Spring Concert

Wow...what a fantastic evening we had last night at our Spring concert! It was a bit of a new venture for us, we shared the concert with a newly formed all female group of singers (also based in Ealing), called The Songbyrds. We are planning to include some joint items with The Songbyrds in our future concerts, but this was just to 'test the water'! We also welcomed some new audience members, with some members of the Church's congregation, and also friends and family of The Songbyrds. If you weren't there...here's what you missed:

Programme

'Wedding Day at Troldhaugen' – Grieg (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Rondeau' – Purcell (Arr. H. Brammer)

Annie Kaufmann, Penny Layland (Flute); Diana Locke (Tenor Recorder); Kath Russell (Violin); and Polly Kaufmann (Viola)

'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' – Handel

Angela Ayton & Imogen Locke (Piano)

'Adagio' & 'Allegro' from Trio Sonata in G Minor – Finger

George Goodall, Imogen Locke (Treble Recorder); Margaret Willson (Cello); and Joan Goodall (piano)

'Song of the Tree of Life' – Vaughan Williams

The Songbyrds

'Duo' – Busoni

Heather Loebl, Helen Brammer (Flute); and Angela Ayton (Piano)

Sonata da Chiesa – Corelli

Annabel Crowe, Polly Kaufmann (Oboe); and Mike Winterburn (Bassoon)

'Berceuse' – Faure

Heather Loebl, Annie Kaufmann & Penny Layland (Flute)

'Ave Verum Corpus' – Faure, Mozart & Elgar

The Songbyrds

'Vivace' & 'Allegro' from Trio Sonata in F Major – Telemann

Imogen Locke (Treble Recorder); Diana Locke (Tenor Recorder); Margaret Willson (Cello); and Joan Goodall (Piano)

'Alice' – Geoffry Russell-Smith

Helen Brammer, Theresa Hitching & Dermot Stone (Clarinet)

'Divertimento' (Romance, Intermezzo, Serenade & Burlesque) – Paul Harris

Heather Loebl (Flute); Annabel Crowe (Oboe); Helen Brammer (Clarinet); Mike Winterburn (Bassoon); and Angela Ayton (Piano)

'Autumn Leaves' – Kosma & Prevert

The Songbyrds

'All that Jazz' – Kander & Ebb

The Songbyrds

'The Hebrides Overture' – Mendelssohn (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

Phew...looks like it was a bit of a marathon, but the concert was no longer than our previous ones...just a lot more slick with the changeovers! And our rendition of 'The Hebrides Overture' was (and I'm quoting a couple of our audience members here) 'triumphant'! Well done everyone - you really excelled yourselves!

I do have a few photos...apologies for the blurryness of some of these...I blame my photographer!

I'm also going to add these to our 'Photos' page, which you can find at the top of the blog...we've also added some information about The Broken Consort, written by Kath, to the 'About Us' page, which was also included in the programme for last night's concert.

Oh...and it wouldn't be a Broken Consort concert, and party (thanks Angela and Mike for once again being excellent hosts!) without some cakes:

Nearly forgot...as usual, admission was free to our concert, but we did have a retiring collection in aid of the Church's fund to restore their Walker organ (more details can be found here), which raised a massive £75!

Class - 31st March

It was all systems go last night for the final rehearsal before our concert next week. The large ensemble pieces are sounding great, and I think we're all looking forward to (but perhaps a little nervous of) having some new audience members to perform to.

Small group items:

• 'Alice' (she's lost the Mad Hatter!) by Geoffry Russell-Smith - Helen, Theresa & Dermot
• Finger Trio Sonata in G Minor - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Rondeau' by Purcell - Annie, Penny, Diana, Kath & Polly
• 'Divertimento' by Paul Harris - Heather, Annabel, Helen, Mike & Angela
• Telemann Trio Sonata in F Major - Imogen, Diana, Margaret & Joan
• Corelli Sonata da Chiesa - Annabel, Polly & Mike
• 'Berceuse' by Faure - Heather, Annie & Penny
• 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' by Handel - Angela & Imogen
• 'Duo' by Busoni - Heather, Helen & Angela

Phew! I'm not sure we've ever managed to get through so much in one evening!

Class - 24th March

With only two more rehearsals left before the concert, it was time to be brave and try 'The Hebrides Overture' without me standing at the front keeping time...and it worked!

Small group items:

• 'Berceuse' by Faure - Heather, Annie & Penny
• Corelli Sonata da Chiesa - Annabel, Polly & Mike
• Telemann Trio Sonata in F Major - Imogen, Diana, Margaret & Joan
• 'Maple Leaf Rag' by Scott Joplin - George, Kath, Theresa, Dermot & Angela

And very briefly at the end:

• Busoni 'Duo' - Heather, Helen & Angela

Class - 17th February

We're still working away on 'Wedding Day at Troldhaugen', and 'The Hebrides Overture'...which received it's third installment this week.

Small group items:

• Vivaldi 'Sarabanda' and 'Giga' - George, Imogen, Diana & Joan
• Grieg 'Sarabande' and 'Gavotte' from 'Holberg's Time - Annie, Judy, Kath, Theresa, Dermot & Margaret
• Busoni Duo - Heather, Helen & Angela
• Corelli Sonata da Chiesa - Annabel, Polly & Mike

It's half-term next week, so no class...but I'm sure everyone will be practising furiously! ;0)

Class - 20th January

It was lovely to see (nearly) everyone again after the Christmas break, and we got straight back into the swing of things with one of the new arrangements for this term - 'Wedding Day at Troldhaugen' by Grieg. It's great to be able to position ourselves in our old familiar set-up for rehearsals...and with the lovely new keyboard (thank you George & Joan!), we have a more balanced sound.

Small group items:

• Scarlatti 'Sonata in F Major' - George, Kath, Diana, Margaret & Joan
• Albinoni 'Adagio' - Judy, Theresa, Dermot & Imogen
• Dusek 'Partita' & Tartini 'Two Sonatas' - Annabel, Polly & Mike
• Busoni 'Duo' & Doppler 'Fantaisie sur des motifs Hongrois' - Heather, Helen & Angela