Our Christmas Recital was once again held at the Cove Methodist Church, and again was a well attended mix of music and readings.

From freezing to a heatwave! Art in Action is renowned for being very hot and uncomfortable for performing and 2006 was no exception. The first stage was in the midst of tables/umbrellas to give festivalgoers some respite from the scorching sun, and we gathered a nice audience.
From here we went straight to the main eating area stage for a 2nd performance. By now the effects of the heat and sun were being felt; the 2nd performance was quite an effort but the audience very appreciative.

Good job that we had not gone soft after Wimborne as this interior was freezing. Thus a rapid midday rehearsal, then off to the pub to thaw out. This was another l-o-n-g entrance walk amidst an almost empty Abbey – we had had a very difficult time with the administration and publicity. There was no local outlet for selling tickets, and it was extremely disappointing to play in such a lovely building with virtually no audience.

After Sheborne Abbey we looked for another large (affordable!) venue in Dorset and came up with the market town of Wimborne. Surprisingly this building had a well heated interior; late November being rather chilly and us being acclimatised to freezing our fingers at rehearsals in similar buildings. More huge efforts at publicity paid off (although the “Friends of Wimborne” thought that they could have substantially increased the turnout had the administration been more efficient at passing out our publicity information). Christmas programmes are always audience-friendly (lots of old favourites appear), even so this audience LOVED us, and showed no signs of departing. We have an outstanding request for a return performance, but the hire costs have substantially risen since…

This was our first venture into the city of Oxford, the 2nd music capital of England. Parking was always going to be a problem, so we cut down on cars as much as possible. The acoustics in St Giles were superb and we had an excellent midday rehearsal. We all left our instruments in the open to acclimatise, and by the evening the tuning was just right. We started the performance at 7.30pm, and throughout the 1st half restaurant diners dribbled in; by the interval the church was full. On the programme was the first appearance of Walton’s Façade; Lang had had an awful cold and his thick speaking voice could just about be heard. A very appreciative audience enjoyed the programme variety and we were pleased with our first recital in Oxford.

Alan’s church in Cove hosted our 2004 Christmas recital – a mixture of music and readings.

For our 25th Anniversary Recital we went to town on the programme, rehearsals and equipment. Programme items were selected on a “best of/favourites” basis, and a photo-call was organised to get a good group photo for the booklet cover. It was very hard to think back and pick pieces from the huge selection of past performances. To tidy up the stage area we commissioned a set of recorder stands from Mark Venn, so everyone had a neat stand holding all the instruments required for the performance with quick/easy access. Those travelling from further a field booked to stay at the Antelope Hotel with friends/supporters, and a prior-recital meal was arranged there.

The morning rehearsal was carried out amongst the usual tourists, and the first sight of the huge building and l-o-n-g walk up the Abbey caused some initial nerves. We soon broke the ice, got into stride (literally!), and the rehearsal went very well. 2 hours rehearsing passed quickly before time for a short rest, then we gathered at the Antelope for a buffet meal. It was lovely to have Juliet Clifford there, one of the original consort players. Our hard work at publicising the recital paid off, and the main Abbey seating area was 2/3rds full, with additional seating occupied both sides of the stage. The clock struck the half hour; a drum roll and we were off!

Concert Programme
Entry
  Triumphmarsch from “Te Deum” - Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Early
  Canzon - William Brade
  The Bells (of Osney) - William Byrd arr. Jane Minns
  O Lord, How Vain (are all our frail delights) - William Byrd
  Under the Linden Tree - Anon arr. Jacob van Eyck

Modern
  Morris Dance from “Gloriana” - Benjamin Britten
  Beachcomber - CLive Richardson arr. Stanley Taylor
  Simple Gifts (from Appalachian Spring) - Aaron Copland arr. Jane Minns
  Ballad and Riffs - Andrew Challinger

Early
  The Songe called Trumpetts - Robert Parsons
  Strike it, Tabor - Thomas Morley
  Canzon Septimi Toni - Giovanni Gabrieli
  Joseph, lieber Joseph mein - Hieronymus Praetorius

Interval 20 minutes
 
Music from the film Henry V - William Walton arr. Jane Minns

Medieval
  Two Ductias - Anon arr. Jane Minns
  Hola he! Par la Vertu Goy - Anon
  Gloria ad Modum Tubae - Guillaume Dufay
  So Treiben Wir Den Winter Aus - Anon Soloist: Tim Frain
  Two Estampies - Anon arr. Jane Minns
  Au Tems Pascor - Jehans Erars arr. Jane Minns
  Pastime with Good Company - Henry VIII

Light Music
  Sunny Side of the Street - Fields & McHugh arr. Linda Barlow
  The Hippopotamus Song - Flanders & Swann arr. Jane Minns
  HMS Pinafore - Arthur Sullivan arr. Chris May
  Not the 1812! - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arr. Jane Minns

Encore
  A Touch of Vulgarity!

Back again! Following our very successful Snowdrop Sunday recitals over the past few years, we were invited back to Swyncombe for the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the parish. We all enjoy playing here as the acoustics are marvelous. We were doubly looking forward to this event as we thought it would be a bit warmer than February. Well, I don't know what they make 800 year old churches out of, but I reckon the old time builders could teach modern refrigeration engineers a thing or two. It wasn't noticeably warmer in the church than it was in February!

Ufton Court Open day, another regular for us. Ufton Court is run by the West Berkshire Council and is used as a field study centre for local school children. The fact that it is a 15th century Manor House said to be haunted, adds a little more interest for the kids!
This is one of the few gigs where we are obliged to dress up in 'period' costume. Some are more enthusiastic than others to do this...(Aren't they Roger?)
An extra frisson of excitement was aded to our performance this year at Ufton as no one from Ufton Court had actually asked us to attend until about a week before the event! Thus the old favourites were whipped out and a quick 90 minute rehearsal before the gig was all the preparation we had. Seemed to go OK though!

The Group gave a concert of seasonal music at the Holy Trinity Church in Bracknell, which included our two sopranos, Helen Cleeve and Janet Williams.
This was a very special occasion for the group featuring the début of the Virginal. This instrument was bought in kit form by Richard Carlin, a former member who sadly passed away in August 2000. Richard had got as far as building the sound box, so another group member, Mac, took on the job of finish it off in Richard's memory.

BRC played at the ceremony of this 13th century cottage being opened to the public in Romsey.

The Group set up under a covered area to accompany the Basingstoke Early Dance Group who performed on the cobbled courtyard immediately. Our audience consisted of local dignitaries including the mayor of Romsey as well as many of the volunteers and others who had assisted in the renovation.