              
Mid-Shires Quires Day
  
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by Tony Singleton
Leader of the Marsh Warblers, a west gallery quire
in Kent, and Webmaster for the WGMA
Reprinted from an article in West
Gallery No.34
The weather forecast had been optimistic
but the skies were grey and it was drizzling as I set off from Oxford with
Edwin and Sheila Macadam for Byfield in Northants. When we arrived at the
village hall, there were several members of the host quire, Immanuel's
Ground, waiting for the hall to be unlocked and keen to start on their
assigned tasks. Within minutes, the "Immanuel's Groundforce" were organising
chairs and tables, setting out cups and saucers, and the urn was heating up.
Sheila Macadam leading 'West Bromwach'.
Most of the 75 people who had booked for the day
had arrived and were refreshed by 10am when the call to order came.
'Immanuel's Ground' and the 'Bedford Gallery Choir' attended in
force and several familiar faces from other established quires were
present. There were about a dozen people entirely new to West
Gallery music but they were well supported by a veritable orchestra
of 22 instrumentalists! After a few necessary administrative details
(where to find the life-jackets, etc), Edwin led "Warwick" by Samuel
Stanley followed by Ken Baddley leading "Bedford" by William Wheal.
Sheila then led another Stanley composition, "West Bromwach" (sic)
aka "Stonefield", all excellent plain tunes, surely enough to please
Francis Roads. It was these three leaders ("groom, bride and best
man") who led us through the forty page music anthology prepared for
the day, drawn from music published by Midlands composers or found
in manuscripts in Midland archives - music by Beesley (Oxford),
Dobney (Warwick), Eagleton (Coventry), Jarman (Clipston, Northants),
Key (Nuneaton), Moreton (Birmingham), Joseph Watts (Fenny Compton,
Warks), and J H Watts (Dunstable).
By the mid morning break, the sky had cleared and the
sun was shining so we were able to enjoy our tea and coffee outside and
admire the beautiful views across the recreation fields with the spire
of the parish church amongst the trees in the distance. On our return to
the hall, we started work on the one item which departed from the
Midlands theme, which was the anthem "Euroclydon" by William Billings, a
particular favourite of mine. This inspired setting of a text from Psalm
107 merits a lot of work and so, to reduce the learning curve, Edwin and
Ken had wisely spent some rehearsal time with their respective choirs
before the day. Consequently, a very acceptable rendition was achieved
in under an hour.
It was also heart-warming to see the inclusion of two
funeral pieces :-), 'Job's
Meditation' by Jarman and an anthem by Joseph Watts using the text
from Psalm 39, a very manageable two page arrangement so typical of
country composers of the mid 18th century. Another of Watts'
compositions, a setting of Psalm 100 OV, led to some discussion as to
whether it had been barred correctly as the stress of the text in one
section did not coincide with the stress of the music. Edwin considered
whether it should be led in the marked 3/4 time and was even heard to
say "I think I will lead it how I like" but stuck to 3/4 when a voice
from the tenors asked if they could sing it how they liked.
Ken Baddley leading 'Anthem from Psalm 103'.
In
the "graveyard slot" immediately after lunch, Ken led a six-page
anthem by a Mr Dobney with the text "I will praise thee O Lord" from
Psalm 103, which he had reconstructed from two manuscript sources
from Bedford and Marsh Baldon (in Oxfordshire). It proved to be
quite straightforward and the hearty hallelujah chorus at the end
added to its appeal so that it was reprised at the end of the day.
In view of the number of new and/or relatively
inexperienced singers present, the music was well chosen and varied,
although there were few symphonies for the massed band to show off their
skills. All the music had been satisfactorily worked through by 3:30pm
and there was time for some reprises, including an unaccompanied attempt
on "Euroclydon", which went well. An excellent day was enjoyed by all
and a date for the next one announced, so it looks as if this will
become an annual event and a well-deserved addition to the WG calendar.
Music files:
Job's
Meditation by Thomas Jarman of Clipston, Northants
Psalm 100
by Joseph Watts of Fenny Compton
Ebenezer New
by John Moreton of Birmingham
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