2004
29th to 30th May – Music Workshop and Choral Evensong
In the early years of
the Tilford Bach Society the annual festival always included a choral evensong,
a practice that was revived with great success this year. A grant from Awards for All enabled
artistic director Laurence Cummings to make this a truly memorable occasion.
Amateur singers from a wide area
attended an intensive all-day choral workshop on the Saturday to learn Bach’s
Pentecost Cantata BWV74 and other music from scratch. Our relief when Laurence announced a tea break was
short-lived as he followed us out to the churchyard with a beaming smile and a
sheaf of madrigals for us to sing “just for fun”!
Excitement mounted during the Sunday
rehearsal as we were joined by four highly talented young soloists; soprano
Siona Stockel, alto Jonathan de Ceuster, tenor Hiro Mueda and bass Julien
Debreuil. It was thrilling to be
accompanied by an authentic Baroque orchestra gathered from several London
colleges plus three trumpeters from the Royal Academy. The service was led by Canon Jeffrey
Bell and the blessing was followed by a fanfare from the back of the church and
an exquisitely played Bach trio sonata.
Performers and congregation agreed that this was an intensely moving
experience and hope that it will become an annual event.
Rosemary Wisbey