August 10
We're thrilled to introduce...
Our new baritone Ben Cooper. We appointed Ben recently as our 1st baritone this summer. A fabulous voice and a fabulous chap we really look forward to you hearing and meeting him at a concert in the coming season. Ben's biography (and a photo of him can be found here.
April 10
Goodbye to Ian Ball
We're sad to announce that our second tenor, Ian Ball, will be leaving the group at the end of this season. Ian will contiune to sing with the group until after we've appointed his successor who wll shadow the group and walk in Ian's footsteps for a couple of months before taking the reigns in July/August 2010. Auditions are being held on Saturday May 29th 2010 and details for applicants can be found here.
March 10
Recordings and Press
We've begun work in earnest on our debut album. A studio recording of swing, pop and jazz numbers. We hope it will be released before Christmas this year. Also we've been featured in the Gloucestershire Echo and the Gloucestershire Citizen newspapers in which there is a great photo of us and a great review of our recent concert at Tewkesbury Methodist Church. The review is below:
"Songmen have an appeal
The Songmen
Tewkesbury Methodist Church
Six young men singing classical music might not seem appealing for the general public. But the Songmen appeal to a wide variety of tastes.
For their first solo public concert in the town, they chose Tewkesbury Methodist Church as the venue - a warm, comfortable place with excellent acoustics.
The Songmen is an a cappella group whereby six men sing without accompaniment - except for a discreet pitch pipe.
They are two classically trained singers from Tewkesbury - Guy Lewis and Jonathan Beasley - and Ben Sawyer, Ian Ball, Christopher Monk and David Hardwick.
Their programme started with the sacred and classical repertoire, choosing original madrigal composers such as Byrd and Tallis.
Immediately they seized the allegiance of the audience with their flawless harmonies and timing. They progressed on to spirituals with moving renderings of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Deep River with the all-too-short first half culminating in folk songs such as Greensleeves and Bobby Shaftoe in which they add a dimension of humour to their disciplined singing. The second half was a mixture of fun and deep emotion.
Black Bird by The Beatles, the great Rat Pack number Mr Bojangles and Billy Joel's Lullaby were all delivered beautifully.
They had no amplification to transport their lyrics to the audience - just powerfully projected voices. The only sadness of the evening was that it had to end.
The Songmen's next performance is in Twyning onMay 8 and then Nature in Art, in Twigworth, on June 5.
John Dixon"
November 09
Exciting Times Ahead
Not only have we been offered a very prestigious spot at the famous Limelight Club in London (following in the footsteps of artists like Nicola Benedetti, Voces8 , The Callino Quartet and The International Baroque Players) on 6th April 2010 but we've also had some fabulous photographs taken by Sophie Lewis of www.re-touchme.co.uk see them here.
October 09
New Arrangements To Get Premiered On November 7th
We are really excited to be working on several new arrangements that have been specially written for us. They include Gimme That Wine, Mr Bojangles and Wayfaring Stranger. We'll be performing them at our next concert at St Mary De Crypt, Southgate Street, Gloucester on 7th November. We're especially looking forward to singing Wayfaring stranger which has been specially written fro us by a very good friend to the group - Christopher Borrett a professional singer and arranger based in London.
September 09
Our New Season Begins
We're currently hard at work in rehearsals learning and perfecting the music for our first concert of the season at St Marys's Church Dymock. Lots more concerts are in the pipeline so keep watching this space!
August 09
The Songmen have a new website
It's busy, busy, busy here in the Songmen camp. We're currently making plans for our 2009 - 2010 season and booking in concerts. Along with this we've managed to bag ourselves a wonderful new website for you to enjoy. we're also discussing new repertoire and are looking for talented arrangers from whom we can commission new works. If anyone has recomendations then please do get in touch and email us at info@songmen.co.uk
July 09
The Songmen to sing with the King's Singers
We've been invited to sing at the King's Singers masterclass in Lubeck, Germany at the end of July and we've been featured on the King's Singers website... click here to see the feature Below is the article written for their website:
All of us in The Songmen have had similar musical experiences from an early age (we all started out as choristers at various churches, cathedrals and colleges) and most of us have gone on to take our musical studies to the next level - whether that's as music graduates, layclerks, organists, music teachers, music degree students and.. um.. civil servants and accountants.
"We think that the masterclass will be an excellent opportunity to hone our blend and sound and we're hoping that The King's Singers will be able to offer us some ideas for new repertoire. We of course, don't just see the masterclass as a one-way learning environment and look forward to putting our own teaching skills into practice (where we'll be teaching the King's Singers a thing or two about football!).
We've based our line-up around The King's Singers (two countertenors, tenor, two baritones and bass) and have all been big fans from an early age (especially Alex and Guy who one day dream of pursuading the KS to expand their ranks to eight - by ideally creating two extra vacancies, one for a countertenor and one for a tenor).
We're attempting for the first time to perform without music and this is something that we're working very hard at - clearly we've been inspired by The Kings' Singers and the vast amounts of music that they commit to memory. The six of us are all experimenting with different techniques to remember the notes - our techniques range from sleeping with the music under our pillows, deep prayer, and so far our favourite technique, closing our eyes, opening our mouths, and hoping for the best!"
June 09
Don't miss Alex's last concert on Friday 5th June
This is to be Alex's last official concert with the group and we'll certianly miss him. Alex is leaving us after the summer to take up position as choir master at Oundel School. He's worked so hard for this opportunity and Oundel School will, I'm sure, thoroughly enjoy having him. Our loss, their gain. Oh well, you can't win them all.
May 09
Buy Tickets for our Gala Concert at Pershore Abbey on Sat 2nd May
Tickets are now available so click on the link to the left to buy them online. *Posted after event: It went really well and we got lots of really encouraging comments. Everyone seemed to have a great time including us. What a privilege it was to sing in such a beautiful acoustic.*
Jan 09
We Welcome a New Tenor
Who is now a permanent fixture and fills the gap left by our high baritones. His name is Ian Ball and we're thrilled to have him. Not just for his fabulous voice and musicianship (he's an ex-cathedral organist) but also because he's a qualified lawyer. Just the sort of chap we need to keep us hell-raisers in check! You can read Ian's biography here
Nov 08
All For One - Our Debut Recording (10th November 2008)
We are extremely excited to announce the release of our debut CD. Consisting of six varied tracks, the CD presents a selection of music that you could hear at any one of our performances. In essence, it is a condensed concert showcasing the wide and varied repertoire that Songmen relish performing. From exquisite 16th century sacred polyphony, to madrigal arrangements; classic barbershop to novelty settings of modern pop music and ending with a gorgeous and contemporary reflective lullaby, this short CD contains something for all.
Do listen to the short excerpts of the CD available from this site. If you would like a copy of the CD, please contact us/buy it here.
Track listing
01. This sweet and merry month of May - William Byrd
A rare secular piece by Byrd, the word "Eliza" references Queen Elizabeth, a great supporter of Byrd's work, who had granted him and his contemporary, Thomas Tallis, exclusive licence to print music in late 16th century England. The odd mention of a patron in song does not seem too much to ask for such a lucrative deal!
02. Civitas sancte tui- William Byrd
This piece is the second part of the lengthy work "Ne irascaris Domine", though it is frequently performed as a piece in its own right. The words are sacred and taken from Isaih 64.
03. Can't buy me love - John Lennon & Paul McCartney
The well known Beatles song, originally released in March 1964 as their sixth British single. The meaning of the words has been left open to interpretation, with McCartney himself only giving lip-service to denying it is about the oldest profession of them all. We leave you to decide for yourself... This particular arrangement is in a lively 18th century madrigal style which, we think, suits it rather well!
04. My Evaline - anon
A timeless Barbershop classic from the "Songs of Yale", it needs no introduction. Enjoy!
05. Seaside Rendezvous - Freddie Mercury
Written for Queen by Freddie Mercury for their 1975 album "A Night at the Opera", this song showcases the lighter-side of The Songmen's repertoire. We pride ourselves on being able to perform without the help of supporting instruments or accompaniment, but, as you will hear, variety is the spice of life!
06. MLK - U2
Based on words written by Martin Luther King, Jn. and set to music by U2 as the final track on their 1984 album "The Unforgettable Fire", this lullaby suggests a positive outlook to life. The first verse on our recording of this track is a solo for our 1st Tenor, Alex Eaden, with the rest of The Songmen gently accompanying him. If this song was good enough to finalise an album by U2, it's good enough for us too.