On 29th March 2008 we held a special concert to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  The venue was the historic parish church of St Germans which dates back to 1185 when it was the Mother Church of the original Diocese of Cornwall.  We were joined for the concert by members of three overseas choirs, with which we have enjoyed a long association, Chorale Chanterelle from Guipavas in Brittany, Kantorei Barsbuttel from Germany and Bindslev-Koret from Denmark.

The combined choirs sang Mozart's Missa Brevis in C and Vivaldi's Gloria with further contributions by each of the individual choirs. Further details of the visiting choirs and venue can be found below.

CHORALE CHANTERELLE from France               

In 1983, nine singers formed the Douvez Choir in Guipavas near Brest.  The group grew and in 1989 became the independent association, the Chorale Chanterelle under the direction of Roland Guymarch. The choir has a varied repertoire of sacred and secular music, which they perform at concerts mainly in Brittany and in their twin towns of Callington and Barsbuttel.  In 1994, Bruno Bazin, a pharmacist and a member of several notable choirs became their conductor. Under his strict and demanding direction the group developed a more ambitious repertoire including classical and contemporary works such as “La Missa Europa” by Berel, the “Deutsche Messe” by Schubert, and Faure’s Requiem. 

More recently before starting rehearsals for Vivaldi’s “Gloria” they had given concerts of Russian Music and Negro Spirituals.  Plans included a programme of Sea Shanties for the 2008 Festival of the Sea in Brest and a more complex work for their own twenty fifth anniversary in 2009. 

 
KANTOREI BARSBUTTEL from Germany           

In 1954 a new church was built in Barsbuttel, near Hamburg and Kantorei Barsbuttel was founded.  In 1967 Mr Hans Pedersen Falk was appointed Director of Music at the church and of the Kantorei. With a membership of twenty five men and women their main commitment is singing at church services but each year they get together to rehearse and perform a wider programme of music during a recreational weekend in the Luneburg Heath area.

Originally the choir performed music mainly from the Baroque era by Schutz, Praetorius or members of the Bach family, and music from the Romantic period by composers such as Mendelssohn.  In the past few years sacred works by Mozart and Michael Haydn have been added to their repertoire.  The Callington Singers first visited Barsbuttel in 1988; the Kantorei first singing in Callington the following year. Since then a number of reciprocal visits have further strengthened the bonds of friendship between the two choirs. 

                               
BINDSLEV KORET from Denmark                          

Bindslev is in Northern Denmark, not far from Frederikshavn.  Bindslev Koret was founded as a singing group in 1984 with around twelve members and a music teacher from the local school in charge.  Just one year later numbers had risen to twenty and they were able to begin singing as a choir in three or four parts. The present Musical Director, Michael Solvesteen, is also the highly regarded organist at Bindslev Church.  There are currently thirty five members, all active singers, some of whom have been with the choir for more than twenty years.

The Bindslev Koret sing Danish folksongs, ballads, and church music and they also sing sometimes in English, Swedish and Latin.  They have given concerts in churches and music halls locally as well as in Northern Germany, Norway and elsewhere in Jutland. This was their third visit to Callington since the Callington Singers first travelled to Denmark to meet them and to sing together in 1989.

Kantorei Barsbuttel

ABSENT FRIENDS                    

It was not practical for all our friends from choirs abroad to join us for our celebration concert and amongst those who weren't able to do so were the Avoca Singers – from the real life Ballykissangel!  Italy, too, has always been one of the Callington Singers favourite overseas venues.  We have a long standing relationship there with La Pia Societa Corale S Cecilia from Empoli and a more recent association with Quodlibet from San Casciano near Florence. Neither, unfortunately were able to join us on this occasion.

THE CONCERT VENUE - St Germans Parish Church

The original Celtic church is believed to have been built around the time of St Germanus and possibly by him.  The third church was built by the Normans, under construction by 1185, built in several stages and not finally consecrated until 1261.  Today’s church is essentially a part of that great Norman church much altered and sometimes sadly neglected during the intervening years. The most important architectural survival is the original Norman West Doorway with its ring upon ring of carved stonework described as the noblest portal in Cornwall and widely regarded as unequalled anywhere else in the country. 

When the original Celtic church was built a religious house was constructed alongside it to accommodate the clergy.  Over the years this grew to become a Priory of Augustinian Canons with its magnificent and substantially extended Norman church and endowed with considerable revenues.  It was the Dissolution of the Monasteries which brought this golden period to an end. The Prior and Canons were evicted in 1539 and the Priory buildings, turned over to private occupation in 1540.  The site later became the location of the Eliot family home and the seat of the Earls of St Germans. 

For the church the Dissolution led to decay and decline. The finances and functions of a parish church would not support so grand a structure.  The original Choir was abandoned shortening the church by fifty five feet and the northern aisle deteriorated to such an extent that it had to be demolished in 1802. The most striking feature seen inside the church today is the great East Window.  It is one of the finest church windows in Cornwall.  It is now fifty five feet nearer the West Door than when originally installed at the East end of the Choir!  In addition to its unique history St Germans Church offered us a wonderful environment and wonderful acoustics for our concert.

THE PARTY

TOLLITE HOSTIAS - Camille Saint-Saens
The combined choirs singing at our twenty fifth anniversary concert on 29 March 2008