Head's Newsletter 17 December 2021

HANDEL MESSIAH CHOIRS CONCERT

To begin the season of Advent, on 2 nd December 2021 at St. Luke ’ s Church Kingston the Tiffin Boys ’ Choir with soloists from the Tiffin Chamber Choir performed part I of Handel ’ s Messiah. This first act of Handel ’ s three - part work sets to music texts relating to the Christmas story (leaving until the second and third parts the stories of the Passion and Easter). For this reason, many of the choruses, performed engagingly by the Boys ’ Choir, especially the many new Year 7 members who had joined the choir only weeks earlier, are familiar fixtures of the season. The energy of these movements such as ‘ And the glory of the Lord ’, ‘ And He shall purify ’, and ‘ His yoke is easy ’ were captured very effectively by the choir and Baroque string ensemble as they performed to a large and supportive audience from the school, church and local area. Particularly impressive were the student soloists drawn from the Chamber Choir. Clara (13RH), Henry (12MM), Isobel (13RH), Milo (13LL), Sophia (13CD) and Vera (13RH) in turn sang with great skill the recitative and (sometimes fiendishly fast) arias which link the choral movements.

The Chamber Choir at the Justice Defenders’ Charity Carol Service, Lambeth Palace

Members of the Chamber Choir were invited again this year to lead the Justice Defenders ’ Charity Carol Service on Wednesday 8 th December, taking place in the chapel of Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury ’ s residence. Founded in 2007 as African Prisons Project, the Justice Defenders charity trains paralegals and lawyers within defenceless communities to provide legal services for themselves and others. A selected semi - chorus of the Chamber Choir (reflecting the chapel ’ s small size) led choir and congregational carols which were accompanied by readings and an address by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who spoke of the importance of the charity ’ s work.