Oxford Liedertafel
at the Oxford and Cambridge Club

On Monday 30th November, in the resplendent yet intimate atmosphere of the Oxford and Cambridge Club in Pall Mall, the Oxford Liedertafel gave a seasonally warm and delicious concert of songs by Vaughan Williams and some of the composers who influenced him. The Society is grateful to the Oxford and Cambridge Club for their hospitality and generosity and also to Em Marshall, Chairman of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, for organising what we hope will be the first of a number of informal concerts of English music.

The following text is taken from the Oxford Liedertafel programme.
Founded in 2003, Liedertafel is drawn from four of the most prestigious choral foundations in the world; Westminster Cathedral, St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and New College, Oxford.

Their unusual concerts range from "Oxford Detective Fiction and Music" with Colin Dexter OBE, to obscure Spanish polyphony and neglected English and German romantic part-songs for men's voices.

With the world-famous countertenor James Bowman, Liedertafel have given concerts in Oxford and Cambridge. In their highly popular Christmas concerts, they have been joined by the BBC Chorister of the Year 2005, Harry Sever, and Helen and Kate Ashby who are members of Stile Antico. In 2009 they delighted audiences at the English Music Festival with a programme of English part-songs throughout the ages.

"Liedertafel" ("Song table") has been a traditional title for men's voice singing groups in Germany since the beginning of the 19th century. In 1808 The Berlin Liedertafel was formed and, as with the English glee clubs, members met on a fixed evening each week to eat, drink and make music. The Oxford Liedertafel carries on some of this tradition, albeit in a different order!

PROGRAMME

Stephen Burrows countertenor
Richard Butler tenor
Matthew Vine tenor
Duncan Saunderson bass

Bushes and Briars
English folksong arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872-1958

Liebe
Johannes Brahms 1833-1897 (Violin Concerto, arr. Saunderson)

Love wakes
Parry

Hush sweet lute
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford 1852-1924

Kyrie
William Byrd (4 part Mass) 1542-1623

There is no rose
15th cent. anon. English

The sky above the roof
Ralph Vaughan Williams

Weep 0 mine eyes
John Bennet 16th Cent.

Fain would I change that note
Ralph Vaughan Williams

0 Waly, Waly
collected by Cecil Sharp, arr. Christopher Le Fleming

The world it went with me then English folksong
arr Ralph Vaughan Williams

Searching for lambs
Englsh folksong

This is the truth
arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams

I saw three ships
arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams

Linden Lea
Ralph Vaughan Williams


Oxford Liedertafel web site