Birmingham Bach Choir

Birmingham Bach Choir is one of the Birmingham’s oldest musical groups, predating both the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and the City of Birmingham Choir.[1]

The choir's aim is to give inspiring live performances to a professional standard that engage with audiences, with a mix of new and established repertoire.[1] [2]

Brief History

The origins of Birmingham Bach Choir date back to October 1919 and the formation of the Birmingham Bach Society[3] which was established by Bernard Jackson, a Bach enthusiast and musicologist.[4]

In 1929 the choir was re-established as The Birmingham Bach Club and affiliated to The Bach Cantata Club in London. Dr. Allen Blackhall, organist at St. Mary’s Warwick and subsequently Principal of the Birmingham School of Music, was appointed conductor.[4]

The society was returned to the name Birmingham Bach Society in 1947.[4][3]

Richard Butt was appointed as Conductor and Director of Music in 1966[3] ushering in a new era for the choir,[5] which included major changes to organisation and programming as choral performances were accompanied by recitals by such leading figures as Yehudi Menuhin, Paul Tortelier and George Malcolm.[4]

Links also developed with Leipzig and Bach’s own Church of St. Thomas’s. The Choir was invited to give a performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor there in 1989 with the Leipzig Radio Orchestra - an event they describe as "one of the great crowning achievements in the life of the Choir."[4]

During Richard Butt’s time various commissions were undertaken, in particular from David Lord, Rory Boyle and Paul Spicer (Darling of the World).[4]

Paul Spicer: 1992-present

Paul Spicer took over as Conductor in 1992[6] after being invited to apply by Richard Butt the year before[5].

Shortly after Paul joined, the choir changed its name to the Birmingham Bach Choir, and extended its repertoire into the 20th century and contemporary music, notably works by Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar, Gerald Finzi, Herbert Howells and John Joubert.[4]

The choir has continued to premiere new choral works, including Spicer's The Deciduous Cross, a work based on five poems by RS Thomas commissioned for Paul's 10th anniversary as conductor[7]; Easter Oratorio which was recorded by the Choir with Lichfield Cathedral Choristers and Special Choir and the English Symphony Orchestra in 2005[6]; and Unfinished Remembering, at Birmingham Symphony Hall in 2014, to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Great War.[4][8] The performance of Unfinished Remembering was described by the Birmingham Post as "one of the most important concerts" in the choir's history.[9]

Other premieres include Universal Nature by John Joubert (commissioned by Nicholas Fisher for the choir and first performed in 1994)[10]; My Heart Danceth by Eleanor Alberga (commissioned by the choir as part of a nationwide series of concerts celebrating the eightieth birthday of John Joubert, composer and patron of the Choir, and debuted in 2007)[11]; and Steal Away, a spiritual-based piece written by Paul Spicer as part of the choir's 2019 centenary.

In 2019, Roderick Williams was announced as a Patron, as part of the choir's year long centenary celebrations[12], which included an autumn Gala Concert at Lichfield Cathedral.

Repertoire

Although the main focus of the choir is the Baroque period, they perform music spanning over 500 years including 20th and 21st century works.[13]

Discussing the Choir's repertoire, Paul Spicer told MusicWeb International's John Quinn: "Whenever we do Bach we feel we’re coming home, so it is a Bach choir, very much with a purpose. But we have a very broad-based repertoire indeed and we go back a long way before Bach and come right up to the present day. And, of course, with my particular interest in twentieth century British music we’ve done a huge amount of that over these years."[14]

Commissions and First Performances

The choir has premiered numerous new choral pieces by distinguished composers, many of them commissioned. These include Wofully Araide commissioned from David Lord (1970); Best Glorious Man (1991) and The Rochester Triptych (1994) by John Jourbert (1991); Love and Life by Adrian Partington (1999); How God Answers the Soul by Aaron Jay Kernis (1996); as well as numerous pieces by Paul Spicer including A Shared Singing and Unfinished Remembering (2014), Festival (2015) and The Darling of the World (1986).[15]

Critical reception

The choir have been described as one of the UK's leading large chamber choirs[16][17]

They have been praised for their "wonderful breadth of tone" and "thought-provoking" performances,[18] boasting "an impressive team of soloists."[19]

Discography
  • Easter Oratorio (2005)- described by MusicWeb International as "a substantial work" with the choir "singing with good tone and dynamic range, clarity and conviction."[6]
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References
  1. Good Friday Choir Sing Messiah The Phoenix Newspaper, Birmingham, publication date not specified; accessed 4 April 2019.
  2. Birmingham Bach Choir Present Good Friday Performance of Handel's MESSIAH at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Broadway Baby UK, 7 April 7 2017; accessed 10 January 2020.
  3. Birmingham Bach Choir Bach Cantatas, accessed 4 April 2019.
  4. Birmingham Bach Choir History Birmingham Bach Choir website, accessed 4 April 2019.
  5. Tributes to former Birmingham Bach Choir conductor Richard Butt Birmingham Post, 17 October 2010, accessed 4 April 2019.
  6. Review Music Web International CD review by John Quinn. Accessed 4 April 2019.
  7. Birmingham Bach Choir Announce Special Concert What's On Birmingham, circa November 2017, accessed 4 April 2019.
  8. Birmingham Bach Choir's New Commission for WW1 Commemoration Centenary News, 9 May 2012, accessed 4 April 2019.
  9. Review: Birmingham Bach Choir, Symphony Hall Birmingham Post, Christopher Morley, 15 September 2014. Accessed 4 April 2019.
  10. Universal Nature Presto Sheet Music, accessed 22 May 2019.
  11. My Heart Danceth Edition Peters, accessed 22 May 2019.
  12. Roderick Williams OBE announced as new patron of Birmingham Bach Choir What's On (Birmingham), 3 April 2019.
  13. Birmingham Bach Choir Announces Summer Concerts deluxe Magazine, 12 May 2017; accessed 10 January 2020.
  14. Paul Spicer in conversation with John Quinn MusicWeb International, circa 2014, accessed 4 April 2019.
  15. Birmingham Bach Society/Birmingham Bach Choir. Commissions and First Performances. Birmingham Bach Choir, December 2017, accessed 22 May 2019.
  16. A Chance To Hear The Best of Bach In Malvern Worcester News, 3 Feb 2016; accessed 4 Apr 2019.
  17. Birmingham Bach Choir Announces Summer Concerts deluxe Magazine, 12 May 2017; accessed 10 January 2020.
  18. Review: Birmingham Bach Choir, St Paul's Church in Hockley Birmingham Post, Maggie Cotton, 29 June 2015, accessed 4 April 2019.
  19. Birmingham Bach Choir 4-stars ReviewsGate, Paul Gray, November 2018, accessed 4 April 2019.
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