National Schools Festival of Music
Title
National Schools Festival of Music
Description
Took place in the Albert Hall May 6th 1938. Three items one a photogrph of the Portsmouth contingent, a press clipping from 19th May reporting a concert in Portsmouth Guildhall, third a press clipping reporting the London performance.
Date
1938-05-06
1938-05-19
Coverage
Language
Format
Three newspaper clippings
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
NJolliffeFSW170918-08, NJolliffeFSW170918-09, NJolliffeFSW170918-10
Transcription
[photograph]
Portsmouth Boys and Girls who sang before the Queen and the Princesses, this afternoon, at the Albert Hall, London. It was the National Schools Festival of Music.
[page break]
MAY 19, 1930[obscured number].
400 CHILDREN MASSED ON STAGE
City Musical Festival
BAND CONDUCTOR AGED SEVEN
Once more Portsmouth Schools demonstrated in the Guildhall last night, what musical ability and talent has lain dormant in the City, to be awakened by the Schools' Festival movement.
Some 300 to 400 junior children, none of them older than 11, were massed from the stage to the organ, and even in the balcony, last night and treated the audience to a programme of straight-forward British songs sung with the simple joyousness of childhood.
The Musical Director was Mr. Stephen S. Moore, Hon. Organizing Secretary of the National Festival, and in common with his predecessor, Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, he was anxious to prevent any boredom of chorus or audience, and his tempos were faster than most of the children had been used to in rehearsal. This increased pace at least made for virility.
Mr. Moore has stepped generously into the breach left at short notice by Dr. Shaw's inability to direct the festival.
Although almost eradicated, there were just the slightest traces of awkward breath control, which is the last thing for children to overcome, and there were just a few inevitable hitches, such as a break in the lovely Scottish lullaby, "O can ye sew custions?" which Mr. Moore mended with admirable presence of mind and gentle reproof.
Cut Programme
The general blend of tone was remarkably good and of a comprehensive programme the most acceptable items were the one already mentioned, the ancient round "Sumer is i cumen in," Vaughan Williams's arrangement of "The Turtle Dove," and the fine setting of the 23rd Psalm in its Scots paraphrase version entitled "Brother James's Air," by Gordon Jacob, sung with effective descant.
In a programme that Mr. Moore had to cut considerably owing to time, the massed orchestras, recruited entirely from City secondary schools, suffered most.
They opened with Purcell's Trumpet Voluntary, an Old Nortonian, R. Godfrey, playing the solo faultlessly.
At their own request Mr. Moore restored Woodhouse's Peasant Dance to the programme, which they thoroughly enjoyed. They were well led by Joyce Barton.
A feature of this concert, and the senior concert to-morrow is the Portsmouth contingent of 36 which sang before the Queen at the Royal Albert Hall with the National Festival Choir recently.
Percussion Band
They contributed excerpts last night from that great concert, including Dr. George Dyson's "Thanksgiving" and Somervell's Grasmere Carol Their trainer, Mr. Lutman Broadbridge conducted.
There was a third conductor, seven-year-old Raymond Farrar, who took his percussion band from Francis Avenue School through their paces with great success.
Accompanists were Mr R.C. Wassell (at organ and pianoforte) and Misses M.A. Apps and W. Law and Mr. W.J. Hawkins (piano).
Mr. Moore thanked the teachers and congratulated them on the high standard reached and mantained [sic] through the festival.
[page break]
SCHOOLS’ MUSIC FESTIVAL
One of the greatest musical gatherings of schoolchildren ever organized in this country will a[missing letters]mble before the Queen and the Princesses in the Royal Albert Hall, London, on Friday, May 6. The occasion will be the National Festival of the Non-Competitive Schools Musical Festival of England. The massed chorus of children, representing 38 of the 62 non-competitive schools’ musical festivals of England, will comprise 1,000 children, 32 of whom (one of the largest contingents) will come from Portsmouth. The percussion band of 50, who will play a special arrangement of Elgar’s “Wand of Youth” suite, are chosen chiefly from junior schools in the Bradford and Worcester areas, while the whole great concert will be accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra. The concert, which is to be broadcast, will be conducted by Dr. Geoffrey Shaw. Mr. Cyril Winn, and Mr. Stephen Moore. The local contingent is busy rehearsing under the direction of Mr. Lutman Broadbridge for their part in this unique festival.
Portsmouth Boys and Girls who sang before the Queen and the Princesses, this afternoon, at the Albert Hall, London. It was the National Schools Festival of Music.
[page break]
MAY 19, 1930[obscured number].
400 CHILDREN MASSED ON STAGE
City Musical Festival
BAND CONDUCTOR AGED SEVEN
Once more Portsmouth Schools demonstrated in the Guildhall last night, what musical ability and talent has lain dormant in the City, to be awakened by the Schools' Festival movement.
Some 300 to 400 junior children, none of them older than 11, were massed from the stage to the organ, and even in the balcony, last night and treated the audience to a programme of straight-forward British songs sung with the simple joyousness of childhood.
The Musical Director was Mr. Stephen S. Moore, Hon. Organizing Secretary of the National Festival, and in common with his predecessor, Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, he was anxious to prevent any boredom of chorus or audience, and his tempos were faster than most of the children had been used to in rehearsal. This increased pace at least made for virility.
Mr. Moore has stepped generously into the breach left at short notice by Dr. Shaw's inability to direct the festival.
Although almost eradicated, there were just the slightest traces of awkward breath control, which is the last thing for children to overcome, and there were just a few inevitable hitches, such as a break in the lovely Scottish lullaby, "O can ye sew custions?" which Mr. Moore mended with admirable presence of mind and gentle reproof.
Cut Programme
The general blend of tone was remarkably good and of a comprehensive programme the most acceptable items were the one already mentioned, the ancient round "Sumer is i cumen in," Vaughan Williams's arrangement of "The Turtle Dove," and the fine setting of the 23rd Psalm in its Scots paraphrase version entitled "Brother James's Air," by Gordon Jacob, sung with effective descant.
In a programme that Mr. Moore had to cut considerably owing to time, the massed orchestras, recruited entirely from City secondary schools, suffered most.
They opened with Purcell's Trumpet Voluntary, an Old Nortonian, R. Godfrey, playing the solo faultlessly.
At their own request Mr. Moore restored Woodhouse's Peasant Dance to the programme, which they thoroughly enjoyed. They were well led by Joyce Barton.
A feature of this concert, and the senior concert to-morrow is the Portsmouth contingent of 36 which sang before the Queen at the Royal Albert Hall with the National Festival Choir recently.
Percussion Band
They contributed excerpts last night from that great concert, including Dr. George Dyson's "Thanksgiving" and Somervell's Grasmere Carol Their trainer, Mr. Lutman Broadbridge conducted.
There was a third conductor, seven-year-old Raymond Farrar, who took his percussion band from Francis Avenue School through their paces with great success.
Accompanists were Mr R.C. Wassell (at organ and pianoforte) and Misses M.A. Apps and W. Law and Mr. W.J. Hawkins (piano).
Mr. Moore thanked the teachers and congratulated them on the high standard reached and mantained [sic] through the festival.
[page break]
SCHOOLS’ MUSIC FESTIVAL
One of the greatest musical gatherings of schoolchildren ever organized in this country will a[missing letters]mble before the Queen and the Princesses in the Royal Albert Hall, London, on Friday, May 6. The occasion will be the National Festival of the Non-Competitive Schools Musical Festival of England. The massed chorus of children, representing 38 of the 62 non-competitive schools’ musical festivals of England, will comprise 1,000 children, 32 of whom (one of the largest contingents) will come from Portsmouth. The percussion band of 50, who will play a special arrangement of Elgar’s “Wand of Youth” suite, are chosen chiefly from junior schools in the Bradford and Worcester areas, while the whole great concert will be accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra. The concert, which is to be broadcast, will be conducted by Dr. Geoffrey Shaw. Mr. Cyril Winn, and Mr. Stephen Moore. The local contingent is busy rehearsing under the direction of Mr. Lutman Broadbridge for their part in this unique festival.
Collection
Citation
“National Schools Festival of Music,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 28, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/37242.
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