Members of Worcester Choir, directed by Thomas Allery, sang several choral fanfares during the Royal visit by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak to open Worcester’s new lecture theatre. The Choir were honoured to meet the royal guests after the unveiling of the dedication stone — just another day in the life of a Worcester choral scholar!
Category: News
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Life and works of English composer Robin Milford celebrated in Chapel
Oxford was the setting for a vibrant weekend of concerts and services which brought to the fore the musical legacy of Robin Milford (d.1959), supported by the Trust which bears his name, on 21-22 October 2017.
Attendees were treated to concerts by Mary-Jannet Leith and Thomas Allery (recorder and harpsichord), Duncan Honeybourne (piano), and Christopher Foster and Timothy End (voice and piano), as well as a recital by Worcester organists Alexander Palotai and Julia Alsop, and a Choral Evensong.
Robin Milford’s works, God be in my head and Midwinter, can also be heard on the new Worcester Choir CD, Unfading Splendour, available now.
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Vacancies in the Mixed Choir, 2017-18
Welcome, especially to Freshers joining Worcester College!
On Saturday October 7th the Chapel Choir will host an open rehearsal and Evensong for anyone interested in joining the choir. All are welcome to come along at 5:00 for a rehearsal, with a service at 6:00 and auditions afterwards. Light refreshments will be available after the service for anyone staying to audition. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to bring along a short prepared piece to sing, which will be followed by a piece of sight reading.
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Thoughts on the Tour to the South of France, July 2017
Gabrielle Woodward writes:
As two first year choral scholars we were really excited to be embarking on our first Worcester College choir tour. After a smooth journey, we arrived at La Maison Verte in the beautiful village of Roujan for a week of rehearsals, table tennis, French food, pool-side fun and high-quality concerts.
Listen to a podcast recorded at La Maison Verte: choral scholars speak about their experiences…
After a busy end to Trinity term, with lots of choir commitments in Oxford, the change of setting encouraged the choir to find new sonorities to match the beautiful French landscape. We received a warm welcome from Francis, Anne and their daughter Eliza who continued to support us musically and pastorally throughout the week. In particular, the choir gained an immense wealth of feedback and interpretative skills from ex-Tallis scholar Francis; who encouraged us to explore new early music repertoire through a new perspective. Amid our busy rehearsal schedule Francis gave us workshops and arranged informal evening complines; including one outdoors by the swimming pool!
Over the course of the year we have found that one of the best things about being in the Worcester chapel choir has been the wide range of repertoire which we get through; and this tour was no exception. Our two concerts were packed with variety and being abroad encouraged us to improve our French repertoire including singing a beautiful setting of ‘Notre Père’ by Duruflé. The first concert was at the medieval church in Fontès and the second at L’église Saint-Laurent in Roujan. The choir filled these venues with programmes full of contrast from the intricate counterpoint of Byrd to the haunting harmonies of Tavener’s ‘The Lamb’. We even brought German texts to the French churches with the compelling textures of Rheinberger’s ‘Abendlied’.Much of the success of the concerts came from the sense of community between the choir members. As new choral scholars this year, we felt the tour helped us get to know the rest of the choir even better, bringing the us together through ensemble singing and other various activities. The social side of the tour included an excursion to the historic town of Pezanas, where a group trip to the Museum of Doors ‘knocked’ us away, as our eyes were ‘opened’ to the important function of doors throughout the history of Pezanas. Another highlight of the week included a trip to ‘Valras-Plage’ beach, where the sunshine and warm Mediterranean sea was appreciated by everyone as a nice contrast to our morning of rehearsals.
Following a successful last concert in Roujan our audience members joined us in La Maison Verte for some drinks and asked all about our life as Worcester choral scholars; whilst in return they offered us insights into their lives in the South of France. We then had a meal together as a choir and the senior organ scholar, Dan Mathieson, presented various comical choir awards, including ones such as: ‘The Most Enthusiastic about Doors Award’ won by Dom Spencer-Jolly to ‘The Most Dedicated to the Swimming Pool’ won by our very own choir director Thomas Allery. The awards were all humorous, but highlighted the real sense of community among the choir members as we reflected on our jam-packed week of musical fun. We then all headed down to the centre of the village for Roujan’s Bastille Day celebrations. Here there were fireworks and music, which encouraged lots of dancing from the whole choir; it was the perfect end to a brilliant week!
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A busy end to term
The end of Trinity term always seems to arrive sooner than expected in Oxford… It’s a term filled with (in no particular order!) revision, exams, concerts, madrigals, balls, dinners, farewells, tears and laughs, work and fun.
The Trinity term is one in which the chapel and choir community really comes together to support each other, to thank one another for the year’s activities and teaching, and to bid farewell to our leavers.
Our final week of term featured four large musical events in chapel: two very different concerts, and two services. Our traditional ‘leavers’ evensong’ was directed by our leaving senior organ scholar, Dan. He led the choir through music by Bairstow (I sat down under his shadow), Howells (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis Collegium Regale), and Balfour Gardiner (Te Lucis) sung by the combined forces of the mixed and boys’ choir. The final verse of ‘The day thou gavest’ is always something of a moment of realisation for many people that this will be their final service in the stalls. Of course we always enjoy welcoming our former choir members back – you are always part of the choir family and community!
The choir performing ‘It was a lover and his lass’ On Monday evening the weather was on our side and our annual ‘Music for a Summer’s Evening’ concert was held in the college grounds by the lake. We may be biased, but we think it is one of the most beautiful settings for this concert anywhere! As the sun starts to sink on a warm and balmy evening, it is the perfect accompaniment to a glass of pimms and some madrigals sung by the mixed choir and the staff choir. This year the mixed choir’s second set featured one of the tenor choral scholars on the appropriately named ‘continuo double bass’ in Rutter’s fun madrigal “It was a lover and his lass”. It has become a tradition that was “the long day closes” the combined forces of the mixed and staff choir join together to perform an item together. The unique addition to this year’s lakeside concert was the occasional bark from Coco, the Provost’s dog, at the end of certain pieces…
Worcester is the only college to have its own staff choir, and it is always a joy to hear how it is developing – there are always new members at each performance as the word spreads!
On Tuesday the boys’ choir sang the final service of the year with their evensong of Batten and plainsong. This was the final service that some of the choristers will sing before they move to new schools at the end of year 8.
Dan practising on the Mackinnon & Waitzman harpsichord (Donzelague 1711) To round off the year, all voices were raised in chorus to sing works with the Ensemble 1714, a period string group who joined the choir to perform music by Vivaldi, Handel, and Purcell. As a leaving opportunity, Dan conducted Handel’s Coronation Anthem ‘Let thy hand be Strengthened’, accompanied the Vivaldi’s Magnificat in G minor on the harpsichord and played a Handel keyboard concerto with the strings. Everyone was so proud of his playing and wished him well as he moves to become the organ scholar at Salisbury Cathedral next year.
We have already invited the ensemble back next year for our performance of Messiah in January!
In place of our usual Thursday evening rehearsal, we were able to enjoy chilling out on the college lawns with some refreshments after our final formal hall of term.
Now we have a couple of weeks off before our tour to Southern France – read our next blog to keep up with what we are doing on the road!
A wonderful setting for our ‘Music for a Summer’s evening’ -
Schools’ Week 2017
The mixed choir was pleased to host another schools’ week in chapel last week. The chapel choirs of Haileybury College and Bromsgrove School came to college to sing evensongs on Monday May 8th and Thursday May 11th respectively.Following its success last year, this is part of the chapel’s continuing commitment to creating links with school choirs. Each school arrived in the afternoon at Worcester College for a tour of the college grounds, a short talk about the chapel’s design, tea, rehearsal and service. The experience allows school pupils to get a feel for what it is like to sing in a college chapel choir for the day. Each choir had just an hour to put the music together for the service before singing to supporters and parents.
Haileybury School sang Stanford’s Evening Canticles in G and Wesley’s Easter anthem ‘Blessed be the God and Father’.
Bromsgrove School has a particularly special link to Worcester College in that its founder, Sir Thomas Cookes also founded Worcester College. The College is particularly pleased to recreate a link to the school through music and the combined choirs enjoyed singing a selection of music with links to Worcester College, Bromsgrove School, or the county of Worcestershire:
Matthew Martin – Te Lucis ante terminum
Herbert Murill’s Canticles in E
Sir Elgar Elgar – Great is the Lord
Thank you to both schools, pupils, staff, and parents for your support and for joining in our worship.
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Mixed Choir Recording: Exeter Chapel
Recording Blog Day 1
Welcome to our post-term blog post!
This week we are recording a CD of early 20th century English music in the beautiful 19th Century Exeter College chapel.
We are very lucky to be joined by a fantastic production and engineering team: the lovely Jon Olive and the charismatic Greg Hallam.
At the end of day we found ourselves ahead of schedule having recorded six pieces, including repertoire by Sir William Henry Harris, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Herbert Howells.
In addition to this project, the experience of having the choir together for the recording offers the chance for both organised and spontaneous fun. This began with frisbee (and subsequent frisbee fishing from the college lake) during our lunchtime choir picnic. Later we took advantage of the glorious weather (given that we had spent most of the day inside) and engaged in pre-dinner entertainment including an energetic game of sardines, with one of our bass choral scholars, Alex Scott, managing to avoid detection for a whole hour.
The evening concluded with an exuberant ping-pong tournament and a movie screening of Bridget Jones’ Diary. We trust that the social festivities will continue throughout the week as we also look forward to singing for a Gaudy in Worcester College later in ninth week.As well as providing an opportunity to record high quality performances of interesting works (some previously unrecorded), this project has given choral and organ scholars chance to develop their ensemble skills working as a team, and enjoying the opportunity to singing in a new space.
Recording Blog Day 2
As we are blogging, we are now having a well-earned drink in The Lamb and Flag after a hard day’s work of recording. Exeter College chapel is a particularly warm, all the more noticeable when you have spent the whole day recording in there, so the breaths of fresh air between takes and the free time outside are much appreciated. Once again we have had a successful day, with another five pieces in the can.
As part of today’s blog we ask a few questions to our engineer, Jon Olive.
Tom Allery: It’s been great to welcome you to our college and choir community. Are you enjoying the project as much as we all are?
Jon Olive: Absolutely! Every once in a while a job comes up that turns out to be so rewarding that you would have done it for free. This is honestly one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve done. I’ve really loved it so far.
TA: What does your role in the recording process involve?
JO: The role of the recording engineer is to capture the sound of the performance in such a way that when someone listens to the CD they get as close as possible to the experience of listening to the ensemble live. I add the finishing touches, including ‘mastering’ it; this is the process of doing subtle editing to ensure that the sound recording works as a CD.
TA: How did you get into sound engineering?
JO: I saw a program on TV about the BBC Radiophonic workshop, which used to be a department in the BBC that specialises in creating sound effects for television, including all the weird sound effects in Doctor Who. After watching this, I realised that this was an industry I wanted to be involved in. I went on to study at the University of Surrey on the Tonmeister course, which offered me a way of developing skills in sound design so that I could pursue it professionally.
TA: Obviously this week you have been working with us on our latest CD, is this your main interest as a sound engineer? What else have you worked on?
JO: Making records is actually a small part of what I do. I’ve done a lot of work in feature film sound design, including working on ‘The Mummy’. One of the sound design moments I’m most proud of in ‘The Mummy’ is at the end of the film when all the soldier mummies march out; I designed the sound for these soldier mummies. I also worked on all the Harry Potter movies, which involved working with the famous composer, John Williams. Another movie I was also a sound editor for the movie ‘Love Actually’.
Aside from feature films, I have also worked on a variety of projects, with a particular highlight being working on the recording team for Vienna’s New Year’s Day Millennium Concert.
TA: What has been you favourite piece in this project?
JO: My favourite piece would be John Ireland’s ‘Ex Ore Innocentium’. I honestly had a tear in my eye whilst listening to the recording takes. It was absolutely stunning.
Thanks to Jon for letting us interview him. Tomorrow we are looking forward to recording our final pieces for the CD, particularly nailing Howells in G!
Winding down after a long day! 
Table Tennis! -
Harpsichord Festival
On Thursday February 23rd , the chapel hosted a Festival Day of events using a beautiful newly built harpsichord. The instrument used was a copy of an anonymous instrument, the original of which is now in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. The day featured a lunchtime concert by Ensemble Hesperi on period instruments, a masterclass and Evensong.
Lunchtime Concert ProgrammeTrio Sonata in G major BWV 1038 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Largo – Vivace – Adagio – Presto
Airs for the Seasons (Spring) James Oswald (1710-1769)
The Phesant’s Eye – The Crocus – The Tulip
Trio Sonata in G, ‘In Imitation of Corelli’ William McGibbon (1690-1756)
Adagio – Allegro – Largo – Allegro
Ciaccona Tarquinio Merula (c. 1594-1665)
Canzoni over sonate concertate
Sonata a 3 (D-moll): TWV 42: D10 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Allegro – Adagio – Allegro – Presto
During the afternoon, Worcester College’s music students took part in a masterclass with harpsichordist Steven Devine. Students from all years played pieces by Bach, Byrd, Gibbons, and Gabrielli and were inspired by Steven’s energy and insight into the repertoire and technique. Each term Worcester students have the opportunity to perform in the Provost’s Lodgings on the harpsichord there. The instrument was equally at home in repertoire by all of these composers and students had the opportunity to learn some of the technical detail involved in harpsichord playing.
The Director of Chapel Music, Thomas Allery, gave a short pre service recital including repertoire contemporary with the original instrument by d’Anglebert and Froberger, as well as the first performance of an unmeasured prelude by Professor Robert Saxton, Fellow and Tutor in Music at Worcester College. To finish the day, the chapel mixed choir sang an evensong of music by Purcell accompanied and directed by Thomas Allery at the harpsichord who ended the service with a Handel voluntary played on the harpsichord.
This is just one of the many musical events going on within Worcester College this term.
Second year organ scholar, Alex Palotai said about the day: “this was such a wonderful experience…it was great to hear and play the new instrument and learn about some of the technique of harpsichord playing. I found it particularly interesting to think of ways in which some of the ideas in the piece I played in the masterclass to Steven might transfer to my organ playing. To have been taught under the expert guidance of Steven Devine was really wonderful… I’m really looking forward to our next similar event.”
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Choral Scholars in Conversation: Dom, Tenor
Welcome to the choir blog in the second week of the University term. This evening the choir sang an Epiphany Carol service and now we are in conversation with tenor choral scholar, Dominic Spencer Jolly.
So Dom, tell us a little about who you are and about your part in the choir… I am a fourth year chemist and I started in the choir in my first year. I am actually a student at New College but sing in Worcester’s choir.
Tell us a little but about the musical experience you had before University
I starting singing when I was reasonably young. My older sister used to have singing lessons and I often used to jump in at the end of her lessons! I went up the singing grades and sang in a number of choirs. When I was 11 I started at Birmingham Junior Conservatoire and received vocal training there, singing in vocal ensembles. I did a diploma in the year before University and also sang with the National Youth choir.
What attracted you to sing in Worcester College choir?
I applied to Worcester College, and the choral award interviews happen before the academic interviews. I was offered a choral scholarship place but was academically pooled to New College. I decided that I still wanted to sing at Worcester College and here I am! It has been wonderful to make friends in another part of Oxford and be part of such a friendly choir and enjoy making good music.
What makes Worcester choir Worcester Choir?
Surely it is the camaraderie of the members – we all get along really well. Worcester is unique in having two separate choirs, the boys’ choir and the mixed choir. This gives a really good dynamic to the choir. Also, we do some great trips away and tours which really adds to the social element of the choir. Over the summer we went to sing for a few days in Worcester Cathedral which was really good fun. So – the social aspect, really good music, and the unique setup of the choirs.
The other thing about Worcester is that it isn’t a huge choir. I feel as though ever member really counts and it relies on the musical contribution and commitment of all of the members and in everyone getting along. It’s a real team atmosphere; the setup trains you in personal responsibility and it has really improved my sight-singing over the years. On some Mondays we split into consorts and this gives a unique experience for us in services to sing in a small group.
What would you advice would you give to someone aspiring to a choral scholarship?
Train and practice your sight-singing, and get to the stage where you can sing with confidence and musical shape, even in sight-reading. With solo pieces, prepare to bring something to sing that you know really well and do it to your best rather than choosing something really difficult.
What is your favourite piece of repertoire?
It would have to be Parry’s My Soul there is a Country. The different snapshots of images that you get through the setting are wonderful, and I love the structure of piece with its short sections. I recall a particularly poignant performance of the piece this earlier in the year at an important Memorial service in the University Church for a former Worcester Fellow. It just seemed to capture the atmosphere perfectly and I remember my friends in the choir really pulling together to make an incredibly moving performance that day.
What has been your best moment in the choir so far?
It has to be the Puglia tour 2015. There were some really hilarious moments, especially when travelling around in the heat! We stayed in an amazing town, ate some wonderful food, and did some brilliant concerts. For one of them we had to wait 50 minutes to start because we couldn’t start until the Bishop arrived! (laughter…) then we cracked out the Holst Nunc Dimittis which brought the house down after each concert. It was a great tour – we had a great pool to ourselves at the hotel too!
What are you looking forward to in the rest of the year?
I am really looking forward to the Stations of the Cross service at the end of term as I love the music for Lent and Passiontide. At Eastertime we are doing a recording of early 20th century music with load of great pieces – Howells, Stanford, and Darke.
There are also a couple of Gaudies coming up – these are always good fun. These are occasions when former members of the college are invited to the college for an evensong service and a meal. The choir sings evensong for them and then we have a lovely meal and get to meet former members of the college and choir.
Finally, how would you sum up the choir in three words?
Fizzy, flourishing, and fun, very fun.
Thank you Dom. See you next week!
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Bedford School sings choral evensong joint with the boys' choir
On Tuesday January 24th, the boys’ choir hosted the choir of Bedford School. Arriving in time for a tour of the college, 35 boys from Bedford enjoyed looking around the college’s extensive grounds before having tea and sandwiches and a rehearsal.
The combined choirs sang a service featuring music by Sumsion and Vaughan Williams to a packed chapel including many visitors from Bedford. The choirs wish to thank everyone who made this event possible.
