Events in 2014
Handel's 'Messiah'
Sunday 7th December 2014, St Martin's church, Bowness, 7.00pm
Tuesday 9th December 2014, Kirkby Stephen church, 7.00pm
Ever since Handel wrote Messiah in one month in 1742, it has stayed a firm favourite with singers and audiences alike, and could well rate as one of the most popular pieces of music ever written. It is several years since Levens Choir last sang this wonderful piece so we will be giving two performances this December with the Kent Sinfonietta led by Roland Fudge and four soloists - Philippa Hyde, Joyce Tindsley, Stephen Newlove and Jolyon Dodgson.
Sunday 7th December 2014, St Martin's church, Bowness, 7.00pm
Tuesday 9th December 2014, Kirkby Stephen church, 7.00pm
Ever since Handel wrote Messiah in one month in 1742, it has stayed a firm favourite with singers and audiences alike, and could well rate as one of the most popular pieces of music ever written. It is several years since Levens Choir last sang this wonderful piece so we will be giving two performances this December with the Kent Sinfonietta led by Roland Fudge and four soloists - Philippa Hyde, Joyce Tindsley, Stephen Newlove and Jolyon Dodgson.
Review: Levens Choir give Handel’s Messiah at Bowness
"Neville Cardus, music critic of the Manchester Guardian, said of Handel’s Oratorio, Messiah, ‘If I know that my Redeemer liveth it is not on the church’s testimony but because of what Handel affirms’.
Handel composed Messiah in an age of religious observance. Its narrative is based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it penetrates the deep consciousness of the religious and the non-religious. It is tender and compassionate, rousing, awe inspiring, and deeply moving. From its beginnings, it was associated with charitable giving. We anticipate it at Christmas like the warm embrace of an old friend, but because it is so popular and produced frequently, performances carry the danger of complacency and cliché. Cliches are such however, because they are true. The task for singers of Messiah is to present that truth in a fresh and inspired way, not to carry listeners along in some comfortable mist, so that they might profitably have brought along their knitting, but to challenge and captivate them utterly.
Levens Choir and their director Ian Jones achieved this objective on Sunday 7th December at St Martin’s Church, Bowness, an attractive venue with a stuccoed and painted interior and a sympathetic acoustic. Their performance was nuanced, sensitive and powerful and their every word bright and clear. Soloists Philippa Hyde (soprano), Joyce Tindsley (contralto), Stephen Newlove (tenor) and Julian Dodgson (bass), honoured the text with insight, commitment and passion. The Kent Sinfonietta, leader Roland Fudge, unified this memorable performance."
"Neville Cardus, music critic of the Manchester Guardian, said of Handel’s Oratorio, Messiah, ‘If I know that my Redeemer liveth it is not on the church’s testimony but because of what Handel affirms’.
Handel composed Messiah in an age of religious observance. Its narrative is based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it penetrates the deep consciousness of the religious and the non-religious. It is tender and compassionate, rousing, awe inspiring, and deeply moving. From its beginnings, it was associated with charitable giving. We anticipate it at Christmas like the warm embrace of an old friend, but because it is so popular and produced frequently, performances carry the danger of complacency and cliché. Cliches are such however, because they are true. The task for singers of Messiah is to present that truth in a fresh and inspired way, not to carry listeners along in some comfortable mist, so that they might profitably have brought along their knitting, but to challenge and captivate them utterly.
Levens Choir and their director Ian Jones achieved this objective on Sunday 7th December at St Martin’s Church, Bowness, an attractive venue with a stuccoed and painted interior and a sympathetic acoustic. Their performance was nuanced, sensitive and powerful and their every word bright and clear. Soloists Philippa Hyde (soprano), Joyce Tindsley (contralto), Stephen Newlove (tenor) and Julian Dodgson (bass), honoured the text with insight, commitment and passion. The Kent Sinfonietta, leader Roland Fudge, unified this memorable performance."
Christmas
Tuesday 16th December 2014, St Thomas' Church, Kendal, 7.30pm
Christmas Party
Levens Choir's annual ChrisAtmas extravaganza of music, poems and short tales was warmly received by an audience who enjoyed the opportunity to both listen and join in with the choir's performance.
Saturday 21st December 2014, Kendal
Carol singing
The choir braved the cold weather on a Saturday morning to sing Christmas carols to shoppers outside the Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal.
Tuesday 16th December 2014, St Thomas' Church, Kendal, 7.30pm
Christmas Party
Levens Choir's annual ChrisAtmas extravaganza of music, poems and short tales was warmly received by an audience who enjoyed the opportunity to both listen and join in with the choir's performance.
Saturday 21st December 2014, Kendal
Carol singing
The choir braved the cold weather on a Saturday morning to sing Christmas carols to shoppers outside the Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal.
A meditation on Remembrance Day in words and music
Tuesday 11th November at Ings church
This special concert commemorated the centenary of the First World War with a selection of words and music which echoed British life before, during and after the war. Set in the beautiful surroundings of Ings Church, the concert was conducted by Ian Jones and included music by Handel, Barber, Tippett, Tavener, Vaughan Williams, and Parry; as well as words by Binyon, Masefield and Owen.
Conductor: Ian Jones
Organ: Adrian Selforgan
Reader: Antony Christie
Violin: Julian Cann, and string quartet
Tuesday 11th November at Ings church
This special concert commemorated the centenary of the First World War with a selection of words and music which echoed British life before, during and after the war. Set in the beautiful surroundings of Ings Church, the concert was conducted by Ian Jones and included music by Handel, Barber, Tippett, Tavener, Vaughan Williams, and Parry; as well as words by Binyon, Masefield and Owen.
Conductor: Ian Jones
Organ: Adrian Selforgan
Reader: Antony Christie
Violin: Julian Cann, and string quartet
Animal Crackers
Tuesday 8th July at Cartmel Junior School
Saturday 12th July at St Thomas's Church, Kendal
These concerts were based on a medley of animal-themed songs ranging from the nonsensical ('The Owl and the Pussycat', and Whitacre's settings of silly rhymes by Ogden Nash) to the sublime (Stanford's 'Blue Bird' and Orlando Gibbons' 'Silver Swan'). Some pieces involved the whole choir, some were rendered by smaller groups, and some were duets or solos -- all delivered with enthusiasm and commitment. The programme was punctuated by a number of readings of poems or prose pieces on the same theme. Great fun was had by all!
A full programme, and some reactions to these concerts, will be posted here soon.
Tuesday 8th July at Cartmel Junior School
Saturday 12th July at St Thomas's Church, Kendal
These concerts were based on a medley of animal-themed songs ranging from the nonsensical ('The Owl and the Pussycat', and Whitacre's settings of silly rhymes by Ogden Nash) to the sublime (Stanford's 'Blue Bird' and Orlando Gibbons' 'Silver Swan'). Some pieces involved the whole choir, some were rendered by smaller groups, and some were duets or solos -- all delivered with enthusiasm and commitment. The programme was punctuated by a number of readings of poems or prose pieces on the same theme. Great fun was had by all!
A full programme, and some reactions to these concerts, will be posted here soon.
Rachmaninov, Vespers
Sunday 13th April at St. George's Church, Kendal
Tuesday 15th April at St Mary's church, Kirkby Lonsdale
These concerts also featured
J.S. Bach, Cello Suite no.3 in C major played by Peter Freyhan
Peter Freyhan stepped in to fill the breach following the sudden tragic death of
Jeremy Lamburn, who played for us at the Britten concert in November
Both concerts were well attended and warmly received.
Sunday 13th April at St. George's Church, Kendal
Tuesday 15th April at St Mary's church, Kirkby Lonsdale
These concerts also featured
J.S. Bach, Cello Suite no.3 in C major played by Peter Freyhan
Peter Freyhan stepped in to fill the breach following the sudden tragic death of
Jeremy Lamburn, who played for us at the Britten concert in November
Both concerts were well attended and warmly received.
Photo by Martin Grace.
Rachmaninov, Vespers
" On April 15th St. Mary's beautiful church in Kirkby Lonsdale became a perfect venue for the distinguished Levens Choir's latest performance. All the pews were packed with devotees and many others drawn, perhaps for the first time, by its reputation, steadily and deservedly earned, for crystalline quality of sound and sensitive interpretation. Programme notes were informative – and helpful since the libretto was to be sung in Russian. Audience anticipation was keen!
The performance was dedicated to the memory of cellist Jeremy Lamburn, whose friend and colleague Peter Freyhan played with appropriate brio and skill a selection of Bach's virtuosic pieces for the dances of his time. The harmonics and counterpoint passages were joyfully executed to the delight of the audience.
When Vespers, a Catholic sunset-prayers service, extends to an all-night vigil to accord with Eastern/Russian Orthodoxy, it progresses through Matins, Laud and Prime which greets the new day. Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Mozart wrote Vespers music – well-known and beloved. In two weeks in 1915 Rachmaninov wrote his All-Night Vigil; translucent and, to Western ears, imbued with an unfamiliar beauty. The orchestration sets a challenge; the bar is even higher for an a cappella choir.
Levens Choir responded with confidence and a complete understanding of their conductor's direction. Complex, often rapid passages were enunciated precisely and with absolute clarity despite the unfamiliar language; this in itself was a daring, yet virtually faultless accomplishment, Ian Jones,without doubt, is deeply committed to the relationship between text and tone. We were hearing an intricate, textured tapestry of sound eloquently describing the poignancy, praise acceptance, uncertainty, joyfulness of these Russian Orthodox devotions.
In all respects this was a glorious experience. I just wish that there was a recording of this performance. "
Dawn Wells
" On April 15th St. Mary's beautiful church in Kirkby Lonsdale became a perfect venue for the distinguished Levens Choir's latest performance. All the pews were packed with devotees and many others drawn, perhaps for the first time, by its reputation, steadily and deservedly earned, for crystalline quality of sound and sensitive interpretation. Programme notes were informative – and helpful since the libretto was to be sung in Russian. Audience anticipation was keen!
The performance was dedicated to the memory of cellist Jeremy Lamburn, whose friend and colleague Peter Freyhan played with appropriate brio and skill a selection of Bach's virtuosic pieces for the dances of his time. The harmonics and counterpoint passages were joyfully executed to the delight of the audience.
When Vespers, a Catholic sunset-prayers service, extends to an all-night vigil to accord with Eastern/Russian Orthodoxy, it progresses through Matins, Laud and Prime which greets the new day. Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Mozart wrote Vespers music – well-known and beloved. In two weeks in 1915 Rachmaninov wrote his All-Night Vigil; translucent and, to Western ears, imbued with an unfamiliar beauty. The orchestration sets a challenge; the bar is even higher for an a cappella choir.
Levens Choir responded with confidence and a complete understanding of their conductor's direction. Complex, often rapid passages were enunciated precisely and with absolute clarity despite the unfamiliar language; this in itself was a daring, yet virtually faultless accomplishment, Ian Jones,without doubt, is deeply committed to the relationship between text and tone. We were hearing an intricate, textured tapestry of sound eloquently describing the poignancy, praise acceptance, uncertainty, joyfulness of these Russian Orthodox devotions.
In all respects this was a glorious experience. I just wish that there was a recording of this performance. "
Dawn Wells