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Leicestershire Chorale...
Many things limit the ability of chamber choirs to perform major works of the kind undertaken by Chorale. First and foremost is finance: putting on any work that involves a professional orchestra and soloists is likely to lose money. Ticket sales go only a little way to meeting the costs. Choirs have to find sponsors and undertake fund raising activities. Subscriptions paid by members just about meet the cost of rehearsals, including the fees of the conductor and the accompanist and the venue costs. In the early years Chorale was supported as an adult education/teacher training activity by the education authority. When that support ended the Chorale turned to a major fundraising dinner in such country houses of Leicestershire as Quenby, Noseley, Stanford, Burrough, Osbaston, Whatton, Launde and Wartnaby, culminating in the event at Neville Holt in February 2007. These venues have generously been supplied free of charge by the owners. Equally important has been the generosity of many charitable trusts which have the promotion music among their objectives. Some local authorities have been helpful in supporting concerts in their area. Occasional crises have occurred and individual members have helped to keep the choir on the road.
Some of the major choral works can be sustained only if the choir has enough voice power. For some quality makes up for quantity but for works like Missa Solemnis and Verdi Requiem it helps to have a choir of say a hundred voices. The most recent performance of the Requiem was undertaken in the De Montfort Hall with a choir of 300 singers from a dozen or more schools supported by the Chorale. This was the culmination of the first project undertaken by the Chorale in its ”Youth finds a Voice” capacity. Andrew Fairbairn persuaded many sponsors that this major initiative was needed if the demise of choral singing among young people was to be prevented. Peripatetic singing teachers were employed to support the schools in preparing young singers for this concert in January 2002. Initiatives are continuing and on 25th February 2007 a Festival of Choirs will be held at the De Montfort Hall: 4 adult and 4 school choirs will perform and then combine to sing Rutter’s “Feel the Spirit”.
When Peter Fletcher went to be Principal of the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in 1984, the man selected to be the new musical director was Paul McCreesh, who at that time was a peripatetic cello teacher with the Leicestershire School of Music. This turned out to be an inspired appointment for he built up the choir in both numbers and quality. A May 1994 photograph of the performers of Handel’s Solomon in St. James the Greater shows a rather bigger choir than the 40 voices it has been through most of its history. Minutes of a committee meeting in 1979 seek an increase from the 13 (Sopranos), 11 Altos, 7 (Tenors) and 9 (Basses). On times the number of men has dropped dangerously low but the present choir has similar numbers to the above with rather more sopranos (16).
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During his ten years in charge Paul developed the choir in many ways it became particularly well known for performances of early baroque music including works by Buxtehude, Allegri, Biber, Sheppard, Vittoria, Scheidt and Praetorius. Nevertheless the repertoires remained broad and less common works, including Handel’s Theodora and his Carmelite Vespers, were given an airing. Slowly but surely McCreesh was developing a national reputation, partly as a result of his research and performance of these early works. He founded the Gabrieli Consort and Players, who performed with the Chorale for several seasons, even combining for a BBC recording in 1992. The Consort was famous for its use of period instruments well before many other groups began the practice. Not surprisingly music of the Italian School and Purcell featured strongly; Chorale sang both his verse anthems and the ”Fairie Queen”. For several years Chorale was chosen to work with the finalists of the British Federation of Young Choirs National Award to a Choral Conductor. In June 1993 the Chorale undertook an unusual engagement in singing at the Degree Congregation for the University of Loughborough. What they made of the 16th and 17th Century madrigals from Spain and England is not recorded. For his last concert as director Paul conducted Handel’s Solomon. Despite his growing international reputation and commitments, he has been back to conduct and is now the patron of the choir.
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The National Federation of Music Societies
