Abingdonian 2020

15 www.abingdon.org.uk Michaelmas Term Joint Choral Society The Joint Choral Society once again gathered together for the yearly November concert, which this year was directed by Mr Treadaway. Having taken a modern approach while choosing our piece, he opted for Ola Gjeilo‘s The Sunrise Mass , which adopted the traditional Latin text Kyrie Eleison . The Sunrise Mass is a musical juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity, moving the audience through a plethora of emotions. As the composer himself said, “I wanted the musical development of the work to evolve from the most transparent and spacey, to something completely earthy and grounded; from nebulous and pristine to more emotional and dramatic, and eventually warm and solid – as a metaphor for human development from child to adult, or as a spiritual journey.” Our weekly rehearsals, which took place at St Helen’s and St Katherine’s, started not long into the Michaelmas Term, and although this was a compulsory activity for all musicians doing GCSE and A-Levels, even if singing wasn’t their forte, these rehearsals were approached with gusto from all students. With only 45 minutes per week to rehearse, it wasn’t an easy task to get through 65 pages of music, especially with only eight sessions in total. Nevertheless, with great determination and constant encouragement, helped by Mr Treadaway’s great sense of humour and enthusiasm, the students from both schools came together in harmony to perform in November. More astonishingly, the string orchestra managed to learn a colossal number of notes in just four rehearsals thanks to sheer will and talent. The concert was highly anticipated by students and parents alike, both knowing how much work had gone into this within a short period of time. The concert started with a wonderful rendition of Puccini’s Crisantemi , a strings-only piece, performed by virtuosic string players from Abingdon and St Helen’s, bringing a sense of tranquillity to the start of the evening. The Joint Chamber Choir and strings then showed their musical prowess with a performance of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus , before the eagerly awaited Gjeilo. In presenting this modern piece to the audience, the choir and orchestra performed with sensitivity and virtuosity. There was a wonderful atmosphere filled with layering textures, overlapping voices and the slow progression of harmonic chords which brought the deep emotions within the piece to light. Thanks must be given to Mr Treadaway for his fantastic conducting and dedication in teaching us such a delicate piece of music. It was a memorable evening for all involved, and a joy for me to be part of this amazing choir. Andreas Lo, 6BDS