Sheffield Bach Choir

Last updated

Sheffield Bach Society was founded in 1950 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of J S Bach in Leipzig, and to bring the music of Bach to Sheffield audiences. Its current conductor is Philip Collin, who has been the conductor since September 2023.

Contents

Origins

The choir's origins date back to early 1950, when a series of lectures was given by members of staff of the University of Sheffield's department of music. Those staff members included Professor Stewart Deas, Emeritus Professor F H Shera and a lecturer, Roger F T Bullivant, together with invited speakers of note from outside the university.

The lectures were a great success and the Sheffield Bach Society was subsequently founded at a meeting called on 1 May 1950 by Professor Deas. The founding officers were the Bishop of Sheffield – chairman, Professor Deas – honorary director, and Mrs Eileen M Denman (a member of the university registrar's staff) – honorary secretary and treasurer. Mr Norman Barnes, music master at King Edward VII School in Sheffield, was tasked with forming and conducting a choir. Mr – later Dr – Roger Bullivant was appointed as the choir's first rehearsal accompanist until becoming Conductor of the Choir in 1962, a post which he held until 2000. Mrs Denman acted as chairman from 1979 until 1988, then as choir secretary and finally archivist until retiring in 1999.

The Sheffield Bach Society organised their first public programme in the Victoria Hall, Sheffield on 28 November 1950, with a concert by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. The choir has performed a great number of works through the years, and their first programme was in February 1951. In 1964 Dr Bullivant formed the society's own orchestra of professional musicians, the Sheffield Bach Players. Concerts in the present day are accompanied by the National Festival Orchestra under the inspirational leadership of Sally Robinson with occasional use of organ accompaniment and a number of valued collaborations with Fine Arts Brass Ensemble.

The Sheffield Bach Society is an independent Registered Charity (No 511146), while retaining strong links to the University of Sheffield. The choir continues to make a significant contribution to the musical life of Sheffield and typically performs at venues such as Sheffield Cathedral, Sheffield City Hall, the Victoria Hall, the university's Mappin Hall and Firth Hall, St John's Church, Ranmoor, Ecclesall Parish Church, St Mark's Church, Broomhill and St James Church Norton. However, the choir also performs farther afield, participating in the Sixth Churchill Memorial Concert at Blenheim Palace in May 1971, performing in York Minster in June 1972 and at the Leeds Music Festival in 1981. In 1985 the society organised a six-week Bach Festival in Sheffield to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the births of both J.S. Bach and Handel, during which event the Stadtkantorei from Sheffield's twin city of Bochum in Germany, performed Bach's Mass in B minor. In May 1987 the visit was reciprocated when the Sheffield Bach Choir and Players performed in Bochum.

In 1991, the choir visited Leeds again for a special performance of Bach's Mass in B minor at Leeds Town Hall in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Leeds Parish Church on 2 September 1841. The conductor at that occasion, Dr Simon Lindley, was appointed Conductor of Sheffield Bach Choir towards the end of 2008, and took up duties at the outset of the 2009 season. Dr Lindley was Music Director of Saint Peter's Singers of Leeds and was in 2010 appointed Conductor of Doncaster Choral Society, along with his other Yorkshire posts in Leeds and Halifax.

In addition to the concert programme there have been private events such as members´ meetings, receptions, talks, visits to musical events elsewhere and Society dinners. Concerts by invited orchestras have also taken place, such as the performance by the London Harpsichord Ensemble in October 1954.

Despite the "Bach" of the choir's title, their repertoire has never been restricted, and through the years a wide variety of works has been undertaken. For example:

Works by a large number of other composers have also been performed, composers such as Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak, Schubert, Monteverdi, Stravinsky, Bruckner, Vivaldi, Elgar, Britten, Vaughan Williams and Tippett. A particular feature of the society's work has been the performance of less familiar contemporary works, early examples being John Joubert's The Martyrdom of St Alban and Anthony Hedges' Epithalamion. Recent years have witnessed performances of major works by Mendelssohn besides, of course, Elijah; the rarely heard St Paul was given in Autumn of 2009 and the Hymn of Praise and Lauda Sion in November, 2011.

Both Roger Bullivant and Eileen Denman were awarded MBEs in recognition of their services to music, the former in 1984 and the latter in 1999. Following the death of Eileen Denman in December 2001 a Service of Thanksgiving for her life was held in February of the following year at Sheffield Cathedral. A similar service was held in February 2005 for Dr Bullivant, who had died in November 2004; addresses at this service were given by the University of Sheffield's Peter Hill and by Dr Simon Lindley who was to become the choir's conductor in 2009. Peter Collis had been appointed conductor on Dr Bullivant's retirement in 2000 and served for almost a decade in that capacity.

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations

In 2010 the choir celebrated its Diamond Jubilee, with critically acclaimed performances of Mendelssohn's St Paul and Messiah in November and December 2010 respectively in Sheffield Cathedral. Returning to the society's roots in February 2010, Bach cantatas 30 (Freue dich) and 147 (Herz und Mund, with the famous "Jesu, joy of man's desiring") together with the composer's concerto for oboe and violin were presented at St Mark's Church Broomhill and a special Diamond Jubilee event took place, also at St Mark's, on Saturday 26 June at 7.30 when Christopher Steel's Sinfonia Sacra was given alongside two works of Mozart the Solemn Vespers and Exultate jubilate.

Previous Conductors

Funding sources

With the high costs of mounting choral performances, over the years additional financial support proved necessary for the society. During the 1970s South Yorkshire County Council recognised the contribution being made by the society to the cultural life of South Yorkshire, and provided funding for performances in numerous venues throughout the county. Arts Council Revenue funding was received through Yorkshire Arts Association, via the National Federation of Music Societies (Making Music), Sheffield City Council, and Arts Council England.

These sources of funding ceased some years ago, and the choir is now entirely dependant on the subscription paid by all choir members, individual sponsors, by the friends and patrons of the society and constant fund-raising efforts.

Related Research Articles

The Basel Boys Choir is a boys' choir based in Basel, Switzerland; it grew out of the boys' choir of the Protestant Church of Basel-City, founded by Hermann Ulbrich in 1927. Today the choir is non-denominational. They sing both sacred and secular works. The choir has been under the leadership of Oliver Rudin since 2017.

Simon Lindley is an English organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer. He was Leeds City Organist from 1976 to 2017 and is Organist Emeritus of Leeds Minster, having been organist and Master of the Music Leeds Minster from 1975 until his retirement in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melinda O'Neal</span>

Melinda O'Neal is a conductor of choral and choral-orchestral music, professor emerita of music, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canticum Novum</span> Musical artist

Canticum Novum is the church choir of the Stellenbosch Dutch Reformed Church (Moederkerk). The choir exists as a society of the University of Stellenbosch and is the only choir in South Africa connected to a university singing only sacred music.

Eugene Concert Choir is a choral masterworks organization in Eugene, Oregon, that consists of three performing ensembles: the 100-voice Eugene Concert Choir (ECC), the 36-voice chamber choir Eugene Vocal Arts (EVA), and the associated professional chamber orchestra Eugene Concert Orchestra.

The Leeds Festival Chorus is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has 160 singing members in soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections. Presenting classical choral music of a professional standard in Yorkshire and elsewhere, including at the BBC Proms and abroad - for example in Venice. The Chorus is broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 3.

Kent Tritle is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music and organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He is a concert organist, including organist of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra. He has been Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music, and on the graduate faculty of the Juilliard School.

Leeds Philharmonic Chorus is a leading choir in Europe, regularly performing to professional standards with internationally renowned soloists, orchestras and conductors.

Saint Peter's Singers (SPS) is a chamber choir associated with Leeds Minster, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England that celebrated during the Season 2017/2018 the fortieth anniversary of the choir's formation by Harry Fearnley in 1977. An anniversary concert took place at Leeds Minster on Sunday 25 June 2017 with the National Festival Orchestra and soloists Kristina James, Joanna Gamble, Paul Dutton and Quentin Brown. Further anniversary year events included Bach Cantatas and Music for Christmas at Fulneck Church in August and December respectively, Handel Coronation Anthems at Holy Trinity, Boar Lane as part of the Leeds Handel Festival in September and a tour of East Anglia in October. In November at Leeds Town Hall, the Singers participated in Herbert Howells's masterpiece Hymnus Paradisi with Leeds Philharmonic Chorus and Leeds College of Music Chorale under the direction of Dr David Hill with the Orchestra of Opera North. 2018 began with a concert of Sacred Choral Masterworks at Leeds Town Hall in February and Bach's Mass in B minor at Leeds Minster on Good Friday 2018 in memory of long-serving member Jan Holdstock. The final concert of the current season takes place at Leeds Minster on Sunday 24 June at Leeds Minster at 5.30. At this event will be presented the first performance of a new work from composer Philip Moore commissioned for the Singers' 40th anniversary – the motet Tu es Petrus – along with music by E W Naylor, Arvo Part, Sir Hubert Parry, Judith Bingham and Maurice Durufle.

Gerald Richard Fagan is considered one of Canada's premier choral conductors. He is the former Conductor and Artistic Director of Fanshawe Chorus London, The Gerald Fagan Singers, and the Concert Players Orchestra. He has been married to Marlene Fagan since 1961. They have five children; Leslie, Louise, Judy, Jennifer and Jonathon.

Paul Kuentz is a French conductor who studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1947 to 1950, with Noël Gallon, Georges Hugon and Eugene Bigot.

London Concert Choir (LCC) is one of London's leading amateur choirs. The choir was formed in 1960, and the full-time membership consists of ca 150 singers of a wide range of ages.

Royal Melbourne Philharmonic (RMP) is a 120-voice choir and orchestra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1853, and is reportedly Australia's oldest surviving cultural organisation. The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is Australia's oldest musical organisation that has been continuously existing for over 150 years. Among its programmes, there have been large-scale concerts celebrating classical composers including Bach, Mendelssohn and Beethoven. The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is managed under the direction of Andrew Wailes, the artistic director of the orchestra.

Bath Bach Choir, formerly The City of Bath Bach Choir (CBBC), is based in Bath, Somerset, England, and is a registered charity. Founded in 1946 by Cuthbert Bates, who also became a founding father of the Bath Bach Festival in 1950, the choir's original aim was to promote the music of Johann Sebastian Bach via periodic music festivals. Bates – an amateur musician with a great love and understanding of this composer's works – was also the CBBC's principal conductor and continued in this role until his sudden death, in April 1980. This untimely exit pre-empted his planned retirement concert performance of J. S. Bach's Mass in B minor, scheduled for July of the same year, and effectively ended the first period of the choir's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Kennedy Scott</span> English organist and choral conductor

Charles James Kennedy Osborne Scott was an English organist and choral conductor who played an important part in developing the performance of choral and polyphonic music in England, especially of early and modern English music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth Civic Chorus</span>

Monmouth Civic Chorus is a community chorus in Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA. Monmouth Civic Chorus was established in 1949 and draws its members primarily from the Monmouth County community. Its performances encompass choral classics, premieres, rare and contemporary music, musical theater, opera, and operetta. Monmouth Civic Chorus has performed on tour in Europe and the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

The Toronto Choral Society was founded in 1845. Music was a popular form of entertainment for a rapidly growing and prosperous population, so a group of citizens formed a choral society in order to give concerts and foster the development of the local musical community. F.W. Barron, the headmaster of Upper Canada College, became the choir's first president, and James P. Clarke, organist at St. James Cathedral, was its first conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rheingauer Kantorei</span> German choir

Rheingauer Kantorei, now Neue Rheingauer Kantorei, is a mixed choir of the Rheingau region in Germany, performing mostly sacred music in services and concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Choral Society</span>

The Paris Choral Society is an auditioned amateur choir based at the American Cathedral in Paris, France.

St Albans Bach Choir is an amateur choir based in the English cathedral city of St Albans. Since its founding in 1924 it has performed a wide range of choral music including but by no means limited to the great Bach masterpieces. It strives for the highest possible standards of music making, employing soloists of the highest calibre and professional orchestras. Performances are normally held in St Albans Cathedral. Currently, the Musical Director is Andrew Lucas, Master of the Music at the Cathedral.

References