For just over an hour on Saturday
lunchtime the two groups sang protest songs. Women Sing East has been
running for twelve years, and has strong links with Spitalfields
Music especially with the festival’s outreach programme. Directed
by Laka D they are always worth a visit. For this concert they joined
forces with one of the Bishopsgate Institute's resident choirs, the
Tubthumping Chorus led by Gitika Partington, and together they
‘defiantly’ explored songs of protest taken from the archives of
the Institute's library (set up in 1885). This included folk and
union songs, football chants, political marching songs, and songs
from the largest protests in British history.
In an appropriate gesture, given the
nature of the subject material, the choirs differentiated themselves
by dressing in either red or green, in clothes that represented their
personalities rather than formal concert attire. However even without
that the two choirs had quite different styles and different choices
of music. Women Sing East was accompanied by piano, double bass, and
drums lending them a slick stage-musical atmosphere, while the
Tubthumping Chorus was largely unaccompanied and had a rawer, out and
about, quality. Both were equally animated and matched in vocal
skill.
Taking it in turns in a light-hearted ‘debate’ Women Sing East got off in rip-roaring style with ‘I am Determined’ a traditional African-American hymn followed by Tubthumping Chorus enthusiastically singing Billy Bragg’s version of the left wing anthem ‘The Internationale’. Laka D’s arrangement of ‘Garden of Grace’ by Seth Lakeman was somewhere between stage and gospel while ‘Unison in Harmony’ by Coope, Boyes, and Simpson was more in the tradition of ‘Man of constant sorrow’. Coope, Boyes, and Simpson publish their music on the NoMasters label, a collective based in the North of England, set up to provide somewhere for writers and musicians who are interested in struggles and change within communities. Several other of the songs in the concert also had ties to this group.
‘The mountain song’ – which was
not in the programme notes but after a bit of research I think was
‘You
can’t kill the spirit’ written by Naomi Littlebear Morena –
was very emotive and affected the performers and audience alike. This
song was an anthem for the protest at Greenham Common but still has
relevance today.
Ray
Hearne also publishes via NoMasters. This version of ‘Things to
say’ was arranged by Val Regan and similarly to ‘You can’t kill
he spirit’ could apply to not only this coal and steel industry of
South Yorkshire but to all groups who voices need to be heard.
Women Sing East sang ‘Poverty knock’
in memory of the women and children at the Bryant
and May match factory in 1888. Now an expensive gated housing
development on the A12 in the East End of London, 125 years ago the
match factory was the scene of a society changing strike.
The women, helped by Annie
Bessant came out in strike against their routine fourteen-hour
work days, poor pay, fines, and the severe health complications of
working with white phosphorus. Their determination and the
intervention of Annie Bessant meant that their demands were largely
met and, in the longer term, to the banning of child labour in
dangerous trades and to the banning of the use of white phosphorus. In a quirky touch the performers used
boxes of matches as shakers to accompany themselves, and in the
middle included spoken quotes from women involved in the strike.
‘If I had a hammer’ by Pete
Seeger had the audience clapping along to Gitika’s arrangement. ‘Shipbuilding’, an arrangement of
Elvis
Costello and Clive Langer’s song written during the Falklands
war, looks at the contrasting horror and prosperity brought to areas
like Clydeside and Liverpool during the conflict. Prosperity due to
the return of work to shipyards and the horror of sons and family
members being killed on these same ships.
These were followed by a couple of more
global songs: ‘Ndodemnyama’ a traditional South African song
directed by their trainee music director, Namvula Rennie, and ‘Pride’
using Nelson Mandela’s favourite arrangement of the U2 song
originally performed by the Sowetto Gospel Choir in honour of his
recent death.
The final song of this rousing concert
was ‘We
shall overcome’ by Pete Seeger sung jointly by both choirs.
Originally a gospel hymn, this song became an anthem for the
African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century
and in 1963 was sung by 300,000 people at a demonstration in
Washington. In 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. recited the words in his
final sermon before his assassination. After a build up in tension,
when heard in contrast to the accompanied verses, the a capella verse
towards the end was very powerful and the song provided a fitting
finale.
Elsewhere on this blog:
- WIN an evening with Divas and Scholars: History of Opera
- Fantastic Fantasio Opera Rara and the OAE at the Festival Hall
- Tallis Scholars at Temple Winter Festival
- Intensely moving: Poulenc's Carmelites at Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris
- Magical: My Fair Lady at the Chatelet Theatre, Paris
- Rare and wonderful: Lawrence Zazzo in Handel, Bononcini and Ariosti
- Stunning: Beethoven's Missa Solemnis from John Eliot Gardiner
- Hilliard Ensemble's 40th birthday party
- War and Peace: Music for Remembrance Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge - CD review
- National Children's Orchestras at the Royal Festival Hall
- Christmas at the Chapel Royal Alistair Dixon and Chapelle du Roi
- Two Dutchmen: Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble perform Wagner and Dietsch - CD review
- Les Apotheoses Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques
- Mark Padmore & Heath Quartet - Tippett Songs and Quartets
- The Barber of Neville - Howard Blake concertos - CD review
- Home
%20Craig%20Fuller%20(2).jpg)
.png)
%20c%20Michael%20Wheatley.jpg)
%202.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment