'A MUSICAL MOSAIC', May 2008,
Victoria Halls, Helensburgh
Conductor: Nairn Young

This was our 59th annual Spring Concert. Ian Robertson, President of the Choir, commented, “Our May concert this year, 'A Musical Mosaic' was held again at Helensburgh Victoria Halls, on Saturday 10th May 2008. Musical Director, Nairn Young had arranged a popular programme to suit all tastes - 'from masterpieces to madrigals'.

The programme included excerpts from 'Dido and Aeneas' - Purcell, 'Let All The World In Every Corner Sing' Vaughan Williams, 'A Gaelic Blessing' - Rutter, 'The Silver Swan' - Gibbons, 'Kelvin Grove' - arr. Ritchie, Lascia Ch'io Pianga – Handel, 'Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance' - Fletcher, and more...

The main work in the concert was the excerpts from Henry Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas'. It was first performed in 1689 at a girls school in Chelsea, and was the first British opera, but the original score does not survive. It is based on Virgil’s Aeneid where Dido, Queen of Carthage, falls in love with Aeneas who is fleeing from defeat at Troy after the Trojan war. It was Virgil’s last work written around 19BC from the original in Homer’s Odyssey. The opera is traditionally performed in six scenes with the first two in Dido’s palace followed by the Witches cave and a Grove. The last two scenes are in the harbour ending with Dido’s death. The Witches hate Dido and remind Aeneas that he is destined to go and found the Roman Empire. Poor Dido is left dying of a broken heart.

There was a selection of English Madrigals on offer. Madrigals were very popular around 1590 – 1610 in England. It is thought they were adaptations from Italian music imported around this time. Thomas Morley(1557-1602) published his ‘First Book of Ballets ‘ in 1595 and it was so popular it was reprinted in 1600. These were probably designed to be sung unaccompanied but some scores state viols could be used to join the voices.

Our soloist, Elysia Leech, showed Handel at his best with the first work coming from his Italian Cantatas composed in 1707 for private performance, as operas and non religious public performances were banned in Rome. The knight Rinaldo has escaped from the seduction of the sorceress Armida who sings -- ‘ Let me weep over my cruel fate. I long for freedom and I pray for mercy’. Handel was in Italy from 1706-10 but moved to London and ‘speedwrote’ Messiah in 1741, but it was first performed in Dublin in 1742 after a very dodgy rehearsal in Chester Cathedral while waiting for fair winds to cross the Irish Sea.

The Choir was accompanied by a professional string orchestra, led by Ben Buuman, with Harpsichord/Piano played by Jane Hepworth. The orchestra performed the first movement of Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' and 'Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance' by Percy Fletcher.

Programme:

Part 1

Peter Go Ring-A Dem Bells	arr. Ehret
A Gaelic Blessing	John Rutter
Excerpts From Dido and Aeneas	Henry Purcell
First movement Eine Kleine Nachtmusik	W.A.Mozart
My Bonny Lass She Smileth	Thomas Morley

Part 2

All Creatures Now Are Merry Minded	John Benet
The Silver Swan	Orlando Gibbons
Now Let Her Change	Francis Pilkington
Lascia Ch’io Pianga from Rinaldo	G.F. Handel
Oh Thou That Tellest Good Tidings from Messiah	G.F. Handel
Kelvin Grove	arr.Ritchie
Afton Water	arr. Nairn Young
O Weel May The Boatie Row	arr.Alfred Moffat
Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance	Percy Fletcher
Let All The World In Every Corner Sing	R. Vaughan Williams

Thank You to our Soloist

Elysia Leech, mezzo-soprano, is a 24 year old graduate of the RSAMD and is currently studying at the RSAMD’s Alexander Gibson Opera School in Glasgow.

Elysia has performed all over Britain. Recently she sang in a Malcolm Martinau series at Crear in Argyll which was heard on Radio 3 Classics Scotland. She was selected as a Scottish representative on the 2003 Rugby World Cup tour where she sang ‘Flower of Scotland’ before each game. The television audience for this was estimated at three million beamed worldwide from Australia’s main stadiums.

Thank You also to:

Argyll & Bute Council for their generous Leisure Development Grant towards the funding of this concert.

Thanks also go to:
Hopscotch for acting as our Town box office.
The volunteers who helped front-of-house, with programmes, and running the bar.
The British Red Cross.
The Staff of Victoria Halls.

Past Concerts

Click Here for complete programmes and comments about some of our other past concerts.

Click Here for a list of the main works and songs we have performed over the years.

What the Critics Say...

Here you'll find what the critics have made of some of our performances.
Click Here for details.

Christmas Concert

Each December Helensburgh Dorian Choir marks the beginning of the Christmas season by performing a concert of Christmas music & carols – some well known, some lesser known, chosen from composers of the past 500 years.

The concert includes readings of seasonal literature, an informative comentary on the lesser known pieces and well known communal carols. After the concert audience and performers are invited to a party in the adjoining hall.

The 2009 concert, "Christmas Cheer", will be held in early December at United Reformed Church, Helensburgh. Click Here for details.