The Orlando Singers
Sophy Robinson on a chamber choir with its heart rooted in Dorset for 25 years
Published in November ’19
The Orlando Singers practicing under the watchful eye of David Fawcett
THE ORLANDO Singers bring beautiful music to audiences all over the county. Recent concerts have taken place in Bournemouth, Wareham, Swanage, Corfe Castle and Lytchett Minster, with the next one in Dorchester on 9 November. The year closes with a Christmas celebration at Merley House, Wimborne on 8 December that will include unusual settings of familiar carols and one or two surprises, as well as crowd-pleasers for the audience to sing.
The choir performs to a high standard, as everyone in the choir auditions and then practises for concerts in their own time. Members’ homes are scattered across Dorset, but they are committed to travelling across the county for full-day rehearsals in Pimperne, near Blandford.
As well as these concerts, the Orlando Singers welcome local people every year to join the group for a day’s glorious music-making. The annual workshop is an opportunity for anyone with an enthusiasm for singing to enjoy a full day of expert tuition, led by the choir’s musical director, David Fawcett. The Orlando Singers work alongside participants (generally around a hundred), encouraging them to learn tips, tricks and techniques to transform their voices. It leads to a full public performance in the evening. ‘Someone who feels that their voice is a bit rusty or that they haven’t got enough experience to join a local choir can really build their confidence and abilities in just a short and intensive burst of the workshop day,’ says David. He has been involved in training singers for more than 30 years and believes that ‘You can learn more in that day than you might in weeks of regular choir rehearsals.’
With three successful events in recent years in Swanage and Dorchester, another one is planned for next year. Sherborne, Shaftesbury and Bridport are likely towns for future workshops to expand the singers’ reach across the county. The music is always classical and has included Brahms’s extraordinary Requiem Mass, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mozart’s famous and much-loved Requiem Mass.
David Fawcett has led the group for almost three years. With close family connections in Purbeck, he moved from London in 2015, drawn by the strong artistic base of the area in sculpture, stonework and music. His musical commitments now include leading choirs at St Peter’s Church in Dorchester, the Mayday Singers and Purbeck Arts Choir, as well as directing the Orlando Singers. He is also a composer of some renown, his contemporary yet accessible style incorporating romantic, melodic and pastoral elements. His music room in Swanage gives him inspirational views of Ballard Down, and his piece, ‘Two short hours with you’, is a romantic song about two lovers sitting on top of a nearby cliff overlooking the sea. This was recorded by the Orlando Singers at St Peter’s Church in Bournemouth in May 2018. The lyrics are a setting of words by the late Eric Gosney, well-known around Purbeck as an amateur poet, musician and headteacher.
David Fawcett in conductor mode
The choir takes on a number of David’s new compositions, performing them for the first time in Dorset locations. At Corfe Castle in May, newly created songs called ‘Silver’ and ‘Gold’ were enjoyed, contrasting with 500-year-old pieces by composers such as Giovanni de Palestrina, Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. This unusual repertoire received rapturous applause from the 100-strong audience at St Edward’s Church. And this illustrates the choir’s appeal: it sings beautiful, crystal-clear and resonant Renaissance music as well as challenging contemporary pieces – written not just by David Fawcett, but by European composers such as Michal Ziolkowski and Alexander L’Estrange. Emerging British composers, including Chris Hutchings and Ian Assersohn, also feature in the repertoire.
This month, on Saturday 9 November, the choir returns to St Peter’s Church in Dorchester for a joyous Baroque Evening. Starting at 7.30, the concert will feature the four giants of Baroque music: Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. Monteverdi’s ‘Beatus Vir’ is perhaps the most famous piece to be performed, amongst other great favourites of the era. The evening will launch a campaign to support the renovation of the church’s splendid organ, which dates from 1892. David Fawcett, who is also Director of Music for the church, will be demonstrating its range by performing an organ concerto by Handel.
The Orlando SIngers at Corfe Castle
Then at the 8 December ‘Very Merry Merley Christmas Concert’, starting at 5.00, there will be a strong Dorset theme with three gallery carols: ‘A Virgin Unspotted’, ‘Remember Adam’s Fall’ and the Otford version of ‘While Shepherds Watched’. All three are from a manuscript collection owned by Thomas Hardy and used by his family. Gallery carols refer to the local tradition of singers and musicians playing church music from the west gallery at the back of the church. They were sung by Thomas Hardy’s family, and others, for the ‘Going the Rounds’ carol-singing to nearby villages on Christmas Eve. This tradition was described in chapter four of his novel, Under the Greenwood Tree, and the evening will include readings from it.
Outside Dorset, the choir has performed in England’s cathedrals, including Salisbury, Ripon and York, as well as at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. It can be heard at Exeter Cathedral in February next year. Recent overseas tours have involved visits to Verona in Italy, Morocco and Iceland. So as well as its strong local footprint, the choir’s music is heard by national and international audiences.
As Gareth Malone, the BBC’s choral supremo says: ‘Archaeological evidence shows that humans have been making music for tens of thousands of years. Singing brings people together, exercises a range of muscles and makes you feel happy. The camaraderie of communal singing is of benefit to all people.’
