Contributor: Mathew Campbell
Just like any new company or indeed business, the beginning can be a bumpy process and indeed sometimes slow to take flight. Speaking with some past members of Downpatrick Choral Society (St Patrick’s), they never fail to remind me that it was those early years that produced some of the most wonderful stories and memories. Nothing was as uniform as it might seem today and the term “rough and ready” may have been thrown into conversation now and then, however this did not stop a dedicated group producing some wonderfully memorable productions.
Downpatrick Choral Society held its inaugural concert in 1962 in the beautiful surroundings of The Great Hall auditorium situated in the Downshire Estate. I find this quite apt as The Great Hall is now, and has been, the home of Downpatrick Choral society since the late ‘90s.
Founding member Maureen Keohane recalls how “a small group of people with a common interest in singing, came together in the front room of Mrs Kathleen Rafferty’s house in Irish Street to prepare for the debut”. Those rehearsals around the fire are quite a juxtaposition to how rehearsals currently run in the local parish hall. I’ve heard many times how those initial weeks of rehearsal during cold winter Tuesday and Thursday evenings were responsible for some lifelong memories. (Kelly, Keohane, 40th Anniversary Concert Programme)
After the success of a series of concerts from 1962-63, the society embarked on their first musical production ‘The Bohemian Girl’, an opera by Alfred Bunn and Michael Balfe. Bunn was a well known English theatre manager who held managerial positions at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, and also the Theatre Royal in Birmingham between 1823 – 1830. Balfe on the other hand was an Irish composer, violinist and opera singer. He also notably spent some seven years directing Italian Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. In total, Balfe has composed over 29 operas from a career spanning 40 years. Their most famous work ‘The Bohemian Girl‘ may be remembered by us now for producing the haunting aria ‘I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls’ sung many times by another founding member and respected local singer Anne Quinn. ‘The Bohemian Girl’ ran from Monday 2nd – Wednesday 4th March 1964 in The Canon’s Hall, Downpatrick (now the site of the Patrician Youth Centre). The leading roles were played by Oliver McGrady (Devilshoof), Bernard McDevitt (Florestein) and Maureen Keohane (Queen of the Gypsies). I also found it quite interesting to note the price of a programme in 1964 which was 6 pence (equivalent to £1.16 in 2018) compared to today’s price of £3.
This production was very much a local effort with many members turning a hand to scenic design, costume gathering and various other ‘behind the scenes’ jobs, a factor of the society that I can proudly say is still very much the same today.
Scenery was for many years the creation of award winning set designer Mr Francie Morgan. I have had the pleasure of training under Francie and can endorse that even today he is still a master at his craft. Sadly many of his lavish sets were destroyed some years later when the Canon’s hall caught fire.
(Keohane, 40th Anniversary Concert Programme)
The years which followed saw the society begin to explore the world of light operetta and notably works by Gilbert & Sullivan. It wasn’t until 1982 that the society staged what we class today as a pure musical theatre piece, that was indeed a production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘Oklahoma’. The society had wonderful success staging productions of ‘The Mikado’ (1970) and ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ (1973) and in the 15 years since its inauguration, consolidated itself as a thriving music society.
The early years of Downpatrick Choral Society were by all accounts a very special time. I am very privileged to still perform with some of the founding members of the company and also humbled to discover that my late grandfather Mr Brendan Rice was a member of the gentleman’s chorus of that first production in 1964.
Past Productions (1962 – 1980)
1962 Inaugural Concert
1963 Series Of Concerts
1964 The Bohemian Girl
1965 Maritana
1966 Carmen (Concert Version)
1968 Trial By Jury
1969 The Gondoliers
1970 The Mikado
1971 HMS Pinafore/Trial By Jury
1972 Concert
1973 The Pirates Of Penzance
1974 Iolanthe
1975 The Mikado
1976 Waltzes From Vienna
1977 Concerts
1978 The Arcadians
1979 The Merry Widow
1980 Gypsy Love
Sources
Letters written to St Patrick’s Choral Society by Gerry Kelly & Maureen Keohane for publication in the 40th Anniversary Concert Programme (2002)
List of previous productions
http://www.stpatrickschoralsociety.co.uk
Image courtesy of Downpatrick Choral Society archive