On 13th July 2008 the Welsh Viola Society held it second annual meeting. The venu was The Tabernacl Machynlleth and 20 to 25 members attended. During the morning Julian Emery a luthier gave a very interesting talk about the acoustics involved in making a violin or viola. This even involves the use of tea leaves to show nodal lines on the front and back of an instrument prior attaching the ribs. He also spoke of the effect of cutting the f-holes and the position of the bridge, sound post and base bar. It brought back memories of A-level physics. This was followed by an open question and answer session. Every one found the subject extremely interesting.
We then had a chance to get our violas out and all took part in a massed play under the direction of Ross Cohen. Ross is a member of the viola quartet Absolute Zero and had the CD “Easier Than it Sounds” and a CD's of Absolute Zero sheet music available for members to buy, he supplied the music used during the day. Ages ranged from teenagers to retired players, amateurs and professionals.
It was a pleasure to see our chairman Otto Freudenthal during the day. He had composed a piece for viola and piano in memory of a friend. During the morning he rehearsed this with Victoria Evans, they then performed the piece later in the day.
During the break for lunch carrot and pepper (???????) soup, bread and cheese was supplied by Jules Riley. Jules had also organised tea, coffee and soft drinks throughout the day. Suitably refreshed we reassembled to listen to Ross talking about being a professional orchestral player from the eyes of a conductor!! This was interspersed with amusing anecdotes.
Finally we split up into groups, three quartets and a trio. Each group worked on a piece for a short time and also tried reading through other pieces. Ross spent time helping each group. After a short break for coffee a couple of the groups played through the pieces they had been working on for the other members of the society prior to every one dispersing after a very enjoyable day.
[Jan Cormie]
VIOLA SOIREE IN CARDIFF
SUNDAY 11 MAY 2008
As promised a short report on the Viola Soirée that we had on 11th May. This was held in Cardiff at a member's house. It was a social event as well as a musical event. Every one that went took a contribution to a buffet and with the excellent weather we were able to sit in the sun while enjoying the buffet. We met at 3.00 pm had a break for food and then the soiree broke up at about 8.pm
We had members of Absolute Zero, the Viola Quartet present and also members of Welsh National Opera as well as amateur players all mixing and playing music together. The range of pieces varied enormously and we were treated to a viola trio of 3 professional players at one point.
Ross Cohen supplied all the music and we were able to choose from a wide selection of music. I think every one wants to repeat the event. We also hopefully will gain a few more members as a result of opening the soiree to non members as well-if they want to come again they need to join the society.
[Jan Cormie]
Viola players from all over Wales and beyond made the arduous journey to the ancient capital Machynlleth for the first ever meeting of the Welsh Viola Society. Players and enthusiasts of all ages from 9 to 90, and abilities met for a fun day of talks, recitals, and playing sessions at the Tabernacle. There were young students, teachers, enthusiastic amateurs and professionals all keen to do their bit to support this worthy cause and have some fun.
Committee Meeting
After the initial welcomes, the day began with an inevitable Annual General Meeting which was dealt with briskly and efficiently by the acting committee - Otto Freudenthal (chairman) Jules Riley (secretary) Nick Davies (treasurer) and Bethan Miles (Welsh matters). This was very well attended with over 20 brave supporters. The acting committee were elected to their offices, and new committee members were elected to help co-ordinate the activities of the society. Representatives from the three areas of Wales, Ross Cohen for South Wales, Emsyl Davies for North Wales and Mark Purdy for the bit in the middle that never seems to get a mention. Eloise, an Aberystwyth graduate from the Midlands also joined the team bringing with her very useful media skills.
We were all then treated by a talk by John White, ex-professor of viola at the Royal Academy. He wholeheartedly supports our aim to get better recognition of the viola as an important solo instrument. He is happy that some of the solo viola repertoire of the last century is now being championed by younger players. Composers such as Sir Arnold Bax and York Bowen are now recorded by young artistes. He began with a brief autobiographical note on how he came from a poor mining community in South Yorkshire to become a top viola player and professor in London. His talk then concentrated on reflections and insights into viola playing in the early part of the 20th century, especially of Lionel Tertis and his many Welsh pupils such as Raymond Jeremy, Kenneth Harding, and Gwynne Edwards. His own teacher Watson Forbes studied with Tertis, so we had a strong link back to a golden age of British viola playing. The talk was interspersed with early recordings of Tertis playing Bax (sonata), Delius (Serenade from Hassan) and Kreisler (Praeludium and Allegro), and the audience was kept spellbound till lunchtime. He donated some very interesting documents relating to viola players in Wales and hoped that along with the Kenneth Harding archive at the National Library, a viola archive would remain in Wales.
John said that breaks were a very important part of these occasions, giving a chance to chat and be more informal. Our enjoyment of the day was greatly enhanced by the sterling effort and graft of our catering team who worked tirelessly all day to keep us fed and watered. Our thanks go to Graham and Eileen Johnstone, Richard Withers and all the other people behind the scenes who looked after us so well.
Lunch was a special Swedish Pea Soup prepared by the chairman of the society, who told the story of mad king Eric XIV of Sweden assassinated by poisoning by pea soup in his prison cell – an event commemorated in Sweden to this day every Thursday with Pea Soup (unpoisoned we were glad to hear) accompanied by buttered crispbread and cheese. A glass of hot or cold punch is optional. Here is the recipe:-
SWEDISH PEA SOUP
Ingredients Yellow peas (whole not split), Onions, Thyme,
Marjoram, Salt, Water
Accompaniments Dijon mustard, crispbread, and thinly sliced cheese
Wash the peas thoroughly
Soak ½ pot peas in ½ a pot of water overnight
Bring to the boil (without salt), and simmer, stir occasionally until soft and creamy Add more water if too thick.
Add raw onion cut in half and sliced
Add marjoram, salt, and thyme to taste
Simmer for ½ hour.
Serve with spoonful of Dijon mustard and buttered crispbread and thinly sliced cheese. A glass of cold or hot punch is optional.
A short recital by two members of the Absolute Zero Quartet from the National Orchestra of Wales then kept us entertained with a varied programme. Enjoying the superb, friendly and helpful Tabernacle acoustic, the players offered us some Bach Two-part Inventions, a Haydn Duet, and a Mazas piece “The Chatterbox” all deftly arranged and executed. Also we were fortunate to hear some viola compositions by that much underestimated modern master Sancho Engano from Barcelona. We are lucky that Ross Cohen has intimate knowledge of this composer’s impressive output and colourful life history.
Ross and Peter then led some workshops with all the viola players present. Revelling in such wonderful safety in numbers, they all boldly played a viola arrangement of Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite and picked up a lot of useful tips from the two professionals on the way. It was particularly pleasing to see the three young players, Sophie, Phoebe, and Christopher joining in with such enthusiasm.
During tea there was a viola market with brisk sales of books, CDs, and sheet music. Cerdd Ystwyth from Aberyswyth presented us with a very impressive collection of viola pieces to sell at a special discount price, John White sold a lot of copies of his biography of Lionel Tertis, and Peter and Ross sold some CDs of Absolute Zero and their impressive repertoire on CD-ROM.
Workshops continued after tea with Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite and the Chorale from Gordon Jacob’s Viola Octet. We split into smaller groups so that people could try out some of Absolute Zero’s repertoire. The rest of us remained in the main hall to try out parts of the concert programme – the new works by Otto Freudenthal and Jules Riley.
Most people were able to stop for the evening concert by the Welsh Viola Orchestra comprising amateur musicians from the Aberystwyth area. We were joined by many members of the local public. It was good to see so many of the local Male Voice Choir there as well as Richard and Ruth Lambert, the unassuming champions of MOMA and music in Machynlleth.
Aided and abetted by special guests they premiered two new works for large viola ensembles in 8 parts. Otto Freudenthal’s Suite in five movements and Jules Riley’s Symphony for viola orchestra both received their Welsh and world premieres. The music for both of these pieces is available from the composers by writing or emailing the Welsh Viola Society.
After the closing remarks and a poem about the viola read by Richard Withers, all the viola players present joined in on stage for a final rendition of the Gordon Jacob Chorale to round off a happy, fun and informative day. We all hope it will be the first of many such occasions.
Jules Riley
