Choral

Chapel Choir

  • Chapel Choir leads the music at the school services in addition to giving concerts and singing services at various venues in the UK and abroad.
  • There are 65 members, all of whom have been auditioned. Amongst our members, we have former choristers from a number of Cathedrals and Abbeys.
  • Chapel Choir sings in St Paul’s Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey each year, and has toured in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and the USA. Other recent visits include St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle and Winchester Cathedral.
  • In 2008 Chapel Choir sang in Westminster Abbey for the service to mark the HMC Conference.

 Repertoire during 2010 and 2011 has included:  

Geistliches Lied - Brahms

Te Deum in C - Britten

Ave Maria - Bruckner

Christus factus est - Bruckner

Mass for Four Voices - Byrd

Introit & Kyrie - Durufle

Give unto the Lord - Elgar

The spirit of the Lord - Elgar

Jubilate a 8 - Gabrieli

Missa ‘Bella Amfitrit’ altera’ - Lassus

Alleluia: Caro mea - Matthew Martin (OD)

Mother of God, here I stand - Tavener

My Guardian Angel - Weir

 

Chamber Choir

  • Chapel Choir gives concert at Dean Close and further afield and sings a sacred and secular repertoire.
  • The 25 members are drawn from the more experienced singers in the school.
  • Chamber Choir visits an Oxbridge College Chapel each year, and has recently sung with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge under Stephen Layton, and with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge under Timothy Brown. Many former members of the Chamber Choir hold choral scholarships at Oxbridge and other universities.
  • The choir has broadcast live on Radio 3 from St David’s Hall, Cardiff and recorded the same concert for Hyperion.

Recent repertoire has included:

Jesu, meine Freude - Bach
A Ceremony of Carols - Britten

Messiah - Handel

Sure on this shining night - Lauridsen

Nunc Dimittis - Lukaszewski

Passio - Part

Magnificat quinti toni - Praetorius

Shakespeare Songs - Shearing

Serenade to Music - Vaughan Williams

 

Commissions

  • Dean Close has a long history of commissioning new music, including an annual Christmas Carol.
  • Recent commissions include:           

The night he was born - Chilcott

Veni Sancte Spiritus - Goodall

Susanni - Ives

Before the paling of the stars - Lavino

Alleluia: Caro Mea - Martin

A Song on the Nativity - Muhly

Moonless darkness - Wilby

  

Choral Society

  • Comprises pupils, staff, parents and friends of the School.
  • One performance per year in the Lent Term, usually in the Cheltenham Town Hall or the Pittville Pump Room
  • Rehearses at 7pm on Thursdays from September until the concert date.

 

Dean Close Harmony

  • Girls' vocal ensemble, open to junior girls with an enthusiasm and love for singing, many of whom aspire to join Chapel Choir
  • Weekly rehearsals

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