ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS CHORAL SOCIETYSPRING CONCERT

Sunday 26th March 1995Assembly Hall, 3.00pm

Rossini - Stabat MaterHaydn - 'Spring' from The Seasons

Anne Wright SopranoValerie Macfarlane Mezzo SopranoDavid Newman TenorAndrew Tinkler Bass

Royal Tunbridge Wells Choral Society OrchestraLeader: Harry Saunders

** Conductor: Derek WatmoughMBE

Patron:AY>\x HRH The Duchess of KentOS)/ ms-itM President:

J U 81 LEE Sir Pcto M™*6" Davits CBE

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THE ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLSCHORAL SOCIETY

President Roy DouglasHonorary Life President John H. JohnsonChairman Helen MacNabMusical Director and Principal Conductor Derek Watmough MBEAccompanist Wilmarc EllmanHonorary Life Member A.Smith-Masters

PATRONS

Mrs. D.I. Benson Mr. M.L. CokerMiss D. Goodwin Mr. J. JohnsonLloyds Bank pic MCL Group LtdNPI Mr. R.W. J. PageMr. and Mrs. J. Pelham Mrs. G. StewartMr. and Mrs. G. Stredder Mr. M. WebbMr. W. Yates Mr. J. TysoeR.B. Benson The Music Centre

We are most grateful for the support of Patrons and new ones are always welcome. Pleasetelephone or write to the General Secretary. Mr. L.A. Lee, 233 Greggs Wood Road, TunbridgeWells 01892-521937.

The choir rehearses on Monday evenings from September to April. New members are alwayswelcome and there is a simple private audition. Please contact The Membership Secretary01892-822048.

Forthcoming Concerts

Sunday 2nd April, 1995 Assembly Hall 3.00p,m.Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 9th April, 1995 Trinity Theatre and Arts Club 7.00p.m.Crowborough Choral Society

Sunday 23rd April, 1995 Trinity Theatre and Arts ClubGreen Room Music Club

Sunday 26th November, 1995 Assembly Hall 3.00p.mRoyal Tunbridge Wells Choral SocietyVivaldi GloriaRutter MagnificatMozart Exsultate Jubilate

R.T.W.C.S, is a Registered Charity.Member of the National Federation of Music Societies

STABAT MATER - ROSSINI

Latin with English translation by R. Gosling 1995

1. INTRODUCTION- Chorus and QuartetStabat mater dolorosaJuxta crucem lacrymosaDum pendcbat Filius.2. AIR-TenorCujus animam gemeatemContristantem et dolentemPertransivit gladius0 quam tristis et afflictaFuit ilia benedictaMater Unigeniti;Quae moerebat et dotebatEt tremebat, cum videbatNati poenas inclyti.3. DUET - 1st and 2nd SopranoQuis est homo qui non fierctChristi matrem si videretIntantosupplicio?Quis non posset contristariPiam matrem contempiariDolentem cum Filio?4. AIR-BassPro pcccatis suae genttsVidit Jesum in tormentis,Et flagellis subditum.Vidit suum dulcem natumMorientem desolatum.Dum emisit spiritum

The mournful mother stoodCrying beside the crossWhile the Son was hanging there

Her lamenting soulSharing If is sorrow and griefWas pierced through as by a sword.Oh, how sad and afflictedWas that blessedMother of the Only-begottenShe mourned and grievedAnd trembled, as she sawThe torments of her illustrious Child

Who is the man who would not weepIf he saw the mother of ChristIn such agony?Who could not share her sorrow?To see the dear mother?Grieving with her son?

It was because of the sins of her own peopleShe saw her Jesus in tormentAnd subjected to the scourgeShe saw her sweet SonDying desolateAs He gave up the ghost

5. RECITATIVE - Bass and chorus (unaccompanied)Eia, mater, fons amoris,Me sentire vim dolorisFac, ut tecum lugcamFac ut ardeat cor meumIn amando Christum Deum,Utsibicomplaceam.6. QUARTETSancta mater, istud agas,Crucifixi fige plagasCorde meo vaUde.Tui nati vulnerati,TanfHignati pro me pati,Poenas mecum divide.Fac me vere tecum flere,Crucifixo condolereDonee ego vixero.Juxta crucem tecum stare

Come, mother, fount of loveMake me feel the force of griefThat I may grieve with you!Make my heart to blazeIn the love of Christ ourLordThat I may please Him.

Holy mother, may you do thisFix firmly the wounds oftheCrucifiedFirmly in my own heartShare with me the painsOf your wounded Son,Who so deigned to suffer for my sakeMake me truly to weep with youTo grieve together with the CrucifiedWhile I shall liveI long to stand beside the Cross with you

Te libenter sociare And willingly share with youIn planctu desidero. In your grief.Virgo, virginum praeclara, Maiden, famous among maidensMihi jam non sis amara, May you no longer be bitter towards meFac me tecum plangcrc. Make me weep with you!7. CAVATINA - 2nd SopranoFac ut portem Christ! mortem, Make me to bear the death of ChristPassionis cjus sortem, The lot of his PassionEt plagas recolere And recollect his sufferingsFac me plagis vulnerari, Make me to be wounded by his stripesCruce hac tnebriari To lose my senses in this CrucifixionOb amorem Filii,' For the love of your Son8. AIR - Soprano and ChorusInflammatus ct accensus Inflames and firePer te, Virgo, sim defensus May I, Maiden, through you be defendedIn die judicii. On the Day of JudgementFac me cruce custodiri, Make me to be guarded by the CrossMorte Christ! praemuniri, Protected by the death of ChristConfoveri gratia. To be cherished by His grace9. QUARTET - UnaccompaniedQuando corpus morietur, When my body diesFac ut animae donetur May my soul be grantedParadisi gloria. The glory of Paradise10. FINALE - Chorus and QuartetIn sempitema saecuIa.Amen. For ever and ever. Amen

"THE SEASONS" - Haydn

The immense success of The Creation in 1799 encouraged Haydn to consider writing a secondgreat oratorio modelled on Handel's English oratorios which he had heard during his two visits toLondon. Thus was born the idea for The Seasons, the first public performance of which took place inVienna in May 1801. Haydn was then 69 years old and at the pinnacle of his fame and this was hislast major work before his death in 1809.

Unlike The Creation, The Seasons is largely secular in its inspiration as the three peasants, JaneLucas and Simon, the farmer, express their wonderment at the annual cycle of Nature. They glorifytheir Creator but arc also concerned with worldly joys.

For the text Haydn turned once again to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, a friend of Mozart who hadalready helped to provide the German translation of The Creation. As with The Creation, an Englishtext was the starting point - a Miltonesque cycle of poems by James Thomson. Haydn treated thesubject matter as four descriptive tableaux involving a succession of seasonal tasks and all theirattendant joys,

In the first part, Spring, an orchestral overture expresses the passage from winter to spring.The,three peasants comment on the seasonal change and the chorus sing of spring's approach.Simon the farmer drives the plough and sows the seed (Haydn here quotes from the slow move-ment of his Surprise symphony)All the people unite in a prayer for a good harvest later in the year. (Be propitious, bounteousheaven).Jane, Lucas and their friends enjoy the lovely countryside (Spring, her lovely charms unfolding)and finally everyone joins in a chorus of praise to the great Creator (God of Light).

1. Overture2. Recitative3. Chorus4. Recitative5. Recitative6. Recitative7. Trio and Chorus8. Recital and Air9. Duet and Chorus10. Chorus

Expressing the passage from Winter to SpringBehold where surely Winter fliesCome Gentle SpringAt last the bounteous sunWith joy the impatient husbandmanLaborious man hath done his partBe propitious, Bounteous HeavenOur fervent prayers are heardSpring, her lovely charms unfoldingGod of light

THE SOLOISTSAnne Wright - Soprano

Anne studied singing with Margaret Cable atThe Royal College of Music 1984 - 89 whereshe won an Exhibition Scholarship. Her operaroles include Columbine in 'Fetes Galantes' byEthel Smyth in the Britten Theatre, second boyin The Magic Flute with Mecktenburgh Opera,First Spirit in the Magic Flute with Opera Boxand Anna in the Merry Widow with The SouthHolland Singers. Her most recent solo concertappearances have been in Vivaldi's Gloria, Bach'sSt. John Passion, Mozart's Coronation Mass, andRossini's Stabat Mater. Recital venues includeThe Guildhall, Barbican Foyer, Fairfield Halls,

Nottingham Playhouse and The Drapers' Hall.Anne has performed in 'Tosca' (Earls Court),

'Aida' (National Indoor Arena - Birmingham)and 'Carmen' (Dortmund - Germany) with theAmbrosian Opera Chorus and 'Der Freischutz'with Opera Box on their tour of English Heritageproperties. She toured Switzerland andLichtensteirt with the Academy of Ancient MusicChorus and regularly broadcasts on BBC radiowith a variety of vocal ensembles.

Future engagements include Belinda inFurcelPs Dido and Aeneas in the Leith HillMusic Festival, and Faure's Requiem in Stamford,

Valerie Macfarlane - Mezzo Soprano

Valerie Macfarlane was born in Stirling andstudied with Neil Mackie before entering theRoyal College of Music in 1987. She studiedthere with Marion Studholme and during her firstyear was awarded an Exhibition Scholarship.

Since leaving in 1990 Valerie has performedOpera and Oratorio extensively throughout theU.K., Holland, Japan, Italy and Germany. Soloperformances have included Handel's Messiah,J.S, Bach's St. John Passion, C.P.E. Bach'sMagnificat, Mozart's Mass in C Minor andSolemn Vespers, Rossini 's Petite MesseSolennelle, Vivaldi's Gloria and R.VaughanWilliams Serenade to Music.

She has made many recordings with theAmbrosian Singers, and appears regularly on

BBC radio, Valerie's operatic roles includelolanthe (lolanthe), Puck (Oberon), 2nd Medium(The Poisoned Kiss), 2nd Niece (Peter Grimes),The Queen (Fetes Galantes), 2nd Witch (Didoand Aeneas) and Mercedes (Carmen),

She has appeared many times with RichardBaker including a P. & 0. Classical Music cruisewith Marilyn Hill Smith, and has made arecording of Christmas carols for GrampianTelevision.

Valerie has spent much of the last two yearsworking in France for Opera de Ly on and returnsthere next month for a production of L'Amourdes Trois Oranges which will tour to SanFrancisco in the summer.

David Newman - Tenor

David was born in Manchester and studied atTrinity College of Music in London. Being oneof the country's young talented singers, he ismuch in demand as a soloist throughout thecountry, appearing at venues as varied as St.Martin's-in-the-Fields and The Barbican inLondon^ York Minster, Durham and SheffieldCathedrals and Cheltenham Town Hatl. He hassung with eminent conductors such as Sir CharlesGroves, Yakov Kreizberg and Dr. RogerBullivant. David's reputation is growing,reflected by the variety and extent of his demand,with his repertoire extending across the fields ofopera, oratorio and recital work. David has alsobroadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio andTelevision.

In the operatic sphere, David has performedroles from Mozart to Malcolm Williamson, withEnglish National Opera, Opera East and KentishOpera among others. Past roles have includedFerrando (Cosi Fan Tutte - Mozart), Titus {La

Clemenza dl Tito - Mozart), Sam Kaplan (StreetScene - Kurt Weill), Fenton (Falstaff - Verdi),Alfredo (La Traviata - Verdi), Faust (Faust -Gounod) and Nadir (The Pearl Fishers - Bizet).

As an oratorio soloist, David has performedmuch of the mainstream repertoire includingworks ranging from Bononcini's Stabat Mater toAndrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem and ArvoPart's Berlina Messa. His recital repertoireincludes works such as Britten's Serenade forTenor, Horn and Strings and Stravinsky'sPulcinella Ballet as well as programmes rangingfrom Schubert Lieder to light music, opera andpopular Neapolitan arias.

David's future engagements include Rodolfo(La Bohemc) for English Festival Opera, DonOtiavio (Don Giovanni) for Opera East, Don Jose(Carmen) in Ipswich, Rossini's Stabat Mater inTunbridge Weils, Dvorak's Requiem in Tauntonand Mendelssohn's Elijah in Salisbury Cathedral.

Andrew Tinkler - Bass

Andrew is currently a chorister at EnglishNational Opera. He started his musical trainingas a treble in Westminster Abbey Choir and from1984 - 89 studied at The Royal College of Music.

His opera roles include Collatinus - Rape ofLucretia for Opera East, Pistol - Falstaff for Opera70, Commcndatore - Don Giovanni for NewLondon Opera, the Abbot - Curlew River forPrince Consort Opera, Prince Gremin - EugeneOnegin for Oxford University Opera Club,Ferrando - Trovatore for European ChamberOpera and Don Magnifico - Cenerentola forCaraberwell Pocket Opera. Recent Oratoriosinclude Christus - St. John Passion in St. Martin-

in-the-Fields, Nelson Mass in Chi ChesterCathedral and Bath Abbey, Pater profundus -Mahler's Eighth Symphony in NorwichCathedral, and Coronation Ode in the Leith HillMusic Festival.

Andrew sings for many professional ensemblesthroughout the U.K. and abroad. Amongst themare the Addington Singers and Permanent Wave(vocal quartet) who work for "Live Music Now"a scheme for young musicians.

Future engagements include Bach's St.Matthew Passion in Witham, Faure's Requiemin Malvem, and Elgar's Dream of Geronn'us inInverness.

This programme was produced with the cheerful assistance ofHolland Business Services,

126 Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TNI 2QZ Telephone (01892) 530269

THE ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLSCHORAL SOCIETY

SOPRANOSB. Batchelor, J. Bishop, D. Bruce, S. Chandler, M. Chapman, A. Cunningham, V. Cunningham

C. Down, J. Dunstall, J. Eckett, S. Ellman, C. Hare, P. Hillen, A, Holt, P, HoweM, L. HullD. Hutcheson, E. Jackson, E. Jefferson, J. Jessup, S. Jones, C. Lane, H. MacNab, M. Marshall

B, Maw, J, Mitchley, M. Mortimore, J. Nash, M. Nopper, M. O'Sullivan, E. Phillips, K. PhillipsM. Smith, A, Spillman, L. Stroud, M. Thatcher, J. Thorpe, M. Thorpe, A. Wallin, E. Ward, E. Webb

ALTOSH. Baker, J. Blake, M. Blyth, R. Clark, E. Crusoe, P. Eastman, G Feast, J. Finch, J, Finlay,N. Fletcher, D. Flint, P. Flood, E. Gall, R. Gray, A. Grey, M. Guy, J. Heritage, S, Jones, F. LeeC. Lewis, J, Lewis, J. Lindeyer, J, Lowdon, P. Maxwell, D. Mitchell, M. Norton, J. Olley

S. Phelps, J. Scholes, O. Seaman, J. Strcdder, C, Sumner, J. Talbot, B. Tattersall, S. Taylor

J, Trew, M. WoodTENORS

E. Carr, R, Ewins, J. Harding, J. Holt, A. Lee, L. Lee, K. Mitchell, G. Stredder, T. Walter

BASSESA. Denyer, R. Dunstall, J. Prize, R. Gosling, C. Hare, N. Hare, J. Heritage, M, Hudson, A. HullM, Rees, C. Rogers, E. Scott, F. Shorter, J. Spary, C. Steward

THE ROYAL TUNBRTOGE WELLSCHORAL SOCIETY ORCHESTRA

Violin 1Hany SaundersClive HughesSusan BakerFelicity SmithNina Bentley

Lynn CookSally Brooke-PikeRaymond Alexander

Violin!Anita BuserDaniel WeatherleyLaurence WalkerMaiy Find I ayBarbara HebditchAline DavisSusan HintonMarie Saunders

ViolaJenny MooreJane TauntonMargaret WilsonBill BallLynn WhitleyBernard Wheeler

CelloChloeAllman-WardColin WalkerMark WalkerValerie HaynesRosemaryieeFelix Buser

Double BassOliver SpringettSimon TauntonAllan Pearce

FlutesPatrick TaggartIan Audsley

OboesHelen PyeCaroline Kehoe

ClarinetJane Rhind

Stephen Rhind

Bassoon

Simon HollandsNathaniel Harrison

HornsDavid ClackFrank CotteePatrick StrevensDagmar Harrison

TrumpetsAlan Peters

Garry Wyatt

TromboneAlan GoutEffie SparkshallMartin Nichols

T imps/Percussion

Catherine Fish

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