Bradford Festival Choral Society
Encyclopedia
Bradford Festival Choral Society was founded as a direct result of the opening of St George’s Hall
in 1853. A massed choir of over 200 singers from far and wide was formed for the first Bradford Musical Festival which took place that year. When the second festival took place in 1856 another choir, consisting of rather more locally based singers, was formed and at the end of the festival it was felt wasteful to disband a group which had already gained such a high reputation. A meeting was held on 17 November 1856 under the chairmanship of Samuel Smith
, the original instigator of the construction of St George’s Hall, and Bradford Festival Choral Society came into being with Mr Smith as its first President. The conductor was William Jackson
who had been the highly successful trainer of the chorus for both festivals. The choir sang and rehearsed at the Hall and soon gained the nickname of the “Coffee and Bun Society” as refreshments were provided for those members travelling from a distance. This arrangement was also intended to discourage possible visits to licensed premises before rehearsal!
The choir’s rise to fame was so rapid that it was summoned to sing before Queen Victoria in June 1858. It is hardly surprising that there was a sudden glut of applicants to join the Society and high standards could be demanded of singers. The group left Bradford by special train on 28 June 1858 and performed at Buckingham Palace
for the large royal party that same evening. The concert was a huge success and the choir went on to sing twice at The Crystal Palace
and also at St Martin’s Hall, as well as at the Handel Festival, during the rest of its week long stay in London
. On its return to Bradford
, the choir repeated its London programme in St George’s Hall and Peel Park
before the end of what must have been its annus mirabilis.
The next festival featuring the choir took place in 1859 and was an artistic success but, as is so often the case, was not very rewarding in financial terms. As a result, the next festival was postponed and eventually cancelled. No more triennial festivals took place in Bradford.
Without festivals, the choir settled down to a regular routine of concerts in St George’s Hall, the equilibrium only shattered by the sudden and much lamented death of its conductor William Jackson in 1866. Such was the esteem in which he was held that the Society undertook all the funeral arrangements and was also responsible for the monument in Undercliffe Cemetery
and also the one in Masham
– Jackson’s birthplace. Performances of Jackson’s oratorio, The Deliverance of Israel from Babylon, were given to raise money for these projects.
Shortly after this, in 1870, the close association with St George’s Hall was relaxed and, although the Hall remained the venue for concerts, rehearsals moved to the Mechanics’ Institute, where they remained for the next 100 years until the building was demolished.
In 1906 the choir was eagerly planning, in spite of great financial problems, celebrations for its Golden Jubilee. Fortuitously, an invitation was received from the London Philharmonic Society
to sing in the Queen’s Hall. The Chairman, Henry J Mason, generously offered to fund the trip and 323 singers left by special train, reputed to be (at 200 yards long) the longest train ever to leave Bradford. The concert, consisting of the double motet Sing ye to the Lord (Bach) and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, was greeted with acclaim and the choir returned home at 4am, no doubt exhausted.
In Bradford, the choir enjoyed celebratory concerts and a grand ball in St George’s Hall. It was also during this jubilee year that it was presented with an original Schubert masterpiece by a former President, Mr W. M. Hertz. This manuscript was later almost forgotten until it was rediscovered by the librarian at the time of the centenary and subsequently deposited in the Bradford Archives. In 2005 it was deemed necessary to realise all possible assets in order to continue the work of the Society and the manuscript was sold.
The 20th century led to great changes. The Society survived two World Wars with attendant problems of a lack of male singers and of blackout restrictions. Sir Malcolm Sargent became the Society’s conductor in 1925 and was instrumental in raising the choir’s profile during the 26 years of his reign. During this time too, BFCS had to leave St George’s Hall when it became a cinema in 1926. A new home was found at Eastbrook Hall where the choir remained until the reopening of St George’s as a concert hall in 1953. It was a real landmark when BFCS took part in the concert, broadcast by the BBC
, to celebrate the opening. In the same year, the choir had a great artistic triumph when it featured in the first live performance of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass
in Leeds Town Hall
.
It was greatly appreciated that the centenary season could be held back in ‘the old home’ and celebratory concerts and a dinner were held. The Society was set fair for another 100 years.
This certainly seemed the case as Sir David Willcocks
(or Mr Willcocks as he then was) took up the baton as the Society’s conductor. During the time of his appointment he had a real rapport with the choir and many were the successes over which he presided. Two performances of Britten’s War Requiem
, in 1964 and 1967, are particularly remembered. It was greatly appreciated that when Sir David Willcocks had to relinquish his position 17 years later, he still returned for many years to preside over the annual Carol Concert.
Other eminent conductors have been Sir Charles Groves
, who conducted a memorable performance of Delius
’ A Mass of Life
, Richard Hickox
, David Lloyd Jones, Brian Kay
and guest conductors such as John Rutter
, Meredith Davies, Sir John Barbirolli and many others. Most of the great works in the choral repertoire have been performed and the choir has never flinched from singing contemporary works by Bliss
, Julius Harrison
, John Rutter
, David Fanshawe
and Peter Maxwell Davies
to name but a few.
Since 2008 the choir has been enjoying a revival under the baton of its young and dynamic Musical Director Thomas Leech, who has led the choir into new musical territory while constantly encouraging excellent performances of choral classics. Choir membership and audience attendance continues to grow as the society strives to re-establish itself. The 2011/12 season includes a return to St Georges Hall for a full orchestral performance of Handel's Messiah, an autumn opera gala performance at Harewood House and an orchestral performance of The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins in Spring 2012 at Bradford Grammar School.
St George's Hall, Bradford
St George's Concert Hall is a grade II* listed Victorian building located in the centre of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Originally designed with a seating capacity of 3,500, the Hall seats 1500 people....
in 1853. A massed choir of over 200 singers from far and wide was formed for the first Bradford Musical Festival which took place that year. When the second festival took place in 1856 another choir, consisting of rather more locally based singers, was formed and at the end of the festival it was felt wasteful to disband a group which had already gained such a high reputation. A meeting was held on 17 November 1856 under the chairmanship of Samuel Smith
Samuel Smith
-In politics:*Samuel Smith , British Member of Parliament for Leicester, Malmesbury, Midhurst, St Germans and Wendover*Samuel Smith , British Member of Parliament for Worcester, Ludgershall and Ilchester...
, the original instigator of the construction of St George’s Hall, and Bradford Festival Choral Society came into being with Mr Smith as its first President. The conductor was William Jackson
William Jackson (organist born 1815)
William Jackson was an English organist and composer. A self-taught musician, he became organist at Masham in 1832. He won first prize in the Huddersfield Glee Club in 1840. In 1852, he established a music business and became organist of St. John's Church at Bradford...
who had been the highly successful trainer of the chorus for both festivals. The choir sang and rehearsed at the Hall and soon gained the nickname of the “Coffee and Bun Society” as refreshments were provided for those members travelling from a distance. This arrangement was also intended to discourage possible visits to licensed premises before rehearsal!
The choir’s rise to fame was so rapid that it was summoned to sing before Queen Victoria in June 1858. It is hardly surprising that there was a sudden glut of applicants to join the Society and high standards could be demanded of singers. The group left Bradford by special train on 28 June 1858 and performed at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
for the large royal party that same evening. The concert was a huge success and the choir went on to sing twice at The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
and also at St Martin’s Hall, as well as at the Handel Festival, during the rest of its week long stay in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. On its return to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, the choir repeated its London programme in St George’s Hall and Peel Park
Peel Park
Peel Park is a urban public park in the Bolton and Undercliffe area of Bradford, England, located about north-east of the city centre, and named after Sir Robert Peel....
before the end of what must have been its annus mirabilis.
The next festival featuring the choir took place in 1859 and was an artistic success but, as is so often the case, was not very rewarding in financial terms. As a result, the next festival was postponed and eventually cancelled. No more triennial festivals took place in Bradford.
Without festivals, the choir settled down to a regular routine of concerts in St George’s Hall, the equilibrium only shattered by the sudden and much lamented death of its conductor William Jackson in 1866. Such was the esteem in which he was held that the Society undertook all the funeral arrangements and was also responsible for the monument in Undercliffe Cemetery
Undercliffe Cemetery
Undercliffe Cemetery is located between Otley Road and Undercliffe Lane in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.The cemetery stands atop a hillside overlooking the city and contains some very impressive Victorian funerary monuments in a variety of styles....
and also the one in Masham
Masham
Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in Wensleydale on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had...
– Jackson’s birthplace. Performances of Jackson’s oratorio, The Deliverance of Israel from Babylon, were given to raise money for these projects.
Shortly after this, in 1870, the close association with St George’s Hall was relaxed and, although the Hall remained the venue for concerts, rehearsals moved to the Mechanics’ Institute, where they remained for the next 100 years until the building was demolished.
In 1906 the choir was eagerly planning, in spite of great financial problems, celebrations for its Golden Jubilee. Fortuitously, an invitation was received from the London Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
to sing in the Queen’s Hall. The Chairman, Henry J Mason, generously offered to fund the trip and 323 singers left by special train, reputed to be (at 200 yards long) the longest train ever to leave Bradford. The concert, consisting of the double motet Sing ye to the Lord (Bach) and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, was greeted with acclaim and the choir returned home at 4am, no doubt exhausted.
In Bradford, the choir enjoyed celebratory concerts and a grand ball in St George’s Hall. It was also during this jubilee year that it was presented with an original Schubert masterpiece by a former President, Mr W. M. Hertz. This manuscript was later almost forgotten until it was rediscovered by the librarian at the time of the centenary and subsequently deposited in the Bradford Archives. In 2005 it was deemed necessary to realise all possible assets in order to continue the work of the Society and the manuscript was sold.
The 20th century led to great changes. The Society survived two World Wars with attendant problems of a lack of male singers and of blackout restrictions. Sir Malcolm Sargent became the Society’s conductor in 1925 and was instrumental in raising the choir’s profile during the 26 years of his reign. During this time too, BFCS had to leave St George’s Hall when it became a cinema in 1926. A new home was found at Eastbrook Hall where the choir remained until the reopening of St George’s as a concert hall in 1953. It was a real landmark when BFCS took part in the concert, broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, to celebrate the opening. In the same year, the choir had a great artistic triumph when it featured in the first live performance of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass
Glagolitic Mass
The Glagolitic Mass is a composition for soloists , double chorus, organ and orchestra by Leoš Janáček. The work was completed on 15 October 1926...
in Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...
.
It was greatly appreciated that the centenary season could be held back in ‘the old home’ and celebratory concerts and a dinner were held. The Society was set fair for another 100 years.
This certainly seemed the case as Sir David Willcocks
Sir David Willcocks
Sir David Valentine Willcocks CBE MC is a British choral conductor, organist, and composer. His son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer.- Biography :...
(or Mr Willcocks as he then was) took up the baton as the Society’s conductor. During the time of his appointment he had a real rapport with the choir and many were the successes over which he presided. Two performances of Britten’s War Requiem
War Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts, in telling juxtaposition, are settings of Wilfred Owen poems...
, in 1964 and 1967, are particularly remembered. It was greatly appreciated that when Sir David Willcocks had to relinquish his position 17 years later, he still returned for many years to preside over the annual Carol Concert.
Other eminent conductors have been Sir Charles Groves
Charles Groves
Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors....
, who conducted a memorable performance of Delius
Delius
Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius - English composer* Nicolaus Delius - German philologist* Tobias Delius Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius (1912–1937) - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius...
’ A Mass of Life
A Mass of Life
A Mass of Life is a choral piece of music by English composer Frederick Delius, based on the German text of Also Sprach Zarathustra by Nietzsche...
, Richard Hickox
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
, David Lloyd Jones, Brian Kay
Brian Kay
Brian Kay is an English radio presenter, conductor and singer. He is well known as the bass in the King's Singers during the group's formative years from 1968 until 1982, and as such is to be heard on many of their 1970s LP recordings...
and guest conductors such as John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
, Meredith Davies, Sir John Barbirolli and many others. Most of the great works in the choral repertoire have been performed and the choir has never flinched from singing contemporary works by Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
, Julius Harrison
Julius Harrison
Julius Allan Greenway Harrison was an English composer who was best known as a conductor of operatic works.-Life and career:...
, John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
, David Fanshawe
David Fanshawe
David Arthur Fanshawe was an English composer, ethnomusicologist and self-styled explorer. His work is situated at the crossroads of traditional and modern music. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work African Sanctus.- Life :Fanshawe was born in Paignton in Devon in 1942...
and Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
to name but a few.
Recent years
Today Bradford Festival Choral Society is Bradford's largest choir and one of the biggest in the North of England. With a current singing membership of around 100 voices the choir performs all the major works in the choral repertoire at St George's Concert Hall and other venues in the Bradford area. The choir enjoys a busy season of concerts including major programmes in November and early Spring, concerts in the summer and at Christmas as well as Bradford's traditional Christmas performance of Handel's Messiah.Since 2008 the choir has been enjoying a revival under the baton of its young and dynamic Musical Director Thomas Leech, who has led the choir into new musical territory while constantly encouraging excellent performances of choral classics. Choir membership and audience attendance continues to grow as the society strives to re-establish itself. The 2011/12 season includes a return to St Georges Hall for a full orchestral performance of Handel's Messiah, an autumn opera gala performance at Harewood House and an orchestral performance of The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins in Spring 2012 at Bradford Grammar School.