Category: Athenaeum Singers

The Warminster Athenaeum Singers celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a concert at the Parish Church of St. Denys, The Minster, on 7 June 2008.

Under the baton of Gavin Carr, and with the support of the Amadeus Orchestra and two gifted soloists, they gave a performance which many in the packed audience considered to be one of their best.

The opening work, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, an atmospheric piece which captures the drama and the passion of Goethe’s tragic play, was performed superbly by the Amadeus Orchestra, a training orchestra of young musicians absolutely bulging with talent. It was a spirited performance, the highlight being the fast and furious climax to the overture.

A complete change of mood followed, with Mozart’s concert aria, Vorrei Spiergarvi, O Dio. Here the orchestra accompanied by Elenor Bowers-Jolley, a young soprano just starting out in her career as a soloist. Her interpretation of the aria, perhaps the least well-known of the evening’s works, delighted the audience. The piece is highly charged with contrasting emotions, and as such it requires great skill on the part of the soloist, with some of the notes being right at the upper end of the soprano’s register. Miss Bowers-Jolley took all of this in her stride. She has a lovely voice and was a delight to listen to.

Next on the programme were two popular duets from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Bei Mannern and Pa-pa-pa, with Miss Bowers-Jolley being joined by another talented soloist, baritone Adrian Powter. Both soloists gave memorable performances of these duets, demonstrating fully the range and depth of their musicality.

The Athenaeum Singers’ first piece in the concert was the well-loved composition by Sir Hubert Parry, his Coronation Anthem I Was Glad. This short, powerful piece requires both constraint and energy on the part of the orchestra and choir. It has some beautiful slow and quiet sections but builds up to a climax containing a huge wall of sound. Choir and orchestra coped well with this, expressing exquisitely the joy and beauty of the piece.

The choir had saved the best for their final piece, however, and after the interval the audience was treated to an inspirational performance of Brahms’ A German Requiem, surely one of the most beautiful and moving works in the choral repertoire.

This performance was clearly the result of much hard work and rehearsal. The choir clearly enjoyed their singing and responded well to Gavin Carr’s leadership and to the first rate support they received from the orchestra, as well as from Mark Swinton on the organ. Elenor Bowers-Jolley and Adrian Powter, in their solos, provided inspiration, too. It would be difficult to pick out a highlight but perhaps the middle section How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings as a peaceful interlude to the rousing and uplifting climaxes.

The applause at the end summed up the audience’s pleasure at such a heart-warming performance. We look forward to further delights in the next 30 years.

Report by Phil Jefferson.

Conductor: Alan Burgess

Chairman: Angus Mackintosh, St. Algar’s Farm, West Woodlands, Frome, BA11 5ER, Tel: 01985 844233

Secretary: Mrs Ann Coventry, Rainbow, Portway House, Warminster, BA12 8QQ, Tel: 01985 213594

“The Athenaeum Singers” is Warminster’s Choral Society, open to all and no audition required.

The choir was founded in 1977 and sings a range of mainly classical, sometimes contemporary works.

Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings at 8.00 pm in the Warminster School chapel.

The normal routine is to have two concerts a year. Rehearsals start on the first Tuesday of January for a concert in early June. Then after the Summer break we have the A.G.M. on the first Tuesday of September starting rehearsals the next week for a concert at the end of November or early December.

We occasionally manage other events as well as our regular concerts. For instance, the choir has sung in Marston House and Longleat House in aid of the N.S.P.C.C. In 1991 and 1995 the choir visited Flers, Warminster’s twin and sang with Flers’ “La Lyre Chorale” and they in turn visited Warminster twice, sharing concerts with the Athenaeum Singers.

Our growing reputation and ambition has to be matched by greater efforts at fund raising, enabling us to put on concerts with orchestras and visiting soloists of a very high standard.

To Become A Member
Ring our secretary Ann Coventry for information on 01985 213594.

Come along to the Warminster School chapel at the beginning of a session; September or January. We do not normally allow people to join the choir once we are five weeks into rehearsals.

Subscriptions are £5 in January, April and September, plus 50p each week. The total for the year is therefore about £30 depending on the actual number of rehearsals.

There is no audition and it is not necessary to be able to read music.

Our concerts are usually on a Saturday evening in either The Minster or Christ Church (Warminster).

New members are always made welcome, particularly basses and more particularly tenors which are always in short supply.

To Become A Patron
If you have enjoyed our concerts perhaps you would like to be involved with supporting this important element in the cultural life of Warminster.

The Athenaeum Singers is funded entirely by the subscriptions of the members and help from Patrons or Sponsors.

We try to put on two concerts every year. The cost of a sizeable orchestra and visiting soloists for a concert can be over £2,000. Our ambitions have risen with our reputation, but without help we cannot realize them. An assured income from a list of patrons gives us the security to be able to plan ahead to produce concerts of the highest standard, which are more exciting for both us and our audiences.

We ask Patrons for a minimum contribution of £25 per year. We will keep Patrons informed of future events and send two complimentary tickets for each concert.

For more information contact the Secretary, Ann Coventry, on 01985 213594 or the Chairman, Angus Mackintosh, on 01985 844233.

Registered Charity No. 290909.