HASLINGFIELD CHOIR

At the start of 1971, a couple of dozen singers, mostly from the village, got together to rehearse and perform Handel’s Acis & Galatea in the school hall. The soloists were drawn from the choir, a small orchestra was assembled, and a harpsichord was hired. This was the start of Haslingfield Choir which has given two concerts a year ever since (and on just one occasion three). The choir has to date given 75 concerts, all but one conducted by Margaret Houghton, the founder of the choir.

Haslingfield Choir now numbers around 55 members. Of these just under half live in the village, and the others come from nearby villages or from Cambridge.

We perform a varied repertoire of choral works. Recent concerts have included Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Finzi’s In Terra Pax, Parts 5 & 6 of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, John Rutter’s Gloria and Haydn’s Paukenmesse. Most concerts are with orchestra, but the performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle was accompanied by piano and harmonium.

Rehearsals, with our accompanist Maurice Hodges, are held on Wednesday evenings in Haslingfield School during the Autumn and Spring Terms. The two concerts each year (both held in All Saints Church) take place in early December and late March or early April.

Whilst the choir meets regularly week by week, the invited orchestra, leader Frances Poole, is assembled for each concert. It is built around a regular nucleus of players, some of whom are Haslingfield residents. Soloists are often current or former choral scholars from the University of Cambridge.

Just occasionally we put on a work which includes a children’s chorus ~ such as Honegger’s Christmas Cantata which we performed in December 2002, when we assembled a choir of village children.

The choir has a wide age-range, from teenagers through to the retired. The mid-rehearsal coffee break gives the opportunity for sopranos, basses, altos & tenors to mingle.

Haslingfield Choir is a registered charity No. 284505, and is affiliated to Making Music.

February 2008