The Saint Martins Singers — a choir from the South of England were in Barga Vecchia this afternoon for a series of short informal concerts.
After a short performance inside the Duomo they then moved down to Piazza Salvi in Barga Vecchia where the members of the choir sang to a compact but interested audience outside Da Aristo’s including the Mayor of Barga, Marco Bonini who was there to officially welcome them to Barga.
The 33 members of the choir will next be singing their programme of music by Attwood, Tallis, Durufle, Villette, Pearsall, Purcell Rheinberger, Poulenc, Rossini, Taverner ed… “anon” in the Chiesa di S.Michele in Lucca on Friday at 17.30 before moving on to Sillico and the Chiesa di S.Lorenzo on Saturday, once again at 17.30.
The Saint Martin Singers owe their origin to a few fire-watchers at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, UK during the Second World War who made music together on the quieter nights. The Vicar of St Martin’s at that time was Reverend Eric Loveday and it was under his direction that the Singers developed in their early years.
Following the untimely death of Eric Loveday in 1947, his baton passed to Prebendary W.D. Kennedy-Bell, at that time a curate at St Martin’s and who subsequently became a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral, Deputy Priest-in-Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen, Reader at the Temple Church and Director of Religious Broadcasting at the BBC World Service.
KB
“KB”, as he was affectionately known, continued as conductor for fifty years until 1997 and his spirit remains a vital inspiration for the Singers. It was he who compiled many of the distinctive programmes of music and readings which are still regularly performed by the Singers.
The Singers meet weekly for rehearsal and still call themselves by the name of that Saint who cut his cloak in half in order to share it with a stranger; for through their singing and travels, they too seek to share the riches they themselves enjoy through their music-making and fellowship. The Singers always insist on paying their own expenses, while the two professional readers, to whom they are so deeply indebted, and without whom the programmes would not be possible, in their generosity give of their time and artistry.
The Saint Martin Singers perform, on average, 12 concerts a year in London and elsewhere in England, in aid of charitable or other worthwhile causes. They have also undertaken overseas tours in Austria, Canada and the USA.