A Note from the Chairman – October 2021
I’m pleased to be able to report that Stanford Society members and friends were able to gather for our fourteenth annual Stanford Festival Weekend in Gloucester Cathedral on October 2nd and 3rd. This event had been postponed from October of 2020 because of Covid. Fortunately most Covid restrictions in the UK were lifted in time for this year’s Weekend and we had record attendance, which included seven of us attending from the United States.
Attendees at the Gloucester Weekend enjoyed an outstanding programme of talks, recitals and service music with a focus this year on the music of Stanford, and Gloucestershire natives Hubert Parry, Ivor Gurney and Herbert Howells.
Adrian Partington, the Organist and Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral was our host for the Weekend, which was held in the Cathedral’s Chapter House, Choir and Sanctuary. Adrian accompanied tenor James Gilchrist in a wonderful recital of English songs. This included works by Stanford, Gurney and Howells as well as more recent music by Ian Venables and Neil Cox, both of whom were with us for the recital.
Stanford Society President, Jeremy Dibble, gave talks on Stanford and Parry and the Three Choirs Festival, and Parry’s Creative Process. He also accompanied Stanford Society Trustee Colleen Ferguson on the piano in a chamber recital of works for violin and piano entitled “ Stanford, Contemporaries and Pupils”. This included music by Ireland, Bridge, Howells, Coleridge Taylor, Elgar and Esposito as well as Stanford.
Ian Venables, Chairman of the Ivor Gurney Society, gave a fascinating talk on the life and music of Gurney illustrated with extracts from his music. The Howells scholar and lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music, Jonathan Clinch, spoke to us on “ The Stanford Howells Relationship Reconsidered”. Jonathan is preparing a biography of Howells and during his presentation he played several extracts from recently discovered piano music by Howells. He is editing this music and a first volume has now been published by Novello and recorded by pianist Matthew Schellhorn on the Naxos record label.
The Gloucester Cathedral Choir was on top form for the three services that we attended, which included plenty of Stanford’s music. And last, but not least Adrian Partington gave us a wonderful organ recital which included music by Bach, Howells, Dame Ethel Smyth and Stanford, including his Organ Sonata Number 4, “The Celtica”.
On the Saturday evening we shared a convivial three course dinner and plenty of wine at the Fountain Inn close to the Cathedral with after dinner remarks by Jeremy Dibble. We also welcomed Adrian Partington as the newest Vice-President of the Stanford Society.
Thank you again to everyone involved in the success of the Weekend including the Society’s Secretary, Dan Wilkinson, for handling all the administration. Our next Stanford Festival Weekend will be held in Durham on March 4th to 6th, 2022. This will include a Gala Concert in Durham Cathedral with performances of Stanford’s Cello Concerto and the Suite from the Incidental Music to the Tennyson play Becket. We look forward to seeing members and friends in Durham next March for another memorable Stanford Festival Weekend.
