Isleworth Baroque - Baroque Opera and Music in West London

ISLEWORTH BAROQUE IS A REGISTERED CHARITY NO1127803. See our Constitution

AGM and Members Concert 24th Jan 2010
The Drayton Court Hotel 2 The Avenue West Ealing.W13 8PH

Very many thanks to Judith Nicol who organised another great concert this year. We all had a great time.

The AGM was held before the concert. Two of the trustees stood down this year - Caroline Slater (secretary) and Bernard Stevenson (publicity officer). Two new trustees were elected - Simon Pike and Sylvia Bisset.

See Minutes of AGM

Please note, Simon Pike was subsequently appointed as Secretary to Isleworth Baroque


 

A double CD of the Autumn 09 production

CD of the Autumn 09 Production


Here is an ideal memento of the thoroughly enjoyable Autumn 09 production of Acteon and A Secular Masque. A professional-standard audio recording was made of Friday night's performance and has been made into a double CD - you can purchase a copy for the price of just £10.00.

 

Please email Laurence (laurence@isleworthbaroque.co.uk) to order your copy now!

 


Post-production review of the Acteon and Secular Masque Autumn 09

We held a post-production review on Sunday 8th November 2009, starting at 6pm. The venue for the review was

Gunnersbury Triangle Sports and Social Club
Triangle Way
Rear of Princes Avenue
Acton, W3 8LN.

Isleworth Baroque Post Production Meeting for ’Acteon’ and ‘Secular Masque’.

Minutes of meeting (thanks to Alison Sands) are as follows:

Present: Laurence Slater, Chris Hobson, Sally Pinney, Eileen Cairns, Alison Sands, Sylvia Bissett, Tony Wilson, Rosalind O’Dowd, Margaret Berger, Bernard Stevens, Janet Oates.

Laurence, as Chairman, welcomed those present and opened the meeting.

Apologies: were received from Ian Cutts, David Rhodes, Philip Johnson, Fleur Hatherall(?), Judith Nichol, Jacqui Silverstone, Helena Brown, Simon Pyke, Steve(?), Tom Beaton and Caroline Slater.

Alison took the minutes, Caroline being indisposed.

Laurence conducted a review of the double bill of ‘Acteon’ and ‘A Secular Masque’ which were performed by Isleworth Baroque at Isleworth Public Hall on October 14th to 16th 2009. The review was done under a series of headings as follows:

Choice of pieces.

It was the first time IB had sung in French. Sally said there was a lot to learn. Janet said the French came across well, because the diction was good. Rosalind said the Acteon was in a difficult register for the voice, also the choruses were difficult and the harmonies unexpected. For the sopranos the choruses were very high and hard to learn. Reasons given for this were modern pitch and (in the case of the Boyce) rewriting of the parts.

Bernard passed on a comment from Philip that it would be helpful to have the meaning of individual choruses explained notwithstanding the historical perspective given at the outset by Laurence in relation to the Boyce.

Sylvia said it had been a lot of work to learn both works together. Laurence agreed the Boyce had more choruses than is usually the case. Eileen said she felt daunted when it came to the staging.

Rehearsal period.

Many people had commented that the rehearsal period had started too late, in July. Janet said that in the past this had been due to Helena’s commitments but due to the new ‘modus operandi’ the rehearsal period could be advanced in the year.

Chris had wanted earlier rehearsals for the orchestra but that the orchestra had proved resistant to turning up to those rehearsals scheduled! It was suggested that in future a session should be devoted to looking through the score for continuity and cues. Tony said that this year it had helped to have a very clear conductor in Lesley (Lewis?) who nodded at the orchestra to bring them in at the right place.

Bernard said that some members of the orchestra don’t want to commit to every rehearsal but that if orchestral rehearsals were fixed earlier more would attend and would welcome these.

Laurence said that earlier rehearsals should apply to both orchestra and singers.

Eileen would have appreciated more rehearsal with the orchestra.

Rosalind said that another of her music groups had much more time to learn the parts, from November to performance in May.

Laurence suggested our lead in should be early summer term rather than July for performance in October.

Other rehearsal matters.

Caroline’s idea was passed on for formal rehearsals initially, followed by informal rehearsals to practise then formal rehearsals again leading up to performance.

The MP3 files on the website were very useful it was agreed but will not be available again unless the music is out of copyright.

Eileen suggested that a similar sort of recording but with all parts simultaneously and continuously would be useful. It was pointed out that there were full and complete recording available via the website. This lead to a discussion about the Sibelius system and it was concluded that if anything similar could be done in future it would be looked into.

The Sunday rehearsals were generally felt to be more productive, useful and better attended. The Quakers rehearsals were not so good for the orchestra and directing.

It was felt that Lesley’s efforts had improved the quality and pulled the whole thing together. Helena had previously filled the role of conductor from the keyboard but had had too much to do. It was also thanks to Lesley that the Roehampton rehearsal venue was booked free of charge.

Sally said that it had perhaps not been made clear to new singers that the scores were for rehearsals only, because someone had asked if they could be used at the performance. Rosalind suggested a ‘welcome’ pack for new performers would help.

It was acknowledged that the website is a very good method of communication amongst members although people need to check it regularly for updated information.

Performances.

Isleworth Public Hall was used for all three evenings’ performances, as opposed to last year’s production which was at three different venues. It was agreed that one venue rather than three is preferable. The criticisms of IPH were that the stage was useless, and performing in the round at seat level meant that people in the rear rows had a poor view, as did those at the short side of the L shaped seating arrangement. Also that the maximum number of seats was set at one hundred and people had to be turned away on the Friday night.

Simon had felt that more rehearsals were needed in whichever venue was used at the next production. This lead to a general discussion about possible future venues.

It was accepted that IPH has limitations but new venues should be considered. However, all those proposed had at least one drawback such as lack of orchestra space (Hampton Hill), no parking space (Paul Robeson), nowhere for instruments and cases (Musical Museum), no changing facilities(Chiswick Town Hall) or simply cost and location.

Sylvia suggested a fourth evening performance but this was tried one year previously and was not a success due to it being a Saturday night and not so popular with audiences, yet more expensive for hiring. Also four nights plus two rehearsal nights is exhausting.

One of the reasons for the lack of space in the auditorium is the increasing size of the orchestra, which has grown continuously but which is an important point of interest for audiences. Laurence said there would not be any restrictions placed on the size of the orchestra.

A recording had been made of the Friday night performance by Michael Turner of the Twickenham Choral Society and CD’s had been produced for sale at £10 each.

Amateur directors.

It had not been possible to hire professional directors so Laurence and Simon had taken on these roles as amateurs. Laurence said that with hindsight he would have ‘soloist only’ rehearsals. Also, he found it very frustrating trying to direct when singers were not able to sing without scores.

The acting and characterisation was patchy, several people felt. Janet said that two inexperienced directors had a hard job to do and that professionals should be employed to lead the amateurs as expressed in the ‘mission statement’ of the organisation.

Caroline suggested that rehearsals could be structured so that people could prepare a section in advance and learn beforehand.

The Bar.

Alison said that obtaining a licence in order to sell wine had been problematic. Communications with the managing body for IPH were poor and it was not clear what form the licensing arrangements were to take. Eventually after a series of email exchanges and phone calls permission was obtained for Alison to act as the licensee’s nominee. Ideally the terms for selling alcohol at IPH should be agreed at the time the booking of the facilities is made, and should specify whether IB should obtain a Temporary Event Notice in order to do this. This issue is being taken up by Tom Beaton and the Friends of Isleworth Public Hall with the managing body, Fusion Lifestyle.

Wine sales contributed both to the enjoyment of the evening and to profitability. Unfortunately, due to the success of Friday night’s ticket sales and performance, the bar ran out of wine before the end of the interval.

Dancers and dancing.

The children were popular and Matt the baroque dancer was appreciated. Rosalind said she would have liked to have participated but there was not enough rehearsal time to practise the dancing movements.

It was pointed out that we should by law provide private space for children to get changed in. The adult ladies would welcome this also.

Accounts.

Chris presented the Financial Report for the production which showed that an overall loss of £892 had been made. The reasons for this were discussed. Possible explanations were: the concessionary ticket price being too low, given that the majority of the audience were concessions, fewer singers participating, and an increase in professional fees. The grants received had helped to cover the costs, the applications for which Janet had spent a lot of time on.

Chris said the theorbo fees had varied a lot over successive seasons, that the music copying costs had been absorbed in the Acteon study day accounts, and that the flyers and the advert in ‘Opera’ magazine had been a larger cost than in previous years. Whether or not the latter two items were effective expenses or not was debated but it was hard to say without market research. The general feeling was that these were worthwhile methods of publicity.

Laurence said that the lighting technician was very helpful and had worked very hard.

Rosalind suggested IB should encourage more participants by targeting music colleges and courses although Janet pointed out that this might result in IB’s regular soloists losing out to younger rising stars.

Laurence returned to the issue of obtaining a professional director; he had written to 15 places without success.

Costumes .

Margaret said that the costumes looked very good. The sashes had caused some problems for the huntresses/nymphs.

Thanks.

Sally proposed a vote of thanks to all the members of the Committee for all their hard work.

Laurence then closed the meeting.



Post-production review of the Handel concerts.
6:00 pm on Sunday 19 April 2009
The Gunnersbury Sports and Social Club
Triangle Way
Acton W3 8LN


There was a general feeling that the Handel concerts were a great success. However they were something of a departure for Isleworth Baroque - we haven't done that sort of thing before. Thanks to those of you who provided some very helpful feedback by email in advance of the meeting.

Some of the main points that came out at the meeting are as follows:

  • The format and programme were considered to be very good and it gave a number of memebers of the group a chance to perform. We should consider doing this again in future.
  • Audience numbers were quite modest for us - around 50 people for each of the three nights. However, even though we gave away free programmes and light refreshments, the production broke even. The idea of the programme being included in the ticket price was supported. The free refreshments were very popular, but maybe we should have a bowl for donations in future. Wine didn't make a profit, but we should still continue to provide it as it is popular. We should look into the licence fee we need to pay at IPH as this is currently prohibitive. The cheese from Yellow Wedge was very popular and we should consider doing this again.
  • We only had one rehearsal with singers plus orchestra - the singers would feel happier if there were at least two full rehearsals.
  • Saturday night cost us vastly more for hall hire but we didn't get a corresponding increase in audience numbers. Future productions should avoid Saturdays.
  • We weren't generally keen to go back to St Margarets - the acoustics and seating weren't very satisfactory/comforable. Having 3 different venues is hard work - setting up and transportation was a problem, also rehearsing before the concerts. We should finish rehearsing at least 15 minutes before the start of the concert.
  • Publicity - we liked the post-card flyer and poster. However, maybe the design should stand out from further away - perhaps with larger text. Also, maybe we should consider also having an A5 poster as well as A4 and post-cards. It was a good idea to go to Prontaprint to do the design - the general quality was better that for some of the previous productions as a result.
  • We should have better directions to the venues on the website for future productions - people had difficulty finding the St Margarets church, for example.
  • Tickets shoudl be sold in advance on the internet, not just for collection on the night
  • We should consider having general flyers for the group distributed as well as specific ones for productions.

Faure Requiem
8:00 pm on Thursday 7th May 2009 at Holy Angels Church, High Street, Cranford
Some of our members, - and most of our orchestra, are joining the Norwood Green Singers for their performance of Faure"s Requiem at Holy Angels Church, High Street, Cranford, Middx on Thursday May 7th at 8.p.m. Helena needs a couple more string players. The full rehearsal is at the same church, at 7.p.m. on Thursday 23rd April (i.e. 2 weeks before the concert date, and there will be a choral rehearsal on the 30th, too.)
Helena would be so pleased if anyone interested would contact her ....or just go along.


Annual Members Concert
7:00 pm on Sunday 25 January 2009 at
The Drayton Court 2, The Avenue, West Ealing, London, W13 8PH


Wow - what a great evening we had. Lots of good singing, recitations, solo and ensemble instrumental pieces - from Mozart to Gilbert and Sullivan, from Monteverdi to Albert and the Lion!! We even had some originally-composed pieces - this was their first public performance. Thanks to everyone who participated and who came along to support - it made for a really good time. We thought the venue was great as well - let us know what you thought.

Just to let you know, the AGM that took place prior to the concert approved the rewording of the objects of the group so we will be pushing ahead with the application for Charitable Status with the Charity Commission.

Minutes of AGM - Revised Constitution


Post Production Meeting for Indian Queen

7:00 pm on Sunday 16 November 2008, Gunnersbury Triangle Sports and Social Club

Agenda
1. Welcome, introductions and prize-giving (!)
2 The Indian Queen reports and discussion
2.1 Organisation (General Organisation; Location; Refreshments; Publicity)
2.2 Performances (Music; Staging; Rehearsals)
2.3 Finance (Box Office; Grants; The Final Reckoning)
3. Future productions and events - general discussion
4. Any Other Business

See links below for short reports and for notes of the key points from the meeting:

Production Report - Bar Report - Publicity Report - Key points from meeting



Extraordinary General Meeting - 27th September 2008 at 5:30pm in The Quakers after the rehearsal

All members were invited to an Extraordinary General Meeting on 27th September at 5:30 pm to agree the new constitution and elect Trustees.

The members that were elected as trustees are as follows (roles required by charity commission in brackets) :

Laurence Slater (Chairman)
Caroline Slater (Secretary)
Chris Hobson (Treasurer)
Bernard Stevenson
Philip Johnson
Tom Beaton

Helena Brown and Janet Oates will still be very much involved in Isleworth Baroque as Musical Director and Assistant Musical Director but are not able to stand as trustees as they will - from time to time - be paid professional fees for their work with the group.

 


Extraordinary General Meeting - 8th July 2008

We held an Extraordinary General meeting on Tuesday 8th July to decide whether to apply for Charitable Status. The vote was unanimously in favour. We will therefore be pursuing this and will need to call another EGM to vote for trustees.


Twickenham Festival 2008

We performed a rolling programme in the function room above The Fox, Church Street, Twickenham, on 21st June 2008, much as we did last year: a programme of Baroque music for 45 minutes at 2 o'clock, repeated at 3 and 4 o'clock.

Thanks to Janet for organising and driving this through - it was great fun, although a bit exhausting!


IB Quiz no 1

1. In Blow’s Venus and Adonis, how is Adonis killed?
2. In which city did the Camerata meet, developing ideas about monody and stile recitativo?
3. What do these opera characters have in common: Vespone, Pu-Tin-Pao, Dr Crabbe?
4. The Siege of Rhodes is considered by some to be the first English opera, staged by William d’Avenant in which year?
5. Who would be given a warm bath before having their jugular veins pressed until they fell into a faint?
6. Where was Cavalli born?
7. What are scattered on Dido’s tomb?
8. What instrument is St. Cecilia reputed to have invented?
9. The Concerto di Donne was the rather scandalous musical secret of whom?
10. Berlioz, Busoni, Dusapin, Gounod and Boito all wrote operas about which legend?

Enter the quiz now - only £3 - and you have a chance of winning a CD of Purcell's The Indian Queen.

Closing date for entries - extended till the end of June

For entry form, click here


Sad News

Tom Beaton wrote...

"If you have not already heard you will feel as shocked as I was to learn about Cindy's recent death.

For those of you who didn't know her she was very active with Stopgap Theatre over several years and Isleworth Baroque talked her into taking on the production role for us when we put on King Arthur in 2005. She did it again for Dido and Bastien & Bastienne in 2006, and we had hoped that she would carry on with us for many years, but when Robert got a new job in Oxford they moved there.

Robert will be known to some of you who didn't know Cindy because he sang bass in Helena's Tuesday class for a few years."

In the May newsletter, Tom gave an update:

"When I sent out an email to tell IB supporters that Cindy had died I had an immense response. Tom Brooks our stage manager wrote back saying "I am saddened to hear this news. It was great fun to work with Cindy, who got things done in her own inimitable style. She always added a bit of class to whatever environment she found herself in, almost a regal quality and way of carrying herself. I treasure the memory of Cindy in Fawlty Towers at Isleworth Public Hall, she was a talented actress."
Chris Hobson noted, "It is a tribute to her that, since she and Robert left London, we have struggled to replace her. Absence has made us realise how much she contributed to Isleworth Baroque"
Eight of us sang the final Dido and Aeneas chorus, With drooping wings ye Cupids come, at Cindy's thanksgiving service at St Michael's Sutton Court in Chiswick, which was followed by a champagne reception in the church hall."


Concert at West Middlesex Hospital 5th April 2008

Saturday 5 April 2008 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm West Middlesex hospital main entrance hall/atrium. This is the date that I said previously was provisional. It has now been confirmed. We will perform for patients, staff and visitors as they mill around or pass through. The original idea was for the programme to be a shortened version of the members' concert, but additional pieces may be required if some people are not available (though in the circumstances of the concert some repeats would probably be acceptable). Tom is coordinating the programme. Please help by getting in touch with him rather than waiting for him to contact you, either to say you will do your members' concert piece and/or to offer an extra. (Tom 020-8568 3756). If you took part in the members' concert but can't or don't want to do this one could you let him know too, so that he knows where we are sooner rather than later.


The Creation by Haydn 24th April 2008

Thursday 24 April 2008 at 7:30 pm. Holy Angels Church, High Street, Cranford Norwood Green Singers perfomed parts of THE CREATION by Haydn, led by our own Helena Brown with Lindsay Bridgwater . They would like 2 or 3 more singers to augment the choir, and are hoping that our orchestra would like to join in, too. All music can be borrowed, for this. Helena said, "If you don't know it, it is a wonderful piece." Rehearse on 17th April, so keep both those evenings free. Contact Helena.


Members Concert: 2008

Catherine McManus organised a splendid Members Concert in the Function Room of the Fox Pub in Church St, Twickenham on Friday 15th Feb 2008.


Annual General Meeting 2008

The AGM was on Sunday 27 January - 8:00 pm at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, rear of Princes Avenue, W3 8LN


Twickenham Festival 2007

We raised over £100 singing at the Twickenham Festival this year - see flyer below for details.

Twickenham Festival Flyer


Extraordinary General Meeting
Sunday, 15th April 2007 at 7.00 pm
Friends Meeting House, Quakers Lane, Isleworth, TW7 5AU

Agenda.

1 Apologies for absence

2 Funding Isleworth Baroque's 2007 production of La Calisto

3 Any other business

------------------------------------------------------------------
To all members,

This meeting has been called by the committee for the membership to discuss funding of this year's opera which we intend to stage in October 2007.

Last year it cost us £5,319 to put on Dido and Bastien.. Income from participants was £1,305 with £4,014 coming from ticket and other sales and our own reserves in the bank.

This year we have not yet managed to find any sponsorship or grants. Previously we have generally raised sufficient extra funds from grant giving bodies, and two years ago the amount we raised was sufficient to provide a reserve which carried us through last year as well. But there is now insufficient cash in the bank to continue with our plans for this year's opera unless we come up with an alternative plan.

One suggestion is that members should seek 50 donors of £100 each, perhaps offering tickets if required. Any surplus after production costs could be refunded to donors.

Other funding suggestions will be welcome at the meeting. We want this year's production to go ahead, and we are sure you do too, but we have to be satisfied that the bills will eventually get paid. Please come along, buzzing with ideas,and help to make sure that this year too, 'the show will go on'.


Call a committee member if you want to bounce an idea around - whether you are coming to the meeting or not.

Helena Brown (chair) 020-8580 8429
Caroline Slater (vice-chair) 020-8943 5261
Alison Sands (secretary) 020-8992 3171
Chris Hobson (treasurer) 020-8948 0791
Cindy Belshaw (producer) 020-8994 2085
Tom Beaton (membership) 020-8568 3756


Annual General Meeting - 28th Jan 07 8pm

The Annual General Meeting was held at the Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Princes Avenue, Acton W3 on Sunday 28th January at 8pm.

 


Isleworth Baroque Greetings Cards

All cards are 5in x 7in and are blank inside for your own message. Use them for Birthdays, Easter or that special occasion. All cards are £1.50 each and come complete with envelope. All proceeds will go to Isleworth Baroque to help fund future productions.

Please email Caroline. I will be happy to send them to you if you send me a cheque for the cards (made payable to Isleworth Baroque) plus £1 to cover postage.

Bastien and Bastienne - Greeting Card

Bastien and Bastienne - 2006 production

5in x 7in

£1.50 each


Group at Rehearsals - Greeting Card

Group at rehearsals for Dido and Aeneas - 2006

7in x 5in

£1.50 each


Orchestra - Greeting Card

Orchestra for 2006 production

5in x 7in

£1.50 each


Members' Concert 1st December 2006

We had a Members' Concer on Friday 1 December 2006 at The Catholic Centre, 2 Dukes Avenue
Chiswick.

All proceeds will go towards our next production.


Dido and Aeneas concert performance

We performed Dido and Aeneas as a concert performance on 17th September 2006 at 3.30 pm The Concert at St Stephen's Church.

* St Stephen's Church, West Ealing, is on the outer rim of the roundabout where St Stephen's Avenue, St
Stephen's Road, The Avenue and North Avenue (all W13) meet.

Our thanks to Len Marchant who made the arrangements for the concert. He is a member of both Isleworth Baroque and the congregation of St Stephen's Church.


Post production meeting:

7.30 pm on Tuesday 11 July 2006. The meeting was primarily to discuss what went right, what went wrong and what lessons to learn for next time.


2006 Twickenham festival:

We busked in Church Road in Twickenham on 11th June. It was a very hot and rather quiet Sunday!

   
Twickenham Festival 2006
Twickenham Festival 206
 
Twickenham Festival 2006

Previous productions:


In 2006, we performed Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) and Bastian and Bastienne (Mozart) 21st to 24th June 2006.

In 2005, we performed King Arthur by Henry Purcell and in 2004, we performed Venus and Adonis by John Blow.

 

Study Day: 6th November 2005
Last year's study day was led by Janet Oates and Helena Brown and focused on Handel's oratorio 'Solomon'. As it is such a large work, we didn't have a lot of time to go over any of the numbers more than a couple of times except for the beautiful chorus 'May no rash invader' which we practiced at various points through the day as it is one of Helena and Janet's favourites. As a completely unbiased participant (ahem), I think we made a great sound - we even managed to perform a couple of double choruses with only 1 tenor (Janet showed her amazing versatility by filling in for the other tenor part!!).

 

Members Concert: 11th September 2005
We had a lot of fun performing, watching, and (memorably) participating in a baroque dance teach-in. Music varied from Gilbert and Sullivan to Cliff Richard to Strauss to Bach to Lionel Bart to Flanders and Swann to ....!
Here are a few photos of the event:

 
Kate dressed for the charleston
Hounslow Baroque Ensemble
At the interval
Three little maids - Shona, Caroline and Alison
Audience
Audience
 

 

 

Last updated 18-Apr-2010
(c) copyright 2008 Isleworth Baroque