Whoever said “singing is praying twice” is
certainly not wrong. And singing in Pietermaritzburg’s charming 120-year-old
church St George’s Garrison Church with the first pipe organ built entirely in
KwaZulu-Natal, makes it ever so more special.
On September 30, 2018, the Pietermaritzburg
Amateur Music Society (PAMS) Choir will be celebrating the freshly rejuvenated
organ with an invitation to the well-known Pietermaritzburg-born organist
Christopher Cockburn to perform a selection of organ-music to reveal the range
and capabilities of this lovely old instrument.
When the British annexed Natal, they
established their garrison at Fort Napier on August 31, 1843. At first it was
staffed by the 45th Regiment but many regiments were garrisoned there over the
years, especially during the Anglo Zulu War of 1879 and during the two Anglo
Boer Wars.
St George’s Garrison Church was built in
1898 as a place of worship for the troops. It played an important role in the
life of the small but growing city of Pietermaritzburg, especially since the army
and imperial administration provided something of a social hub for its people.
At first, the military band played at services and often added secular or
patriotic music as well. However, St George’s finally obtained its own organ,
consecrated by the bishop in December 1903. It was first heard in combination
with the band of the West Yorkshire Regiment on Easter Day the following year.
What makes the organ special is that it was
the first to be built entirely in KwaZulu-Natal by William Kemp. Kemp had come
to Natal to install the first organ in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall for a
Sheffield organ-builder in 1893 and again the second time in 1901 after the
first City Hall burnt down. He decided to settle in the colony and set up his
own organ building works. The organ survived a heavy storm in 1928 which
severely damaged the organ, so that Kemp had to dismantle, dry out and
reassemble it. Kemp’s firm maintained and upgraded the organ until 1935, but it
was not until 1952 that an electric pump provided the air: before that it was
inflated by manual bellows and much hard labour! Finally, in 2018 the organ has
undergone a major refurbishing and is back to its pristine condition.
The celebrated organ has been played by
many accomplished musicians but was most particularly under the control of Mr W
F Poole as organist and choirmaster for 72 years until his death in 2000, the
longest recorded tenure of an organist anywhere in the world according to the
Royal School of Church Music. Marianne de Jager and now Jack Frost have most
recently kept the tradition of organ music alive at St George’s Garrison
Church.
At the organ concert, the PAMS choir will
perform a feast of sacred and secular music under the baton of Nigel Fish as a
prelude and postlude. “The powerful expressive poetry of the Book of Psalms
depicts a wide range of emotions and conditions and inspired composers over the
ages to set many of them to music,” Fish said.
The audience will be treated to three very
contrasting settings of the best-known Psalm 23, i.e. The Lord is my Shepherd” Firstly, the popular “Crimond” hymn (named
after the Scottish village in which it was written) will be sung, followed by
Franz Schubert’s beautiful vocal rendition. The third interpretation of this
psalm is by Howard Goodall, who composed his setting for the BBC TV series The Vicar of Dibley.
Johannes Brahms’s moving How lovely are Thy dwellings fair from
his German Requiem concludes the first part of the programme.
After the organ recital, two secular pieces
will follow: Ronald Binge's charming Elizabethan
Serenade, and then an arrangement of the British folksong Waly Waly, with its heart-rending text
on the waning of love - Waly meaning "Woe is me!"
Finally, the organ will be included once
more in a setting of Psalm 130 by the 19th-century composer British composer
Dudley Buck, that passes from heartfelt yearning to positive affirmation. Jacques Heyns will accompany the PAMS choir.
“Choral music is not one of life’s frills.
It’s something that goes to the very heart of our humanity, our sense of community
and our souls. You express, when you sing, your soul in song,” said PAMS chair,
Jonathan Draper, quoting composer John Rutter.
A veteran PAMS chorister confirms the
surprising benefits of group singing. “The deep breaths taken equates to that of
an aerobic exercise. It increases blood flow and produces antibodies which
fight off bad bacteria. I believe singing in a group also release feel-good
hormones. No wonder I always feel so much better after choir practice!”
Draper emphasises that while striving for
excellence the PAMS Choir “sing for joy.” He believes it is a great tool to
solidify and unify the nation as a cohesive voice. “The PAMS Choir needs people
of all cultural and age groups who are passionate about singing. Join PAMS for
choir practice on Tuesday nights at 18h30 for some basic music reading and warm
up exercises and great choir practises at the Dutch Reformed Church, Beverley Road
in Prestbury, Pietermaritzburg.”
Follow PAMS on
https://www.facebook.com/PAMSchoir/
The concert will take place September 30, 2018,
at 14h30 at the St George’s Garrison Church in Devonshire Road. Tickets R50 (R25
scholars). There is secure parking across the road from the church at Fort
Napier parking lot. Enquiries may be directed to Mary at 082 683 0441 or
marybizley@gmail.com.