A Note from the Chairman – August 2021
During the last week of July I attended this year’s Three Choirs Festival in Worcester. The 2020 Festival planned for Worcester had to be cancelled because of Covid and the decision was taken to remain in Worcester for the 2021 Festival. There was a lot of uncertainty until shortly before the start of the Festival as to how many tickets could be sold and whether major choral works with the Festival Choir could take place because of national Covid restrictions.
In the event, Covid restrictions were eased a week prior to the start of the event and the 2021 Festival in Worcester was able to take place largely as planned. This was Samuel Hudson’s first Festival as Artistic Director. He impressed as a conductor who had prepared the Worcester Cathedral Choir and Festival Chorus well and he conducted some outstanding concerts supported by the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The opening service of the Festival was the first time that there had been congregational singing in Worcester Cathedral for fifteen months. I also attended the Sunday morning Eucharist and four Evensongs. It was wonderful to hear the Cathedral Choirs from Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford singing in all their glory after the restrictions brought about by Covid.
Only three of us from North America made the trip to the Festival this year because of the difficulties in planning a trip to the UK as a result of the uncertainties of Covid and the need to quarantine for up to ten days on arrival and take three negative Covid tests before being released.
There was very little Stanford in this year’s Festival. Two psalm settings and an anthem sung at a late night concert. We are working to have the Festival focus much more on Stanford in 2024 (which will be back in Worcester) to mark the one hundredth anniversary of his death.
For me the highlights of the 2021 Festival included a piano recital by Matthew Schellhorn of music by Herbert Howells including the premiers of some recently discovered works; outstanding concerts by both the National Youth String Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain ; a concert which included the second performance of the Herbert Howells Cello Concert (in a version completed by Jonathan Clinch) and Armstrong Gibb’s Choral Symphony, the “Odysseus”; Britten’s St. Nicholas; and first performances of major works by Gabriel Jackson and Colin Matthews.
It was so very good that live choral and classical music is back with us and to hear it performed to such a high standard.
