THE ARMED MAN

A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins

This work was commissioned by The Royal Armouries to commemorate
the millennium. It was composed during the tragic events of
Kosovo and is dedicated by the composer to the victims of Kosovo

On a lighter note, the choir will also sing

Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams

Conductor: James Davey

Venue: Aylesbury Methodist Church,
Buckingham Street, Aylesbury HP20 2NQ

Tickets £12.00     Concessions £10.00   all unreserved

Tickets are available from choir members, on the door,
or using the Booking Form

There was a real Christmas spirit for this concert much of which was caused by the Festive Faces photography session which was held before the concert.
This annual concert was again held at Aylesbury High School on Wednesday 14th December. Aylesbury Festival Choir, conducted by James Davey led the community singing and contributed three separate items to the programme. Our MC for the evening was Alan Hamilton, a member of AFC, and a very good job he did.
Bedgrove Junior School Choir under the leadership of Becky Sim gave us four very different carols and they delighted us with their enthusiastic singing. The school hand bell ringers led by headmaster Graham Norris, go from strength to strength and they provided an entertaining section of the programme. We were fortunate to have our rehearsal pianist, Thelma King, to accompany many of the carols. Caduceus Brass accom-panied the audience carols as well as performing an amusing solo item based on ‘The Nutcracker Suite’.
Our thanks to Danny Higgins, (www.dannyhigginsphotography.com) for the photograph.
Jean Tuer

Aylesbury Festival Choir’s concert on Saturday November 19 at the Methodist Church was an all Mozart affair. The choir, along with accompanist Lestyn Evans, an organist with a flourishing international career, began the evening with the short yet exquisite motet Ave Verum Corpus, followed by the Solemn Vespers, which is actually more joyous and exuberant than solemn.
For this the choir was joined by the Aylesbury Festival Ensemble, comprising a group of London-based brass and woodwind players whose playing certainly enhanced the performance.
The soloists also made their first appearance here: soprano Sara Brimer, mezzo Hanna Hipp, tenor Stephen Jeffes and bass Jimmy Holliday, who last performed with the choir in 2009 in the final performance of Messiah in the Civic Centre. All four are extremely talented performers and I hope we will have the opportunity to hear them again.
Most of the solos were in ensemble style, with the fireworks left to the choir, apart from the glorious and beautifully sung soprano aria Laudate Dominum.
The final work of the evening was the Requiem, which evoked another great performance both from Aylesbury Festival Choir and all four soloists - the former did a particularly fine job in the Lacrimosa, while the latter shone in the Benedictus. It was a little strange at first hearing this work in particular without a full orchestra, but this otherwise excellent venue cannot accommodate one.
Conductor James Davey as ever kept the whole show on track and the capacity audience responded with enthusiasm.
Aylesbury Festival Choir will be performing again on December 14 when they present their annual Christmas extravaganza, Carols for Everyone, at the High School.

AYLESBURY Festival Choir’s first concert this season took place on Saturday November 27 at the Methodist Church. Italian Baroque Masters was the theme, and the concert was a pleasing mix of the familiar and unfamiliar.
The first half comprised nine short pieces, some for the unaccompanied choir, some for choir and organ, one for choir and brass and two showcasing the talents of Pentagon Brass, a talented quintet of professional musicians, whose first piece, a delightful Canzona by Gabrieli was particularly enjoyable.
The organist for the evening was Colin Spinks, whose contributions are always welcome.
Most of the works were sacred pieces, with one notable exception in Bachieri’s Contropunto Bestiale, which the choir, imitating animal noises, sang with gusto!
The second half began with Albinoni’s Adagio from Pentagon Brass, heralding the arrival of the soloists, soprano Diana Sharp and mezzo Dawn Foxall, who first performed two extracts from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and then joined with all the participants for a splendid performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. These two experienced soloists are well known to local audiences and sang superbly.
Musical Director James Davey was at the helm as usual and both he and members of Pentagon Brass introduced the music in an informative way.
Much of the credit must go to the members of Aylesbury Festival Choir who tackled the complex music on offer with aplomb and were particularly outstanding in the pieces by Scarlatti and Monteverdi, and, of course, the Gloria.
The next concert from the choir will be the popular annual Carols for Everyone on December 15 at Aylesbury High School.
Joss O’Kelly