University College Oxford Record 2020

Soon afterwards, on 23 November, Martlet
Voices presented Songs of Wintertime, with works
by Judith Bingham, Benjamin Britten, Rebecca
Clarke, Claude Debussy, Bo Holten, Francis
Poulenc, Per Nørgård and Peter Warlock. The
challenge here was to find music about winter,
but not about Christmas, and Poulenc’s haunting
setting of Paul Eluard’s Un soir de neige was the
perfect centrepiece. In Holten’s First Snow, one
could sense the falling snowflakes and bleakness
of a Scandinavian winter, and Nørgård’s Winter
Hymn took those images further. The professional
singers were joined by students Amaryllis Hill,
Sarah Chapman and Alysa Dhar. Huge credit
must go to both the students for overcoming the
difficulties of music beyond their usual comfort
zone, and to the professionals for their mentoring
and encouragement.
Advent was upon us once again, and the
Chapel was filled for the Advent and Christmas
Carol services, with the traditional mulled wine
and mince pies served on 7 December. For many
Old Members, these services are the only time
they might get the chance to set foot in the
College in the whole year, and it is such a joy to
see so many familiar faces, from recent leavers to
families with small children, and many others who
come year after year.
The new year brought concerts by The Martlet
Ensemble and Martlet Voices. First-year musician,
Hannah Capstick, was the solo flautist in Mozart’s
Flute and Harp Concerto, along with harpist, Holly
Hart (Lincoln), and The Martlet Ensemble, led
by Caroline Balding, including student players,
Elsa Shah (violin) and Marko Mayr (clarinet).
The standard of playing was exceptional, and
hearing the Mozart in the Chapel acoustics was
a glorious experience. The lesser-known Nonet by
Louis Spohr provided an exciting counterpart to
the Mozart, and makes one wonder why it isn’t
more firmly embedded in the chamber music
repertoire.
29 February doesn’t fall on a Saturday very
often, so it was the perfect day to host a concert,
and Martlet Voices sang a programme entirely
for women’s voices, with music by Brahms (with
Univ harpist, Rosie von Spreckelsen and two
horns), Beach, Claire Liddell, Libby Larsen, Clarke,
Britten and Holst. Once again, the students were
presented with very difficult music which they
tackled wonderfully. Thanks must go to singers
Anna Crookes, Carys Lane, Lucy Ballard and
horn player, Kate Goldsmith for their support of
our students.
By the time the end of Hilary term came
around, COVID-19 was present in the Oxford
student body, and it felt like the whole university
limped home, with many concerts in the final
week of term being cancelled. It became clear
quite quickly that something needed to be done
to continue the sense of community at Univ, so
with the support of the Master and the Chaplain,
as well as the editing skills of students, Harry
Stuart and Alexander Newton and particularly
Digital Communications Manager, Justin Bowyer,
the Chapel Choir proceeded to put out a new
service every Sunday of Trinity Term during
lockdown. Individuals recorded solo versions of
psalms and responses, as well as the Magnificat and
Nunc Dimittis. Visiting preachers pre-recorded
their sermons and the Chaplain’s words glued
the services together. Ben Nicholas (Director of
Music at Merton) generously offered to record
hymns on the Univ organ, and the choir members
sang their parts in their various bedrooms and
studies. Even as everyone was separated, it felt
that the weekly ritual of Evensong was helping us
all to remember that the community of College
48 University College Record | October 2020