Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
FOLLOWING its recent acclaimed performances of A Choral Christmas, directed by Deirdre Sutherland, the Manning Valley Choral Society is embarking on a new program "Hope and Glory" inspired by the Golden Ages of Victorian and Edwardian Britain.
The new program is based on a concept developed by society member Ian Carr.
The choir will again be directed by Deirdre with the aim of performing in September.
The choir is eager to gain new members interested in participating in a show with lots of variety.
Some of the grander items require organ accompaniment and a church acoustic, although Ian is keen to emphasise that the program will have lots of varying moods, styles and textures.
It was while deliberating on possibilities for musical commemorations for the World War I centenary that Ian, a self-proclaimed history buff, was struck by the contrasting, optimistic mood of the 19th century.
Britain was the hub of the world's largest empire; progress in industry, public health, science and democracy had set the scene for a seemingly limitless future.
By Queen Victoria's death in 1901, Britain was a parliamentary democracy and the world had been transformed by figures such as Darwin and Pasteur, by electricity and engineering, the telegraph and motorised transport.
Musically, this confidence was reflected in the immense popularity of choral societies.
"It was an era of the democratisation of music, where music moved out of the courts of the royals into performance spaces that anyone could go to," Ian said.
"In England, there was a big movement, for both philharmonic societies raising orchestras and choral societies raising big choirs, and that in turn interested people in writing music for them."
In this time, composers like Mendelssohn, Brahms and Dvorak were commissioned to create new works, Ian said.
"The piety, religion and nationalism of the age stamped much of its popular literature and music, which led to some critics eventually dismissing them as sentimental and trivial."
However, Ian believes the best of the era is full of delights, and the choir's program will draw from many aspects of British music.
The grandeur and pageantry of regal ceremony will be represented by two coronation anthems.
The Victorian response to faith is explored in music by Mendelssohn and Parry, while some lovely folk song arrangements take the program from the lyrical to the rollicking.
A snippet from Gilbert and Sullivan will pay tribute to their immortal and witty musical theatre.
The concert will conclude with a bracket recalling World War I and ending in a moving musical tribute to the fallen.
The Manning Valley Choral Society meets on school term Thursdays (starting February 5) at 7pm at the Taree Church of Christ Hall, 95 Victoria Street. The newly established Valley Voices Youth Choir will also have a part in the Hope and Glory concert.
The youth choir meets at the same venue at 5.45pm.