By Chris Billingham and Julia Hudson
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.
