Dennis is born

In 1977 I was transferred to Putney music library. This was unfortunate as working until 8 I usually missed the train. Andrew Baker was from Bedford and very enthusiastic about Malcolm Arnold. I once had to stop him pushing record shelves lying on his back pushing with his feet. Andrew Neeld had been music librarian and was really nasty. We were stuck in one room listening to each other helping the public. Miss O'Toole was in charge - very tall she had the main counter made tall so the public were overshadowed. She had no idea how to cope with a young father wanting more leave! When we went carol singing for the Mayor's charity with the horse and cart from Youngs brewery someone threw an egg. She commented "What a waste of an egg". It was bitterly cold and we ran to the Queen Adelaide where Meryl Jones got whisky! We saw Sinatra and James Last at the hall. K took us to John Curry's skating (Liz had been a keen skater). Went to Royal hunt of the sun and Werther at the Coliseum. Liz was very excited about the Chorus ball and had a lovely full length dress for it. Unfortunately she had high blood pressure and went into King's early. There was a false alarm when I sat with her for the day - I was supposed to be visiting the labour ward! We had been to NCT classes and met babysitting circle folk. Two days later Nov 25 I got to Putney and was told to go to the hospital as fast as possible. I arrived just in time for Dennis being born with forceps. An amazing moment. He was small but beautiful. They stayed in hospital because he had some jaundice. We named him Dennis Peter John. Dennis after Dad's brother who died in the War flying bombers, Peter my choice and John after me. Kevin and Gill came to see him - Kevin was so delighted the first time he had seen such a tiny baby! The next night I went to the ball at Grosvenor House hotel. Lorin Maazel I must meet the new father! Janet Baker was there. It was a splendid evening. I think Jean had Liz's ticket. On the 25th Ann arrived from Tasmania - such a thrill. Had not seen her since I left S.A. 3 years before and so much had happened. Dec 4 Kevin and Gill picked us up from King's. Ross took Ann and I for Midnight at Croydon minster - candles dripped all over my coat - they paid for cleaning. Mum and Dad came and were a great help. Ann kept getting letters from a mysterious Paul Lennox! K and Dolly came to see the baby.

 

Ann and baby Dennis

Expecting

Darren from next door at the street party I note in my diaries several times tiredness and being off with a headache! I also do not record the glad tidings that Liz was expecting! Dr Duffy asked if he could tell Juliet so she knew before I did! Of course we were thrilled. In the summer we went to Boscombe again and lots of Proms. It being the Silver Jubilee we ha d a memorable street party. The chorus went to Orange to sing Fidelio and Liz came but did not sing. This was the first time we sang an opera and of course it had to be from memory. A marvellous bass from Singapore Yao (who we later tried to contact in Singapore - he became the chorus director) literally carried me across the stage. The producer had has under the stage and there we were feet away from Jon Vickers and Gundula Janowitz! Israel philharmonic conducted by Mehta. Their cellos were left in the sun and cellos had to be borrowed. There was a coach collision and I was standing up. As soon as we got off Jean said Liz is fine. Germaine moved us from a hotel on top of the station which was great and we enjoyed the swimming. The ladies had little to do but we had lots of rehearsals. The marching was awful - only Ron Archer knew what to do. He got thumped by the extras from the Foreign legion "I saw stars I definitely saw stars!" I had a woman rushing up to me on stage with a fishnet shawl in which I got entangled. Get off I've got a top G coming!! The whole thing was absolutely incredible and Paul Jennings wrote afterwards that Beethoven 9 would never be the same again. The feeling of liberation was amazing. Liz commented "It was alright" which has to be biggest understatement ever. This was the performance above all others!

 Simon Johnson and Ron Archer thank the kitchen staff

 In costume with Liz

Jean Taylor

I am being carried by Yao in the middle

1977

1977 I played for several Masses at St Chad's. Ross Hickling was a great support whereas Fr Farmer always wanted his tempo! He did know composer so we sang Douglas Mews settings among others. Because Dad was a steward at the Albert Hall we went to quite a lot of concerts. Feb 1977 I was going for interviews - Mr Kirby was awful at interviews. Jane Allen got the promotion. I record how nice Mike Cornford was to me. Simon Johnson rehearsed Messiah with the chorus. We did Alexander Nevsky with Muti - Prokofiev suited him well. Mum and Dad again came to Barcelona on the chorus trip with Balatsch. Messiah and I got Norma Burrowes to sign my score - Liz always did this but I was a bit shy of doing it. She was just heavenly. B minor Mass with Andrew Pritchard.
I should have mentioned Liz's aunt K who was very fond of her. We would get invited to her parties. She lived on the first floor at 99 Oxford Gardens and the Poles Janka and Gennik were on the ground floor. In May we sang the Schubert Mass in E flat with the London Mozart players at the Festival Hall conducted by Harry Blech. Sang at Chichester with Martin How and Missa solemnis in Bristol with Mackerras. Fine flower festival at Westminster Cathedral. Martin How got us into the Addington Palace madrigal singers for the Addington Palace garden party and this later became the Nicholson Singers so we were there from the beginning! I can never forget Martin playing Brahms and the piano moving across the great hall floor but he just carried on!
I have a charming postcard from Jim in Heidelberg. He sang in the chorus and was a gifted repetiteur and conductor from the States. He says he saw us last month so he must have come to a concert in Dusseldorf or Cologne.  

1976 Gerontius

In March 1976 Mum and Dad came with us on the chorus trip Missa solemnis to Barcelona. We went to the Zoo and saw the white gorilla. Also the Spanish village. The chorus visited Barcelona, Ghent and Orange most years. Later on the opera in Orange - I only ever did Fidelio. We would often do the same concert on a Saturday at Fairfield Hall and then repeat it at the Festival Hall. It was said that Croydon came to hear Beethoven whereas London came to see the soloist or conductor! I note John Walsh ill at the library - he later wrote a funny book about Balham library and pinched some of my jokes for it. March 3 to Arundel cathedral with its bathtub acoustics joined with Norbury parish choir Thiman's Last supper. We were much indebted to Dad's friend Dennis who fixed lots of things in the house and later built the extension to the kitchen. Fr Farmer took us to Petts Wood to sing in the passion with Robert Munns. I record a general absolution at a penitential service at St Chad's! Lovely chorus trip to Lucerne where we visited the Wagner museum. We sang Schumann Das Paradies und der Peri - Helen and Schreier was superb. 15 minutes of applause! Maazel conducted Mahler 2. On June 28 sang Gerontius in York Minster. Janet Baker was superb, Aexander Gibson less so, We were invited to a reception by the York chorus so I rang Nellie to explain. Your tea is on the table. You are late scholars when we arrived! I record many TV and radio classical music events including ballet. The Proms and holiday in Boscombe visiting Christchurch (all on trains and buses). Dad did a lot of decorating for us. In September we were off to Ghent to sing Gerontius with Andrew Davis. Soloists were Alfreda Hodgson, Norman Bailey and Andrew Rolfe-Johnson.We visited Mama and Solly in Brussels. Oct 16 Dream in Swansea conducted by Christopher Seaman. Bob Tear excellent (Liz had a crush on him) Robert Dean sang the bass (he later became chorus master). Vivaldi with Muti and we started to record it at Kingsway Hall but it was never completed because of a poor alto soloist in boots!  Muti could be very difficult. Liz kept on failing her driving test but eventually passed. I had to have some lessons and passed first time. Of course I had my licence from S.Africa. On Dec 16 I record my first Catenian dinner! It was many years later I could afford to join! Kevin and Gill lived nearby and gave us lifts and we spent some very happy evenings together. It was a juggling act with church and chorus and work hours. 

The chorus

Martin Penny in Orange

Barcelona

Orange

TV with Owain Arwel Hughes St John's Smith Square

Basle

Rostropovich conducted Beethoven 9. Vishnevskaya kept her dog with her all the time

Walter Hagen-Groll

Accompanist Martin Penny 

A later photo shows Joyce Reah second from left then wonderful contralto Ethel and her husband in the doorway (at Liz's 40th)

12 Feb 1974 Verdi requiem was Muti's first concert with the New Philharmonia . Princess Alexandra attended and !setting Talvela was the bass. Later in the year we sang the Missa solemnis with Maazel. We went to Orange to sing Tristan and were finally allowed to see the remaining acts!1975 was a busy year with Chorus concerts, Royal Albert Hall concerts and some operas at the Coliseum. I was working at Balham music library twice a week until 8 and alternate Saturdays. We had seen a small house in Forest Hill. The latter part of the year records decorating Wrights Road and buying furniture. In the summer we went to Orange to sing Messiah with Mackerras. Kiri Te Kanawa, James Bowman hitting top F sharp, Stuart Burroughs, Norman Bailey. A swimming pool to cool down. We also went regularly to Jean Taylor's to sing madrigals and the like. Jean was a dear friend. Her father had been in the BBC Choral society and she was a fine alto and worked at the BBC Music library with Francis Herbert who later went to the Royal Geographical Society library to work on maps. Jean was a kind host and loved our company. Later on she had an enormous influence on the choice of chorus directors.
Joyce Reah was in many ways the true founder of the chorus as from her work at EMG Soho Square she brought together the singers Walter Legge needed. She would sit in the vestibule at Gandhi Hall and welcome all. Joyce came to all our family dos and loved them. How I wish I had written her stories down! We were for a time chorus librarians so we heard much we maybe should not have heard. Luckily I never told off Jan Latham-Koenig for not returning his scores and this paid off later when he conducted us in Strassbourg! He was the bass mentioned in a concert review as conducting from the front row. We once went to a BBC lunchtime concert of the Janacek Nonet and I remarked to him that he was amazing to watch as his hair beat out the rhythm.  "They are terrified of me you know!" he replied. Charles and Germaine Spencer could be very unkind to singers who had to miss rehearsals or were late. The legendary Pitts (Liz knew him) would never want to dismiss any singer so the chorus was large and no doubt there was some elderly dead wood like Dolly! Walter Hagen-Groll who auditioned me was a fine conductor - Mozart "it is jazz". His preparation was thorough. He was ably assisted by Russell Burgess who sadly died. He was succeeded by Simon Johnson. Norbert Balatsch was in many ways an inspiration. He travelled from the Vienna Opera each week. We knew we were in safe hands. Mind you he could be terrifying especially when he got the sporanos to sing in twos. Stephen Rose succeeded Martin Penny both wonderful accompanists. 

Dulwich

Nov 30 1974 I record getting bus to Herne Hill and walking to Dulwich College chapel to hear Graham Caldbeck singers Britten, Schutz, Tallis. Home very quickly on train and bus "bomb at Victoria didn't hear it"! I also went to the school at Dulwich St Anthony's for Christmas dinner and carol service. We also went to the staff dance on New Year's Eve 1974. 

Our Lady of the Assumption

Anna Russell returns

Somewhere along the line I appear to have omitted Warwick Street. This would have been in the months after we were married that we began to sing on Sundays at Our Lady of the Assumption a beautiful church now in the care of the Ordinariate. The date we joined was Nov 17th 1974. Before that we had been to various churches on Sunday and my remarks are often quite scathing about the choirs we heard Spanish Place, Farm St, Kensington.  There was a professional group but the director Frans Busuttil welcomed amateurs to boost the numbers. He loved Bruckner and we had some thrilling Masses with brass in the gallery with organ and choir. This all came to an end when we moved to South Norwood but we enjoyed it. Of course there was the inevitable juggling act with chorus but we were allowed to miss one conductor's rehearsal so that would be the Sunday morning one! I was often amused at how the tenors moved around between rehearsal and concert. It was said that you could not be heard if you sat in the back row of the chorus at the Festival hall.