News
| REVIEW: Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust, St David's Hall, Cardiff – 4 April 2008 |
| "There was once a time when The Damnation of Faust was as popular among British choirs as Elijah. These days, however, Berlioz's miraculous piece is something of a novelty and on the evidence of this striking performance it's a hugely welcome one.
"There were two stars in the form of the BBC Now and the BBC National Chorus of Wales, boosted by Bristol Choral Society. "The orchestra had the measure in every way of the amazing spectrum of colour which Berlioz conjured up. ... "The chorus, trained by Adrian Partington, rank among the finest in the land with shining top sopranos and resonant basses and baritones. ... "Chorally and orchestrally this was a demonstration of sterling standards." Rating: **** A J Sicluna, South Wales Echo 7 April 2008 |
| Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust, St David's Hall, Cardiff – April 2008 |
| There was once a time when The Damnation of Faust was as popular among British choirs as Elijah.
These days, however, Berlioz's miraculous piece is something of a novelty and on the evidence of this striking performance it's a hugely welcome one. There were two stars in the form of the BBC Now and the BBC National Chorus of Wales, boosted by Bristol Choral Society. The orchestra had the measure in every way of the amazing spectrum of colour which Berlioz conjured up. ... The chorus, trained by Adrian Partington, rank among the finest in the land with shining top sopranos and resonant basses and baritones. ... Chorally and orchestrally this was a demonstration of sterling standards. Rating: **** A J Sicluna, South Wales Echo 7 April 2008 |
| ** Valentine's Day Opera Gala ** |
| Bristol Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra delighted concert-goers – and a wider audience as their Valentine's performance at the Colston Hall was broadcast to 11 Bristol hospitals. Soprano, Natasha Jouhl entranced, tenor Shaun Dixon charmed and Donald Maxwell compered in performances which sparkled.
Following the performance, concert organiser, Martina Peattie, President of Bristol Rotary Club, said how proud she was to be a member of Bristol Choral Society. "What a fantastic organisation Bristol Choral Society is and how amazingly professional the organisation of their concerts is, with such a willing army of support beavering away in the background." "The orchestra were fabulous, the soprano looked and sounded delicious and Donald Maxwell's witicisms absolutely made the evening." The concert was in support of Bristol charities, St Peter's Hospice and Next Link. |
| - New Chairman Takes His Seat - |
| At the AGM, Bristol Choral Society's new Chair, David Burns, welcomed the choir to the new season, especially welcoming 13 prospective new members and new apprentices. He thanked the retiring committee, to whom he was most grateful—observing of their activities, ""A lot goes on behind the scenes!"" The choir applauded the outgoing Chair, Ann Butterfield and Choir Secretary, Mariette Farrell for their dedication in recent years.
David Burns also thanked Adrian Partington for his continuing commitment to BCS in his Musical Directorship, and not least for securing the world renowned tenor, Mark Padmore, to join the choir in performing J S Bach's Mass in B Minor at Bristol Cathedral in June 2008. The choir was unanimous in congratulating Adrian Partington on his appointment as Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral, which he takes up in January 2008. |
| - Rachmaninov Vespers in Gloucester Cathedral - |
| Bristol Choral Society look forward to performing Rachmaninov's Vespers - in its native Russian language - at Gloucester Cathedral on Saturday 7 July at 8 pm.
The piece - also known as The All Night Vigil, Opus 37 - will be conducted by Adrian Partington who will also give a pre-concert talk at 6.55 pm. The beautiful acoustic of Gloucester provides a matchless resonance to the evocative Vespers which will be sung unaccompanied. Tickets: £6-£15 Tel: 0117 962 4991 |
| - The Armed Man - Carmina Burana - |
| Bristol Choral Society and Bath Philharmonia performed The Armed Man and Carmina Burana to a full house at the Colston Hall on Saturday, 24 March.
Adrian Partington congratulated the choir on its performance, adding that it had been ""more colourful than the composer intended."" He was also pleased to report the Bristol Evening Post's four-star review by Gerry Parker. In his introduction at the concert, Adrian Partington welcomed tenor, Gareth Morris, who'd had all of 24-hours notice! Our thanks also to our other soloists: Elenor Bowers Jolley, soprano, Katherine Squire, contralto and Philip Lloyd Evans, bass for their performances—and not least Bath Philharmonia. Here are some audience comments we have received: ""All through The Armed Man, the music was uplifting and rousing, the choir sang with gusto, the soloists, sweetly and clearly, and the Bath Philharmonia carried you along with their passion."" ""Between the two pieces lay a rollercoaster of emotions ... musicians and singers gave a vital and stirring performance. Like the Goddess Fortuna, they took us to dizzying heights, and, in turn, brought us crashing down ..."" ""With all these emotional twists and turns, highs and lows, I was gripped from start to finish!"" ""The audience response spoke volumes; both pieces elicited well-deserved encores for the choirs, the soloists and the orchestra – and mention must be made of Adrian Partington, whose spirited and passionate conducting carried the evening through."" Thank you for your comments—and for being our audience. We look forward to entertaining you again at the Colston Hall on 14 April, when we shall be joining the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to sing The Queen Symphony, conducted by Tolga Kashif. Tickets available from the Colston Hall. (www.colstonhall.org) ************************ |
| - February Rehearsal Weekend - |
| Bristol Choral Society members and friends recently retreated to the Cotswolds for a weekend of choral rehearsal of Bach's St Matthew's Passion.
It was a riveting experience in every sense of the word: Conductor, Adrian Partington, brought the choir through the entire work, adding delectable snippets of information delivered with classic humour. And who could resist being moved by such evocative piano rendition as played by Stephen Kings? Our thanks to Adrian and Steve - and particularly to Annette for initiating and organising this memorable weekend. |
| – Come and Sing - February 2007 – |
| Bristol Choral Society welcomed some 240 singers to their latest Come and Sing day, when conductor Adrian Partington, rehearsed the assembled choir for Verdi's Requiem during the morning session. The afternoon saw the arrival of the brass section and the piece was polished before a final performance.
""It was a splendid sing!"" commented one singer, ""We made an amazing sound. As music-makers poured out of Tyndale's Baptist Church in Clifton, a passer-by enquired, ""What have you been doing in there? Everyone is coming out with a huge smile on their face!"" Our thanks to the organisers (You Know Who You Are), and all those who took part - singers and musicians alike - and especially to accompanist, Stephen Kings and to our conductor, Adrian Partington. Thank You! |
| - Beethoven's Choral Symphony (No 9) - |
| Bristol Choral Society welcomed some 240 singers to their latest Come and Sing day, when conductor Adrian Partington, rehearsed the assembled choir for Verdi's Requiem during the morning session. The afternoon saw the arrival of the brass section and the piece was polished before a final performance.
""It was a splendid sing!"" commented one singer, ""We made an amazing sound. As music-makers poured out of Tyndale's Baptist Church in Clifton, a passer-by enquired, ""What have you been doing in there? Everyone is coming out with a huge smile on their face!"" Our thanks to the organisers (You Know Who You Are), and all those who took part - singers and musicians alike - and especially to accompanist, Stephen Kings and to our conductor, Adrian Partington. Thank You! |
| BALLADS and BATTLES - Spring Concert Rehearsals begin! |
| The new term kicked off with our first rehearsal for the Spring Concert on 24 March: BALLADS and BATTLES, when Bristol Choral Society will perform Carmina Burana and The Armed Man with Bath Philharmonia and children from local schools. |
| Classics from Vienna |
| Bristol Choral Society enjoyed performing Haydn's Harmoniemesse on Saturday, 11 November with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The choir burst into spontaneous applause at their accompanist, Steven Kings', splendid performance of Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, scored for piano, orchestra and chorus.
Conductor, Adrian Partington, commented that the concert had been a particularly successful Autumn event. The choir is now rehearsing Handel's 'Messiah' to be performed on Saturday 23 December at the Colston Hall, with baroque ensemble, Music for Awhile. Ticket Hotline: 0117 962 4991 |
| - BCS Starts A New Season |
| Bristol Choral Society began its new season's rehearsals with Haydn's Harmoniemesse, described by Conductor, Adrian Partington, as ""... surpassing all other masses.
""The Harmonie - an ensemble of woodwind and brass instruments - is a symphony with voices - hence Harmonie Messe ... it's almost three Haydn symphonies with choral singing ..."" Written by Haydn when he was 70, the Harmony Mass is in a major key, and reflects Haydn's sunny personality. The choir also rehearsed Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, to be performed at the November concert. ... It's good to be back! |
| Sacred and Profane Bristol Cathedral |
| We ended our season with a challenging programme of contrasting music styles and periods. The music ranging from Samuel Wesley's motet In Exitu Israel and the C20 Psalmo Brasileiro (sung in Portuguese) to the traditional sea-ballad The Mermaid was enthusiastically received by an audience of several hundred.
We had an excellent quartet of young soloists from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Young Musician of the Year 2000 violinist Natalia Lomeiko. Our conductor Adrian Partington carried out his dual role of conductor and accompanist with inspiration and aplomb. |
| The Kingdom |
| Over 120 members of the choir joined the Saint Michael Singers for a performance in Worcester Cathedral of Elgar's 'The Kingdom'. This invitation to sing was given by the English Symphony Orchestra as part of the Elgar Festival. The distinguished conductor Vernon Handley conducted the performance in which Stephen Roberts, Andrew Staples, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Amanda Roocroft were the soloists.
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| Let's Celebrate 2006 |
| Let's Celebrate indeed - because we have just heard that our bid for funding to make the outreach programme and concert possible has been successful.
The Garfield Weston Foundation has awarded BCS no less than £10,000 for outreach work in the forthcoming season! |
| Singing across the generations |
| An exciting initiative is underway in Bristol, linking children and young people with Bristol Choral Society, and aiming to introduce the younger generation to the joys of choral singing. At the choir’s first rehearsal of the current season in September 2005, seven young people aged 15-17 joined as ‘apprentices’, each singing alongside a supportive and experienced choir mentor. Their first project, singing in ‘A Child of Our Time’ by Michael Tippett, performed with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the Colston Hall in November, provided considerable musical challenges, but they more than rose to the occasion.
Since that first concert, the young apprentices have been involved in the Christmas performances of ‘Messiah’ and ‘Let’s Celebrate!’, as well as the Organ celebration concert in March, where the choir sang Dvorak’s ‘Te Deum’ and the Durufle ‘Requiem’. They also took part in the Brunel celebration, where the choir was invited to perform, and will be involved in the Bristol Harbourside Regatta in July. They are currently rehearsing for the summer concert to be held in Bristol Cathedral – ‘Sacred and Profane’. Bristol Choral Society is delighted that the apprentices are now a regular part of the choir rehearsals and performances, and have been joined by two new ones. Any young singers who would be interested in joining the scheme, please get in touch. We would love to share our love of choral singing with you! For more information about apprenticeships Click here |
| Brunel Celebration Photos |
| We have just received some photos from the Brunel Celebrations event. Courtesy of Kevin Clifford and the Arts Council.
Click here for the photos |
| 'Let's Celebrate' - 2006 |
| Good news! Just heard this morning that the Bank of Ireland Charitable Fund has agreed to our application for £1000 to pay for the Bristol Brass Consort to accompany our Christmas outreach concert. Hats off to them!! |
| Brunel Celebrations |
| You may not have seen this in the 'Times':'Bristol has gone Brunel barmy. Along with what seemed like every man, woman and child in the city, we crowded onto the downs by the Clifton Suspension Bridge on Saturday night for a gloriously eccentric 200th-birthday celebration of the man who built Britain. The party was launched by five local brass bands who hurled out the '1812 overture' in lashing rain and then hail. Tunics sodden, sheet music reduced to pulp, they didn't miss a beat.It was mad yet heroic. Brunel, who was much the same, would have loved it.
Not to be outdone, the Bristol Choral Society then roared out the Hallelujah Chorus in a key so high that I feared the sopranos might go into orbit over the Avon Gorge......(Richard Morrison - who must have a pretty good ear, because AP confessed to having put it up 'a bit'(!) to make it 'sound bright in that particular setting'. |
| New Bristol Choral Society Website |
| We have now revamped our site. Enjoy! |
| Brunel200 Concert |
| Over 100 members took part in the open-air Brunel celebration concert. The stage was set up near the Clifton Suspension Bridge and we had a 15-minute slot in a concert which lasted 90 minutes.
The rain held off and we sang our varied programme from memory to crowds of around 30,000 people ... 'Hail the Conquering Hero' (sung at the original opening of the Bridge), 'Jabula Jesu', 'Jubilate Deo', 'Ol' Man River', Hallelujah Chorus (strange without an orchestra !) |