Whitehall Choir Archive

HISTORY of the choir

Memorable concerts

Memorable concerts of recent years include Verdi’s Requiem at The Royal Albert Hall and, again, in the Queen Elizabeth Hall to mark the millennium and Christopher Herrick's farewell concert after 20 years as our conductor; Handel's Samson in St John's, Smith Square; and the Rachmaninov Vespers.

In April 2006, the Choir sang to a large and enthusiastic audience at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. The concert included Fauré’s beautiful Requiem, and Cantique de Jean Racine, and was performed alongside The Brandenburg Sinfonia.

In March 2007, the choir performed Bach's St Mark Passion, recently reconstructed by Professor Andor Gomme:

The work seemed to offer something different to the other Passions, something a little cleverer, a little quieter, perhaps even a little more sober – certainly more wordy – and yet something also entirely complimentary.

Much of this was down to Paul Spicer’s clever and sympathetic sculpting, producing a good, clear and balanced tone from the …Choir."

London premiere of Paul Spicer's latest work

On 31 March 2006, in St John's, Smith Square, Whitehall Choir and the Brandenburg Sinfonia performed the London premiere of Paul Spicer's work, The Deciduous Cross, a setting of poems by RS Thomas. Paul created a song cycle of five poems, from different collections, setting them to music which emphasised the contradictory and occasionally desolate subject Thomas had chosen. The setting uses wind instruments only, with a beguiling cor anglais solo between vocal movements. The thrilling word painting presented a rare and rewarding challenge to us, and was warmly received by an encouragingly large audience. During his time as the choir’s conductor, Paul has extended the Whitehall Choir’s repertoire from early Renaissance to contemporary works. To view Paul's biography, please click here .
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• Visit Paul Spicer's website

The Choir's 60th anniversary

As part of the Choir’s 60th anniversary celebrations, it visited Riga, Latvia, in May 2003. Here the Choir gave two concerts in the capital (the second in partnership with the local Juventus Choir, which is attached to the University of Riga).

In addition to these concerts, a number of excursions were arranged within Riga and to other parts of Latvia. During the first, at the Rundale Palace on the Lithuanian border, the Choir performed an impromptu rendition of Parry’s I Was Glad, to the surprise and delight of other visitors and staff.

In July of the same year, the Choir, accompanied by The Brandenburg Sinfonia, held its Diamond Jubilee Gala Concert at the Royal College of Music, performing Holst’s The Hymn of Jesus, Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region and Elgar’s The Music Makers.

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Tours

From 4 to 8 May 2007, the Choir toured the Toulouse region of France. Two concerts were performed during the visit, one in central Toulouse, and the other in the town Lisle-sur-Tarn (left).

In May 2003, the Choir went on tour to Riga, Latvia (bottom photo, see above).

Previously, the Choir made a number of other visits both abroad and in the UK. In partnership (touring as ‘Choeurs de Londres’) with Twickenham Choral Society, the Choir made two visits to Dieppe in France, and gave concerts at the historic church of St Rémy. In 1999, members of the Choir travelled to Bournemouth to participate in the nationwide festival celebrating the life and music of Sir Hubert Parry. A similar contingent joined other choirs to perform in the premiere of Paul Spicer’s Easter Oratorio at the Lichfield Festival in the summer of 2000.

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Other musical activities

Carols at the Ritz

For many years and until 2008, the Choir was commissioned by The Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly, to sing carols in the Palm Court lounge on several evenings running up to Christmas.

Special events

In 2002, the Choir participated in a recording of Songs of Praise, to commemorate the first anniversary of 9/11. It took place in St Giles’, Cripplegate, a venue chosen because the BBC wanted the programme to represent people from the City of London.

Other events have included joining a charity performance of works by Beethoven, including the 9th (Choral) Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall and, in June 2003 - to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee - members joined the Parliament Choir for a concert of Coronation music attended by HRH Prince of Wales at Westminster Abbey. In the same year, members also joined Twickenham Choral Society to sing Britten’s War Requiem at Guildford Cathedral.

Other performances and workshops

In November 2006 and 2007, the Choir hosted a 'come and sing' event at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Narbonne Ave, Clapham, SW4. These events, conducted by Paul Spicer, explored Mozart's Requiem and Beethoven's Mass in C (respectively), culminating in an informal early evening performance. The choir and guests performed Haydn's Nelson Mass at a 'come and sing' day in November 2008. Subsequent 'come and sing' workshops have included Handel's Coronation Anthems and Elgar's The Music Makers (both in 2010).

Vocal work at choral workshops has been led in the past by Margaret Humphry-Clarke, soprano and teacher of the Alexander technique, as well as a vocal coach from the professional choir The Sixteen.

CD recordings

The Choir has recorded two CDs, the first in 2007 which included Bruckner's Mass in E Minor and Paul Spicer's The Deciduous Cross. The second CD was recorded at St Alban the Martyr church, Holborn, in 2009 and is entitled Fairest Flower of any Field. This second disc contains Christmas music across the centuries.

The early years

• Read about the early years of the Whitehall Choir.

Concerts that the Choir has performed from 1993 to the present day are available on our Previous Concerts page. If you are interested in knowing about Whitehall Choir concerts before 1993, please contact us.

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