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Music for a
While
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It all started in 1991; a group met at the
Chaplaincy on Oxford Road, Manchester, for social meetings and
singing of show tunes, interspersed with various forms of vocal
lubrication. This attracted a regular turn-out of about ten
singers and eventually we felt able to give a public concert
at the Chaplaincy,
(Click here for
RealMedia extract [Memento by Pärt]#download#
The following year we named ourselves "Music for a While" after the title of a song by Purcell. Our concert"A Celebration of English Song" at the Town Hall included a rare work by John Blow: "Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell", the "Sea Pictures" by Elgar and finished with a Purcell Ode, 'Come Ye Sons of Art'.
The time before the concert had been frantic, trying to find costumes, long wigs and velvet top coats. The concert was presented in one of the staterooms at the Town Hall, by candlelight: all very intimate. It went splendidly despite the candlelight making the music very hard to see (the yellow highlighting did not show up at all).
Our next event was called "From
the Sublime"
Splendidly dressed as the god of love, painted gold and wearing a gold lamé wrap, Martin sang "Reign with me dear Bacchus" by Rameau. There followed a tableau of the Gods: actually four mortals parading in gaudy albeit skimpy costumes. John offered a tribute to Judy Garland, while Phillip appeared all dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (an unlikely casting perhaps, but a triumph nonetheless).
We then performed at the Town Hall again, but
this time in the Great Hall, presenting "The Faery Queen"
by Purcell. Luke had managed to get hold of some timpani, which
Hugh played like a professional. We had also splashed out and
hired some Halle players, a string quartet and two trumpets.
Dancers were involved, performing a Chaconne, interludes and the
entrance of Apollo to an introit extended by Luke (Purcell just
didn't write enough for this entrance!). The second half was a
mixed programme of camp and cabaret. The recorder group Extet
once again took part; over the years they have been stalwart
supporters of our expanding little group.
Click here for a Real
Media extract.
"From Baroque to Broadway" was
next, and this was our first visit to the Dancehouse Theatre in
Manchester. Luke wrote his piece "Celebration" for this
event - a sequence of songs separated by the Kyries of the Mass.
The Finale was a medley: a tenor sang "A Pretty Girl is like
a Melody" while four gorgeous things made their entry. 'Diamonds
are a Girls Best Friend' being the Finale.
Arthur having made his own frock in the style of a Balenciaga Ball
gown.
We performed again at Manchester Cathedral in
1996, where Roger excelled himself with a flower display
that
adorned the cathedral afterwards The punters, who included a Bishop and his wife
and various luminaries from the Gay Community, then went to the
last room where they heard the Coronation Anthems by Handel, the
first performance of a spoof on the personal ads 'Lookin just
lookin' by our new member D/D Solomons and "Fairyland with
Attitude" by Luke, among other things. Our next event, in 1997, was at Liverpool
Metropolitan Cathedral where we performed 'Welcome, Welcome
glorious Morn" by Purcell and pieces by Arvo Pärt and David
Solomons. We performed at the Cathedral again in 1998: a memorial
concert for Diana Princess of Wales incorporating some Pärt and
Tavener (the song for Athene) (Click here for RealMedia extract [Song for Athene by
Tavener]) alongside a Bach cantata (No
54). It's not all Cathedrals and Town Halls, however:
the group has also performed at venues round the city of
Manchester: the New Rockingham and the Rembrandt Hotel having had
the benefit of our art. "Celebration" was the first in our
series of Millennium Concerts and involved Vada Theatre group and
the London Gay Symphony Orchestra Items included a motet by Croce, a Bach Cantata,
the Boogey Woogey Bugle Boy (Click here for RealMedia extract [Boogey Woogie Bugle
Boy]), two songs by D/D Solomons and
our third performance of "Celebration" by Luke. We participated in the Mardi Gras for the
second time presenting 'Victoriana' at the Cross st Chapel, our
first stab at a themed evening. We sang part songs by the likes
of Sullivan and Elgar (this nearly came unstuck as our soprano
section walked the week before the concert) and a reading of
Oscar Wildes story 'The Nightingale and the Rose' The BBC were hosts of Music Live, a festival of
music for 2000; we joined in presenting 'Chimera', again at the
Cross st Chapel. The audience enthusiastically joined us in
singing 'Green Carnation' and 'Ill See You Again' by Noel Coward
( *with a rehearsal before the concert) There followed a Tableaux
of famous women from history, Lady Blessington Cleopatra etc;
Extet played as we paraded or danced on. An extract from
'Private Lives' by Noel Coward was paired with a rendition of 'Someday
I'll Find You'. Two new works for piano and clarinet in the style
of the Period alongside two 5 part arrangements of 'Chatanooga
Choo Choo' and 'Ev'rytime We say Goodbye' completed the menu. Soon after 'Chimera' we were invited to perform
at an afternoon cabaret at the Greenroom Theatre as part of
Manchester Mardi Gras singing songs by Kurt Weill and Judy
Garland favourites. Our major event for 2000 was a concert at
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral 'Two Odes for St Cecilia'. A
Choir of 20 with a string quartet performed Purcell Odes and
solos alongside unnaccompanied anthems by Gibbons and Tomkins.
The first of our 2001 concerts was once again at Cross St Chapel
'A fine Romance' with french song, works by Jerome kern, two play
extracts and a showing of art work by Levan Burjanadze (he is
available for commissions!) 2003 at Cross St Chapel once again for a
programme of songs by Roger Quilter and Amy Woodforde-Finden with
a selection of part songs. Music for A While Tel: 07802 404713 
. Plus+.
Roger at work on another of our events.The programme
included Tallis' Lamentations and Stabat Mater by Vivaldi. This
was the first of two charity concerts that year. The second was
at the City Art Gallery....... This was one of our most
spectacular concerts taking full advantage of a lovely setting:
The concert began with a song in the stairwell The audience
was invited to the Tableaux room, where a group of singers,
supported by a horn, sang "O Rosa Bella by the 13th century
composer Dunstable while the audience admired the Tableaux;
Arthur had pulled out all the stops to make this a success.http://meph.eu.org/
