Univ Record 2018

An offshoot of the Choir, the Univ Consort, has also been active. They were invited
to take part in a concert celebrating Bach and the voice, curated by Natalie Clein and
run through the Music Faculty. This event took place in The Holywell Music Room in
April, and featured soloists Claire Booth, Ian Bostridge and Giles Underwood, with
the wonderful local baroque orchestra, The Instruments of Time and Truth. It was an
extraordinary opportunity for eight of our singers to share a stage with some of the great
interpreters of Bach. The Consort also showcased the culmination of their year’s work
with a concert of summer partsongs at the very end of Trinity Term, complete with
flower arrangements and Pimms in the Master’s Lodgings’ garden. All credit must go to
Alice Habisreutinger for her efforts in running this group – not an easy thing to do with
people’s hectic schedules.
The Martlet Ensemble had a quieter year than it should have done, as our wonderful
lead violin, Caroline Balding injured her arm in a bike accident (she’s now made a full
recovery). Our concert of the Schubert Octet therefore has had to be postponed until
2019. However, before that happened, they were able to be involved in the Bach Cantata
concert mentioned above, and both Caroline and cellist Richard Tunnicliffe have been
to visit a number of times to coach our postgrad string group, The Ozymandias Quartet.
Martlet Voices had a busier year. Stuart Whatton (1981, Law) who runs a recital
series at the church of St Mary-at-Hill in London, suggested Univ was involved,
and we were therefore able to give two performances of the same programme, one in
London in September and one in Univ in October. This programme, Monteverdi and his
contemporaries, gave us the opportunity to air some works by lesser known composers as
well as some by the great man himself. It was all tied together by texts from Guarini’s
play Il Pastor Fido, and regulars Carys Lane, Anna Crookes, Lucy Ballard and Giles
Underwood were joined by tenor Nick Pritchard and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, as well
as students Emelye Moulton (2016, Music), Madeleine Piggott (2016, English), Alice
Habisreutinger and Oscar Hansen (2015, Music).
These four students also took part in the next Martlet Voices project, joined this
time by Harriet Smith (2015, Classics) and Rebecca German (2017, Music). Our regular
professional tenor, James Oxley was able to join us in this programme – Songs of Love and
Springtime – a concert of English Partsongs.
The other event of note was the third annual Mendl-Schrama Music Prize Recital
in January. Oscar Hansen (baritone) gave a stirring recital, accompanied by Anna
Markland, with music by Schubert, Schumann, Handel, Loewe, Debussy and Elgar. The
College would like to thank Mrs Heleen Mendl-Schrama for her continuing generosity
in providing this prize. The new winner was announced as Mezzo-soprano Rebecca
German, who will give her recital in January 2019.
Projects for the coming year include: Martlet Voices, October 18, a programme of
Song of Songs settings from Palestrina to Schütz, Clemens to Gombert; The Martlet
Ensemble, November 17, a concert featuring Debussy’s Danses for harp and string
orchestra timed to fit with Parents’ Guest Night in Hall; the new Choir CD release
in November, a disc of Lent and Passiontide music; the rescheduled Schubert Octet in
February 2019; and there will be the next in our series of Bach Cantata concerts.
Another Choir reunion will take place in Trinity Term 2019 and we would love to
see the Chapel full of Old Members who used to sing in the choir, however long ago! If
you have any old friends whom you have not seen for many years, or who might be out
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