Last Sunday evening, the Great Hall once again echoed with the sounds of a full orchestra and choir as they performed Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio to the delight of their audience. The Combined Choral Society Concert has always been a wonderful opportunity for Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School to collaborate, giving students from both schools the experience of singing or playing in a large scale choral and orchestral work. Preceding the event, and as part of this year’s ongoing centenary celebrations for the Parents’ Guild, parents (past and present), OBs and members of the Eagle Choir joined members of the Guild Committee for drinks in the Memorial Hall.
The melodic lines of Sir Paul McCartney combined with the lush orchestration of Carl Davis were successfully tackled by over 190 performers in total. These numbers were made up of choirs and orchestras from both schools, Visiting Music Teachers, parents past and present and the Eagle Choir, formed of parents, staff and friends of the schools.
For these Choral Society Concerts, works are selected that are unique and interesting to ensure a breadth of diverse performing experiences, and the Liverpool Oratorio was certainly no exception. As Dominic Keating-Roberts, Director of Music at Bedford Girls’ School, explained, “The Liverpool Oratorio is an incredibly ambitious piece packed with challenges and exciting passages of full chorus and orchestration that help to express the narrative of the work. The performers excelled themselves in bringing this work to life, with some thrilling singing from the chorus and expressive playing from the orchestra all helping to produce a vibrant dynamic sound that enthralled the audience.”
The soloists drawn from our school communities delivered exceptional character and beautiful lyricism to their roles. Lottie Bagnall (Visiting Music Teacher) and her husband Harry (former Director of the Eagle Choir and current choir member) sang the parts of the protagonists, Shanty and Mary Dee, a young married couple in Liverpool navigating the complexities of marriage, careers, parenthood and all that come between. They were joined by Bethany Remfry (Visiting Music Teacher at Bedford Girls’ School) ably portraying the roles of Miss Inkley the Spanish Teacher, Chief Mourner and the Nurse. This was a masterclass in versatility as she switched between the Spanish folk style of Tres Conejos, in which she teaches her class about three rabbits playing a drum, through to the lilting flowing melodic lines of the Nurse comforting the critically ill Mary Dee surrounded by ghosts of the past – an incredibly moving moment within the performance. Adrian Finch (Director of IB) brought real authority to the role of a Headmaster keeping unruly students in line with his rich, warm tone, effortlessly moving into a more comedic idiom in the role of Mr Dingle with Let’s have a drink. Mr Keating-Roberts claimed, “Perhaps the highlight of the solo singing was the beautiful clear tone of Alexander Olleson (Remove Form) as the treble soloist. Alexander demonstrated great professionalism throughout and delivered a superb performance.”
Director of Music Jonathan Sanders said, “It was such an encouraging evening of music-making to see and hear boys and girls sitting alongside experienced musicians in the orchestra, along with boys and girls standing alongside the adults of the Eagle Choir, all working together to create a harmonious outcome”.
The performers worked hard in sectional rehearsals during the weeks leading up to the concert, and a full rehearsal was held on the afternoon of the concert itself. Mr Keating-Roberts remarked, “I was immensely proud of all the performers involved. It was a pleasure to work with all contributors and I look forward to our continued collaboration as we look ahead to the exciting future events planned.”
Photo credit: Lower Sixth Former, Frank Wang.
