The Halifax Choral Society
Encyclopedia
Halifax Choral Society is an internationally-famous choir based in the town of Halifax
in the English
county of West Yorkshire
. It is notable for being the oldest amateur choral society in Britain (and possibly in the world), founded in 1817 with an unbroken record of performance.
The idea for the Halifax Choral Society (initially called Halifax Quarterly Choral Society) was first mooted in 1817 by founder William Priestley
, an eminent local musician, antiquary and literary gentleman. Late in 1817, at a dinner party with his musical friends at his home Crow Trees in Lightcliffe, Halifax, Priestley discussed the possibility of a permanent choir rather than the gatherings of singers that had presented concerts in the district for many years previously. The first performance of the newly formed Halifax Choral Society took place on 9 February 1818 in the Halifax Court House, and was a performance of Haydn’s "The Creation".
The choir has played an important role in the social and musical life of Halifax throughout its life, especially during the many civic and national celebrations which typified Imperial Britain in the nineteenth century. The twentieth century brought the choir the major challenges of keeping going through two world wars, and the challenges of the advent of radio, TV, and the gramophone and its descendants, all of which were new avenues for the Choral Society to explore and use to reach new audiences.
As well as performing with professional orchestras and top ranking soloists, it performs with the highest ranking brass bands such as the world-famous Black Dyke Band
from Queensbury, just up the road from Halifax. The choir maintains a friendly rivalry with the choral society of neighbouring town Huddersfield
. This may be due in part to the Halifax Choral Society interviewing and turning down of the young Malcolm Sargent for the post of condutor, and then later seeing Sargent's enormous success as conductor of that eminent choir 'over the hill' in Huddersfield.
Imaginative programming over the years has meant the Halifax Choral Society has pioneered music by such composers as Mendelssohn and Haydn, whose oratorio 'The Seasons' is believed to have been premiered in the UK by the HCS. Works have also been commissioned especially for the HCS, and the Choir recently made world headlines when it presented for the first time in modern history the fascinating lost Mozart orchestration of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, a major coup for the Choir as the score was found in the HCS archives where it had been preserved since the early 1850s after it was presented to the HCS by the Choir’s founder. This find brought about a TV broadcast of the first performance, seen both in the UK and USA.
The Halifax Choral Society is currently preparing for its bicentenary season in 2017-18 with a very special season's programme and a new innovative oratorio commission which will feature the story of the life and dramatic death of Halifax’s patron saint – John the Baptist, whose head is to be seen on the Halifax Coat of Arms and is the saint to whom the beautiful medieval parish church, now a Minster Church, is dedicated.
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. It is notable for being the oldest amateur choral society in Britain (and possibly in the world), founded in 1817 with an unbroken record of performance.
The idea for the Halifax Choral Society (initially called Halifax Quarterly Choral Society) was first mooted in 1817 by founder William Priestley
William Priestley
William Priestley was a Halifax wool clothier. He had a strong interest in music, especially German and his personal library housed many unusual items of German choral music, which had formed much of the early repertory of the The Halifax Choral Society, with which he is credited with founding....
, an eminent local musician, antiquary and literary gentleman. Late in 1817, at a dinner party with his musical friends at his home Crow Trees in Lightcliffe, Halifax, Priestley discussed the possibility of a permanent choir rather than the gatherings of singers that had presented concerts in the district for many years previously. The first performance of the newly formed Halifax Choral Society took place on 9 February 1818 in the Halifax Court House, and was a performance of Haydn’s "The Creation".
The choir has played an important role in the social and musical life of Halifax throughout its life, especially during the many civic and national celebrations which typified Imperial Britain in the nineteenth century. The twentieth century brought the choir the major challenges of keeping going through two world wars, and the challenges of the advent of radio, TV, and the gramophone and its descendants, all of which were new avenues for the Choral Society to explore and use to reach new audiences.
As well as performing with professional orchestras and top ranking soloists, it performs with the highest ranking brass bands such as the world-famous Black Dyke Band
Black Dyke Band
The Black Dyke Band, formerly the Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and best-known brass bands in the world. The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years...
from Queensbury, just up the road from Halifax. The choir maintains a friendly rivalry with the choral society of neighbouring town Huddersfield
Huddersfield Choral Society
Huddersfield Choral Society is an internationally famous choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs...
. This may be due in part to the Halifax Choral Society interviewing and turning down of the young Malcolm Sargent for the post of condutor, and then later seeing Sargent's enormous success as conductor of that eminent choir 'over the hill' in Huddersfield.
Imaginative programming over the years has meant the Halifax Choral Society has pioneered music by such composers as Mendelssohn and Haydn, whose oratorio 'The Seasons' is believed to have been premiered in the UK by the HCS. Works have also been commissioned especially for the HCS, and the Choir recently made world headlines when it presented for the first time in modern history the fascinating lost Mozart orchestration of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, a major coup for the Choir as the score was found in the HCS archives where it had been preserved since the early 1850s after it was presented to the HCS by the Choir’s founder. This find brought about a TV broadcast of the first performance, seen both in the UK and USA.
The Halifax Choral Society is currently preparing for its bicentenary season in 2017-18 with a very special season's programme and a new innovative oratorio commission which will feature the story of the life and dramatic death of Halifax’s patron saint – John the Baptist, whose head is to be seen on the Halifax Coat of Arms and is the saint to whom the beautiful medieval parish church, now a Minster Church, is dedicated.