List of works performed since 1966

The following is a list of the major choral and orchestral works performed since 1966 (updated January 2015):

BACH Brandenburg Concerto No5 2008

BACH Christmas Oratorio 1984, 1995, 2006
BACH Violin Concerto in A minor 2011

BACH Violin Concerto in E 1987

BACH Magnificat 1993

BACH Mass in B minor 1997, 2014

BACH O Jesu Christ meins lebens licht 1999, 2003

BACH Peasant Cantata 1983, 1992

BACH St John Passion 2005
BACH St Matthew Passion 2012

BEETHOVEN  Choral Fantasia 1998

BEETHOVEN  Mass in C   2005
BERLIOZ Te Deum 2012

BERNSTEIN West Side Story 1996

BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture 1989, 2002

BRAHMS Ach, Arme Welt 2003

BRAHMS Requiem 1989, 2002, 2013

BRAHMS Song of Destiny 1984

BRITTEN Ceremony of Carols 1987

BRITTEN Choral Dances from "Gloriana" 1987
BRITTEN National Anthem 2012

BRITTEN Rejoice in the Lamb 1999
BRITTEN St Nicolas 2011

BROWN To the hills 2000

BRUCKNER Christus Factus Est 1998, 2008, 2011

BRUCKNER Locus Iste 1998, 2011
BRUCKNER Os Justi 2011

BRUCKNER Te Deum  1998

CARTER Benedicite 2004

CARTER Horizons 2007
CARTER Laudate Dominum 2011

COPLAND Old American Songs 1990

CORELLI Concerto Grosso Op6 No1 1985

DURUFLE Requiem 1996, 2004

DVORAK Stabat Mater 1985, 2008

DYSON Songs of Courage 1983

ELGAR Banner of St George 2009
ELGAR Coronation Ode 2012

ELGAR Dream of Gerontius 1984, 2010

ELGAR From the Bavarian Highlands 1986, 1990, 2007

ELGAR Music Makers 1988

ELGAR Pomp and circumstance march No4 1988

ELGAR Spirit of England 1998

FAURE Cantique de Jean Racine 1994, 1997, 2003

FAURE Requiem 1974, 1981, 1984, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2012

FRANCK Panis Angelicus 2003

GILBERT and SULLIVAN Pirates of Penzance (extracts) 1986

GILBERT and SULLIVAN Trial by Jury 1989

GILBERT and SULLIVAN Yeoman of the Guard 1991

GOUNOD Messe Solennelle 1986

HADLEY My beloved spake 1999

HANDEL Chandos Anthem - O Praise the Lord with one consent 1985

HANDEL complete Coronation Anthems 2003
HANDEL Dettingen Te Deum 2011
HANDEL Dixit Dominus 2011

HANDEL Judas Maccabaeus 2002

HANDEL Messiah 1970, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2004

HANDEL Samson 1972, 1980, 2008
HANDEL Saul 2013

HANDEL Solomon 2006

HANDEL The King Shall Rejoice 1999, (2003)

HANDEL Utrecht Jubilate 2000

HANDEL Zadok the Priest 1985, 1993, 1995, 1999, (2003,) 2007

HAYDN Creation 1973, 1979, 1982, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2010

HAYDN Mass in Tempore Belli 1989

HAYDN Missa Sancti Nicolai 1985

HAYDN Nelson Mass 1978, 1991, 2003

HAYDN Symphony No82 (The Oxford) 1986

HAYDN Symphony No9 1989

HAYDN Te Deum Laudamus 1998

HAYDN The Seasons 2006

HOWELLS  A spotless Rose 1985

HOWELLS  St Paul's Service 1999
JENKINS Requiem 2011

JENKINS The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace 2009
JENKINS The Peacemakers 2015

MAUNDER Bethlehem 1967

MAUNDER Olivet to Calvary 1966, 1975

MENDELSSOHN Christus 1983

MENDELSSOHN Elijah 1968, 1975, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2014

MENDELSSOHN Hear my prayer 2009

MENDELSSOHN Hebrides Overture 2000

MENDELSSOHN St Paul 2009

MONTEVERDI Beatus Vir 1995

MOZART Ave Verum 1986, 1999, 2003, 2004

MOZART Divertimento in D 1985

MOZART Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1983

MOZART Exultate jubilate 1999

MOZART Horn Concertos in E flat and D 1984

MOZART Mass in C minor 1992, 2008

MOZART Requiem 1977, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2004

MOZART Sacred Litany 2000

MOZART Symphony No29 2004

MOZART Symphony No41 1992

MOZART Vesperae Solemnes de Confessore 1998

MOZART Violin Concerto in A 1986

ORFF Carmina Burana 1996

PARRY  Blest Pair of Sirens 1978, 1988, 1998, 2007

PARRY  I was Glad 1988, 1999

PERGOLESI Magnificat 1983

PERGOLESI Stabat Mater 1990

POULENC Concerto for Organ, strings and timpani 1995

POULENC Gloria 1997, 2013

POULENC Salve Regina 2003
PUCCINI Messa di Gloria 2014

PURCELL Dido and Aeneas 2004

PURCELL Hear my prayer 1999

PURCELL Jehova quam multi sunt hostes 1999

PURCELL Lord, how long wilt thou be angry 1999
PURCELL Welcome to all pleasures (2011)

RACHMANINOV Bogorodisye Dyevo 1999

ROSSINI Petite Messe Solennelle 1988, 1992, 2000

RUTTER Gaelic Blessing 1994

RUTTER Gloria 1995, 2001

RUTTER Magnificat 2009

RUTTER Requiem 1989, 1994

SCHUBERT Mass in G 1981, 1987, 1997

STAINER Crucifixion 1969, 1981, 1994

STANFORD Te Deum in B flat 1981

TELEMANN Viola Concerto 1983

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Dona Nobis Pacem 1991

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on Xmas Carols 1987

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Five mystical songs 2002

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS In Windsor Forest 2007

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Lark Ascending 2007

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Wasps overture 1991

VERDI Requiem 1998, 2014

VIVALDI Gloria 1977, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999

VIVALDI Magnificat 1993

WALTON Belshazzar's Feast 2000
WHITACRE Lux Aurumque 2015
WHITACRE Sleep 2015

WOOD Hail Gladdening Light 1999

Reflections on 2009

It seems difficult to believe that I have just conducted my 30th concert at the helm of St Ives Choral Society.  I would rate all of them as being successes although the quality of music making has certainly improved over the past three or four years.  This is due, in no small part, to our success in attracting higher quality musicians to the ranks of the choir, and to the orchestra.  We have also managed to breathe newer life into the choir membership with at least some young members and, with the introduction of our bursaries scheme, hopefully more young people will follow.  The choir is now a bigger and more versatile 'instrument' than in years gone by.

However, recruitment is never something that we can afford to be complacent about.  Our current problem area is amongst the ranks of the gents.  There is nothing unusual in being members of a choral society with a smaller proportion of males than females.  Our plight is more acute than it should be and we do need to work particularly hard at this over the coming few years.

The recent Christmas concert is another area needing regeneration - perhaps some tweaking, rather than any fundamental change.  When I took over the choir, we worked particularly hard at changing the format of this concert so that it better served our purposes.  It could be argued that this concert, more so than any of our other activities, has been the backbone of our success during the 'noughties'.  I don't want to lose the concert's current strengths: its compact length, the way it provides opportunities for us to sing from a different repertoire, and the way it speaks to a different audience.  The children's aspect has served us well, but this aspect needs to change.  Next year, I hope to have been successful in recruiting a Junior School Choir to join us at this concert; well, it helps that my wife happens to run one.  This may well provide the answer to the children's 'slot' and, in so doing, will attract another audience.  Hopefully, they will sing two 'sets' and this may have the added benefit of enabling us to concentrate on a smaller but slightly more challenging repertoire of carols - I have a little list!

St Paul (1836) - Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)

On September 8th, we commence rehearsals for our new season of concerts, the first of which will be on November 28th when we perform Mendelssohn's wonderful oratorio St Paul. This rarely performed gem has many of the attributes of the later, famous Elijah and was particularly influential in the shaping of musical history - apparently, Wagner's early music was much influenced by this work, although Wagner, a notable critic of Mendelssohn, would have been loathed to acknowledge this.

Like a number of the previous works I have conducted, I have never previously performed this piece and so the music is pretty much new to me. However, I did a little homework prior to selecting the piece as repertoire for our new season. Initial impressions are extremely encouraging. The music features plenty of challenging and exciting choral movements, many references to Bach (now, I wonder why that might appeal!?) and a number of intriguing arias.

The Bach connection is always interesting with Mendelssohn. He was in the vanguard of the Romantic revival of Bach's music, particularly famous, when only 20 years old, for his 1829 revival of Bach's St Matthew Passion, possibly 100 years after its first performance. St Paul follows Bach's example in using the chorus as, amongst other things, a 'crowd' during the dramatic scenes. Additionally, the use of chorales is a key feature. The overture uses the 'Wachet auf' (Sleepers wake) chorale, and chorales are sung at several other points during the work. Above all, Mendelssohn liked to imbue his music with counterpoint, and a strong, bass-upwards sense of harmony, a Germanic tradition which captured the essence of Bach and which was continued beyond Mendelssohn by composers such as Schumann, Brahms and Bruckner.

Unlike Elijah, Mendelssohn initially composed St Paul to a German libretto. Whilst the work was an instant success, with over 60 performances in Germany during the year following its premiere, Mendelssohn was keen to bring his new music to an English audience at an early stage, and conducted the work for a second time in English in 1837. Mendelssohn's strong English connections are well worth exploring at a later date. Whether, or not, the English translation provided in the Novello edition is the same that Mendelssohn would have used is not known. I have already found some opportunities for 'editing' some of the words! Watch this space....