During my last year as Marlborough College’s Director of Music I received a surprise phone call: it was the Chairperson of the Swindon Choral Society, a lady with a measured, warm and cultured voice. As I was retiring from my spell at Marlborough might I be interested in conducting the Swindon Choir, as the present Director was stepping down….?
What constituted an informal audition took place in a small hall in a primary school, the acoustics dry and the seats designed for ten-year olds. It seems the choir liked my style however and so began a happy liaison for almost twenty years.
The choir puts on four concerts a year: an Oratorio or large-scale work in the Spring, a Summer event with secular/light repertoire, a sacred programme in the autumn (a Mass, a Gloria, some anthems) and a Christmas concert, sometimes combining forces with a Junior School or a Brass Band.
One of the attractions for me was the opportunity to explore a wide repertoire of music, and since the choir does not have a regular venue to oversee the planning of each concert- the availability of an Organ or Piano or both, the space available for choir, orchestra and soloists, the acoustics and sight-lines, and the appropriate music for each building.
It was never possible to find the perfect location, though the Holyrood Roman Catholic Church was our favourite, until it became clear that the busy schedule of services there made it increasingly difficult to put on concerts.
Without a regular home in Swindon we began spreading our wings: Cirencester Parish Church, Malmesbury Abbey and Marlborough College Chapel. The combination of flattering acoustics, plenty of space, good accompanying instruments and a strong concert-going tradition encouraged me to be more ambitious and it enhanced the morale and reputation of the choir.
In 2006 I composed “Brunel’s Kingdom”, a large-scale Cantata for choir, children’s choir, soloists and orchestra, suitably premièred in the Swindon Steam Museum as part of the Brunel 200 celebrations. This was a proud moment for me and a great novelty for the swollen ranks of singers, performing to a large and appreciative audience. The atmosphere, the oily smells and the cavernous spaces of the Great Hall and surrounding areas set the scene. My score had included music suggesting the sounds of trains, ships and bridges and this prompted a friend to comment at half-time “How did you create those sounds of a train passing by? Quite realistic!” Realising the proximity of the railway line I couldn’t help replying “I think you’ll find that was the 7.45 to Chippenham!”
Bodley’s Chapel at Marlborough College was the setting for some of our most ambitious undertakings. Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” was a tough challenge with its relentless fortissimo high notes, especially for the Sopranos and Tenors, and our usual twelve-week rehearsal period was extended to fourteen to include a session with two expert coaches helping us to expand and sustain our vocal ranges. “Think big and we will respond!” a member of the Altos had said to me, and this project proved her point.
Bach’s choral music is the ultimate challenge for any amateur Choral Society and tackling the Mass in B minor was another daunting task, on a par with the Beethoven. With excellent soloists and the Chameleon Arts Orchestra accompanying the performance went well and in due course we went on to tackle both the St John and St Matthew Passions, the latter in a joint project with the Bracknell Choral Society and its excellent director Greg Hallam, who conducted the performance. Though I was involved in all the rehearsals I was happy to end up singing amongst the ranks of Basses at the far end of the choir pews in the Marlborough Chapel. Frequently aware of the time lag between Greg’s very clear beat and our singing, I commented to my neighbour as to how frustrating I found this. It turns out that he was not only in the Swindon Choir but had sung for me many times in the College Choral Society. “You’ve harangued us for so many years about this from the conductor’s podium, now you are finding out what it’s like our end!”
As season followed season I began to realise what works best in the happy running of a Choir. Choice of music is crucial, offering a balance between the familiar and the less familiar and driven to a large extent by the conductor’s commitment to and enthusiasm for the programme. The accompanist is a key figure- the best are not only technically proficient but musically savvy, anticipating the conductor’s train of thought during the note-learning stages. The Chairman needs to lead positively from the front, ready with upbeat introductions and little speeches, and requiring diplomacy dealing with the many issues that arise week by week. Currently the choir has a team of Librarians managing the purchase, borrowing and hiring of music, always looking ahead to future programmes as well as ensuring the safe return of scores after concerts. Then there is the committee, meeting every month or so, during a past era attending meetings but not taking on follow-up projects and tasks on behalf of the choir. Happily that situation has changed, and initiatives such as fund-raising, workshops, “Come and Sing” events and tour planning have been taken on spontaneously by individuals.
Tours to Italy, France, Belgium and Hungary produced many exciting moments, and a few hairy ones too. Singing Vivaldi’s Gloria in his church (the Pieta) in Venice, performing the Kyrie from a Haydn Mass in the so-called “Haydn Salle” in Esterhazy Palace and providing the choir for the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate-these were really special events.
And then there were the testing moments: A long hold-up at Folkestone delayed our channel tunnel crossing for so long that we were unable to arrive in time to perform our first concert in Lille, whilst our rendition of an anthem in a steamy church in Italy with doors and windows open was obliterated by the sounds of Maurice Chevalier’s “Thank Heavens for little girls” from a café in the square outside. And then there was the rehearsal which couldn’t happen because a funeral was going on and a time when the organist couldn’t see me as he was behind a pillar and needed one of the basses to relay the beat!
For the singers involved it was always a bonding experience, and for me a chance to get to know individuals who previously were just faces in a row of Sopranos or Altos. Meeting members of our audiences, sight-seeing, enjoying drinks and meals together, it was for the most part a lot of fun and a great way to visit other countries.
For me the single most time-consuming project was the composition and performance of the cantata “Atlantic Odyssey”, the story of the Arctic Tern and its annual circumpolar journey from North to South Pole. The librettist was Mike Polack, my next-door neighbour, and the piece took us a year to write and a further six months for me to notate and orchestrate. Written for S.A.T.B. Choir, Children’s Choir, Soprano and Baritone soloists and a 16-piece Chamber Orchestra the presentation was much enhanced by the consecutive screening of superb photo images, specially taken by local photographer David White on the Isle of May and the Farne Islands. A DVD was made of the premiere in 2013: we printed a lavish programme and made a CD, mugs and T shirts. The première was followed a few years later by a second and more ambitious performance in the Steam Museum. This time we were joined by the Janice Thompson Singers and an excellent choir from Middle Georgia USA, while David’s photo images were further expanded and integrated into the performance.
Since that time we have had the Covid outbreak, the first lockdown coinciding with a much anticipated performance of The Messiah in the Wyvern Theatre, cancelled only three days before. We continued to sing on ZOOM, but although it kept up contact and camaraderie it wasn’t ideal, with each voice muted as people sang to the keyboard accompaniment. We varied things with musical interviews, quizzes and talks, but there was a fear that once we got back together numbers would need building up again.
My final concert was in October 2021 in Marlborough Chapel: Parry’s “I was glad,” the Bach Magnificat and Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass, a wonderful programme to finish with and the choir augmented with singers from past eras. Then it was time to retire and hand over the baton.
I have always had dreams, usually about things going wrong in concerts, and these persist to this day. Some things that really DID happen read now like one of those dreams:
The violinist who told me minutes before a concert that he couldn’t play because his instrument was locked in his boot-another string player was nursing a broken string.
The orchestral leader who threatened a walk-out in a dress rehearsal because the temperature was reckoned to be minus 2 degrees. (She had forgotten her thermometer, so we got away with it.)
The rehearsal I walked into with one other singer only to realise there was a whist drive going on and we were supposed to somewhere else.
Perhaps most bizarre of all the discovery during a dress rehearsal that seven bottles of wine intended for the post-concert reception had been stolen from the back of the church!
I was asked back very recently-the new conductor was ill, so could I take a rehearsal and the concert day on the Saturday in Malmesbury Abbey? I knew the programme quite well and agreed to do it. I was impressed by the choir’s discipline, pitching and good diction, all seemingly improved! And I was reminded once again of the friendliness and good spirit of the Choral Society, welcoming me back so warmly. I hope they go on from strength to strength.
Robin Nelson December 2022
Marlborough High Street Christmas Tree – letter from Jenny Gray
