Huddersfield Choral Society
Encyclopedia
Huddersfield Choral Society is an internationally famous choir based in Huddersfield
, West Yorkshire
, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs. Over the years the choir has performed most of the major works in the choral repertoire, and has had numerous works commissioned for it, including works by Ralph Vaughan Williams
and William Walton
.
The choir has made numerous recordings
and broadcast
s. Two of its album
s made an appearance in the UK Albums Chart
. These were The Hymns Album (1986, #8) and The Carols Album (1986, #29).
The choir performs regularly with the leading orchestras in the north of England, including the Orchestra of Opera North
, The Hallé
, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata
and the Northern Sinfonia
.
Despite its reputation and international touring schedule, the choir remains an amateur one, with membership open to all via a brief audition.
The Huddersfield Choral Society is in partnership with the University of Huddersfield
.
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs. Over the years the choir has performed most of the major works in the choral repertoire, and has had numerous works commissioned for it, including works by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
.
The choir has made numerous recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
s. Two of its album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s made an appearance in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. These were The Hymns Album (1986, #8) and The Carols Album (1986, #29).
The choir performs regularly with the leading orchestras in the north of England, including the Orchestra of Opera North
Orchestra of Opera North
The Orchestra of Opera North is the orchestra that plays for the English opera company, Opera North....
, The Hallé
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata
Manchester Camerata
The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. The orchestra was founded in the 1971–1972 season. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances....
and the Northern Sinfonia
Northern Sinfonia
The Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The...
.
Despite its reputation and international touring schedule, the choir remains an amateur one, with membership open to all via a brief audition.
The Huddersfield Choral Society is in partnership with the University of Huddersfield
University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield is a university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.- History :The University traces its roots back to a Science and Mechanic Institute founded in 1825...
.
Discography
| Year of recording | Work / Album | Artists | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Messiah, G.F.Handel | Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Macolm Sargent (conductor) | Columbia |
| 1990 | The Carols Album | Owain Arwel Hughes Owain Arwel Hughes Owain Arwel Hughes CBE is a Welsh orchestral conductor. Among his numerous titles are Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony in Denmark and the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and Principal Guest Conductor of the Cape... (conductor) |
Cfp |
| 1993 | A Christmas Celebration | Sellers Engineering Band, Brian Kay Brian Kay Brian Kay is an English radio presenter, conductor and singer. He is well known as the bass in the King's Singers during the group's formative years from 1968 until 1982, and as such is to be heard on many of their 1970s LP recordings... (conductor) |
Chandos Brass |
| 2000 | A Christmas Fantasy | Black Dyke Mills Band, John Foster (conductor) | Chandos Brass |
| 2002 | Symphony No. 3 'The Muses', Cyril Scott Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott was an English composer, writer, and poet.-Biography:Scott was born in Oxton, England to a shipper and scholar of Greek and Hebrew, and Mary Scott , an amateur pianist. He showed a talent for music from an early age and was sent to the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany to... |
BBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) | Chandos |
| 2003 | Works for Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Arnold Bax Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation... |
BBC Philharmonic BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a British broadcasting symphony orchestra based at Media City UK, Salford, England. It is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the Bridgewater Hall.... , Martyn Brabbins (conductor) |
Chandos |
| 2006 | Messiah, G.F.Handel arr. W.A.Mozart | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor) | Signum Classics |
| 2006 | The Hymns Album | Joseph Cullen (conductor) | Signum Classics |
| 2009 | The Crucifixion, Stainer | Darius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor) | Signum Classics |
| 2010 | Messiah, G.F.Handel | Northern Sinfonia, Jane Glover Jane Glover Jane Glover CBE is a British-born conductor and music scholar.-Early life:Glover attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover MA TD,was headmaster of Monmouth School and it was through this connection that she was able to meet Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears... (conductor) |
Signum Classics |