Lesley Jordan, until recently chair of Enfield Choral Society, invites people to an upcoming concert which will see the choir returning to its roots to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Enfield's notable buildings, Christ Church Chase Side.
Enfield Choral Society’s next concert on Saturday 8th November at Christ Church United Reformed Church Enfield is special in several ways.
It will form a part of Christ Church URC’s 150th Anniversary celebrations. The Grade 2 listed, Gothic-style church opened in 1875, though the site had been used for Christian worship since 1780. Enfield Choral Society’s involvement in these celebrations is particularly appropriate because our foundation in 1938 was by and at the church, as Christ Church Choral Society; and for its first 60 plus years the choir rehearsed and held many concerts there. The choir was delighted to be invited to return to our roots for Christ Church’s special occasion.
The music for the concert has been chosen jointly by the choir and the church, to create an interesting and varied festive programme spanning several centuries. The centre-piece is the joyous and popular Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ (c. 1715) and the choir will also be singing other uplifting, well-known choruses in the Christian tradition: George Frideric Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus (1741); Hubert Parry’s ‘I was glad (1902)’; John Rutter’s‘ A Gaelic Blessing’ (1978); and John Tavener’s ‘The Lamb’ (1982). Less well-known are three beautiful motets by the 19th century composer Anton Bruckner (‘Locus iste’, 1869; ‘Os justi’, 1879; and ‘Virga Jesse’, 1885).
The programme is completed by a brand-new piece of music written especially for the choir. Roderick Elmer is an accomplished local musician, composer and former music teacher. He is also a longstanding Enfield Choral Society tenor who, over the years, has generously given us six compositions to perform. His seventh work for the choir is a setting of Psalm 46, which he explains choosing as it is ‘optimistic in tone’. Our performance at Christ Church will be its world premiere. It is an enormous thrill to rehearse and sing a piece alongside its composer, and the choir is greatly enjoying the challenge of learning this exciting, lyrical and accessible work. We expect the audience to be fascinated!
Do join us for this concert if you can! It’s at 7:30pm on Saturday 8th November at Christ Church URC, Chase Side Enfield EN2 6NU.
Tickets are £16 in advance, £17 on the door. £7 for under 25s in full time education and free for accompanied under 16s.
Book via phone 07864 061755, visit enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk or just turn up on the day.
Christ Church United Reformed Church, Chase Side Enfield
The foundation stone of the Grade II listed Christ Church was laid on 29th June 1874. Designed by John Tarring, it was built in the Gothic Decorated style by Cooke and Green at a cost of nearly £11,000. It has a brick core faced with Kentish Ragstone, with Bath stone dressings around the doors and windows outside and is faced with Bath stone inside. Children were asked to go into the surrounding fields and collect leaves, flowers and fruit which were incorporated into the designs for the capitals at the top of the columns. The church was completed when its first minister, Henry Storer Toms, climbed the scaffolding to place the weather vane in position on top of the 180 feet high spire. The church was dedicated on Thursday 18th November 1875.
(Extract from an article by Stephen Gilburt on the Enfield Society website.)
