2000’s Archive

Christmas 2000

Once in Royal David’s City	Sans Day Carol   (Rutter)
Excerpts from the Christmas Oratorio (J S Bach)	O Come, All Ye Faithful
i      Christians be joyful	Quelle est cette odeur agréable  (arr        Willcocks)
ii     How shall I fitly meet the?	Il Est Né le Divin Enfant  (arr Willcocks)
iii    She brought forth her first born son	Mary’s Lullaby   (Rutter)
iv    Ah!  Dearest Jesus	Joys Seven   (arr Cleobury)
v     And there were Shepherds	Lord of the Dance   (arr  Willcocks)
vi    Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light	Round
vii   And the angel said unto them	Rudolph   (arr  Colls)
viii  And this is the sign to you	Winter Wonderland   (arr Colls)
ix    Within yon gloomy manger
x     And suddenly there was with the angel
xi    Glory be to God
Still the Night

 

Spring 2002  

(Silver Anniversary Concert – no programme unfortunately, just a ticket)

Vivaldi:              Gloria

Puccini:              Messa di Gloria

Gabrieli, G:        Jubilate Deo

Marcello:          Oboe Concerto                           and I note that the price of a ticket was £8

Christmas 2002

Silent Night	Of the Father’s heart begotten  (arr Willocks)
From Handel’s Messiah	Jesus Child                                           (Rutter)
Comfort ye	Up!  good Christian folk and listen        (Trad)
And the Glory of the Lord	Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing
He shall feed his flock	Lute-book lullaby                                  (Ballet)
For unto us a Child is born	Sans Day Carol                              (arr Rutter)
It came upon the midnight clear (Willcocks)	O come all ye faithful
Once, as I remember        (arr Charles Wood)	Jingle Bells
Kings of Orient                               J H Hopkins	White Christmas
See in yonder manger low
Hallelujah!

 

Spring 2003  

(with 8 tenors!!!)

J S Bach:       Magnificat

J S Bach:       Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

Bizet:            Te Deum

Bizet:            Angus Dei

(Franck:        Prelude, Fugue and Variation)

Spring 2004

Mozart:      Veni Sante Spiritus

Mozart:      Ave Verum

Haydn:        Cello Concerto in D

Haydn:        Imperial ‘Nelson’ Mass

Spring 2005

Beethoven:                  Mass in C Major

Beamish:         Showings

Byrd:               Sing Joyfully

Tallis:              If ye love me

September 2005  

(in aid of Strathcarron Hospice)

No programme – joint concert with Strathcarron Singers;  included Bach’s Double Violin Concerto)

Christmas 2005

Once in Royal David’s City	Hark the Herald
Excerpts from the Messiah  (Handel)	Myn Liking   (Terry)
As with gladness men of old	Shepherd’s Pipe Carol   (Rutter)
Gabriel to Mary came   (arr  Willcocks)	Love came down at Christmas
All my heart this night rejoices  (Ebeling)	The Twelve days of Christmas
Unto us is born a son	Jingle Bells
The Snow   (Elgar)	Winter Wonderland
We three Kings   (arr  Willcocks)	White Christmas
Up good Christian folk and listen   (Trad)
Jesus Child   (Rutter)
Still the night

 

Spring 2006

Handel:         Zadok the Priest

Buchanan:   Three Psalm Paraphrases

Beamish:      Showings

J S Bach:       Sleepers, wake!

Vivaldi:         Dixit Dominus RV 594

Christmas 2006

Happy day of great rejoicing       (Beethoven)	See in yonder manger low
What sweeter music                           (Rutter)	In the Bleak Midwinter        (Rossetti:  Darke)
Quem Pastores                              (arr Rutter)	A maiden most gentle                         (Rutter)
Once in Royal David’s city	Jesus Child                                           (Rutter)
Up good Christian folk      (Piae Cantiones arr                                                       Woodward)     )	Love came down at Christmas
Sussex carol                     (Trad arr Willcocks)	Holly and the Ivy                        (arr Gardner)
Still the night	The twelve days of Christmas                (Trad)
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree                (Poston)	Jingle Bells
Ding dong merrily on high	Medley
Deck the hall          (Welsh trad arr Willcocks)
Joy to the World                (Handel arr Rutter)

 

Spring 2007

Parry:         I was glad

Franck:       Panis Angelicus

Mozart:      Ave verum Corpus, K 618

                   Alma dei creatoris, K 277

                   Laudate Dominum (from the Vesperae solennes de confessore, K339)

                   Alleluia (from the “Exsultate, Jubilate”, K 165)

J S Bach:     Concerto for two violins and strings in D minor

Puccini:       Messa di Gloria

Christmas 2007 

Once in Royal David’s City	O Little town of Bethlehem
For unto us a Child is born                 (Handel)	Ding Dong Merrily                                                                        (Woodward:  music C16 Fr)
In the Bleak Midwinter        (Rossetti:  Darke)	The little road to Bethlehem      (Rose:  Head)
A maiden most gentle                   (arr Carter)	Ecce Novum Gaudium        (C16 Scots:  Elliot)
The Three Kings           (Cornelius:  arr Atkins)	Soloist?
The Stable and the Star     (Ogilvie:  Johnston)	The Oxen      (Hardy:  Vaughnan Williams)
Balulalow                    (Words C16:  Johnston)	Make We Merry                     (Hill:  Fulton)
Carol of Adoration                           (Pettman)	Birthday Carol                                   Willcocks
Star Carol                                            (Rutter)	A Christmas Hymn (for the Beasts of the Field)                                 (Ogilvie:  Johnston)
Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing	Joyeux Noël                     (Johnston:  Johnston)
	Hallelujah Chorus                               (Handel)
	O Come, All Ye Faithful

 

Spring 2008

Fauré:              Cantique de Jean Racine

Fauré:              Requiem

Haydn:             Nelson Mass – “Missa in Angustiis”

Christmas 2008

Once in Royal David’s City	O Little Town of Bethlehem
And the Glory of the Lord                  (Handel)	Candlelight Carol                                (Rutter)
Angels’ Chorus                                     (Rutter)	Sans Day Carol         (Cornish trad arr Rutter)
2 Polish Carols                            (arr  Hearne)	2 Scottish Carols                              (ed Elliott)
W Żłobie Łeży (Infant Holy)	Come, my Children dere      Montgomerie
Narodził Sie Jezus Chrystus (Jesus Christ is	Balulalow               (Words C16:  Johnston)
born today)	Soloist:
2 Scottish Carols                              (ed Elliott)	Someone to watch over me      (Gershwin)
Now lat us sing                             Blackhal?	O Holy Night                                  (Adams)
All sons of Adam                               Black?	2 Polish Carols                            (arr  Hearne)
For unto Us a Child is Born                   Handel	Pasterze Mili (Tell me Shephers Dear)
O Come, All Ye Faithful	Lulajże Jezuniu
	Christmas Pudding                         (Willcocks)
	Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing

 

Spring 2009 

Handel:       Zadock the Priest

Vivaldi:       Gloria (RV 589)

Rutter:        Magnificat

Christmas 2009

Once in Royal David’s City	O Come, All Ye Faithful
Bogoróditse Djévo                                (Pärt)	Bogoróditse Djévo                (Rachmaninov)
Jubilate Deo                                     (Johnston)	Fantasia on Christmas Carols   (V’n Williams)
The Marvellous Birth       (Jennings:  Chilcott)	Soloist:
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka    (J Strauss arr S Adam)	Come Sing and Dance                  (Howells)
A Maiden Most Gentle                        (Carter)	Mid-Winter               (Rosetti  arr Chilcott)
Soloist:	Star Carol                                            (Rutter)
The Call        (Herbert:  Vaughan Williams)	Jingle Bells                (Pierpont  arr Willcocks)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas	The Twelve Days of Christmas    (arr Chilcott)
Selection from The Messiah              (Handel)	Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing
Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs
And With His Stripes
All We Like Sheep
O Little Town of Bethlehem

From Joyce

POEM ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETIREMENT OF ROSALIND AND HELEN AFTER THIRTY YEARS WITH STRATHENDRICK SINGERS.

We started thirty years ago, when all the world was young.
We little knew what wealth of music waited to be sung.
With Rosalind as leader, to encourage and inspire,
And Helen on piano, we set off to build a choir.
We advertised for members, answered questions, manned the phone.
Ros ran auditions, seeking vocal quality and tone.
She didn’t always get it. Some folk couldn’t sing a note,
And others sounded rotten, as if rust had got their throat.
Most folk could tell by looking if the notes went up or down,
And at last we got a quorum who could make a decent sound.
Discussions as to uniform dragged on beyond belief.
The gentlemen got neckties, with a musical motif.
The ladies wanted class, a bit of elegance and taste,
So they chose pink gingham tablecloths that tied around the waist.
The early concerts weren’t great, but soon we got the hang
Of giving people pleasure with the music that we sang.
We practised in the Leisure Centre, every Monday night.
The acoustic was perfection, with those ceilings high and bright,
Tho’ with too few chairs, and too much playgroup furniture besides,
Latecomers sometimes had to sit on climbing frames and slides.
The council in their wisdom closed the Leisure Centre down,
So we sought rehearsal quarters in another part of town.
No designer talent could that old Church Hall embellish.
The low roof, drapes and carpet made the choir sound truly hellish.
At last a better venue in the Session House was found,
Where our voices soared, and made a fine ecclesiastic sound.

Though premises are vital, it’s the music that counts most.
Our track record of thirty years is one that few can boast.
Our repertoire is broadly based, and varied as to class,
From Scots Wha Hae and Jingle Bells to Bach’s B Minor Mass.
We’ve sung Bach in St. Giles – we made a good impression there.
We’ve dressed up like Victorians and carolled in George Square.
We took the village hall by storm with works by G. and S.,
As gondoliers and pirates in alluring fancy dress.
Our input into Songs of Praise was beautiful if brief.
We’ve done Faure in Falkirk, warbled Carl Orff in Crieff.
We’ve commissioned strange new music – a risk not for the squeamish.
We whispered, hummed and hit bells in the piece by Sally Beamish.
The roll call of composers’ work we’ve been inspired to sing
By Ros and Helen makes a list beyond imagining.
Beethoven, Vivaldi, Hummel, Schubert, Strauss and Wagner,
Mendelssohn, Poulenc, Durufle, Faure, Brahms and Bruckner,
Sullivan, Orlando Gibbons, Tallis, Elgar, Byrd,
JS Bach, and Buxtehude, Stainer and Stanford,
Gabrieli, Palestrina, Dvorak and Rossini,
Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel, Mozart and Puccini.
Such ambitious music would be sure to overwhelm
And sink us, but for Rosalind and Helen at the helm.

Now, Rosalind we know has got the talent to inspire.
Her leadership’s electric, full of energy and fire.
So none should be surprised if Holyrood put in a bid
To ask if they can wire her up to Scotland’s national grid.
She may require a podium, likewise her six inch heels,
But her demeanour lets us see exactly how she feels.
She lifts her eyebrows high to let the first sopranos know
That though they’re trying hard, they’ve still a little way to go.
She depends upon the altos, tells the tenors they are fine,
Shows great patience with the basses when they’re nowhere near their line.
BUT should you lose your timing, or a crucial entry botch,
You’ll incur the wrath of God, in shape of Rosalind yelling “WATCH!”
Now that she’s retired, no more she’ll lead Strathendrick’s choir.
She’ll stay at home on Monday nights, her slippers by the fire.
Her future lies before her, full of interest and fun.
Who knows what ploys and stratagems are even now begun.

Helen, on the other hand, has plans already honed.
She’s going to write a book entitled ‘Keyboards I Have Known.’
She’s played all sorts of instruments, in church and village hall,
With some notes sharp, and some notes flat, and some not there at all.
Some keyboards made the kind of sound that nobody enjoys,
Like that one in Gargunnock with the strange digestive noise.
She’s coped with ciphers, dodgy pedals, instant transposition,
Because she is that rarest thing, a consummate musician.
Most pieces put in front of her she’ll pick up from the start,
Though she’ll admit she’s never conquered quite ‘Waltz of my Heart.’
When we’re ready for the concert, Helen sings the alto line.
Of worry or uncertainty there’s never any sign.
Stuff we’ve spent three months slaving over she can read at sight.
In performance we may vacillate, but Helen will be right.

We’re going to miss them both so much. It’s very true to say
We’d rather that they stayed with us to sing another day.
But life is full of changes. They’ve got other fish to fry.
They’ll embark on fine new projects, their ambitions flying high.
Their family fun will multiply, their joys increasing daily.
Grandmotherhood sits well on them, with Anna, Finlay, Eilidh.
So thank you both for all the years of musical delight.
We raise our glasses, wishing you a future shining bright.
You’ve earned your place in all our hearts, among the great and good.
To Rosalind and Helen, with our love and gratitude.