Members’ Notes

 


Hello and welcome to the Notes for Members page!

This page will contain a recap of rehearsals, homework, links to practise websites and rehearsal dates.

Practice websites:

Recommended sites include:

Cyberbass: Innovative Learning for Choral Singers

JohnF’s Rehearsal Files: Rehearsal files for choral singers

Choral Line: the Art of Choral Learning

PLEASE NOTE they do not necessarily include the current music we are rehearsing.

More links will be added. Any suggestions for addition are welcome.


19th March 2024

Programmes for Saturdays’ concert were on sale at £2.

We rehearsed all but the first 2 choruses.

Laura reminded us that the Saturday afternoon final rehearsal will be at 2pm at St Nicholas Church. PLEASE make sure that you arrive BEFORE 2pm, to be ready for the start. The rehearsal finish time for the choir  is scheduled for 5pm, but hopefully will be earlier.


12th March 2024

Before the concert on Saturday 23rd March there will be a rehearsal at St Nicholas Church from 2pm to 5pm

We were reminded that at the concert it will be our normal concert dress. If anyone needs a black folder they are on sale at the rehearsal.

Adrian told us about the car parking for the event. St Nicholas Carpark is in the park and the fees are £3.90 for 3 hours in the afternoon and £2.20 in the evening.

After the concert we will have a break from rehearsals until 8th April.

Our next concert on 29th June will be Pucchini Meta de Gloria. Stephanie has plenty of copies for hire. It is not possible to buy new copies, but second hand version are available online, but may be expensive.

 


6th March 2024

There was a request for more help with serving the wine at the concert.

Laura’s aim at this week’s rehearsal was to sing all of our pieces in Part 1 and then concentrate on any necessary ‘problems’.

So we sang the following in sequence:

No 1     Help Lord
No 2     Lord bow thine ear to our prayer
No 5     Yet doth the Lord see it not
No 9     Blessed are the men who fear Him
No 10   As God the Lord
No 11   Ball we cry to thee
No 12   Hear our cry, O Baal
No 12   Baal! Hear and answer
No 16   O Thou, who makes thine Angels, Spirits
No 19   O Lord though hast overthrown
No 20   Thanks be to God

She then went through in detail some parts of No 16 and No 11

Next week we will sing all of our pieces in Part 2 – page 109 onwards.


27th February 2024

Yesterday evening we rehearsed the following:

No 22  Be not afraid

No 34: Behold, God the Lord passed by!

No 24: Woe to him

No 29: He, watching over Israel

No 14: Baal! Hear and answer


22nd February 2024

Rosemary reminded us to make sure that we have put all of the ‘Sits and Stands’ she sent us in our copies ready for the concert.

Ivan welcomed us back after the half term break. He also told us that there would be a Committee Meeting during the rehearsal’s interval break.

We rehearsed the following:

No 29  He watching over Israel

No 24  Woe to him

No 42  And then shall your light break forth

No 22  Be not afraid


7th February 2024

There will not be a rehearsal next Monday 12th February, as it is half term.

Laura will send us her list of ‘Sits & Stands’ so that we can update our copies ready for the concert.

She will also send us a full list of which pieces we are singing and which ones she is omitting.

On Monday we rehearsed the following:

Page 20  No 5 ‘Yet doth the Lord see it not’

Page 115 No 22 ‘Be not afraid’

Page 59 No 11 ‘Baal we cry to thee’

Page 93 ‘O Lord, thou hast overthrown’

Pag 115 No 22 ‘Be not afraid’


30th January 2024

There were no notices from Ivan this week!

We rehearsed the following:

Page 20 No 5 ‘Yet doth the Lord see it not’

Page 59 No 11 ‘Baal we cry to thee’

Page 68 ‘Hear our Cry , O Baal!

Page 70 ‘Baal! Hear and answer’

Page 93 ‘O Lord, thou hast overthrown’

Page 99 No 20 ‘Thanks be to God’

Page 115 No 22 ‘Be not afraid’

Page 6 No 1 ‘Help Lord’

Page 47 No 9  ‘Blessed are the men that fear him’

Laura reminded us to listen to/watch  as many versions of Elijah as possible, but especially recommended the Paul McGreesh version.


23rd January 2024

The rehearsal this week was taken by Colin, for which many thanks. Laura has pulled a muscle in her neck, so unfortunately she was unable to be with us. I am sure we all wish her a speedy recovery.

Our Chairman Ivan was also unable to attend, as he is on holiday in Bavaria… Hope he as a great time.

Rosemary reported that the Skittles Evening went really well. She described it as ‘superb’.  She thanked the organisers Graham and Joan for all their hard work and gave them a ‘thank you’ gift.

We rehearsed the following:

Page 6 No 1 ‘Help Lord’

Page 20  No 5′ Yet doth the Lord see it not’

Page 47 No 9  ‘Blessed are the men that fear him’

Page 55 No 10 ‘As God the Lord’

Page 72 Part of No 14’Baal! Hear and answer’

Page 79 No 16 ‘O Thou who makes thine Angels, Spirits’


9th January 2024

For our first rehearsal of the new season we had a very good number of singers attend, including some new faces, which is great and who are very welcome.

Ivan reminded us of the Skittles evening on 20th January, for which there are still a few places left. please contact Rosemary.

He also mentioned the Bob Chilcott Choral Workshop on 27th January, 10.30 – 4.30 at Kenilworth Methodist Church. See Rosemary’s emai, as pre booking is essential.

We rehearsed the following from Mendelssohn’s Elijah:

No 1 Help Lord

No 2 Lord bow thine ear to our prayer

No 5 Yet doth the Lord see it not

No 41 But the Lord

No 42 And then shall your light break forth

Laura concluded by saying that she would send us her recommended sites to listen to Elijah in the next couple of days.

Below is a review of our Messiah concert in December, published in the Leamington Spa Courier.

(Click on image to be able to read it)


28th November 2023

(Click on image to be able to read it)

Ivan mentioned the newspaper article on our  Mozart Concert in the Leamington Spa Courier on 24th November. It is a very good review and bodes well for the future. The article is by Clive Peacock and was very appreciative of Laura’s work.

Rosemary told us of the death of a former member of the choir – Constance Rollett (sorry if this is misspelt) She very generously left the choir a very good legacy in her will.

Laura was suffering with a bad throat and only did the first half of the Messiah rehearsal, with Colin taking the second half. We covered most of what we will be singing at the concert.

Finally Ivan told us that all the remaining rehearsals will be at Coten End Primary school, as the church will not be available on the afternoon of the concert for a rehearsal.


21st November 2023

Rosemary thanked everyone who had sold tickets and programmes.

Saturday’s concert was a success, with much positive feedback.

Comments included:

“The best the choir has ever done”

“Brilliant”

And a new member at yesterday’s rehearsal said the concert “had convinced her to come to join the choir”

Claire thanked all the people who had contributed to the event, from the publicity to setting up the venue.


14th November 2023

The final rehearsal for Saturday’s Concert will be at 2pm at St Paul’s Church, Warwick. It will conclude at 5pm.

PLEASE be at the church by 7.00pm for a pre concert warmup.


25th October 2023

Ivan reminded us that there will not be a rehearsal next Monday, 30th October, as it is half term

We rehearsed the following:

Mozart Coronation Mass:

Credo
Sanctus
Gloria
Angus Dei
Kyrie

Over the half term break Laura asked us to look at the changes from movement to movement.


16th October 2023

The evening commenced with our AGM. The minutes will be circulated ASAP to members.

The proposed Sub Committee on the Program is now complete, with a member from each of the voices.

________________

We rehearsed the following from the Mozart Coronation Mass:

Sanctus
Gloria
Credo
Agnus Dei

And the following from Mozart’s Requiem:

Kyrie
Rex Tremendae
Confutatis

Laura told us that next Monday she will be concentrating on rehearsing the Agnus Dei from the Coronation Mass, pages 51-58.

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Nick Gilbert told us that he has raised a total of £3,002 for Cancer Research and thanked us for our donations.

Posters for the next concert were available and we were encouraged to distribute them as widely as possible.

 


10th October 2023

Ivan reminded us of the AGM next Monday. He stated that there is still time for people to join the committee.

He also stated that there will now be a new sub committee, proposed by Laura and managed by her. This a Program Sub Committee, on which members will develop a 2 year rolling programme of concerts. At the moment one alto, one tenor and one bass member is required. Please let Ivan know if you are interested.

______________

Colin was unwell yesterday, but we managed OK with Laura giving us notes on the piano.

We rehearsed the following from the Mozart Coronation Mass:

Sanctus
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo

Laura gave us a task for the week….  She would like us to listen to 5 different versions of a part of the Coronation Mass, so that we can appreciate the music more. The section to listen to is from Credo, verses 65 – 72.

________________

Finally Ivan gave us the future concert venues:

18th November St Pauls, Warwick

12th December, Messiah, St Nicholas, Kenilworth

March 2024 St Nicholas, Warwick

Summer 2024 St Johns, Kenilworth


 

2nd October 2023

This week we rehearsed the following:

Mozart Coronation Mass:

Sanctus
Credo
Benedictus
Gloria

Mozart Requiem:

Introitus
Sequenz
Confutatis
Lacrimosa
Offetorium
Sanctus

________

We will be sent an email listing the ‘Sits and Stands’ for he concert, which need to be added to our scores.

Ivan reminded us of the AGM and asked to new members of the committee to sign up.


26th September 2023

This week we rehearsed the following:

Mozart Requiem:

Kyrie
Communio
Agnus Dei
Sanctus
Hostias
Offertorium (from bar 43)

Mozart Coronation Mass:

Benedictus (from bar 60)
Sanctus
Credo

——————————————

Ivan reminded us of the AGM on 16th October and asked us to consider joining the committee. He thinks it is healthy to rotate members . Also he said that some of our newer members would be very welcome.

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We were invited to the following 2 events celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Divertimento Choir:


 

19th September 2023

This week we rehearsed the following:

Mozart Requiem:

Domine Jesu
Hostias
Rex Tremendae

Mozart Coronation Mass:

Credo
Sanctus

Nick Gilbert told us that he had received a good amount of donations for the Prostrate Cancer Awareness appeal and thanked us for our support. The appeal is still open if others wish to help.

We have since received the following information from Nick:

As many of you know, I have Prostate Cancer. Much of my 2022 was taken up with scans, surgery, hormone therapy and chemotherapy. I will never be cancer free, but I’m benefiting from more than 25 years of research into prostate cancer treatments.

That’s why I’ve signed up for Prostate Cancer UK’s March the Month. I’m currently planning to raise more than £2500 for Prostate Cancer Research by walking 11000 steps a day, every day in September, to help eliminate the 11000 deaths every year from Prostate Cancer! That’s one man dying every 45minutes! I am currently still on target having walked more than 11000 steps everyday for three weeks!!

I’d be really grateful if you would consider making a donation to this worthy cause!

Here’s the link to my Just Giving page.

https://marchthemonth.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/nick-gilberts-march-the-month-for-prostatecan

Thanks in anticipation!

Nick


12th September 2023

Ivan began the rehearsal by letting us know that there will be some rehearsal photographs taken for publication on Facebook. If anyone would not like to be included can they please let Jenny know, so that they can be excluded from the files.

The first part of last night’s rehearsal covered pieces form the Mozart Requiem:

No 3 Rex Tremendae
No 5 Confutatis
No 8 Lacrimosa
No 1 Domine Jesu

______

During the interval Nick Gilbert told us about a Prostrate Cancer Awareness week this month, that we will be donating to. Rosemary will contact members for donations. Hope many of us can donate.

___

In the second part of the rehearsal we covered the Coronation Mass:

No 1 Kyrie
No 2 Gloria
Angus Dei (page 55)

___

Finally Laura asked us to listen to as many versions of the music that we can to get a good feel for the music.


6th September 2023

It was very good to welcome lots of new members on Monday. Hope they all enjoyed themselves and that we see them again!

It was great to welcome our new Musical Director, Laura. We went through most of the Mozart Requiem and several of the pieces in the Coronation Mass. it was enjoyable.

Rosemary reminded us that our subscriptions are now due and asked for bank details if we want to pay online.


11th July 2023

Saturday Concert 15th July:

The afternoon rehearsal will begin at 2pm until 5pm.

Members who wish to help with the set up will be welcome from 1.30pm

Facilities will be available for those members who want to stay at the church between the rehearsal and the concert.

Monday Audition 17th July:

The Musical Director audition at Coten End School when the choir members will help to chose our new conductor will start at 7pm (not 7:30)

We hope that as many of the choir as possible will come and help. The selected candidates (3-4 at present) will each take a part of the rehearsal and our opinions will count towards the final result.

They will rehearse pieces from:

The Greatest Choral Classics (from Saturday’s concert) and The Messiah, so please bring these with you.

Also for those who have rented copies of Saturday’s music please bring these to hand back.

After the audition there will be a short Choir Social


27th June 2023

The rehearsal was taken by Colin.

Ivan told us that the dress code for the Summer Concert will include the following:

Ladies can wear a bright coloured top.

Gentlemen can be in their shirt sleeves, but they must wear a bow tie as usual.

He then reminded us of the collection plate for David. His presentation will be at the Summer Concert.

We rehearsed the following:

Zadok the Priest: Brahms
The Oak & the Ash
The Turtle Dove
I was glad when they said unto me
Afton Water
Ca’ the Yowes


20th June 2023

We rehearsed the following:

Ave Verum Corpus: Mozart
Hear My Prayer: Mendelssohn
The Oak & the Ash
How Lovely are All Thy Dwellings: Brahms
Zadok the Priest: Brahms
I was glad when they said unto me

15th June 2023

WKCS Summer Concert, 15 July 2023
Revised running order

The concert now incorporates an interval, so the running order has been re-arranged; the first half will now end with Hear my prayer, and the second half starts with Zadok the Priest.

I was glad – Parry (7 mins)
Cantique de Jean Raçine – Fauré (5 mins)
Panis Angelicus – Franck (4 mins)
Afton Water – arr. Willcocks (4 mins)
Ca’ the yowes – Vaughan Williams (4 mins)
Ave Verum Corpus – Mozart (3 mins)
Hear my prayer – Mendelssohn

INTERVAL

Zadok the Priest – Handel (6 mins)
The oak and the ash – Bairstow (4 mins)
The turtle dove – Vaughan Williams (4 mins)
Locus Iste – Bruckner (3 mins)
How lovely are all thy dwellings – Brahms (6 mins)
Hallelujah – Handel (5 mins)
Encore, Jerusalem – Parry (3 mins)


13th June 2023

Rosemary reminded us of the audition date of 17th July, when we hope that as many of the choir as possible can come and help to choose our new conductor. The selected candidates will each take a part of the rehearsal and our opinions will count towards the final result.

She also told us of the death of Ralph Treadwell, a former member of our choir.

Adrian then told us that the handover of the Charity donation we raised at the last concert will be handed over to Myton Hospice at 2.15pm on 13th June.

Colin was unavailable so Antoine played for us, for which many thanks.

We rehearsed the following pieces:

Ave Verum Corpus – Mozart
Locus Iste – Bruckner
Hear my Prayer – Mendelssohn
Cantique de Jean Racine – Faure
Ca the Yowes – Scottish Folk song

David reminded us to practice at home as much as possible


8th June 2023

Great result for the Verdi concert in aid of
Myton Hospice!

The total amount raised was £4571, (including bucket collection, and direct donations), which far exceeds our initial expectations. There will soon be a ceremony when committee members hand over a cheque to Myton. Tremendous effort by the combined forces of Coventry Philharmonic Society, ourselves and the Leamington Chamber Orchestra. And we had a tremendous concert on top!


6th June 2023

David was indisposed so Colin took the rehearsal.

Ivan told us that the scheduled Social Evening on 17th July will now be part of the audition process for our new Musical Director. 3- 4 of the preferred candidates will rehearse with us and our opinions on them will help make the final decision.

We rehearsed ‘Hear My Prayer’ by Mendelsson (page 149 of ‘The Greatest Choral Classics) and ‘Ca’ the Yowes’, Scottish Folk song, page 8 of Folk-Songs for Choirs 2′

28th March 2023

We now have the next two Mondays with no rehearsal. The next rehearsal is 17th April. However David asked us to rehearse hard and long at home, so we continue our preparation for the concert.

_______

Ticket sales are going very well and we were asked to return any of our unsold tickets to Adrian

_______

We were reminded that we will need to have a black folder to hold the music at the concert.

_______

Ivan mentioned that parking might be tight at the concert venue. He will give details of where to park later, but asked us to seriously consider car sharing for the concert.

_______

We were told that help will be needed to clear the chairs etc away after the concert, so please consider helping with this.

_______

And finally we were reminded of the Spiers concert on 15th April at the Coventry Central Hall and encouraged to attend.


21st March 2023

The joint rehearsal with the Coventry Philharmonic this Thursday will be back at Quinton Park Baptist Church , Cheylesmore, Coventry, CV3 5PZ

We were reminded that next Monday’s rehearsal  will be the last before Easter, as we are having  2 rehearsal breaks this Easter , so we will not be rehearsing on the 3rd or the 10th of April, so back on the 17th April.

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Adrian gave us details of an upcoming concert by the Spires Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus on 15th April at the Coventry Central Hall. This concert includes the UK Premiere of the Mass in E flat by Amy Beach.


14th March 2023

The joint rehearsal with the Coventry Philharmonic this Thursday will be at 7.15 at the St Thomas More Church, 112 Knoll Drive, Styvechale. Please see St Thomas More, Coventry | Birmingham Diocesan Trust (birminghamdiocese.org.uk) for more information and a map.

__________________

The choir has provisionally registered to take part in the Talisman Thetare Fringe event, which takes place in Kenilworth on 5th October.

This is a PR event, which takes place at the Holiday Inn. Choirs are allocated a 20 minute slot. This should be a great fun evening with a very talented crowd,

__________________

Adrian updated us on our fundraising for the Myton Hospice. We have raised £2,000 so far and will continue with our sponsorship. Choir members will be sent an email encouraging us to find more donors / sponsors.

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The rehearsal concentrated on No 1 Requiem and No 7 Libera Me. David asked us to learn page 175 by memory for next week’s rehearsal.


1st March 2023

We rehearsed the Libera Me Chorus in detail, paying particular attention to the key changes, and the Agnus Dei.

In the second half we did some part work on the Sanctus.

There was an announcement about the rehearsal times on Thursday 27th April at All Saints. The choir are asked to be there from 6.30pm onwards for a 7pm start.

That is half an hour earlier than previously mentioned.