What a bargain!

Choir’s got rhythm and at a bargain price

Cantilena’s Summer Concert last Saturday was an eagerly awaited affair. I am more familiar with their bigger Spring concerts and found that the relaxed atmosphere of this event was perfect for a hot Summer evening.

The venue, St Michael’s Church, Shepton Mallet, was a most suitable choice as it had all the amenities and a large hall and garden for the after-show buffet.

The concert was American themed with plenty of traditional spirituals and songs from the slave era. I recognised many – “Shenandoah”, “Swing Low” and, my favourite, “Little David Play on yo’ Harp”. But the triumph of the evening was surely “Steal Away”,  arranged by Michael Tippet for his oratorio “A Child of our Time”. 

Another good choice was the spiritual “Were you There?” – a sad song about the crucifixion, opened by two strong altos.

Cantilena was supported by Simply Uke, a local Ukulele band giving their first concert in front of a paying audience. They played well and the audience was most appreciative.

I very much enjoyed the evening which, at £10, including programme and delicious buffet prepared by choir members, was a bargain. I would have expected to pay £15.00 for a concert of this calibre.

Beatrice Dixon 9 July 2017

With my Little Ukulele in my Hand

Ukulele Band Joins Cantilena

You learn something every day, they say, and I certainly did today.

At the Summer concert, Cantilena is being joined by Simply Uke, a local seven-piece ukulele band which will add to the American flavour of this concert. Click on the link to find out more.

I decided to find out exactly what a ukulele was and discovered that it was invented in Hawaii, adapted from a Portuguese stringed instrument called a machete, introduced in the 19th century by immigrants from the Azores and Madeira. From there it spread into the rest of the United States, becoming an important part of country music and jazz.

Simply Uke plays a wide range of music, including Classical, swing jazz, pop and blues. They will bring variety to the concert and I'm looking forward to hearing them.

The Hawaiian translation of ukulele is "jumping flea" - which I hope won't form a central part in the concert!

Details: Saturday 8 July at 7.30. St Michael's Church, Shepton Mallet BA4 5BP
             Tickets £10.00 (children under 15 £1.00) to include supper
             Available from: 01278 722870, 
             Dicketts Stationers, High St, Glastonbury, or on the door

http://glastonburycantilena.org/

We Got Rhythm

Exploring the Beat of American Music

One thing that often distinguishes American music from that of the Old World is its rhythmic freedom.

With influences from Ireland, Eastern European Jews and Africa, this is hardly surprising. And there was no musical establishment to hold musicians back. Influences combined; the African American Spiritual uses traditional Christian harmonies, which the slaves were taught by missionaries, and added their own speech patterns to give a unique flavour to their songs. 

In the northern states we see music that is much more based on old folk melodies. We are singing the charming Appalachian lullaby "Black Sheep". Listen to it by clicking on the link.

We are also adding music from Hawaii to the mix which makes this a "must do" event. All the details are below. 

Visit our  website to learn more about the concert and the choir.....

Sing for Joy

Invite Cantilena to your Event

In Cantilena we love to bring enjoyment to people through our singing. And this doesn't just mean at our regular concerts.

There are many events which are enhanced by singing; what better way to express your feelings, entertain guests or raise money for your favourite charity?

And we are proud to say that we can provide this service, too. We have sung at weddings, musical societies, churches; once even at Taunton Museum for an exhibition connected with Henry Purcell. So no type of event is beyond us.

We won't turn up mob-handed with all thirty of us. We offer smaller groups as befits the occasion. All the details are below.

Spread the word!

http://glastonburycantilena.org/index.html

Transatlantic

Life in Cantilena is never dull. We had barely recovered from performing Bach's Magnificat last month, with its baroque trumpets, drums and taxing choruses, than we started rehearsing for our Summer concert.

This Summer we are off to America which encompasses a very wide range of sound worlds. Some the audience may be tempted to join in with:  Li'l Liza Jane" or "I got Rhythm" as they have become familiar.

No concert of American choral music would be complete without African American Spirituals. Trapped in an alien place and away from their own culture, the slaves embraced Christianity which gave them some certainty of a life better than the one they were living.

Some of the most moving settings were incorporated by Michael Tippett into his work "A Child of our Time". I think that this is because he managed to tap into their intrinsic sadness as well as making them relevant for today. We will be singing "Steal Away" Click on this link to hear it for yourself.

Join us for this Transatlantic adventure on July 8 in Shepton Mallet. More details to follow.

Follow us on Facebook
Or visit our website: http://glastonburycantilena.org/index.html

Mozart Fest

Spring is usually when Cantilena "pushes the boat out", so to speak. It is the time when we are more likely to perform a major work and include an orchestra and professional soloists.

This spring is no exception. We will be performing Mozart's Requiem, together with his lilting Laudate Dominum from the Mass in C and his tender Ave Verum.

Mozart wrote the Requiem at the end of his life; in fact he couldn't finish it and it was left to others, notably Süssmayr, to finish it from the various notes and hints that Mozart had left. There is a romantic story about a mysterious visitor, dressed in black who commissioned the work, leading Mozart to believe that this was Death himself. However,  the person who commissioned it was actually  Count Franz Von Walsegg, who was renowned for trying to pass off others' work as his own; hence the anonymity. Mozart's death made secrecy impossible, of course!

Find out more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_%28Mozart%29

Despite the number of people that had a hand in its completion it's a very coherent work and touches us all with its passion and beauty.

We are fortunate to have some young and highly talented soloists join us this year and I will fill in more with my next blog.

This is a treat not to be missed.

Join us at St Mary's Church, Glastonbury on Saturday 25 April at 7.30 pm for this feast! 

Details on the poster.

Busy, busy

November has been a busy month for Cantilena.

On Thursday 20 November we sang in the switching on of the Christmas lights at Clark's Village. We were hosted by Heart FM. who had set up a bandstand in the centre. Their banter may have been a bit unexpected, but the crowd of shoppers seemed to like it. I would have liked to hear more singing from them, though!.

But we gave a good account of ourselves and later sang at various locations around the village, to the delight of several small children!

It was more tiring than we expected but has hopefully increased our standing locally, as well as giving us an opportunity to sing carols, which should never be missed!

We shall be doing this again on 11 December for their "Narnia Wonderland" late night shopping event. 

If you are planning some Christmas shopping at Clark's Village anyway, why not combine it with coming to hear us sing the old favourites! Even joining in if you fancy it!

Consecration

The final pieces that make up our autumn concert are two motets by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. Bruckner is mostly renowned for his grand, expressive symphonies but he wrote a number of pieces for unaccompanied voices.

In our concert on 22 November we are singing "Christus Factus Est" a passionate piece describing Christ's sacrifice for our sakes. The piece soars up and down and uses a wide dynamic range to express the words. 

Click on this link for a taster:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6fAT3iGRWc

Bruckner wrote the second motet, "Locus Iste" for the dedication of the new Linz Cathedral in 1869. The words mean "This place was created by God". The soaring lines reflect the neo-gothic arches and pillars of the cathedral, while the beginning and end convery reverence and awe.

I had the priviledge, a few years ago, of singing this work in Linz Cathedral which was rather special.

Come and hear us:

November 22 2014
7.30 pm
St Mary's Church, Glastonbury
Tickets £10.00 (children under 15 £1.00)

Julia Barrett

Home-Grown

One of the special things about Cantilena is the wealth of local talent that's available for us to use as soloists and accompanists.

We often perform unusual works that give young performers opportunities to widen their repertoire. Standards are high and so we all benefit.

This term is no exception; in fact we are benefitting from three home-grown soloists.

Accompanying us on the organ throughout the concert is Ashley Marshfield. Ashley is presently music director at St Thomas's Church in Wells. Find out more about him on his Twitter page:https://twitter.com/AMarshfield

The works we are performing require two soloists: Baritone and Soprano.

Rob Clark, baritone, is no stranger to Cantilena, having sung with us in 2013. He told me that his early musical love was the trumpet but, after he successfully auditioned to play the lead role in a college production of "Grease", for which he felt he should have a few singing lessons, he turned his talents to singing! He hasn't developed  a career in musical theatre, but has sung with Harry Christophers early music group The Sixteen.

It is a special pleasure to welcome Helen Ostafew, soprano. Her parents, Jan and Nick, used to be valuable members of Cantilena for many years before their removal to Dorset. Helen studied classical singing at The University of Leeds during which she spent a year at Enschede. She is very active in many ways, singing solo in many concerts, directing two choirs, writing music for performance and also developing her jazz singing skills.

Welcome to all these wonderful performers - come along and support them!

Concert details:            

Date:                22 November 2014
Time:                7.30 pm
Location:          St Mary's Church, Glastonbury
Tickets:            £10.00 (£1 children under 15)

All the Way from America

Which may seem a strange title when I am going to talk about a work by the great Bohemian composer Anton Dvorak.

But it's true. Dvorak went to America in 1892. He was asked, in advance of his visit, to write a piece to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America.

He was promised a suitably celebratory text. but none was forthcoming. In desperation he turned to the text of the Te Deum. He felt that it was joyous enough for the occasion and it also appealed to his own religious convictions. In the event it was not performed at the celebrations, but two weeks later with a choir of 250 singers.

Cantilena has 25 singers but feel sure that we can do this work justice. It is a happy work, full of complex rhythms and unusual harmonies.

This concert promises to be unusual.

Don't miss it!