The Warbleford and Emstead Choral Society has been established for twenty-five years. Back in the nineteen-eighties it splintered out from the larger Havanton Choral Union. Many members of the choir were unhappy at the musical direction under Peter Weaver, not the least of which was the preponderance of works by twentieth-century composers, like Warlock and Britten. It seemed like the traditional fare of Handel and Bach was being overlooked. The audience had been denied their annual dose of Messiah for a number of seasons, now, and it was beginning to show in reduced audience numbers. As members began to drift away in frustration, Peter insisted that the choir had the charitable aim to educate, so introducing the audience to new works came ahead of entertaining them.
The last straw appeared to be the admission into the choir of new members, for whom the requirement to submit to auditions had been waived. It was now that a core group of sopranos formed an action committee, but it soon became clear that Peter had the backing of the Choral Union committee, and no amount of action was likely to change the choir from within. Then they set up the new Choral Society and waited for others to join. They did not set out to actively poach members from the Union, but a trickle soon joined from the other sections.
Every Christmas since, the Choral Society has performed choruses from Messiah, and has attracted full audiences. From a small beginning, new singers joined, who had never sung in a choir before.
Jennifer Middleton was the inaugural chair, and it was her energy that drove the Society in its formative years. Now, in 2025, it is time for her to stand down. Her short, grey, hair is beginning to catch up with her years, which are most evident by the lines on her face. The choir had never known another leader, and she had ruled the roost pretty much single-handedly, guiding its musical direction.
Things started to go wrong for Jennifer last year, when her appointee as musical director announced his wish to stand down, and the piano accompanist would retire with him. There had been plenty of applicants, and all had their strong and weak points. Jennifer, of course, wanted a close fit with her own ethic, and she had the support of some of the sopranos, the original defectors from the Union. The rest of the committee wished to give the musical director more of a free hand. Of course, the choir was growing bigger and was more than capable of expanding its repertoire.
David Storey, from the basses, suggested a sub-committee be formed, and that each applicant to the Musical Director role make a presentation to the choir. Much against Jennifer’s wishes the membership accepted this proposal.
In May, a shortlist was drawn up, and high on the list of requirements was the need to propose a programme for the forthcoming Christmas concert. It would soon be time for the applicants to face the music.
James Philips is the first to present his selection, and much to Jennifer’s satisfaction, he proposes a Messiah concert.
David leads the questions. “James, we always have a Messiah Concert at Christmas. What new elements will you be able to bring to it?”
“It’s tradition,” Jennifer retorts, her brown tweed outfit appearing to express her indignation on her behalf. One could imagine each strand in the fabric standing on edge, each repelling its neighbour in disgust. This was perfectly reflected in her flustered, ruddy complexion. “The audience expect nothing more, nothing less.”
Among murmurs from the Society members, Roger Greenfield is next to propose his programme.
“We need to refresh the choir, and from what I see, are you too stuck in tradition?” He looks around and sees several frowning faces in the sopranos, but some encouraging expressions elsewhere. “May I propose, for the first half, the Christmas Oratorio, by Bach, and a mix of contemporary carols, and audience items in part two?”
“Contemporary?” snorts April, a close ally of Jennifer, and a fellow soprano. “I hope you don’t mean the dreadful Rutter?”
“Audience participation?” joins Mae, from the altos. “This is a concert, not a show.”
“Have you actually asked what your audience want? Or do you want to make their decisions for them?”
David replies, “I agree, Roger, we should ask the audience, but for one reason or another,” he looks at Jennifer, “we have never done it.”
“Look at Classic FM,” says Roger.
“What?” interrupts Mae.
“Like it or not, and I know many don’t, it is the most listened to station promoting classical music. They always have a poll of favourite Christmas carols, and John Rutter always features very strongly. And many other twentieth century composers, too.”
“But that’s why we left the Union. Too much contemporary and almost no classical.”
“So,” says David, “we say that the pendulum has gone too far the other way, with too much Handel.”
“We do Mendelssohn at Easter, David.”
“That’s my point, Jennifer. Some of us may want to perform Stainer, and I know he is not everyone’s favourite, but it’s usually a hit with audiences.”
“May I say a word,” says Roger. “I looked very carefully at your Society’s profile and the brief that I was given. I do not want to create a revolution, and it is, after all, why I included Bach in my first programme. So, your tradition lovers will have a classic piece to enjoy. But I also propose some more modern carols to go alongside that. I don’t want the choir to split on ideological grounds, but I do see your need to move on. I want to be part of that.”
Two more applicants make their presentations, but neither seems to have grasped the Society’s need to stay with their classical roots and yet move on to also accommodate the modern.
The committee meet to make their choice. It is a seven-to-one vote in favour of Roger, Jennifer, alone, voting for James.
David calls Roger into the committee room.
“Well done, Roger, you have our vote. Have you also thought about an Easter programme yet.”
“As a matter of fact, I have. Shall I tell the choir, now?”
After Roger is announced to the choir amid enthusiastic applause he stands and gives is proposal.
“I want to do some masses, but Bach B minor is a step beyond us at the moment I think. So, I propose to start with Haydn’s Nelson Mass with a second half of Mendelssohn. Do we have a soloist for Wings of a Dove?”
More applause as the Society appreciates his rooting in the classical genre.
“But I think we should also do Lux Aeterna, by Morten Lauridsen.”
“Oh, it’s too much!” shrieks Jennifer. “I’ll be leaving the choir. Does anyone want to join me?” She looks earnestly round the choir. “Oh, it looks like I will need to start a solo career, then.”
“Good luck with that,” thinks David.
