawless. Every stylistic detail was in place and working in perfect harmony. This was an evening of pure joy which was present in both the performers and in the faces of the enraptured audience.”

William Harrison

Having provided regular musical performances in Sunderland for the last 70 years since it held its first concert in March 1949, Bishopwearmouth Choral Society is celebrating its 70th Anniversary season with a reprise of that initial concert, Haydn’s Creation. For such a significant birthday there had to be a cake and this was shared at their last rehearsal before the concert after being cut by Christine Alder, Society Chairman, and David Murray, the Society’s Musical Director.

Many happy returns.

As their contribution to our 70th Anniversary season, the Tenors organised a musically themed social evening in The Peacock in Sunderland on Friday 1st March 2019. In a comfortable setting the expectant audience of choir members, family, and friends were treated to a show that they knew had been prepared with considerable effort.

Whilst the Tenors were well rehearsed, the audience were perhaps less so but enjoyed joining in a wide range of songs that were a different part of our musical heritage from ‘Peggy Sue’, through a ‘Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Ticket to Ride’ until they left singing ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.

The group singing was interspersed by some fine solo items from individual tenors and they even provided their own accompaniment from the accomplished guitarists amongst them. Overall a very good night – our particular thanks to the organisers – and a much appreciated addition to the history of the Society.

On Saturday February 9th 2019, Bishopwearmouth Choral Society invited fellow choral singers to join them in a singing workshop exploring Joseph Haydn’s Creation. This piece remains the greatest triumph of Haydn’s career and will be performed by the Society on March 30th as part of their 70th Anniversary season and to replicate their first concert in 1949.

The Singing Day provided an opportunity for some old members and friends  to come back and take part, and also to make new friends with singers from other societies, many of whom had come quite a long way to join in the experience.

The day was led very enthusiastically by Aidan Oliver, one of the UK’s leading choir directors, whose activities encompass the full range of symphonic, operatic, liturgical and contemporary music. He is the founding director of Philharmonia Voices, the professional choir which collaborates with the Philharmonia Orchestra on many of its most ambitious projects, while as guest chorus master he has worked with some of the UK’s leading choirs including the BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Singers, Huddersfield Choral Society and the Chorus of English National Opera.He is currently the director of Dulwich Choral Society and Director of Music at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, as well as Associate Conductor of the St Endellion Festival in Cornwall. He was recently appointed the new director of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.

Aidan provided an insight into Haydn’s substantial career and how ‘The Creation’ came into being, alongside rehearsing the singing, and emphasised that it was a joyful work which required joyful singing. Indeed it is his favourite work and by the end of the day many of the singers shared his enthusiasm for it.

Our thanks to Aidan for a very worthwhile day, to Eileen Bown for her accompaniment and to Sunderland Minster for the soup that fortified the singers at lunchtime. Those who were unable to attend certainly missed something very special.

It was a fortunate audience, on Saturday 19th January, who were treated to a concert by this father and son duo who need no introduction to the Society. David Murray is Bishopwearmouth Choral Society’s Musical Director and one of the North East’s best known pianists, having accompanied many well known names and playing on notable occasions. However this was a much more significant event as his son, Christopher, returned to the North East to play alongside him. Christopher is a member of the dynamic and charismatic Heath Quartet – winners of many prestigious awards – and is now earning himself a well deserved reputation on the national and international stage.

The combination of David and Christopher, cello and piano, and a varied programme provided a very memorable evening and a delightful contribution to the events of the Society’s 70th Anniversary season.

Our thanks to William Horseman for allowing the publication of this crit of our concert, which was prepared for publication in the Sunderland Echo :

On Saturday 8th December, the Bishopwearmouth Choral Society, conducted by David Murray, performed at the Sunderland Minster. The evening marked an important milestone for the choir who celebrate their seventieth anniversary. It also marked a closing of the centenary of WWI : war and our response to it were central themes of the evening’s programme.

The concert opened with George Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad – “Rhapsody for Orchestra” (1912). This piece offers a stark contrast to the composer’s fate in the First World War, as a nostalgic evocation of his homeland. The orchestral colouring and sweeping melodic lines heard tonight effectively conveyed this affect to create a reverent atmosphere from the outset.

For the next piece, we were introduced to the esteemed soloists Rachel Nicholls and Mark Nathan who played the angel and poet in Gerald Finzi’s In Terra Pax (1954). The work is a setting from Robert Bridges’ poem Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913 which Finzi uses to frame St Luke’s account of the angels’ appearance to the shepherds. Rich textures were abundant in tonight’s performance with the soloists assuredly handling the words and the chorus narrating the biblical story with clarity.

Ralph Vaughan William’s elegiac Dona Nobis Pacem (1936) filled the second half and the musical quality and control which David Murray brought to it was very impressive. The ensemble remained cohesive throughout and created moments of magnanimity and that of tranquil reflection. Textural details were made very clear and the sound effectively filled the space. Nicholls’ penetratingly beautiful voice splendidly rested on the sound of the ensemble and her lyrical tones would bring the piece to a close with its impassioned plea for peace.

A very successful concert from the Bishopwearmouth Choral Society in what was a powerful evocation of the human response to the tragedies of war.

On Thursday 12th July, the Society took part in the public performances on Sunderland Town Moor to entertain visitors to the Tall Ships event. Around 40 members of the choir were able to take part and reprised many of the numbers from their Great American Songbook concerts. Another first for the Society, an open air ‘gig’ complete with some ‘groupies’ in the audience surrounded by the masts of the Tall Ships.

Just click on the image for a much better view.