HISTORY OF HASLINGFIELD CHOIR

The choir was founded in 1971 by Haslingfield resident Margaret Houghton who taught music at the Perse Girls’ School and Homerton College, Cambridge. The choir’s inaugural concert, with an orchestra of players drawn from the local community, included Handel’s Acis and Galatea and took place in February followed by Handel's The Messiah in December of the same year. This was to be the pattern for the next fifty years – two concerts a year, one at Christmas and another in the spring. Margaret was able to include excellent Cambridge choral scholars to sing as soloists at Haslingfield concerts, a number of whom later made names for themselves in the wider musical world. In 1982 we were fortunate to acquire Maurice Hodges as our accompanist. As a renowned and talented pianist, bassoonist and recorder player, it is a joy to hear his expert playing at our rehearsals.

 

Shortly before her death in 2010 Margaret was awarded an MBE for her services to choral music in Cambridge.  The choir sang at Margaret’s memorial concert, conducted by Martin Ennis, a close friend and Director of Music at Girton College, who had played harpsichord in some of the choir’s earliest concerts. Professor Bob Reeve, a recently retired Head of Music at Anglia Ruskin University, stepped in to run the choir until a long-term replacement for Margaret could be found. 

 

In December 2011 we gave our first concert under the direction of Graham Walker, then Director of Music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Pieces performed under his five-year directorship included Schutz’s Christmas Story, Menotti’s Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor and Bach’s St John Passion. We continued to be joined by some wonderful soloists, many of whom have gone on to further success, such as Sam Oladeinde (currently appearing in the West End production of Hamilton) and Milly Forrest (recent soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra).

              

Since 2017 the choir has been under the musical direction of Paul Jackson, also a resident of Haslingfield. Paul is a conductor, pianist, musicologist and former Director of Music and Performance at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. His first concert with us was an exciting performance of Britten’s St Nicolas and Vivaldi’s Gloria followed by Rossini’s delightful Petite Messe Solennelle, with its unique accompaniment of two pianos and harmonium. Paul has continued to widen our repertoire, introducing us to pieces by Percy Grainger and lesser-known composers such as Jommelli, Butterworth and Amy Beach.  In 2022 we were excited to hear ourselves on a ‘Radio 3 in Concert’ performance of Haslingfield Tapestry, a composition by Alex Paxton commissioned as part of the Adopt-a-Composer scheme run by Making Music in which we were joined by children’s choirs from several local schools.

 

Paul’s hard work and exceptional IT skills allowed us to continue singing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, rehearsing virtually using Zoom.  For many of us it was a social lifeline that gave us a sense of normality in dark times – meeting up and singing with choir friends thereby reducing our sense of isolation.  We even managed to record a virtual performance of John Rutter’s arrangement of the folk song O Waly, Waly.  

 

We now perform three concerts each year including a summer concert with a lighter programme and café-style setting.  The choir’s repertoire is something we continue to be proud of.  As well as including many great works such as Haydn’s The Creation, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and Requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Fauré and Duruflé, the choir performs less well-known works by composers such as Carrissimi, Honneger, Charpentier, Reinberger and Hummel, providing variety and interest. Paul is always ready to listen to suggestions from choir members for new pieces to add to our repertoire.