I am so pleased that some of Kenneth Beard's achievements have been recorded for posterity. This choir was moulded by him, with minimal resources. A shy, modest man, but a wonderful musician, organist and choir master.
Ken was indeed a remarkable and gifted man. Under him the trebles cultivated great beauty of sound, often understated and restrained, which made the ff climaxes when they came all the more memorable. His modesty and humility as often the case were the outward signs of great inner strength that could put bishops in their place. A Methodist upbringing will out.
Like our own dear Wells, here in Somerset, Southwell is a small city, with a glorious cathedral. It is a rarely-visited jewel of Norman English architecture: and has an excellent musical tradition. Thank you for this post.
Thank you so much for sharing this. As a probationary chorister at the time I was not allowed to sing on all the tracks, but I was there. Doesn't sound too bad after all those years.
@@missasinenomine At that time Southwell usually had 16 treble choristers - 8 per side - and a few probationers, maybe three or four, waiting to join the main choir. Unfortunately, the mad, marxist luddites who ran Nottinghamshire County Council in the early 70s decided to get rid of the boarding-house side of the Grammar school, which affected the ability of the choirmaster to hold voice trials among a wide range of potential chorister talent from across the country. Kenneth Beard, and after him Paul Hale, achieved wonders in retaining a highly competent choir from boys drawn from the local area which, throughout the following decades and up to the present day, has certainly at times been justifiably considered among the best half dozen in the country. Such places, like Truro, deserve our great respect and support.
@@stanleymonkhouse As late as that? I knew it had carried on a bit, but I thought it disappeared in the mid 80s. Thanks for the info. I probably heard your lad then, as I used to call in from time to time if passing at evensong time. 😊
I am so pleased that some of Kenneth Beard's achievements have been recorded for posterity. This choir was moulded by him, with minimal resources. A shy, modest man, but a wonderful musician, organist and choir master.
Ken was indeed a remarkable and gifted man. Under him the trebles cultivated great beauty of sound, often understated and restrained, which made the ff climaxes when they came all the more memorable. His modesty and humility as often the case were the outward signs of great inner strength that could put bishops in their place. A Methodist upbringing will out.
Like our own dear Wells, here in Somerset, Southwell is a small city, with a glorious cathedral. It is a rarely-visited jewel of Norman English architecture: and has an excellent musical tradition. Thank you for this post.
Thank you so much for sharing this. As a probationary chorister at the time I was not allowed to sing on all the tracks, but I was there. Doesn't sound too bad after all those years.
Not allowed to sing? How many choristers were there?
@@missasinenomine At that time Southwell usually had 16 treble choristers - 8 per side - and a few probationers, maybe three or four, waiting to join the main choir. Unfortunately, the mad, marxist luddites who ran Nottinghamshire County Council in the early 70s decided to get rid of the boarding-house side of the Grammar school, which affected the ability of the choirmaster to hold voice trials among a wide range of potential chorister talent from across the country. Kenneth Beard, and after him Paul Hale, achieved wonders in retaining a highly competent choir from boys drawn from the local area which, throughout the following decades and up to the present day, has certainly at times been justifiably considered among the best half dozen in the country. Such places, like Truro, deserve our great respect and support.
@@missasinenomine 16 plus a few of us beginners
@@jonb6417 Boarding was still in place in 1987-91 at Sacrista Prebend when my son was a chorister.
@@stanleymonkhouse As late as that? I knew it had carried on a bit, but I thought it disappeared in the mid 80s. Thanks for the info. I probably heard your lad then, as I used to call in from time to time if passing at evensong time. 😊
The organist while we were singing and Kenny was conducting was the great Peter Wood!