‘At least they sang in tune,’ said organist (From Cotswold Journal)

‘At least they sang in tune,’ said organist

10:48am Thursday 14th May 2009

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A TOP London organist judging a choir festival in Stow 75 years ago seemed to be damning local singers with faint praise when he said “at least they are singing in tune”.

The Journal of 1934 reported: “Arranged by the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, the ninth Countryside Musical festival was held in St Edward’s Hall.

“The two-day festival was non-competitive, but certificates were given to those choirs which achieved a high standard of merit.

“Mr Arnold Goldsborough, organist of St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, received a great welcome as adjudicator.

“This is the second year he has undertaken this office and he has made many friends in Gloucestershire.

“The choirs to whom he awarded certificates came from Icomb, Stow, Moreton, Winchcombe and Bourton. His remarks were most encouraging. On his final adjudication he said the standards had been extremely good and there had been a great deal of really musical singing.

“Technically, the singing was good. The choirs did not always get the spirit of the thing, ‘but,’ he said, ‘it is coming, and there has been no out-of-tune singing.’ “Mr Goldsborough remarked that the previous year he had been so thrilled that he had thought a great deal about it and made an apotheosis of Stow, expecting it to be better than the Leeds Festival – but it was not. He wished to say that the energy was not a whit less than last year.

“Their chief glory was their pianissimo singing. It had great vitality last time, but this time they should try to get more refinement.”

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