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September 2021 September 2021
'O BE JOYFUL' - CHOIRS SING AGAIN AT
LAST!

The last 18 months have been difficult
for us all, but those who sing in choirs
have been particularly hard hit with
many unable to sing together since
March 2020. Now restrictions are lifting
Wareham Choral Society is planning a
return to music making in September
2021. Their Monday evening rehearsals at Lady St Mary’s Church will include the
standard Christmas fare including carols and excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah”
but also an exciting newly commissioned work. The “Dorset Jubilate” has been
written for the Choral Society by composer Philip Singleton, and as well as the
familiar words of the Jubilate, it incorporates settings of poems by local poet
Thomas Hardy – “The Darkling Thrush”, and “The Oxen” which adds a Christmas
feel to the piece due to be first performed on 4th December 2021 in a concert
with Briantspuddle Singers.
Composer Philip Singleton says: “It is my sincere hope that the “Dorset Jubilate”
should contain something to appeal to all… and what better to set that poems
by Thomas Hardy. The Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100) invites Christians to be joyful and
to praise God, while Hardy’s poem “The Oxen” takes the form of a pastoral carol-
like setting, and “The Darkling Thrush”, in which a lone wanderer on the point of
Occasionally I would sight walkers using the riverbank for a gentle stroll and I despair finds solace in the song of an unseen thrush – suggested here by solo
gather the path is known by students from the university as the Grantchester trumpet.”
Grind. Time for a gentle breaststroke as I took in my surroundings. The world was The “Dorset Jubilate” is scored for Choir, Soprano and Baritone Soloists, and
passing me by and I was a mere observer of a tranquil scene from times long obligato trumpet, all supported by an important and exciting organ part. Philip
past. has worked in close collaboration with Wareham Choral Society’s Musical
After a while, I started to look for Diana but without success. She had completely Director, Hazel Ricketts, and John Challenger, organist of Salisbury Cathedral.
disappeared and I was beginning to get a little concerned. Where could she be? Hazel Ricketts comments that “The results of this collaboration are obvious in both
“Oye, are you looking for your wife?” a voice from the riverbank called. “You will a dramatic organ part which complements and supports the choir, and choral
need to swim back a little way, walk across the cricket pitch and she is waiting for writing which is crafted to be approachable and singable for an amateur choir.
you at the entrance to the tea rooms. Time passes so quickly when you are However the real joy is in the piece as a whole, and the way in which all elements
enjoying yourself and I had obviously overshot the tea rooms and had to retrace fit together to make a new and exciting, yet still moving, choral work reflecting
my steps. our mixed feelings at this strange time”.

And there we met and before wiping the accumulated mud off my feet and legs, Why don't you join a choir - we are very friendly and you don't need to be an
a product of getting out onto the bank, I was able to change back into my shorts experienced singer. Wareham Choral Society meets on Monday evenings at
and t-shirt and enjoy a lovely cup of tea in the tea rooms. In the car park, we 7.30pm at Lady St. Mary's Church and Briantspuddle Singers meet on Tuesday
found a free museum dedicated to the great man. I have often wondered what evenings also at 7.30pm at Briantspuddle Village Hall. If you want to know more
made someone a truly iconic figure, Brookes was certainly one. I guess you have contact Sarah Welton (Wareham) 471562 or Jill Marsden (Briantspuddle) 472643.
to die young and have done something truly exceptional. Marilyn Monroe, James
Dean, Rupert Brooks, they all fitted the bill.

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