2025
APRIL CONCERT
An extraordinary “sublime” concert
“Magnificent”, “passionate”, “exciting”, “scintillating” and “sublime” were just some of the words used by audience members to describe Saturday’s concert of Mozart choral works presented by Cantiones Choir, along with two professional soloists. The most common opinion shared was that this concert, the first under the baton of Tony Coupe, was the best that the choir has ever sung.
The programme was exclusively Mozart, always an uplifting choice, starting with his Coronation Mass in C, composed in 1779 and probably the most popular and well known sacred work. Joining the two young professional soloists, Joe Martin (Tenor) and Natasha Hendrickse-Welsh (Soprano) were soloists from the choir, who performed marvellously. Attending the concert was Christopher Symons, local Town Freeman, former conductor of Cantiones, and former Director of the Oswestry School Recital Series who said “The parts were well known and sung with real confidence. The balance was good entrances were incisive and vigorous. Good to see competent members taking solo roles, and obviously inspired by singing next to the two excellent professional singers. Tony conducted marvellously and his directions were very expressive. A commanding piece of control. All together an excellent concert”. The conductor of another local choir commented that “I sat upright in my seat from the first note and felt the excitement from the choir throughout”.
Natasha presented the beautiful solo work, Exsultate Jubilate, written when Mozart was just 16 and originally conceived for a castrato. It was designed to show off the voice and show off Natasha’s voice it certainly did as she presented the work with exuberance.
The second half comprised the Solemn Vespers which were anything but solemn at Christ Church on Saturday! People particularly loved the scintillating soaring depth of sound and felt it was very moving and expressive with great sensitivity. One was utterly captivated by the music and singing whilst others felt the choir had never felt more unified and sang very tightly together with clear vocals and harmonically in tune throughout.
The entire concert was under-pinned by the accomplished piano accompaniment from Stephen Owens who performed with exceptional mastery and sensitivity.
Of course this was the choir’s first performance under their new Director and one audience member commented that they were aware of seeing and feeling the communication between the choir and the conductor. Another noted how attentive he was to all parts, giving very clear directions to each vocal entry, thereby instilling confidence throughout the choir, which clearly came across throughout the
performance.
MD Tony Coupe commented, “since joining Cantiones in January, I have found the singers to be responsive to detailed phrasing, brave in producing an extensive range in their dynamics and able to deliver the highest standard in performance. The hard work in preparation translated into an exciting performance that conveyed the intense energy, lyrical beauty and scale of Mozart's vision in his Vespers and Coronation Mass. I would encourage anyone who is not familiar with the work of
Cantiones Choir to join us for our next concert at 3.30pm on 28th June as we present a programme of master works from Allegri & Monteverdi to Finzi & Barber”.
So there you have it; a fabulous afternoon’s music with another to come also at Christ Church on 28 th June. Look out for details!
As a final thought, the choir felt that the best compliment came from friends of a choir member who declared that Oswestry is lucky to have a choir of such calibre and that it was worth giving up an afternoon of gardening for! What higher praise could there be?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Editors’ Notes
Cantiones Choir (as Cantiones Sacrae) was formed in 1982 by Michael Smith, the then
organist at St Oswald’s Church Oswestry. The choir has continued under various musical directors and some of its current members were part of that original group.
The choir has grown over the years and now has some 40 members.
It meets on a Tuesday evening at Christ Church in Oswestry for rehearsal and performs 4 times a year at various locations.
The repertoire is early, baroque and classical music with 20th century and modern composers.
Cantiones has received terrific support from local press. Read the recent article in 'Oswestry life ” HERE
A new MD for Cantiones
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The choir announces the appointment of its new Musical Director, Tony Coupe. Director of Music at Ellesmere College, Tony is a conductor, composer and singer who brings a wealth of experience to Cantiones. Starting out as a chorister at Bristol Cathedral he went on to sing with Birmingham Cathedral Choir, Birmingham Oratory, Ex Cathedra, the Rodolphus Choir, and was part of the original cast of Sondheim’s ‘Saturday Night’.
At Ellesmere College Tony has developed music to the highest standard, embedding the skills and work ethic that he benefitted from as a child. He believes that music should be daring, challenging and fun, and encourages fellow musicians to focus on the given moment.
READ MORE
A sad Farewell to John Moore
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The choir is sad to announce the untimely and tragic death of long-time member and former Chairman, John Moore. John was part of the fabric not only of Cantiones’ life, having been Chairman for 25 years, but also the musical life of Oswestry in general, having also been a member of St Oswald’s Church Choir for16 years. We all remember his fabulous tenor voice within the choir and for many years also taking tenor solo roles. Members of the choir felt privileged to join St Oswald’s Church Choir for John’s funeral service at the church. Cantiones sends their heartfelt condolences to John’s wife Denise and wider family. The picture shows John singing in Cae Glas Park with the choir in lockdown.
Here is a biography, written in the third person, but actually by John himself.
READ IT HERE
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Goodbye to Martin Bussey
The choir’s Christmas concert in December 2024 was the last concert under the baton of its Musical Director for 5 years, Martin Bussey. He will be very much missed.
Martin is a distinguished musician, teacher and composer and Cantiones has been lucky to have had him at the helm since 2020. Of course very early in his tenure we all had to deal with lockdown and the implications for a social group such as a choir.
Martin threw himself into solving the various difficulties firstly with weekly zoom rehearsals and then leading us face-to-face (distanced and with masks!) in a field and a car park as well as a concert in the bandstand at Cae Glas Park. Gradually over the months rehearsals returned to normal but Cantiones only survived the pandemic with Martin’s hard work.
READ MORE
Martin's CD (from Facebook)
Our MD Martin Bussey’s CD, ‘A Brother Abroad’
was released on the 13th December.
Available online from 'Resonus'
APRIL CONCERT
An extraordinary “sublime” concert
“Magnificent”, “passionate”, “exciting”, “scintillating” and “sublime” were just some of the words used by audience members to describe Saturday’s concert of Mozart choral works presented by Cantiones Choir, along with two professional soloists. The most common opinion shared was that this concert, the first under the baton of Tony Coupe, was the best that the choir has ever sung.
The programme was exclusively Mozart, always an uplifting choice, starting with his Coronation Mass in C, composed in 1779 and probably the most popular and well known sacred work. Joining the two young professional soloists, Joe Martin (Tenor) and Natasha Hendrickse-Welsh (Soprano) were soloists from the choir, who performed marvellously. Attending the concert was Christopher Symons, local Town Freeman, former conductor of Cantiones, and former Director of the Oswestry School Recital Series who said “The parts were well known and sung with real confidence. The balance was good entrances were incisive and vigorous. Good to see competent members taking solo roles, and obviously inspired by singing next to the two excellent professional singers. Tony conducted marvellously and his directions were very expressive. A commanding piece of control. All together an excellent concert”. The conductor of another local choir commented that “I sat upright in my seat from the first note and felt the excitement from the choir throughout”.
Natasha presented the beautiful solo work, Exsultate Jubilate, written when Mozart was just 16 and originally conceived for a castrato. It was designed to show off the voice and show off Natasha’s voice it certainly did as she presented the work with exuberance.
The second half comprised the Solemn Vespers which were anything but solemn at Christ Church on Saturday! People particularly loved the scintillating soaring depth of sound and felt it was very moving and expressive with great sensitivity. One was utterly captivated by the music and singing whilst others felt the choir had never felt more unified and sang very tightly together with clear vocals and harmonically in tune throughout.
The entire concert was under-pinned by the accomplished piano accompaniment from Stephen Owens who performed with exceptional mastery and sensitivity.
Of course this was the choir’s first performance under their new Director and one audience member commented that they were aware of seeing and feeling the communication between the choir and the conductor. Another noted how attentive he was to all parts, giving very clear directions to each vocal entry, thereby instilling confidence throughout the choir, which clearly came across throughout the
performance.
MD Tony Coupe commented, “since joining Cantiones in January, I have found the singers to be responsive to detailed phrasing, brave in producing an extensive range in their dynamics and able to deliver the highest standard in performance. The hard work in preparation translated into an exciting performance that conveyed the intense energy, lyrical beauty and scale of Mozart's vision in his Vespers and Coronation Mass. I would encourage anyone who is not familiar with the work of
Cantiones Choir to join us for our next concert at 3.30pm on 28th June as we present a programme of master works from Allegri & Monteverdi to Finzi & Barber”.
So there you have it; a fabulous afternoon’s music with another to come also at Christ Church on 28 th June. Look out for details!
As a final thought, the choir felt that the best compliment came from friends of a choir member who declared that Oswestry is lucky to have a choir of such calibre and that it was worth giving up an afternoon of gardening for! What higher praise could there be?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Editors’ Notes
Cantiones Choir (as Cantiones Sacrae) was formed in 1982 by Michael Smith, the then
organist at St Oswald’s Church Oswestry. The choir has continued under various musical directors and some of its current members were part of that original group.
The choir has grown over the years and now has some 40 members.
It meets on a Tuesday evening at Christ Church in Oswestry for rehearsal and performs 4 times a year at various locations.
The repertoire is early, baroque and classical music with 20th century and modern composers.
Cantiones has received terrific support from local press. Read the recent article in 'Oswestry life ” HERE
A new MD for Cantiones
The choir announces the appointment of its new Musical Director, Tony Coupe. Director of Music at Ellesmere College, Tony is a conductor, composer and singer who brings a wealth of experience to Cantiones. Starting out as a chorister at Bristol Cathedral he went on to sing with Birmingham Cathedral Choir, Birmingham Oratory, Ex Cathedra, the Rodolphus Choir, and was part of the original cast of Sondheim’s ‘Saturday Night’.At Ellesmere College Tony has developed music to the highest standard, embedding the skills and work ethic that he benefitted from as a child. He believes that music should be daring, challenging and fun, and encourages fellow musicians to focus on the given moment.
READ MORE
A sad Farewell to John Moore
The choir is sad to announce the untimely and tragic death of long-time member and former Chairman, John Moore. John was part of the fabric not only of Cantiones’ life, having been Chairman for 25 years, but also the musical life of Oswestry in general, having also been a member of St Oswald’s Church Choir for16 years. We all remember his fabulous tenor voice within the choir and for many years also taking tenor solo roles. Members of the choir felt privileged to join St Oswald’s Church Choir for John’s funeral service at the church. Cantiones sends their heartfelt condolences to John’s wife Denise and wider family. The picture shows John singing in Cae Glas Park with the choir in lockdown.Here is a biography, written in the third person, but actually by John himself.
READ IT HERE
Goodbye to Martin BusseyThe choir’s Christmas concert in December 2024 was the last concert under the baton of its Musical Director for 5 years, Martin Bussey. He will be very much missed.
Martin is a distinguished musician, teacher and composer and Cantiones has been lucky to have had him at the helm since 2020. Of course very early in his tenure we all had to deal with lockdown and the implications for a social group such as a choir.
Martin threw himself into solving the various difficulties firstly with weekly zoom rehearsals and then leading us face-to-face (distanced and with masks!) in a field and a car park as well as a concert in the bandstand at Cae Glas Park. Gradually over the months rehearsals returned to normal but Cantiones only survived the pandemic with Martin’s hard work.
READ MORE
Martin's CD (from Facebook)
Our MD Martin Bussey’s CD, ‘A Brother Abroad’
was released on the 13th December.
Available online from 'Resonus'
