The first, Concerto for Double Bass by
Koussevitzky, comes across as a Russian
rural melodrama, played out in a New
England suburb. Performed by the
Winchester College Chamber Orchestra, it
is a difficult piece to take real ownership
of, but the orchestra grew into the piece as
it progressed. Arnold Ching, the soloist,
expended much energy and enthusiasm in
his rendition.
proud evening for all the Q parents that
poured their exhausted but happy boys back
into their cars at the end of the evening for
the drive back to Winchester.
Caroline Gill, Q Parent (yr 5)
Quiristers Informal Concert
Sunday 28 February 2016
The second piece, Mozart’s Requiem (k.626),
was certainly more melodramatic than
mere melodrama. Richard Maunder’s
completion of the original score ensures a
meaningful balance of subtlety with pomp
& circumstance. A few bars into the Requiem
Aeternam, I was a little concerned that the
sopranos might get lost amid the strength
of the orchestra and other voices, but I
need not have worried. The Quiristers are a
particularly powerful and tight unit at the
moment, and they enhanced the soprano
tone just as one might wish.
Last Sunday an animated audience assembled
in The Music School Hallat Winchester
College for this term’s Informal Quirister
Concert. We were fortunate to be treated to
many strong performances throughout the
whole concert. Charlie Temmink delivered a
tasteful violin rendition of Rossini’s William
Tell Overture and we heard the cheeky
Hippopotamus by Flanders & Swann from
Louis Jones on the clarinet. As an added
bonus, Ivo Sawbridge made his viola debut
with Cowboys and Indians by Colledge.
Chubbs Bailey gave us a relaxed performance
(with added sunglasses for effect) of
Norton’s Township Song, Thomas Sharrock
hypnotically performed the mystical Orientale
by Cui on the cello and Thomas Burkill’s
refined rendition of Fantastic Dance No. 1
by Shostakovich was truly an inspirational
performance. Well-deserved congratulations
go to all involved for a compelling and hugely
enjoyable concert.
Both the soloists and the fine contribution
from the London Mozart Players - in
particular the brass line - added much to
the performance. They demonstrated the
difficult-to-achieve capability of switching
seamlessly from holding the foreground
to blending into the overall soundscape in
almost translucent fashion.
I asked Christopher Roberts-Pastor
beforehand what his favourite part of
the Requiem was. Without hesitation,
he responded “Number 7 in the book!”
(Remember how we used to navigate CDs?
I wasn’t aware that this method also applied
to sheet music!) and the Confutatis didn’t
disappoint.
Amy Walker, Music Gap,
The Pilgrims’ School
Glee Club Concert, New Hall
Sunday 13 March
New Hall itself certainly deserves a mention;
the reworked architecture and acoustics
are a wonderful addition to the College in
particular, and the community in general.
Rather like going to the cinema, care must
be taken when deciding where to sit: if one
wishes to be immersed in (and potentially
At first sight, the two pieces chosen for the
Glee Club Concert in New Hall on Sunday
13 March make for a strange partnership,
but in the memory they live on remarkably
comfortably together.
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