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More Opportunities- Do you run an Early Music singing or playing group in this area that's looking for new members?
- Are you an Early Music soloist looking for someone to accompany you? - Are you wanting to set up an Early Music singing or playing group with like-minded people in the Border Marches area? Whatever you're looking for, this page is for you. E-mail the Chairman with your request, and it will be posted here. |
Weekly, Wednesday morning classes in Playford-style dancing, 10-12 in St Peter’s Church Hall, Glasbury, three miles west of Hay on Wye, tutored by Margaret Gill. We learn dances from different British regions, their historical context and the regional variations. We also have a lot of fun. Beginners and more experienced dancers all welcome. £3 a session with the first taster session free.
For more information call Susan Warne 01544 327337. Email john.c.warne@googlemail.com
(Posted May 2022)
BMEMF member Lucy Green has a small consort of voices, Hay Madrigals, (soon to be joined by a consort of strings and chamber organ). They are looking for one tenor, one alto and one bass. Their website is www.haymadrigals.org and their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/haymadrigals (Posted October 2021)
There are three Early Music Groups that meet at the Chepstow Community Music Centre, Wyedean School, Chepstow NP16 7AA: the Early Music Group, Renaissance Brass and Madrigal Singing groups.
The Early Music Group meets alternate Thursdays during school term time, 6.30pm-8pm, playing repertoire from 1150-1750 mostly on modern instruments including recorder, harp, lute (inc. guitar, mandolin, mandola), violin family and keyboard.
The Madrigal Singing and Renaissance Brass groups are monthly groups with flexible dates.
Contact: Jayne, 07379 817 817 or chepstowearlymusicgroup@gmail.com (Posted September 2021)
The Borders Chamber Choir, directed by Michael Neville, specialises in Renaissance church music and madrigals. They are looking for more SATB singers. They rehearse in Llandrindod at present, but that is not set in stone. Especially welcome are singers from the Kington area. Contact michaelneville636@yahoo.co.uk for more information (Posted February 2021)
Classes in Medieval, Tudor and Regency dance are held each Thursday evening (8pm – 10pm) and on Friday morning (10.30 – 12.00) in the Lion Ballroom, Leominster. Beginners of any age welcome - come and give it a try! Contact Maureen Crumpler on 01568 613477 or email: alancapriole@talktalk.net (posted 30th March 2018)
The Wales group of the Society of Recorder Players organises monthly playing days which visitors are welcome to attend. No need to book. Visit their website for details. (Updated October 2021).
The Dore Abbey Singers are looking to recruit new members to take part in their monthly performances in Abbeydore http://www.achurchnearyou.com/abbeydore-holy-trinity-st-mary/
(Holy Trinity & St Mary (Dore Abbey), Abbeydore, Herefordshire, HR2 0AA - Immediately east of B4347 road, at the village of Abbeydore. Grid reference: SO 387304). We perform a variety of choral music, much of it early, within the context of worship. We are looking particularly for Altos, Tenors and Basses with good to excellent sight-reading skills (although sound-files of parts are frequently available). Please contact Drew Morton on 07894 901755 or via his website. https://www.drewmortonmusic.co.uk/ (posted 9th May 2017).
Are you looking for the chance to play or sing informally with an accompanist using an appropriate keyboard instrument, singly or perhaps in a small group? Or are you a player (or potential player) who would like to explore some early keyboard instruments?
John Erskine has a fine range of keyboard instruments suitable for early music – a virginals, a clavichord, a chamber organ and an organ console with Hauptwerk software (giving ‘virtual’ access to several famous early organs in Europe). He is generously offering the use of these at his home, and would be very pleased if those who are interested would contact him.
John lives in Malvern and hopes there may be other members of BMEMF who would like to share informal music-making in that area. Email johnerskine1685@gmail.com
(updated 6 March 2020)
The Early Music Group in Bishops Castle , Con Anima, is a small and friendly a cappella ensemble who meet three times a month on a Wednesday evening in Bishops Castle. They are looking for a voice for each part to join the group. There is a nominal charge of £2 per session for running costs. Please contact George Baker, 01547 520271, email: geb@care4free.net (Updated 16th Feb 2018)
The Fellowship of Makers and Researchers of Historical Instruments (FoMRHI) was founded in 1975 as an organisation of people concerned with historical musical instruments. Its aim is to promote authenticity in the preservation of original instruments, in making reproductions of such instruments, and in their use. Membership is open to anyone interested in any of these aims. All members receive FoMRHI Quarterly, which includes a bulletin of notes and news, requests for and offers of information, replies and questions, and a number of papers, called Communications or 'Comms'. These are of varying length and range from the speculative to the thoroughly researched, and from the practical to the theoretical and the philosophical. They include book and other reviews, detailed information on how to make useful gadgets, instrument design information, and debates on previous Communications. If you'd like to find out more, please visit the website www.fomrhi.org (Updated 2nd August 2016)
The New Titley Philharmonic Orchestra (aka the Titley Phil): We meet on a Monday afternoon at Titley Village Hall (between Presteigne and Kington) to play mostly 17th and 18th century music under the tutelage of David Hatcher. David, as you will probably know, is the talented player of many period instruments and an amusing and informative tutor/conductor.
Occasionally, as a real treat, we get to accompany him in a gamba concerto but we also (any of us that feels that way inclined!) get the opportunity to play the concertante parts in concerti grossi and/or the solo in a concerto.
Violinists and Viola players are always welcome, but at the moment we are looking - in particular - for a bassoonist and a double bass player. Players need to have a minimum playing standard of Grade VI and to be confident sight-readers. We rarely perform. David works us very hard, giving us plenty of sectional tutoring in period style and technique, in the friendly and supportive company of the rest of the orchestra.
Anyone interested can contact Annie Nethercott on 01547 560369 or David on 01568 611643. (Updated 7 March 2020)
Lion Choir: an informal practice choir for people who enjoy singing but do not wish to perform in public. Meets at 6:00pm in Leominster at The Forbury for about 90 minutes. Music provided. Charge of £6.00 per evening. Contact David Hatcher: davidjohnhatcher@gmail.com or 01568 611643 / 07817 741904 (Updated 11th May 2018)
Shropshire Harmony Quire is a small west gallery quire meeting monthly near Bishop’s Castle in South Shropshire. We sing and play music from Thomas Hardy’s time, mainly from the English West Gallery and American shape note traditions. Some of what we sing is rousing, some is unbelievable beautiful and it is all very melodic in structure. In much of the early West Gallery music the melody line is given to the tenor, with an underpinning bass harmony, contra-tenor and a treble voice or voices above.
It has been said of West Gallery music that 'if we had hymns like that in our churches today they wouldn't be empty'. West gallery music was a vigorous, melodic style of worship at its height between 1700 and 1850. Thomas Hardy wrote much about the singers and players of the west gallery in his novel ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. The vivacious and contrapuntal style of singing and playing was popular with parishioners who wanted to do more than sit in silence during services. Eventually, the singers and musicians of the west gallery were replaced by organists, Hymns Ancient and Modern replaced the old psalmody copies and much of the west gallery hymnody disappeared till the revival movement of the late 20th century.
New instrumentalists and singers welcome (especially singers).
For more information about the Quire, go to http://www.shropshireharmony.org.uk/ and click on the ‘join us’ tab. Alternatively, e-mail the Secretary direct on bosky@btinternet.com
(Updated 3rd August 2016)
For more information call Susan Warne 01544 327337. Email john.c.warne@googlemail.com
(Posted May 2022)
BMEMF member Lucy Green has a small consort of voices, Hay Madrigals, (soon to be joined by a consort of strings and chamber organ). They are looking for one tenor, one alto and one bass. Their website is www.haymadrigals.org and their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/haymadrigals (Posted October 2021)
There are three Early Music Groups that meet at the Chepstow Community Music Centre, Wyedean School, Chepstow NP16 7AA: the Early Music Group, Renaissance Brass and Madrigal Singing groups.
The Early Music Group meets alternate Thursdays during school term time, 6.30pm-8pm, playing repertoire from 1150-1750 mostly on modern instruments including recorder, harp, lute (inc. guitar, mandolin, mandola), violin family and keyboard.
The Madrigal Singing and Renaissance Brass groups are monthly groups with flexible dates.
Contact: Jayne, 07379 817 817 or chepstowearlymusicgroup@gmail.com (Posted September 2021)
The Borders Chamber Choir, directed by Michael Neville, specialises in Renaissance church music and madrigals. They are looking for more SATB singers. They rehearse in Llandrindod at present, but that is not set in stone. Especially welcome are singers from the Kington area. Contact michaelneville636@yahoo.co.uk for more information (Posted February 2021)
Classes in Medieval, Tudor and Regency dance are held each Thursday evening (8pm – 10pm) and on Friday morning (10.30 – 12.00) in the Lion Ballroom, Leominster. Beginners of any age welcome - come and give it a try! Contact Maureen Crumpler on 01568 613477 or email: alancapriole@talktalk.net (posted 30th March 2018)
The Wales group of the Society of Recorder Players organises monthly playing days which visitors are welcome to attend. No need to book. Visit their website for details. (Updated October 2021).
The Dore Abbey Singers are looking to recruit new members to take part in their monthly performances in Abbeydore http://www.achurchnearyou.com/abbeydore-holy-trinity-st-mary/
(Holy Trinity & St Mary (Dore Abbey), Abbeydore, Herefordshire, HR2 0AA - Immediately east of B4347 road, at the village of Abbeydore. Grid reference: SO 387304). We perform a variety of choral music, much of it early, within the context of worship. We are looking particularly for Altos, Tenors and Basses with good to excellent sight-reading skills (although sound-files of parts are frequently available). Please contact Drew Morton on 07894 901755 or via his website. https://www.drewmortonmusic.co.uk/ (posted 9th May 2017).
Are you looking for the chance to play or sing informally with an accompanist using an appropriate keyboard instrument, singly or perhaps in a small group? Or are you a player (or potential player) who would like to explore some early keyboard instruments?
John Erskine has a fine range of keyboard instruments suitable for early music – a virginals, a clavichord, a chamber organ and an organ console with Hauptwerk software (giving ‘virtual’ access to several famous early organs in Europe). He is generously offering the use of these at his home, and would be very pleased if those who are interested would contact him.
John lives in Malvern and hopes there may be other members of BMEMF who would like to share informal music-making in that area. Email johnerskine1685@gmail.com
(updated 6 March 2020)
The Early Music Group in Bishops Castle , Con Anima, is a small and friendly a cappella ensemble who meet three times a month on a Wednesday evening in Bishops Castle. They are looking for a voice for each part to join the group. There is a nominal charge of £2 per session for running costs. Please contact George Baker, 01547 520271, email: geb@care4free.net (Updated 16th Feb 2018)
The Fellowship of Makers and Researchers of Historical Instruments (FoMRHI) was founded in 1975 as an organisation of people concerned with historical musical instruments. Its aim is to promote authenticity in the preservation of original instruments, in making reproductions of such instruments, and in their use. Membership is open to anyone interested in any of these aims. All members receive FoMRHI Quarterly, which includes a bulletin of notes and news, requests for and offers of information, replies and questions, and a number of papers, called Communications or 'Comms'. These are of varying length and range from the speculative to the thoroughly researched, and from the practical to the theoretical and the philosophical. They include book and other reviews, detailed information on how to make useful gadgets, instrument design information, and debates on previous Communications. If you'd like to find out more, please visit the website www.fomrhi.org (Updated 2nd August 2016)
The New Titley Philharmonic Orchestra (aka the Titley Phil): We meet on a Monday afternoon at Titley Village Hall (between Presteigne and Kington) to play mostly 17th and 18th century music under the tutelage of David Hatcher. David, as you will probably know, is the talented player of many period instruments and an amusing and informative tutor/conductor.
Occasionally, as a real treat, we get to accompany him in a gamba concerto but we also (any of us that feels that way inclined!) get the opportunity to play the concertante parts in concerti grossi and/or the solo in a concerto.
Violinists and Viola players are always welcome, but at the moment we are looking - in particular - for a bassoonist and a double bass player. Players need to have a minimum playing standard of Grade VI and to be confident sight-readers. We rarely perform. David works us very hard, giving us plenty of sectional tutoring in period style and technique, in the friendly and supportive company of the rest of the orchestra.
Anyone interested can contact Annie Nethercott on 01547 560369 or David on 01568 611643. (Updated 7 March 2020)
Lion Choir: an informal practice choir for people who enjoy singing but do not wish to perform in public. Meets at 6:00pm in Leominster at The Forbury for about 90 minutes. Music provided. Charge of £6.00 per evening. Contact David Hatcher: davidjohnhatcher@gmail.com or 01568 611643 / 07817 741904 (Updated 11th May 2018)
Shropshire Harmony Quire is a small west gallery quire meeting monthly near Bishop’s Castle in South Shropshire. We sing and play music from Thomas Hardy’s time, mainly from the English West Gallery and American shape note traditions. Some of what we sing is rousing, some is unbelievable beautiful and it is all very melodic in structure. In much of the early West Gallery music the melody line is given to the tenor, with an underpinning bass harmony, contra-tenor and a treble voice or voices above.
It has been said of West Gallery music that 'if we had hymns like that in our churches today they wouldn't be empty'. West gallery music was a vigorous, melodic style of worship at its height between 1700 and 1850. Thomas Hardy wrote much about the singers and players of the west gallery in his novel ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. The vivacious and contrapuntal style of singing and playing was popular with parishioners who wanted to do more than sit in silence during services. Eventually, the singers and musicians of the west gallery were replaced by organists, Hymns Ancient and Modern replaced the old psalmody copies and much of the west gallery hymnody disappeared till the revival movement of the late 20th century.
New instrumentalists and singers welcome (especially singers).
For more information about the Quire, go to http://www.shropshireharmony.org.uk/ and click on the ‘join us’ tab. Alternatively, e-mail the Secretary direct on bosky@btinternet.com
(Updated 3rd August 2016)