Huddersfield Choral Society

Choir from West Yorkshire, England

See also: Huddersfield Singers

Huddersfield Choral Society

Origin| Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England
Genres| Classical choral music
Years active| 1836 (1836)-present
Labels| Signum Records
Website| www.huddersfieldchoral.com

Musical artist

Huddersfield Choral Society is a choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs.[1] Over the years the choir has performed most of the major works in the choral repertoire, and has had numerous works commissioned for it, including works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton.[2] The choir has made numerous recordings and broadcasts.[3][4][5] Two of its albums made an appearance in the UK Albums Chart. These were The Hymns Album (1986, #8) and The Carols Album (1986, #29).[6]

The choir performs regularly with the leading orchestras in the north of England, including the Orchestra of Opera North, The Hallé, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata and the Northern Sinfonia. The choir performs with many leading conductors, known by the choir as their 'family' of conductors instead of having one Principal Conductor. Martyn Brabbins is Music Director of the society and other notable conductors to work with the choir regularly include: Vasily Petrenko, Bramwell Tovey and Jane Glover (a former Principal Conductor and former Principal Guest Conductor of the choir).

In August 2016 Huddersfield Choral Society appointed Gregory Batsleer as Choral Director. The team is completed by Associate Choral Director Fanny Cook, Accompanist and Assistant Chorusmaster Daniel Gordon, deputy Accompanist Malcolm Hinchcliffe and Musical Director of the youth choirs Alison North.

The choir remains an amateur choir, with membership open to all via a brief audition while maintaining its performing commitments.

The Huddersfield Choral Society was in partnership with the University of Huddersfield; however, this relationship ended in 2012 for funding reasons.

## Discography

[edit]

Year of recording  | Work / Album  | Artists  | Record label

|
|
|

1946  | Messiah, G.F.Handel  | Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor)  | Columbia
1986  | The Hymns Album | Owain Arwel Hughes (conductor)  | EMI
1986  | The Carols Album | Owain Arwel Hughes (conductor)  | EMI
1993  | A Christmas Celebration | Sellers Engineering Band, Brian Kay (conductor)  | Chandos Brass[7]
1994  | The Wreckers (world premiere recording)  | BBC Philharmonic, Odaline de la Martinez (conductor)  | Conifer Records Limited
2000  | A Christmas Fantasy | Black Dyke Mills Band, John Foster (conductor)  | Chandos Brass
2002  | Symphony No. 3 'The Muses', Cyril Scott | BBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)  | Chandos
2003  | Works for Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Arnold Bax | BBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)  | Chandos
2006  | Messiah, G.F.Handel arr. W.A.Mozart  | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor)  | Signum Classics
2006  | The Hymns Album | Darius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)  | Signum Classics
2007  | The Carols Album | Darius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)  | Signum Classics
2009  | The Crucifixion, Stainer  | Darius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)  | Signum Classics
2010  | Messiah, G.F.Handel  | Northern Sinfonia, Jane Glover (conductor)  | Signum Classics
2016  | Anthem: Great British Hymns & Choral Works  | Thomas Trotter (organ), Aidan Oliver (conductor)  | Signum Classics

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Huddersfield Choral Society". Yorkshire Awards. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
2. ^ "Huddersfield Choral Society - About Us". Huddersfield Choral Society. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
3. ^ "Major Past Performances to January 2011" (PDF). Huddersfield Choral Society. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
4. ^ "Huddersfield Choral Society". Signum Records. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
5. ^ "Reviews - Huddersfield Choral Society - Classical Music Recordings - CD, DVD, SACD". www.classicstoday.com. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
6. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 262\. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
7. ^ "Huddersfield Choral Society on Chandos". Chandos. Retrieved 12 September 2011.

## External links

[edit]

* Huddersfield Choral Society Website
* The Hymns Album - Huddersfield Choral Society

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