The Singing Estate

Last updated
The Singing Estate
Created by North One Television
StarringIvor Setterfield
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes4 x 60 mins / 5 x 45 mins
Production
Production locations Oxford
Liverpool
London
Running time60 mins / 45 mins
Original release
Network Five
Release11 June (2006-06-11) 
2 July 2006 (2006-07-02)

The Singing Estate is a four-part constructed documentary series made by North One Television for Five and FiveArts Cities in the UK, shot from January 2006 to April 2006 and transmitted from 11 June to 2 July 2006. On the Blackbird Leys estate, in Oxford, conductor Ivor Setterfield auditioned 140 hopeful amateur singers, eventually picking 40 for 'Ivor's Choir' as they were then known. The aim was to teach these singers, many of whom did not read music, several well-known pieces for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall three months later.

The programme followed the audition process in some depth, showing hopefuls and the hopeless, as well as Ivor's reaction to the performances. After the choir line-up was finalised, with some singers held in reserve, they began their public career with a performance of "The Wild Rover" at an Oxford United home game. In subsequent programmes they learned new pieces including Carl Orff's Carmina Burana ; visited Italy, where they sang "'O sole mio" with Italian tenor Franco Malapena; held a marquee concert in Blackbird Leys (singing Handel's Hallelujah chorus); travelled to Liverpool, where they rehearsed with a full orchestra for the first time and finally went to London for the big performance of Carmina Burana alongside a youth choir. Shortly before performance day they were surprised with the news that they would also be singing You'll Never Walk Alone with popular classical vocal group G4. The concert took place on 20 April 2006, and was recorded for radio broadcast by Classic FM, and partially included in the TV series.

After the end of filming in April 2006, the choir's future was uncertain, but a core section of members wanted to continue and the renamed Blackbird Leys Choir began rehearsing again in September 2006 for planned performances in Oxford on 14 February (BMW) and 24 February 2007 (the Sheldonian Theatre), including a piece written specially for the choir by minimalist composer Orlando Gough. Funding and support for the rest of the year has been supplied by FiveArts Cities (a collaboration between Channel Five and Arts Council England) and Oxford Contemporary Music, with some donation of sheet music from Oxford University Press.

Queen Elizabeth II had been a fan of the programme, requesting DVD copies of the show to watch, and on 19 December 2006 the choir were invited to perform Christmas carols at an 'Achievers of the Year' reception at Buckingham Palace (other invited guests including David Walliams, Thandiwe Newton, William Fox-Pitt, and Zara Phillips). The choir performed carols for arriving guests for half an hour, and then sang the Hallelujah chorus in a private performance for the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Zara Phillips and boyfriend Mike Tindall, and a small selection of guests. The choir's performance was filmed and will appear in the follow-up documentary; portions of it, and interviews with choir members, appeared on Channel Five news on 19 December 2006 and 20 December 2006.

On 14 January 2007, the choir took part in Oxford Sings, a day-long workshop and performance of the Hallelujah chorus with approximately 400 other singers from around Oxfordshire. The rehearsals and performance were filmed by North One Television, and the performance recorded for broadcast the same day on BBC Radio Oxford.

The series was scheduled to be repeated from 27 February 2007, weekly at 7.15pm, as a series of 5 x 45 minute episodes with the fifth episode showing what has happened to members of the choir since the original series was filmed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choir</span> 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, hand, and facial gestures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackbird Leys</span> Civil parish and ward in Oxford, England

Blackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England. According to the 2011 census, the population of the ward stood at 6,077. Unlike most parts of the City of Oxford, the area has a civil parish, which was created in 1990. In 2011 the population was recorded as 13,100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drolls (Russian early music ensemble)</span> Musical artist

Drolls is a Russian early music ensemble formed in 1999 and playing its own interpretation of Medieval and Renaissance music, using authentic instruments. The name of the ensemble refers to a droll - a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. Although their main repertoire consists of music and songs from across the Europe, they also sing and play music of skomorokchs.

The Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) is the performing choir of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). The SSC performs solely with the SSO, presenting an average of three programmes a year.

<i>Carmina Burana</i> (Orff) 1937 cantata by Carl Orff

Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis. It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of Trionfi, a musical triptych that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first and last sections of the piece are called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" and start with "O Fortuna".

Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) is a children's choral youth organization based in Los Angeles. LACC has appeared in more than 300 performances with such organizations as the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

The Texas A&M University Century Singers are Texas A&M University's 100 member mixed choral group. The ensemble is Texas A&M's first mixed choir, and is the university's second oldest choral group. The Century Singers perform regularly throughout the Bryan/College Station community and annually throughout the State of Texas. The choir is currently under direction of Mr. Thomas Gerber, and is accompanied by Ms. Jesse Novak.

The Blackbird Leys Choir formed in January 2006 as Ivor's Choir for a constructed documentary series, The Singing Estate under Ivor Setterfield. Original members all live or work on or around the Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford, England, and the series focused on their quest to become a classical choir in just three months.

Eleanor Joanne Daley is a Canadian composer of choral and church music, a church choir director, choral clinician and accompanist. She lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. Among her best-known works are The Rose Trilogy and Requiem.

Janice Harsanyi was an American soprano singer and college professor.

The choirs at Brigham Young University (BYU) consist of four auditioned groups: BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir, BYU Men's Chorus, and BYU Women's Chorus. Each choir is highly accomplished and performs from an extensive repertoire. Together, the choirs have recorded and released over 30 albums. The choirs perform frequently throughout the academic year, both as individual ensembles as well as a combined group.

Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus is a large choir based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The chorus consists of about 190 members from Sheffield and the surrounding area and performs between five and ten concerts each season. A regular venue is Sheffield City Hall, although the choir also performs concerts in the Bridgewater Hall and Leeds Town Hall as well as other national and international venues. The musical director is Darius Battiwalla, who has held the post since 1997.

The Master Chorale of Washington, formerly the Paul Hill Chorale, was a symphonic choir based in Washington, D.C., composed of approximately 126 auditioned volunteer choristers and twenty-four professional choristers. Its most recent music director was Donald McCullough (1997–2009).

John Noble was an English baritone. He was Ralph Vaughan Williams's favourite in the title role of the composer's opera The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Valley Concert Chorale is a choir composed of about 40 auditioned singers from Livermore, California, USA, and the surrounding Tri-Valley area, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It usually performs three concerts each year, starting with a holiday concert in November, followed by a concert of serious music in March and a lighter concert in May. These concerts are often given in collaboration with other choruses in the area, including the San Francisco Concert Chorale, the Las Positas College Chamber Choir and the Cantabella Children's Chorus. Recently, the chorus has also organized an annual "sing-it-yourself" Messiah, which is held at Livermore's First Presbyterian Church.

<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">Golden Gate Men's Chorus</span> American Mens choir

Golden Gate Men's Chorus (GGMC) is a gay men's chorus founded in 1982 and located in San Francisco. The GGMC is a group of 50 ethnically and socially diverse gay and gay-supportive men. The GGMC presents spring, summer, and winter programs annually, in addition to numerous guest and community benefit performances throughout the year.

The Really Big Chorus (TRBC) is Britain's largest choral society, made up of singers from hundreds of different choirs all over the UK as well as thousands of individuals. It was founded by Don Monro, an Electrical Engineering lecturer at Imperial College, just opposite the Royal Albert Hall.

Louisville Chorus, established 1939 in Louisville, Kentucky, is the longest-thriving most frequently performing choral arts agency in Kentuckiana and neighboring states—also exceeding the longevity of opera, ballet, and theatre in the area.

Berks Youth Chorus (BYC), originally named the Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, is a children’s and youth chorus based in Reading, Pennsylvania, that performs classical, contemporary, and popular music. Singers are in grades three through twelve, and come from Berks and neighboring counties. The group was founded in 1992 by Donald Hinkle, and was led by Executive Director Dail Richie from 1997 to 2020. The current Executive and Artistic Director is Sam Barge. The organization has received various accolades, and provides a valuable resource for music performance, education and advocacy throughout Berks County.

References