No . 132 The Trusty Servant
The Revd Justin White , Dean of Chapel , led the Prayers of Dedication . Howard Ionascu , Director of Chapel Music , then invited people to come in small groups to see the Song School , and everyone went to School for refreshments and many happy reminiscences – friendships renewed - and much laughter .
The following is an extract from a framed text composed by the Headmaster , which hangs on the north wall inside the Song School :
Julian ’ s involvement with the College spanned almost 60 years and seven
Headmasters , from appointment as a music don in 1953 until retirement as a visiting singing teacher in 2012 . A former colleague , Jonathan Freeman-Attwood , later Principal of the RAM , summed up his character and achievement : ‘ Whenever Julian ’ s name has come up over the years , I have always felt an instant glow of pleasure and respect . He had that effect on hundreds and hundreds . What a legacy of great musicians from his stable !’
In the words of Dryden ’ s ‘ A Song for St Cecilia ’ s Day ’, Julian Smith made many young people ‘ sequacious of the lyre ’, sometimes without their even knowing . ‘ It was such fun singing for Julian ,’ recalled one former pupil , ‘ that I didn ’ t really notice how much I was also learning .’
‘ Since singing is so good a thing , I wish all men would learn to sing ,’ wrote William Byrd .
This Song School represents a testament to an ancient tradition within an ancient foundation , and celebrates all that one remarkable man , through a long life well lived , contributed with such distinction to them both .
Choir of the Earth : singing during lockdown
Dave Perfect ( Coll , 74-79 ) writes :
When the first lockdown was announced in March 2020 , all of us who are members of face-to-face choirs were faced with the unhappy prospect of being unable to sing for the foreseeable future . We were therefore delighted to hear about the foundation of the Self-Isolation Choir ( SIC ) by Mark Strachan , a choral singer from Dorset . Mark and SIC ’ s Musical Director , Ben England , had the inspired idea that choral singers all over the world could learn and then record themselves in isolation singing the choruses of Handel ’ s Messiah . The individual recordings would then be mixed by sound engineers , to go alongside the solos provided by high-class professionals . These included the Bass , Ashley Riches ( Coll , 00-05 ), who , as reported in the May issue , recently led a Chapel Choir workshop . Hundreds of people signed up and Messiah was performed for the first time on 31 st May 2020 . At least two of the chorus members were Wykehamists : myself and Graham Ley ( Coll , 74-79 ). Graham and I had last sung together at Winchester !
Messiah was a great success and since then the SIC , now renamed Choir of the Earth ( COTE ), has grown from strength to strength . Over the past 18 months , under the guidance of a range of excellent Musical Directors , we have learned and recorded five separate Requiems ( Brahms , Duruflé , Fauré , Mozart and Verdi ); Mendelssohn ’ s Elijah ( Ashley was the main soloist ); Bach ’ s St John Passion ; Messiah ( for the second time in May 2021 ) and a whole host of small works , including new arrangements of songs by ABBA and the Beatles . We have also recorded well-known hymns accompanied by Cathedral organs and presented a recording of ‘ Eternal father , strong to save ’ to the Queen , as a tribute to Prince Philip . We now have more than 6,000 members , have already produced five CDs with more in the pipeline , and consider ourselves to be one of the most active choirs in the world . We have also gained a large number of new friends across the world even though we have met very few of them in person .
Although most of us have now resumed singing with face-to-face choirs , most of us intend to remain in COTE . It offers unprecedented opportunities for every one of any standard and experience to sing wonderful music to a high standard in a huge choir . This year , for example , we still have Haydn ’ s Creation and a selection of John Rutter ’ s Christmas carols and songs to come , while forthcoming highlights of our 2022 programme include Mozart ’ s Mass in C Minor and Rutter ’ s Requiem .
So whether you sing in Cathedral choirs , or choral societies , or haven ’ t sung in a choir since Winchester , please have a look at our website and perhaps come and join us . You will receive a very warm welcome and certainly won ’ t regret it !
www . choiroftheearth . com
Editor ’ s note : If you would like to sing with others faceto-face and do so in Chapel , please note the Chapel Choir Reunion planned for Saturday , 21 st May 2022 . You do not have to have been in Chapel Choir to take part !
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