William Hay » Choral Singing

Ravishing company, opulent acoustics et beaucoup de biere belgique

Will — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:44:28 +0000

I have just returned from a wonderful five day choir tour to the continent. The most striking thing about the choral experience had to be the acoustic properties of the wonderful churches in which we sang. Most resonant was La Madeleine, Paris where the reverberations could be heard as many as 10 seconds later and you could feel the echoes coming back at you from different parts of the building at different stages. St Salvator, Bruges and St Severin, Paris were about equally reverberant and much more alive than our familiar cathedral in Chester.

The repertoire suited these rather opulent buildings in which we sang. The insistent ’Maria’ of Gorecki’s ‘Totus Tuus’ haunted the psyche. Duruflé’s ‘Tantum Ergo’ and Ducasse’s ‘Crux Fidelis’ with French organ accompaniment floated around the many interior curves of La Madeleine. As a baritone though, Naylor’s ‘Vox Dicentis’ had to be the musical highlight for me.

Whilst the majority of the choir visited Euro Disney on our day off from singing, I was able to spend a day sight-seeing in Paris and fully appreciate the Parisian architecture set amidst seasonal colours. A selection of my favourite photos taken on this excursion have been posted into a flickr photoset. Whilst Paris was great, my recommendation would be not to take a taxi even half of the way into Paris if you value your Euros.

Alongside the musical, the social aspect of the tour was particularly fine. It was a pleasure to sing with both the boys and girls and to have additional support from numerous deputy lay clerks. Time was spent sampling some of the Belgian beers on offer in the bars around Dixmuide where we stayed for two nights as well as in the (rather extortionately priced) hotel bar at Mercure Coudray Parc, south of Paris.

Churches

France/Belgium Tour 2009

8 Photos

Social Life

France/Belgium Tour 2009

4 Photos

The Ashgrove (SATB, piano accompaniment)

Will — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:00:42 +0000

Originally arranged for the Waverton Singers’ April concert in 2006, I have just produced an mp3 of this popular welsh folksong to accompany the score on Choralwiki., which is also available for free on Sibelius Music

[audio=http://williamhay.co.uk/composition/theashgrove.mp3]

The Ash Grove

Vivaldi Gloria and Walton Belshazzar’s Feast – Forthcoming Cathedral Choir Concerts

Will — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:00:58 +0000

Forthcoming choral events over the next couple of months include:

By kind permission of their graces, the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, Chester Cathedral Choir along with musicians from King’s School, Chester perform in a Fundraising concert at the Long Room and Chapel, Eaton Hall. Tuesday 9th June 1930. Tickets £15, including light refreshments, available from Victoria Houghton.

Vivaldi Gloria with Chester Cathedral Nave Choir and the 18th Century Concert Orchestra- Saturday 13th June at 1930. Tickets are priced at £10 (children £5) and are available from the cathedral box office on 01244 500959, online or on the door.

Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast - Thursday 2nd July 1930 at Chester Cathedral. Chester Cathedral Choir will be joining together with Chester Bach Singers and the symphony orchestra and chorus from Chetham’s School of Music who are celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Opening the Chester Summer Music Festival, the concert will be conducted by David Hill, director of the London Bach Choir and The BBC Singers. He was one of the first students to be accepted at the specialist music school 40 years ago.

Fauré Requiem, Songs of Praise and Rutter Mass of the Children

Will — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:42:40 +0000

Forthcoming choral events this month include:

An evening of French Favourites with Chester Cathedral Choir - Saturday 4th April 1930. Tickets are priced at £10 (children £5) and are available from the cathedral box office on 01244 500959 or on the door. Baritone solos in the Fauré Requiem will be sung by myself.

Neston Sings Songs of Praise - Sunday 5th April 1830 at Parkgate United Reformed Church. Join the Neston Ecumenical Singers in a DIY version of Songs of Praise singing some of Britain’s favourite hymns. Entry is free. The programme will also feature some favourite anthems including Bruckner – Locus Iste, Elgar – Ave Verum and Purcell – Rejoice in the Lord.

Neston Ecumenical Singers Easter Season Concert with Chester Music Society Youth Choir featuring the first Neston performance of Mass of the Children by John Rutter on Saturday 25th April 1930 at Neston Parish Church. Soloists in the mass include Becky Hay- Soprano and James Goddard – Bass. I will be conducting the concert along with Helena Thomas – Conductor of the Chester Music Society Youth Choir. The concert will also feature Graham Eccles – International Concert organist and conclude with Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Britten – War Requiem

Will — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:08:48 +0000

Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the start of World War Two, the University of Manchester Chorus and Symphony Orchestra will be performing this momentous work at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Sunday 3rd May, 2009 at 7:30pm.

The performance will feature renowned soloists including Amanda Roocroft, Alan Clayton and Roderick Williams as well as choristers from Manchester and Chester Cathedrals. Having sung with the university chorus as a student a number of years ago I can guarantee that this will be a performance not to be missed.