Oxford Harmonic Choir

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The choir's 90th Anniversary concert, November 2011, in Oxford Town Hall Oxford Harmonic Society.jpg
The choir's 90th Anniversary concert, November 2011, in Oxford Town Hall

Oxford Harmonic Choir is a large, mixed-voice amateur choir based in Oxford, England. It is the second-oldest non-collegiate choir in Oxford, having been founded in 1921, [1] [2] and according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is one of the "institutions of lasting significance to Oxford's musical life that were established during this period". [2] Currently the choir has around 150 singing members and usually performs three concerts annually in either the Sheldonian Theatre or Oxford Town Hall with the Orchestra of Stowe Opera.

Choir Ensemble of singers

A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm and face gestures.

Oxford City and non-metropolitan district in England

Oxford is a university city in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 155,000. It is 51 miles (82 km) northwest of London, 57 miles (92 km) from Birmingham and 30 miles (48 km) from Reading.

<i>The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians</i> encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is one of the largest reference works on western music. Originally published under the title A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and later as Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it has gone through several editions since the 19th century and is widely used. In recent years it has been made available as an electronic resource called Grove Music Online, which is now an important part of Oxford Music Online.

Contents

History

1950 choir rehearsal with George Thewlis conducting and Basil Thewlis at the piano Oxford Harmonic Society 1950 rehearsal.jpg
1950 choir rehearsal with George Thewlis conducting and Basil Thewlis at the piano

Originally the choir was known as the Iffley Glee Club, and after renaming itself the Iffley Choral Society in 1923, it became Oxford Harmonic Society in 1924 after moving base to central Oxford. [3] In August 2014 the choir changed its name to Oxford Harmonic Choir.

A notable element of Oxford Harmonic Choir's performing history has been participation in various music festivals held in Oxford. These included a performance of Haydn's Creation in 1932 as part of a three-day Haydn festival which was described in The New York Times as "by far the most genial as well as the most admirable commemoration Great Britain has had of one whose popularity in the eighteenth century rivalled that of Handel himself". [4]

Joseph Haydn Austrian composer

Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. His contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet".

<i>The Creation</i> (Haydn) musical composition

The Creation is an oratorio written between 1797 and 1798 by Joseph Haydn, and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis.

<i>The New York Times</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 127 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S..

Other festivals involving performances by the choir included the 1948 Oxford Festival of British Music and the 1950 Oxford Festival of Johann Sebastian Bach [5] and the 1951 Oxford Festival of Arts linked to the Festival of Britain. [6]

Johann Sebastian Bach German composer

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Art of Fugue, the Brandenburg Concertos, and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Western musical canon.

Festival of Britain national exhibition in the United Kingdom, 1951

The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" as people:

flocked to the South Bank site, to wander around the Dome of Discovery, gaze at the Skylon, and generally enjoy a festival of national celebration. Up and down the land, lesser festivals enlisted much civic and voluntary enthusiasm. A people curbed by years of total war and half-crushed by austerity and gloom, showed that it had not lost the capacity for enjoying itself....Above all, the Festival made a spectacular setting as a showpiece for the inventiveness and genius of British scientists and technologists.

Another long-established and oft-noted tradition of the choir is the programming of rarely performed works in addition to the standard choral repertoire. [3] [7] Examples of this include:

Thomas Arne 18th-century British composer

Thomas Augustine Arne was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song Rule Britannia, which has become a second national anthem to God Save the Queen, and the song A-Hunting We Will Go. Arne was a leading British theatre composer of the 18th century, working at Drury Lane and Covent Garden.

<i>Judith</i> (oratorio)

Judith is an oratorio composed by Thomas Arne with words by the librettist, Isaac Bickerstaffe. It was first performed on 27 February 1761 at Drury Lane Theatre. It depicts the story of Judith, taken from the Book of Judith of the Old Testament. It was first published in 1761 and republished with edits in 1764. The piece is divided into three acts, with a total of 28 movements including nine choruses, two duets, an overture, and 16 arias.

Max Bruch German romantic composer and conductor

Max Bruch was a German Romantic composer, teacher, and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertory.

Since 1985, the choir has also taken part in a number of joint performances with the Bonn Philharmonic Choir in both Bonn and Oxford as part of activities celebrating the links between these twinned cities. One of the highlights of this partnership was a performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in Bonn on 22 September 1991, also involving the Cologne Philharmonic. In addition to a highly enthusiastic response from the audience and reviewers from the Bonn press, the concert also gained considerable attention from The Elgar Society. [9]

Notable conductors

From 1923 to 1930 the choir's conductor was Reginald Jacques, [10] [11] who subsequently went on to conduct The Bach Choir in London for many years. Other conductors of note included Sir John Dykes Bower (1931–33) Sydney Watson (1933–39), George Thewlis (1941–61), Sir David Lumsden (1961–63), Richard Silk (1963–71), Peter Ward Jones (1971–80), Philip Cave (1980–89) and Professor Brian Trowell (1989–90). [3] [12] Robert Secret has been the choir's conductor since 1990.

Notable soloists and orchestras

Over the years a significant number of well-known and well-loved professional soloists have taken part in the choir's concerts. The following are a selection: [13]

Although concerts have usually involved local orchestras (sometimes amateur and sometimes professional), on occasion the choir has employed well-known household names. The most notable of these include the New Queen's Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1927, two concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1944 and 1949, and The King's Consort in 1989. In addition, the choir was also invited on several occasions to participate in performances promoted by Oxford Subscription Concerts (an organisation that put on numerous concerts in Oxford for several decades from 1920 onwards). These Subscription Concerts included the choir performing alongside the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Hugh Allen in 1929 and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent in 1935. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Hibbert pp. 267, 301.
  2. 1 2 Sadie p. 830
  3. 1 2 3 Hibbert pp. 301–302.
  4. ↑ Bonavia, The New York Times
  5. ↑ Caldwell, Hornby & Maw pp. 288–289,
  6. ↑ Keesing's Record of World events Vol. VIII May 1951 p. 11441 May 6.
  7. ↑ Handbook to the University of Oxford 1966 p. 324.
  8. ↑ Tasch p. 255.
  9. ↑ Elgar Society Journal May 1992 and March 1995 p. 34.
  10. ↑ Kennedy p.441.
  11. ↑ Holmes p.300.
  12. ↑ Hyman pp. 21–24.
  13. 1 2 Hyman pp. 39–46.

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