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Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Acclaimed composer and poet unite to mark Bray Choral Society's anniversary
The Bray Choral Society, under the direction of Frank Kelly, presented a fabulous evening of music on Sunday, May 25, at Holy Redeemer Church, in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The programme featured a specially commissioned work by acclaimed composer Howard Goodall, 'The Creation Song of the Choir of Light', written to mark the choir's significant milestone. The highlight of the evening was The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins, originally commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum. Composed in 1999. The work is dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict, part of the broader and devastating Balkan wars of the early 1990s. Accompanied by imagery projected on screens in the church, the performance was widely praised as both powerful and deeply moving and was met huge applause from a full Holy Redeemer Church. The performance in Bray followed a similarly spellbinding concert in St Andrew's Church, in Westland Row, on Saturday. Keith Brennan, the poet and farmer from Roscommon, was commissioned to write the lyrics to 'The Creation Song of the Choir of Light'. He told RTE's Philip Boucher Hayes how it came about and described working with Howard Goodall to compose the piece. 'Howard Goodall, had seen and heard my writing about my life on a small, unkempt, half-wild, Roscommon farm. And he thought to set some of that life and home to music. I have never done anything of the sort. To take my words and have them weaved into the sung air seemed, still seems, like a kind of magic,' he said. "The piece begins on a morning on the farm. The ragged thorn hedges. The curl of wind through trees. The rising tide of birdsong that breaks over the fields. I talk to Howard. Of pine martins. Sapphire-eyed sparrowhawks. Of farmer friends in love with cuckoos and swallows. Of the leverets I find in the rushy lee of a field. The furious greening that grips the spring world. 'The ramshackle hedges and pastures that let slip tumbles of wildflowers from the fields that flow out and along roads and across woodlands. He talked to me of choral music. Of Brexit and of culture wars. The public and private loneliness of Covid. Of how community can be made by music. Song. 'And because, as both Howard and I believe, wherever we share with one another the experience of beautiful things, the divides are blurred,' he continued. 'The gap between people close and is bridged. We are pulled a little closer in the sharing. And in the sharing we build community. So it is in my farm. So it is in my neighbours' fields. And so it will be, I think, when the choir sing.'
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Youth choir hitting all the right notes
From standing ovations to high praise from critics, Dunedin's Southern Youth Choir is going from strength to strength. Rebecca Fox asks choir members and its director, John Buchanan, about its success. When members of the Southern Youth Choir begin to sing The Armed Man , many will be thinking of what their ancestors went through while serving in the armed forces. The "Mass for Peace" by Sir Karl Jenkins celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Originally commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum, it premiered at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on April 25, 2000, and was dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis. Written for a choir with soloists and a symphonic orchestra, it is considered an anti-war piece, using the text of the Latin Mass and poetry and prose from around the world to tell the story of going to war and the horror and loss that results. It ends with a prayer for peace. It has been performed around the world more than 3000 times — including in New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The 3000th performance was conducted by Sir Karl, celebrating his 80th birthday, at the Royal Albert Hall last year. Southern Youth Choir director John Buchanan says they selected the work as it commemorates 80 years since the end of World War 2. "I think it's an appropriate work in these times to do." Having conducted the piece twice before, Buchanan is no stranger to the work, which he describes as very relatable for an audience. "He weaves poems to it, like one of the Rudyard Kipling ones about getting ready for war, going to war. Then we know that we could be going to die. It's quite a powerful poem. It was that Victorian thing about being brave and going off to die for your country. "And then it takes you to the actual battle. And then at the end there, there's this amazing part where the choir just makes this huge noise like the sounds of battle, the sounds of people dying, really horrific-sounding and then silence." It also includes "Benedictus" played on the cello, before finally concentrating on peace being better than war. "It ends up with a beautiful unaccompanied chorale, just about God shall wipe away your tears." Choir member Kate Koller, 20, a student from Christchurch, says it is also appropriate as it is coming up to the first Matariki since the last member of the 28th Maori Battalion (Sir Bom Gillies) died. "So it's coming up to the first chance to remember him and I guess the members of the Maori Battalion, so that's special." For the choir members it is also a chance to remember their own great and great-great grandparents' contributions to various wars around the world, as well as the impact on and ramifications for their families. Soprano and New Zealand Youth Choir member Rosie Auchinvole's great-grandfather on her father's side was a Royal Air Force squadron leader who was in a plane which crashed on the Isle of Mull during World War 2. Her family went to Mull in 2015 and visited a whisky shop, which turned out to be owned by the descendants of the people who saved her great-grandfather. "It was, like, middle of winter, high up on a mountain, he had to trek through the snow in the middle of the night [to save them]. It's just a crazy, weird story." Her grandfather Chris, who was in the armed forces in the United Kingdom, but now lives in Dunedin, sings in the RSA Choir and Auchinvole, who grew up in Dunedin, is an RSA choir scholar, so they sing together sometimes. "Which is really, really cute, so that's a nice connection to The Armed Man as well." The grandfather of fellow chorister George Warren was in the British Army for most of his working life and served a lot of time in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Holding his grandfather's medals, Warren, 25, of Kaiapoi, says his grandparents travelled to a lot of different postings over the years, and his late uncle was born in Germany while they were stationed there. "Performing this concert makes me think of Granddad in a way because, I mean, he's still with us and me and him used to attend all of the Anzac Day services together ever since I was a wee lad." That had only stopped this year as, after a car accident last year, his grandfather, who is 85, struggles to walk. Koller's great-grandfather was more like a grandfather to her, but died when she was 9. Before he died, the Royal Air Force navigator, who had been reluctant to talk about the war, spoke about his time in the Pacific. "He had some really cool stories ... [such as] one day the pilot dropped something so he bent over to pick it up right as a bullet went above his head. He had some close experiences. I think it really impacted him. My mum said her granddad was the same. He didn't talk about it at all. He survived everything he fought but he didn't talk about it ever." The worst family story for her was learning of her relatives in the mounted services having their horses killed before returning home. "I'm such a big animal lover and that has always got to me." Dunedin's Ewen Clarke-Wallace, 21, who is one of the longest-serving choir members, having joined at 15, will be remembering his great-grandfather, who died in Egypt at the beginning of World War 2. But other ancestors, two brothers from Lawrence, luckily returned from the war. Another was involved in the South African Light Horse Brigade in the Boer Wars. "It kind of just underscores the reasons why people went to war and why they actually did that. Because it's very easy to be like 'these silly people with their silly killing each other'. But they did that for a reason. And we are that reason. So it's important for me that there's, you know, both sides of that interaction." Buchanan says performing a full work like The Armed Man will be the biggest performance the choir has done in recent years. The choir will be performing the "reduced orchestration" option, so a cellist — choir member Portia Bell — flautist, three trumpets and a group of percussionists have been enlisted. Having conducted the piece before, he is impressed at how well the choir are singing it in rehearsal. "There's this wonderful youthful freshness that this choir's got. It's just wonderful." The choir was was established in 1992 by Maureen Smith and Anthony Ritchie for young singers aged 16-25, whether students or working. "It's open to all people but they're mainly university students, and it's had its ups and downs as far as numbers are concerned over the years." In recent years, they have stopped auditioning and opened the choir to anyone who has performed in a secondary school choir, and numbers have grown to about 65. The singers all enjoy the collegiality of the choir, the ability to meet others with similar interests and how it provides a break from the stress of study. The aim is to do at least two performances a year. Last year the choir performed Vivaldi's Gloria at the Big Sing, and have also performed concerts featuring a mixed bill of classical and popular music. "And those concerts got a standing ovation. They're singing really well. They are singing magnificently." Buchanan puts their success down to a change in the ethos of the choir, which has a student committee very involved in its work. "There's a good range of experience in the choir. There's people who have sung in school choirs their whole lives. There's people doing music degrees. People in national choirs. Everyone gets along." To see: Southern Youth Choir and chamber orchestra, The Armed Man , May 25, 2.30pm, St Paul's Cathedral.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Jousters around the world aim to get to this tournament'
As the Royal Armouries Museum gets ready to celebrate 25 years of its annual International Jousting Tournament at the weekend, competitor Mike Collin is preparing at his farm in Derbyshire. Top jousters from Germany, the USA and the UK will compete in the four-day tournament, attempting to strike opponents with a 10-foot lance at speeds of up to 30mph (48km/h). Mr Collin will be representing the UK alongside Emma Pearn, with the pair hoping to build upon their successful partnership after winning a tournament at the Leeds museum in August 2024. "The tournament this Easter weekend at the Royal Armouries is a world-renowned joust that jousters around the world are aiming to get to," Mr Collin says. "So to be a part of it alone is insane, but to win it for me would mean a lot." The pair will face German duo Bernd Joachim Voigt and Stephan Weiss, and American challengers Vince Todd and Kyle Van Dolah-Evans. Mr Collin has also won the UK's other big tournament at Arundel Castle in Sussex and competed internationally. He says jousting is growing in popularity, with an international following. "America has a huge jousting scene, Norway has a growing scene, Holland, Scandinavia, Australia are all growing," he says. "There's even an Ashes tournament for jousting that's been going for six years. "We won the 'Smashes', as it's called, back in 2023 and then it's just gone over to Australia, and they narrowly won this time around." Mr Collin will be competing in the Royal Armouries tournament for the fourth time. He began jousting 12 years ago after meeting Mark Atkinson, who supplies horses to the Royal Armouries. Working with Atkinson at his stables, Mr Collin - who is also an actor - started stunt riding and trick riding, which led to him taking part in display shows at the Armouries. He says he soon moved from "string mail jousting, which is where all the armour is plastic or very pantomime", to real armour. "What we do now is a sport, and we're trying to score points on each other," he says. "My armour weighs about 45kg so it's like having an 11-year-old on your shoulders. "If it's cold, armour saps all the heat out of you. If it's hot it heats you up like a stove. "I've had heatstroke in it about three or four times. The sun reflects off your armour back in your face so you end up quite sunburnt as well." Weather is not the only danger posed by a sport involving 10-foot lances, but Mr Collin says it is about training to avoid causing any damage. "Accidents do happen, like with any sport," he says. "You train yourself to be able to avoid risk. You want people to aim the lance quite high, so if it does miss it hits thin air and not anything solid like a person." Some jousters have armour specially made to replicate what they have seen in history books, but Mr Collin says his is what is known as an Italian composite. "I've always been interested in history, so every time I get into the armour and get to meet new people, I learn interesting things about medieval history," he says. Now Mr Collin and Ms Pearn want to create an official jousting league, to encourage more people to try the sport. There is a certainly an audience for it, he says, and the Royal Armouries is expecting thousands of fans at the purpose-built jousting arena this weekend. "We're trying to create a modern, centralised, affiliated sport, to raise the profile and get more competitions going," he says. "We're trying to open it up to more people because quite a lot of jousts here are invitation only." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. In pictures: Jousting tournament at Caerlaverock Australia take on England in jousting 'Ashes'
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Leeds Royal Armouries holds 25th anniversary jousting tournament
As the Royal Armouries Museum gets ready to celebrate 25 years of its annual International Jousting Tournament at the weekend, competitor Mike Collin is preparing at his farm in jousters from Germany, the USA and the UK will compete in the four-day tournament, attempting to strike opponents with a 10-foot lance at speeds of up to 30mph (48km/h).Mr Collin will be representing the UK alongside Emma Pearn, with the pair hoping to build upon their successful partnership after winning a tournament at the Leeds museum in August 2024."The tournament this Easter weekend at the Royal Armouries is a world-renowned joust that jousters around the world are aiming to get to," Mr Collin says."So to be a part of it alone is insane, but to win it for me would mean a lot."The pair will face German duo Bernd Joachim Voigt and Stephan Weiss, and American challengers Vince Todd and Kyle Van Collin has also won the UK's other big tournament at Arundel Castle in Sussex and competed says jousting is growing in popularity, with an international following."America has a huge jousting scene, Norway has a growing scene, Holland, Scandinavia, Australia are all growing," he says."There's even an Ashes tournament for jousting that's been going for six years. "We won the 'Smashes', as it's called, back in 2023 and then it's just gone over to Australia, and they narrowly won this time around." Mr Collin will be competing in the Royal Armouries tournament for the fourth began jousting 12 years ago after meeting Mark Atkinson, who supplies horses to the Royal with Atkinson at his stables, Mr Collin - who is also an actor - started stunt riding and trick riding, which led to him taking part in display shows at the says he soon moved from "string mail jousting, which is where all the armour is plastic or very pantomime", to real armour."What we do now is a sport, and we're trying to score points on each other," he says."My armour weighs about 45kg so it's like having an 11-year-old on your shoulders."If it's cold, armour saps all the heat out of you. If it's hot it heats you up like a stove. "I've had heatstroke in it about three or four times. The sun reflects off your armour back in your face so you end up quite sunburnt as well."Weather is not the only danger posed by a sport involving 10-foot lances, but Mr Collin says it is about training to avoid causing any damage."Accidents do happen, like with any sport," he says."You train yourself to be able to avoid risk. You want people to aim the lance quite high, so if it does miss it hits thin air and not anything solid like a person."Some jousters have armour specially made to replicate what they have seen in history books, but Mr Collin says his is what is known as an Italian composite."I've always been interested in history, so every time I get into the armour and get to meet new people, I learn interesting things about medieval history," he says. Now Mr Collin and Ms Pearn want to create an official jousting league, to encourage more people to try the is a certainly an audience for it, he says, and the Royal Armouries is expecting thousands of fans at the purpose-built jousting arena this weekend."We're trying to create a modern, centralised, affiliated sport, to raise the profile and get more competitions going," he says."We're trying to open it up to more people because quite a lot of jousts here are invitation only." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
