London Motet and Madrigal Club

President - Sir David Willcocks

Saturday 30 May 2009

SUMMER OUTING

ST GEORGE'S HANOVER SQUARE /

HANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM

Programme:

10:45 Meet at St George's - near Oxford Circus

1100 Introductory talk on the church

Singing (see list below)

1:00 Lunch break

3:15 Visit to Handel House in Brook Street

(Tour followed by harpsichord / singing recital or vice versa).

St George's was built in 1721-1724 to the designs of John James, as one of the Fifty Churches projected by Queen Anne's Act of 1711. The reredos is from the workshop of Grinling Gibbons and frames a 'Last Supper' painted by William Kent in 1724. The windows contain Flemish glass of the early 16th century from Antwerp. George Frederick Handel was a regular worshipper at St George's which is now home to the annual Handel Festival. St. George's has a full time professional choir and a strong choral tradition.

Further details from www.stgeorgeshanoversquare.org.

Music included:

Madrigals (page numbers from the Oxford Book of English Madrigals)

All creatures now - Bennet - 1

Come away, sweet love - Greaves - 42

Flora gave me - Wilbye - 101

Hark, all ye lovely -  Weelkes - 137

Mother, I will have - Vautor - 168

My bonny lass - Morley - 186

Oh yes! Has any found? - Tomkins - 216

Though Amaryllis - Byrd - 324

Weep, O mine eyes - Bennet - 373

The silver swan - Gibbons - 310

Anthems (page numbers from the Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems)

Almighty and everlasting - Gibbons - 15

Ave verum - Byrd - 44

Call to remembrance - Farrant - 50

If ye love me - Tallis - 122

Justorum animae - Byrd - 131

Lord for thy tender - Farrant - 152

O nata lux - Tallis - 248

Mass

Four Part Mass (Excerpts) - Byrd

The Handel House Museum was home to the baroque composer George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759. This landmark address is where Handel composed some of the greatest music in history including Messiah, Zadok the Priest and Music for the Royal Fireworks, and died on 14 April 1759.

*********************************************************************

PREVIOUS OUTINGS:

OUTING TO PENSHURST ON SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2008

Our outing in 2008 was to Tudeley Church and Penshurst Place in Kent.  Tudeley Church is a few miles from Tonbridge and is famous for its stained glass which was designed by Mark Chagall. Penshurst House is a historic house with Elizabethan associations, still owned and lived in by the Sidney family.

TUDELEY from www.tudeley.org

All Saints is located in attractive countryside in the hamlet of Tudeley, near Tonbridge, Kent. It is known worldwide for its stained glass windows by Marc Chagall in memory of Sarah d'Avigdor-Goldsmid (d. 1963).  The church is also the home of the Tudeley Festival, which specialises in authentic performance of early music.

Apart from the Chagall windows, there are some interesting monuments in the church.  The Fane tomb, although sadly damaged, is a fine example of a 16th century memorial.  It commemorates a former Sheriff of Kent, George Fane (d. 1571).  A brass in the chancel floor recalls Thomas Stydolf (d. 1457) with two dainty figures. Sarah d'Avigdor-Goldsmid's life and tragically early death are recalled in a finely carved tablet by Will Carter.  A recent addition to the interior is a list of incumbents of Tudeley cum Capel from the 13th century (when records began), the calligraphy being by Anna Rowley: look closely for the subtle echoes of Chagall's work.

All Saints, Tudeley makes an excellent venue for chamber music.  It is used from time to time for concerts and recitals, particularly by the well-regarded and imaginative Tudeley Festival, of which Dr Stephen Coles is the Artistic Director. The church is also used occasionally as a recording venue.  There is a fine single-manual pipe organ, installed in a newly-built gallery in 1990, thanks to the Festival's fundraising.  

PENSHURST PLACE from www.penshurstplace.com

Set in the rural Weald of Kent surrounded by picturesque countryside and ancient parkland, Penshurst Place and Gardens has changed little over the centuries. This mediaeval masterpiece has been the seat of the Sidney family since 1552 and retains the warmth and character of a much-loved family home. Today, Philip Sidney, Viscount De L'Isle, continues the family guardianship of this wonderful old house and garden with his wife Isobel and their two children, Philip and Sophia.

The first recorded owner of the original 13th century house and estate was Sir Stephen de Penchester, a distinguished royal servant whose tomb can be found in Penshurst church. He was followed a half century later by Sir John de Pulteney, a wealthy London merchant and financier and four times elected Lord Mayor of London, who wanted to build a country establishment within a days ride of the city, where he could hunt and entertain on a grand scale.

*********************************************************************

Outing to Greenwich, Saturday 2 June 2007

Our outing in 2007 was to the historic and attractive town of Greenwich, with its long association with royalty and maritime history. 

Thomas Tallis is buried in St Alphege church, and the former royal palace has associations with Henry VII and Elizabeth I.

Thomas Tallis  - see www.medieval.org/emfaq/composers/tallis.html for a short biography.

We sang motets in St Alphege from 11.00 until 12.15.

The music chosen was mainly by Tallis to reflect his association with the church. 

Our thanks go to Debbie for her help in  making this possible.

We then had ample time to sample the delights of Greenwich’s many and varied eateries for lunch, - or even the excellent craft market - or picnic in the park  as the weather was fine.

St Alphege, Greenwich. 

Go to www.westgallerychurches.com/London/Greenwich/Greenwich.html for more details.

Our afternoon singing was from 2.30 until 3.30 on the ‘upper deck’ of the National Maritime Museum,  a wonderful light and airy (but on the day very hot!) space under the roof of the newly re-furbished museum.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.  For more information and details of the Queen's House and the Royal Observatory - visit www.nmm.ac.uk

Homeward bound

The programme was as follows:

St Alphege:

O Nata Lux                                                          Thomas Tallis

If Ye Love Me                                                      Thomas Tallis

Ave Verum Corpus                                            William Byrd

Mass for 4 voices                                                 Thomas Tallis

Sancte Deus                                                         Thomas Tallis

Justorum Animae                                               William Byrd

Ye Sacred Muses                                                 William Byrd

National Maritime Museum:

All Creatures Now                                             John Bennett

Now is the Month of Maying                          Thomas Morley

Sweet Suffolk Owl                                             Thomas Vautor

I Love, alas I Love Thee                                    Thomas Morley

Fair Phyllis I saw                                                John Farmer

Thule, the period of Cosmography                 Thomas Weelkes

As Vesta Was                                                       Thomas Weelkes

The Silver Swan                                                  Orlando Gibbons

*********************************************************************

OUTING TO LACOCK - SATURDAY 3 JUNE 2006

Our outing in 2006 was to the beautiful surroundings of Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire which has connections with Robert de L. Pearsall, the 150th anniversary of whose death falls this year.

PROGRAMME.

We sang madrigals from approximately 11.30 to 12.30 in the privately owned house by kind permission of Petronella Dittner.  After lunch we sang motets in the Abbey Cloisters from 2.45 to 3.30 p.m.  In between we had the opportunity to explore the picturesque village where many period dramas and adaptations have been filmed.  

MUSIC.  

Here are some details of this famous National Trust property, reproduced from the Tour UK Houses in Wiltshire website.

Lacock Abbey today shows four architectural styles which combine to give the whole building a fine romantic beauty. The Abbey was founded in 1232 and was used as an Augustinian nunnery until 1539 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Parts of the nunnery, including the cloisters, chapter house and sacristy, were preserved when the building was converted into a private residence in 1550. 

The owner, Sir William Sharington, had travelled in Italy and he introduced the new Italian architecture to Tudor England.  Sir William died childless in 1553 and the abbey was inherited by his niece Mrs John Talbot.  

In 1754 John Ivory Talbot employed the architect Sanderson Miller to make alterations to the house in the Gothic revival style.  In 1828 further changes were made to the building.  The most famous member of the Talbot family was William Henry Fox Talbot who invented the photographic negative at Lacock Abbey.  The subject of Fox Talbot's earliest negative of 1835 was an oriel window in the south gallery. 

There is a Museum of Photography in the gatehouse which includes displays Fox Talbot's experiments.  The house remained in the hands of the Talbot family until 1944 when it was given to the National Trust, together with nearly all of neighbouring Lacock village.   The Abbey is also famous for its display of snowdrops which cover the grounds in the spring.     

                        Website first created by Michael Woods on 16 September 2005.

                        This page was last modified on 18 October, 2009.

                        Send mail to londonmotetandmadrigalclub@gmail.com with questions or comments

                        about this website.