'Cultural Value and Artistic Importance' - Orchestras Potentially in Line for Tax Break

By Chris Billingham 

I’ve got to admit, I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to the Autumn Statement. I know I should, I know it’s important and I also know they even use words like ‘Beer Tax’ but the reality is it doesn’t usually grab my attention. However this week’s announcement caught my eye. I wasn’t alone either; a number of Orchestra or Classical Music related social media accounts and people I know had a lot to say about Wednesday’s speech from The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. 

The bit that caught people’s attention was: 

“The government is committed to supporting the creative industries so they continue to thrive in the UK. This government has introduced tax relief for high-end television programmes, animation, video games and theatre productions and has expanded the successful tax relief scheme for films. Building on this, the government will introduce a new tax relief for children’s television programmes from April 2015. The government will also launch a formal consultation in early 2015 about introducing a new tax relief for orchestras from April 2016, in recognition of their cultural value and artistic importance”. 

The fact that Orchestras and potential tax reliefs were specifically mentioned is a positive sign that the financial situation for Orchestras may be about to improve. When discussing this with a friend not connected in any way to the classical music world, the first question they understandably asked was “is the situation that bad for your industry?” Keith Motson, an executive at the Association of British Orchestras has helped clarify the situation by pointing out that "Orchestras earn well over 50% of their income from other sources so the chancellor’s commitment to tax relief can boost orchestras’ entrepreneurial efforts". He also explained “"British orchestras play more than 3,500 concerts a year to more than 4.5 million people. But they are facing one of the toughest periods in their history with cuts in public and, in particular, local authority funding”.

Researching into the subject, it does seem odd to me that Orchestras were not considered back in March when Osborne confirmed tax breaks of at least 20 per cent for commercial productions and regional touring companies, benefiting opera and dance organisations as well as plays, musicals and theatre groups. As previously explained my knowledge on the subject is not particularly wide but it seems unfair to differentiate between art forms and the financial advantages each one can have. Whilst it is fantastic that this consultation will take place next year, why is it that Orchestras aren’t paired with the “high-end television programmes, animation, video games and theatre productions” and “films” that already have various tax relief schemes. I suppose that is quite a naïve attitude, lines have to be drawn somewhere and the reality is if all forms of art were viewed by the government in the same way there wouldn’t be opportunities for tax breaks for anyone. However from the romantic viewpoint of someone that loves creativity it does seem a shame that imagination and art has to be judged and labelled in this way.  

 

Speaking of creativity and moving us firmly away from financing music and into the more comfortable territory of playing it, Southern Sinfonia have a number of exciting concerts on the horizon. On the 9^th December we join forces with the Windsor and Eton Choral Society for a performance of Handel’s Israel in Egypt at baroque pitch on ‘period’ instruments. After this we change locations to the candle-lit Old Royal Naval College, but stay with Handel and play his Messiah with the ORNC Chapel Choir on the 17^th December. To find out more about these concerts and next years events please click here for the What’s On section of our website. 

You can also find out more about Southern Sinfonia by visiting our main website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages. 

“Water is the driving force in nature”

By Chris Billingham and Julia Hudson 

As some may already know, in the early 1900’s large cracks began to appear in the walls and ceilings of Winchester Cathedral. The solution to this problem came in the form of William Walker, a deep-sea diver who worked underwater in complete darkness for six years. However, before this story goes any further, I should probably take a step back and explain why I’m telling it.

Southern Sinfonia is fortunate enough to perform in some beautiful venues throughout the year. From St Nicolas Church and William the Conqueror to Douai Abbey and the St Edmund's monks, each venue has a fascinating history. But does this history add grandeur to a performance? Will an audience know a venue’s history? Is it fair to say that a venue’s visual appearance makes it atmospheric, rather than the events that took place many years before? 

To consider these questions, I began to look into the histories of some of our upcoming venues. The recent flooding and subsequent problems the nation has faced makes it hard not to immediately think of Winchester Cathedral, the location of ‘The Great Turning’, a concert which will see the premiere of a new educational work by June Boyce-Tillman. This beautiful cathedral has recently fallen victim to heavy rainfall and floods; a post on their official Twitter page shows the water level in the crypt at its highest in recent memory. 

With this in mind, I began to research the cathedral and found that, in fact, water plays a big part in its history. As the huge cracks started to appear in the early 1900s and the Cathedral seemed in danger of complete collapse, architect Thomas Jackson decided that the solution was to underpin the building’s south and east walls with new foundations. The problem with this was that the narrow trenches they planned to dig would need to reach 4 metres (13 feet) below water to be effective. As workmen dug, water flooded into their trenches and they soon realised the work would have to be completed underwater. This realisation led to diver William Walker being tasked with labouring under water for six hours a day, using his bare hands to dig through muddy water and excavate the flooded trenches to then fill them with bags of concrete. When he had completed this task, the groundwater could be pumped out and workmen were able to safely underpin the subsiding walls.

An enthralling story and testament to one man’s huge achievement, I feel a huge amount of respect for the memory of William Walker; at the concert, an added appreciation of the fact that this beautiful venue is still standing will add to my enjoyment of the music. While not everyone in the audience will know about William Walker, they will all be aware of the recent problems the flooding has caused the venue, prompting the same reaction of appreciation from two events over 100 years apart.  

Somewhat fittingly, water has always played a large part in Christianity; from Jesus’s baptism in the River Jordan to the miracle of the calming of the storm, water is seen as both a positive and negative manifestation of the forces of nature. In April, Southern Sinfonia is performing Bach’s Mass in B minor in the Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, alongside The Old Royal Naval College Choir. His last major artistic undertaking and his most spectacular, it was unusual for a composer of Bach’s Lutheran tradition to compose a full Catholic Mass, but whatever his motivation may have been it was an opportunity for him to rework some of his previous composition. Written over an extended period, the original manuscript shows that Bach divided the Mass in four major sections, similar to the sections in the Roman Catholic Mass Ordinary. The first section is the Missa, and includes the Kyrie and Gloria. The second is the Symbolum Nicenum (or the Credo). The third consists of a single movement, the Sanctus, and the fourth is entitled Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem. Surprisingly, given the diversity of the material, Bach managed to shape a coherent sequence of movements and create a unified work, which he could easily have intended to stand as a memorial of his immense skill.

Leonardo da Vinci said that “water is the driving force in nature” and our sadly topical watery theme comes full circle, via floods and underpinning in Winchester, the glorious Chapel in the beautiful Greenwich Naval College, and on to our next concert, ‘Mr Handel’s Water Music’, in St Lawrence’s, Hungerford. Interestingly, our theme for this programme comes from a triumphal river pageant: Handel enjoyed his extended visits to London, where he became fêted by the royal family and in particular George I.  In the summer of 1717 a concert was planned on the River Thames and Handel was commissioned by the king to write ‘Water Music’, which finishes this programme. Our concert begins with the favourite ‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’.  We then perform two pieces that show his aptitude for solo composition: ‘Oboe Concerto No. 1’ and ‘Violin Sonata in D major’.  ‘Concerto Grosso Op 6 No. 12’ was composed in the autumn of 1739 and was performed in Vauxhall Gardens – where Handel’s music was so popular a marble bust was installed.

It seems evident, therefore, that an awareness of history and a dramatic venue cannot help but add grandeur to a piece of music. For all those in Winchester Cathedral aware of historic and recent battles with nature, those hearing the River Thames in Greenwich or being transported to it in Hungerford, the images conjured are sure to add drama to the evening and, ultimately, the music. 

If you would like to attend ‘Mr Handel’s Water Music’, click here to find out more and purchase tickets. To see us perform 'The Great Turning' at Winchester Cathedral, click here. You can also click here to find out more about our concert with The Old Royal Naval College Chapel Choir. 

Southern Sinfonia with Ralph Allwood recorded the Bach Mass in B minor in 2010, this time with the Rodolfus Choir, so this is a concert not to be missed. You can buy the recording here.

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