Composer leads Tyndale workshop
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Magnus Carter |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Mon, 26 May 2025 |
From Gloucesteshire |Gazette:
One of Britain’s leading choral composers has been in Dursley to lead a local choir in a workshop rehearsal of a new work based on the hugely popular ‘Four Seasons’ concerto by Vivaldi.
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange wrote ‘A Season to Sing’, a choral re-imagining of the Vivaldi work, to mark its 300th anniversary.
Joanna, who for seven years headed the famous Swingle Singers, joined 90 members of Tyndale Choral Society and Music Director Ben Sawyer for one of their final rehearsals before a concert in mid-June.
She told the choir: “Having loved this music since I was a young girl, I’d often had the thought that melodies as good as these deserve to be sung.
“Sourcing the poems, hymn texts and Bible passages for each movement was an integral part of the process of adaptation. It mattered to me that the words should sound as if they could have inspired the music, even though it was the other way round.”
Tyndale Chairman Magnus Carter said: “Joanna believes that choral singing should be engaging, accessible and fun, and that’s exactly what this workshop was to our members. We found her leadership, her tips and guidance totally inspiring. We’re all buzzing ahead of our concert performance.”
The concert is in St James’s Church, Dursley on Saturday 14th June. It will also feature the anthem ‘I Was There’ by Hubert Parry, sung at every Coronation since Edward VII, and the exciting ‘Gloria’ by Francis Poulenc. Details and tickets: www.tyndale-choral-society.org.uk.
Picture:
Composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Music Director Ben Sawyer and accompanist Christopher Guild at the Tyndale workshop. Photo by Alan G. Law.
One of Britain’s leading choral composers has been in Dursley to lead a local choir in a workshop rehearsal of a new work based on the hugely popular ‘Four Seasons’ concerto by Vivaldi.
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange wrote ‘A Season to Sing’, a choral re-imagining of the Vivaldi work, to mark its 300th anniversary.
Joanna, who for seven years headed the famous Swingle Singers, joined 90 members of Tyndale Choral Society and Music Director Ben Sawyer for one of their final rehearsals before a concert in mid-June.
She told the choir: “Having loved this music since I was a young girl, I’d often had the thought that melodies as good as these deserve to be sung.
“Sourcing the poems, hymn texts and Bible passages for each movement was an integral part of the process of adaptation. It mattered to me that the words should sound as if they could have inspired the music, even though it was the other way round.”
Tyndale Chairman Magnus Carter said: “Joanna believes that choral singing should be engaging, accessible and fun, and that’s exactly what this workshop was to our members. We found her leadership, her tips and guidance totally inspiring. We’re all buzzing ahead of our concert performance.”
The concert is in St James’s Church, Dursley on Saturday 14th June. It will also feature the anthem ‘I Was There’ by Hubert Parry, sung at every Coronation since Edward VII, and the exciting ‘Gloria’ by Francis Poulenc. Details and tickets: www.tyndale-choral-society.org.uk.
Picture:
Composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Music Director Ben Sawyer and accompanist Christopher Guild at the Tyndale workshop. Photo by Alan G. Law.
