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- BRAHMS ACADEMIC FESTIVAL OVERTURE, BRUCKNER TE DEUM AND MAHLER DAS KLAGENDE LIED PERFORMANCE WRAP-UP NEWSLETTER (2026 Big Sing)
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Date Posted: Fri, 10 Jul 2026
Reply to Jos Gregson,Dear Singer,
18 Willoughby Close,
Alveston,
Bristol BS35 3RW
Tel: 01454-411652
Email: josgregson@gmail.com
SCBSG Website: bigsing.org
WRAP-UP
Thank you all so much for the generous gifts given to me at our last rehearsal at St John’s Northgate, most kind, very well chosen and much appreciated.
There have been a number of nice comments and a selection of these is given below:. I must stress that none of this would be possible without the back-up of my close team, Alison, Trevor, Andrew, Mike and Naomi:-
A huge thank you to you and your team for giving us the opportunity to explore two wonderful works. I know there is an extraordinary amount of work and planning that goes into the SCBS but I hope you feel all the effort was worth it in the end.
It was wonderful to sing with you again and I thoroughly enjoyed the two workshops and the concert last night. Congratulations to all concerned. (JS)
I would like to thank you very much for another incredible Big Sing. The concert last night was brilliant and it was great to be a part of it. Your organisation was impeccable as usual, and it was really good to sing new and unfamiliar music. I am also very grateful to Adrian, who I thought brought out the best in us. I think special acknowledgement should go to the concert managers as well, for doing a very good job under difficult circumstances.
I am already looking forward to the 2027 Big Sing! (ME)
And from Adrian:-
I didn’t really sleep last night! I had to work so hard yesterday, and the adrenalin is still in my system.
I believe that last night’s concert was a great success- I really enjoyed it! The choir also worked very hard indeed, and the orchestra were splendid. The Tenor and the Mezzo were terrific!
And what a piece that Mahler is! My friends in the audience were buzzing with it.
Thank you for your generosity in continuing to make these wonderful annual concerts take place. I am already looking forward to next year’s event!
As the sound of the Der Spielmann’s Flöte fades I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the opportunity to participate in another successful performance with the Cotswold Big Sing Group.
My sincere thanks also go to you and the committee for all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that the rehearsals and concerts run so smoothly. Your dedication, organisation and commitment are greatly appreciated and play a huge part in making these events such an enjoyable and rewarding experience for everyone involved.
We are also extremely fortunate to have a conductor of Adrian's calibre. His expertise, enthusiasm and musicianship make every rehearsal both enjoyable and educational, enabling us to develop our singing while thoroughly enjoying the experience.
I am already looking forward to the workshop next April and to meeting up with everyone again. (MT)
I just wanted to email to send our most grateful thanks for organising the wonderful concert on Saturday evening. We hugely enjoyed singing with the SCBSG and very much appreciate that this would not have been possible without your generous sponsorship and hard work.
It is always a joy to sing under Adrian's baton; his clear direction is so very helpful and the preparation we enjoyed with both him and Stephen Kings ensured we all gave our best on the night.
Thank you again for all you did to make it happen and for a wonderful experience for us all. I hope we shall be able to join you again next year. (SM & RM)
I wanted to say an enormous thank you to you and everyone involved in the Big Sing, which I think went really well on Saturday. I do hope you and Adrian were pleased with it, because it was tricky music!
I am part of the Laetare Singers (Come and learn choral works with Laetare Singers) and have been on and off the committee for over 20 years in a variety of roles, including Secretary for Winter Events and Choral Days. I am therefore well aware of just how much work people put in behind the scenes to make these sorts of events happen and the organisation of the Big Sing was amazing, may I even say faultless. You are often very much unsung heros.
All the communications, access to scores and teach tracks, details of venues, parking, Adrians notes, organisation on the day of the line up and seating plan, were excellent. In addition, all the members of the committee that I had any contact with were friendly at all times, which is no mean feat when up against it with everyone asking the same questions over and over.
I hope you are all enjoying a well deserved rest and please pass my thanks to everyone involved. (HC)
We had a really well thought out review from Soundsense as below:-
On the second day of the 2026 Cheltenham Music Festival, the main evening concert was given a few miles away in the magnificent medieval Tewkesbury Abbey.
Before discussing the concert, I think I should say a word or two about the South Cotswold Big Sing Group (SCBSG). Formed in 2008, its members are drawn mainly from a number of well-established local choral societies in the area south of Gloucester and north of Bristol. All the participating choirs put on their own programmes as usual throughout each year; the SCBSG exists as an organisation though which they can all cooperate. Crucially, they come together once a year, to rehearse and perform very large-scale works which would be well beyond the resources of even a couple of the constituent choirs combined. Adrian Partington, the Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral and Artistic Director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales, has been involved with them for several years; under his leadership and with generous sponsorship they have performed such ambitious works as the Te Deum and Grande messe des morts of Berlioz; Holst’s Hymn of Jesus; Mahler’s Eighth Symphony; and the Poulenc Gloria. As an amateur choral singer myself, I think this is a great idea, especially in these cash-constrained times for choral societies. The SCBSG has performed at the Cheltenham Music Festival several times in the past but this was the first opportunity for me to hear them in action. In keeping with their tradition, Partington had chosen a challenging and enterprising programme. Tonight, I would put the size of the choir at between 80 and 90 singers; over twenty choral societies were represented.
Brahms composed his Academic Festival Overture in 1880 as a thank-you tribute to the University of Breslau, which had decided to award him an honorary doctorate in music. It was one of a pair of concert overtures which Brahms wrote around this time; the companion piece is the Tragic Overture, Op.81. The two could scarcely be more different; the latter overture is full of dark drama, whereas in the Academic Festival Overture Brahms is at his most congenial. In the course of the overture Brahms deployed a number of good-hearted traditional student songs, culminating in ‘Gaudeamus igitur’, which is given stately treatment amid a good deal of orchestral counterpoint. On this occasion, we heard something a bit different from the usual in the form of the choral arrangement made by Sir Malcolm Sargent. At a signal from the rostrum, the choir stood to sing the ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ in unison. I must admit, I wasn’t wholly surprised by this; I recall that Partington performed the work at the 2010 Three Choirs Festival and added this choral gesture then. Those who expect authenticity in Brahms performance would doubtless have a fit of the vapours but I think it adds a ‘naughty but nice’ dimension.
Bruckner worked on his setting of the Te Deum between 1881 and 1884; thus, it is contemporaneous with the Sixth and Seventh symphonies. Almost inevitably, especially in a resonant acoustic such as this one, there were some problems of balance; when playing loudly, the orchestra tended to overpower the choir. I don’t really blame the players for this. For one thing, it must be very difficult to adjust to this sort of acoustic on, I presume, just one rehearsal. Also, when Bruckner writes typically sonorous music for the full brass and marks it ff – as happens at several junctures – it just doesn’t work if the music is played mf. Though the orchestra dominated at times I could hear sufficient of the choir’s contribution to tell that they were singing accurately and with commitment. I admired in particular the fact that they were undaunted by the fearsomely high tessitura in several extended passages. Ideally, it would have been good if the SCBSG had had an extra twenty voices, mainly tenors and basses, but even so, they made a good showing. The solo quartet did well. Bruckner gave pride of place to the tenor, who frequently leads the quartet. I thought Elgan Ll?r Thomas was terrific. He sang clearly and with ringing tone; I enjoyed his contributions very much. His three colleagues are given less prominent roles by Bruckner but they sang well. Partington conducted the piece with conviction. He energised his choir and orchestra in the many fervent episodes and he also ensured that the dynamic contrasts, always so crucial in Bruckner’s music, were scrupulously observed. Importantly, he kept the music on the move so that the performance always had purpose.
Over the years, I have attended multiple live performances of all the Mahler symphonies and orchestral song cycles. However, just one work has eluded me: Das klagende Lied. This early cantata only received its UK premiere in 1956, and even today it remains a rarity. So, when I saw that the work was to be performed at the Cheltenham Music Festival I was determined to attend.
The history of Das klagende Lied is somewhat complex but it is worth summarising because it is relevant to the version of the score which we heard tonight. Maher finished his cantata in 1880, the same year that Brahms wrote the Academic Festival Overture. He revised the work in 1893 and 1894. As originally conceived, the cantata is in three parts. However, the first part, ‘Waldmärchen’ (Forest Legend) presents some problems, I think. Dramatically, ‘Waldmärchen’ is relevant because it sets the scene for the action in Parts II and III. That said, there is a lot of musical repetition if all three parts are performed and in addition a performance of Part I, which takes nearly as long as the other two Parts combined, significantly lengthens the cantata. A bass soloist is employed in ‘Waldmärchen’, but not in the other two movements. Mahler’s revisions in the early 1890s involved the complete excision of ‘Waldmärchen’ and some significant reductions in the forces involved; for example, he reduced the number of harps from six (!) to a more affordable two. An off-stage band was also cut, though, in yet another revision in 1898, just before the score was published, Mahler felt sufficiently confident to restore the band. In this final revised version Das klagende Lied was premiered in Vienna, under the composer’s direction, in 1901. Nowadays. most conductors opt for the two-part, final version and I think they are right to do so, though it is interesting to hear ‘Waldmärchen’ on disc from time to time. Partington chose to perform Parts II and III, ‘Der Spielmann’ (The Minstrel) and ‘Hochzeitsstück’ (Wedding Piece).
Partington undertook quite a bit of detective work in preparation for this performance and I can do no better than to reproduce some of his comments which were contained in the Cheltenham Music Festival press release which I received. Partington explained: ‘The 1880 and 1898 versions both include an off-stage band, and for this performance I was keen to adopt the 1893 removal of that element.’ (I suspect that there was a practical reason for omitting the off-stage band tonight; it is quite a large group – and therefore expensive – requiring significantly larger forces than Mahler used in the ‘Resurrection’ Symphony.) Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the 1893 score is unpublished. Partington’s research eventually led him to the librarian of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performed a version of Das klagende Lied without off-stage band in 1972, under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Partington said that he was ‘curious whether the Cleveland version might be a setting of the 1893 re-working, and Cleveland very kindly digitised all the parts from 1972 and sent them to me here at Gloucester.’ When the parts arrived, what emerged was a fascinating hybrid: the 1972 performance without off-stage band was not in fact the 1893 version, but an amendment of the 1898 score, likely to have been penned by Boulez himself. To quote Partington again: ‘Somebody, presumably Boulez, has made the four off-stage passages playable by the “on-stage” instruments in a very different way from how Mahler did it. He [Boulez] may not have done the work; but he certainly authorized it – and somebody has made some daring decisions about removing the doubling of instruments and so on…I dearly wish that somebody would edit and publish the 1893 version,’ In Partington’s judgement, ‘Mahler’s solutions to the removal of the off-stage band are much better than Boulez’s: they are easier to play, and more natural. And of course, authentic!’
It seems that no one knows why the scoring was so significantly altered for the 1972 Cleveland performance; presumably for reasons of economy. So far as is known, that version has never been played since, and tonight was the first time that it had been heard in the UK. There is on YouTube an audio version of what appears to be the 6 April 1972 Cleveland performance conducted by Boulez.
Mahler wrote both the text and the music for this early cantata. He based the text on a story, ‘Das klagende Lied’ (The Song of Lamentation), that he found in an anthology of German folk tales; onto this he grafted some elements of a tale by the Brothers Grimm, ‘Der singende Knocken’ (The singing bone). The first part, ‘Waldmärchen’, which we didn’t hear in this performance, tells of two brothers who set out into the forest to find a flower; the queen has promised to marry whoever can find and bring her a specimen of the flower in question. The younger brother finds the flower but is murdered by his sibling, who steals the flower and sets off to claim the queen. In Part Two, ‘Der Spielmann’ (The Minstrel), the minstrel of the title comes across a bone from the murdered young man. He fashions it into a flute which, when played, tells the story of the murder. Part Three, ‘Hochzeitstücke’ (Wedding Piece), opens at the wedding of the elder brother and the queen but the minstrel spoils the party by arriving and playing his flute. When the brother stands accused of his sibling’s murder, the queen’s castle falls to the ground and the tale comes to a tragic end.
Along with a few songs and the surviving movement of a piano quartet in A minor (1876), Das klagende Lied is the earliest composition by Mahler that has come down to us; it is certainly his earliest known orchestral score. Inevitably, there is evidence of Mahler finding his feet as an orchestrator – though I am sure that when he revised the score in the 1890s, he drew on the experience of his first two symphonies (1884-88 and 1888-94) to improve the scoring – but what comes across much more strongly is the assurance with which he deploys a large orchestra. The work may be early Mahler but his stylistic fingerprints are all over the work, especially in the orchestra.
Adrian Partington established excellent tension right from the start in the orchestral introduction to ‘Der Spielmann’. This set the tone for everything that was to follow. Partington brought out the colour and drama in the music; I had a good view of the rostrum and it was evident that he had the score at his fingertips and was guiding all the performers urgently and clearly through music that is not exactly standard concert fare. The orchestra responded acutely to his direction and even though there were inevitable problems of balance at times this was a price worth paying for the vitality of the performance. The chorus, too, were highly energised. They are particularly involved in ‘Hochzeitstücke’ and here they sang with palpable commitment and assurance; clearly, they had been well schooled in this music which, for most amateur choral singers, is not only unfamiliar but also at times very unconventional for its time. I thought they did very well.
Mahler used three soloists. I am afraid soprano Lee Bissett was a serious disappointment. I formed the impression, perhaps wrongly, that she wasn’t entirely at ease with the music. It sounded to me as if she was trying too hard to project; as a result, both diction and, on occasion it seemed, intonation, suffered. Her significant lamenting solo (‘Ach Bruder. lieber Bruder mein’) should be a high point of the work but Bissett’s singing was insufficiently controlled, as was her final cry of ‘Ach Leide!’ just before the end of the cantata. More positively, Elgan Ll?r Thomas carried on in the same vein as in the Bruckner. The tenor role is less prominent in Das klagende Lied but everything that Thomas did was accurate, involving and highly committed. The alto part in the Bruckner Te Deum doesn’t give the soloist much opportunity to shine but, by contrast, Mahler entrusts a great deal of the narrative to his alto soloist. Claudia Huckle rose to the occasion splendidly. Her singing per se, was excellent; her voice was ideally focused and her diction was very clear. I recall that it was a mantra of the distinguished tenor John Mitchinson that the primary responsibility of a singer is to ‘tell the story’. No one listening to Huckle tonight would have been disappointed in her narrative engagement. Not only did she tell the story most expressively with her voice but also there was visible engagement with the audience. True, there were a few occasions when she sang in her lowest register and was rather overpowered by the orchestra, but I am in no doubt that in these instances the ‘fault’ lay with Mahler’s inexperience as an orchestrator. Overall, I was very impressed with Huckle’s singing; she drew me in to the story and made it come alive.
Seeing Huckle deliver the narrative was just one aspect of this performance that reminded me that experiencing a live performance offers so much more than listening to a CD. Another equally important moment came in ‘Hochzeitstücke’. The first two stanzas of poetry describe the wedding festivities; Mahler sets all this to exuberant music. Then the minstrel arrives to spoil the party and Mahler changes the mood abruptly; his arrival, and the effect his presence has on the king, are illustrated by chilling orchestral sounds, not least from muted horns. This mood change came out more potently than I can ever recall hearing. Partington and the British Sinfonietta did full justice to Mahler’s originality as an orchestrator. Hitherto, I have heard Das klagende Lied in recorded performances which have used the offstage band in ‘Hochzeitstücke’. Hearing the material played by the onstage orchestra was an interesting experience. It was perfectly satisfactory, though Mahler’s more daring spatial effects, though extravagant, undeniably add an extra dimension. However, with everyone watching concert budgets these days, I see no reason why the version performed tonight could not be a perfectly valid alternative, especially if it encourages more performances of the work.
It has taken me some six decades to experience a live account of Das klagende Lied but it was worth the wait. This was a vivid, dramatic and memorable performance which I enjoyed very much.
On the other hand:-
https://bachtrack.com/review-tewkesbury-abbey-cheltenham-music-festival-mahler-july-2026
If you read it go to the end for the Specsavers comment!
All the best and thanks for all your support
See you in 2027
Jos
- Latest Update (2026 Big Sing)
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Date Posted: Tue, 30 Jun 2026
Herewith the latest instructions. Please note that we will all be singing the Brahms from memory, no scores or folders to be used. It should look professional that way.
Brahms - chorus to stand 4 bars before singing (ie bar 8) as directed by AP
All sing Soprano line in unison and from memory throughout except bar 27 (ie 12 +15) where the basses should drop down the octave on the second beat ie stay on same note, do not go up octave with others.
Stand to end
Bruckner - AP to stand chorus
Chorus to sit on "te" bar 1 at beginning of "Te ergo"
Stand on downbeat bar 1 "Aeterna fac"
Stand to end.
Mahler - All seated at the start.
Page 11 Fig. 13 stand
Page 14 Fig 17 sit
Page 23 Fig 32 stand
Page 32 last bar AP to sit chorus for short pause
Page 35 Fig 42 stand
Page 40 bar 3 stay standing
Page 45 end of page stay standing
Page 51 Fig 60 sit
Page 55 bar 4 stand
Page 60 bar 3 sit
Page 62 bar 15 stand
Page 69 Bar 1 sit
Please contact me if you have any queries.
Jos Gregson
South Cotswold Big Sing Group
www.bigsing.org
- 2026 Big Sing Newsletter No 3 (2026 Big Sing)
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Date Posted: Mon, 22 Jun 2026
Reply to Jos Gregson,Dear Singer,
18 Willoughby Close,
Alveston,
Bristol BS35 3RW
Tel: 01454-411652
Email: josgregson@gmail.com
SCBSG Website: bigsing.org
WEEK 5
Thank you for signing up to sing in our performance of the Brahms Academic Festival Overture, the Bruckner Te Deum and Parts II and III of Gustav Mahler’s Das klagende Lied. This is the final Newsletter before our Tewkesbury Abbey concert on Saturday 4th July 2026 as part of the Cheltenham Music Festival, we will be conducted by Adrian Partington and accompanied by the British Sinfonietta. There will be four soloists in the Bruckner and three soloists in the Mahler.
TICKETS
I have a number of concert tickets available for sale. These are priced at £42 (44), £32 (28) and £15 (28). Numbers in brackets are the numbers of seats in our allocation. We have a large orchestra and the four front rows have been removed and the rows have been re-numbered so that the front row is now I.
£42 seats – I7, M1-4, P12-15, Q1-2, R12, S1-4, V1-4, W12-15, X4, Z1-2, Z14-15, BB9-10
£32 seats – DD10-11, EE2, GG8-11, HH3-6, KK1-6, LL10-12, MM2-3, OO9-12
£15 seats –these are aisle seats and unnumbered, state whether you prefer south or north aisle. On the seating plan that is attached available seats are marked with an X
You can also look on the Cheltenham Festival website. As I sell tickets I will update this list so that it is current when I send it out. Seats are also available from the Cheltenham Festival Box Office at cheltenhamfestivals.com/booking.
Please note that all unsold tickets will be returned to the Festival on Wednesday 1st July to be added to the Festival’s tickets. They will no longer be available from myself.
BUSES
We will be running buses from Thornbury to every Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury rehearsal and the performance. These will leave from outside Aldi in Thornbury which has two car parks adjacent to it. The cost will be £20 per trip and the 33-seater coach will be operated by Mike’s Travel. Booking forms are available on the SCBSG website bigsing.org, from myself or can be sent electronically.. It is very important that singers complete and return the forms to me as we anticipate that there will be much demand particularly for the Tewkesbury runs.
CONCERT FOLDERS
We will be using maroon concert folders courtesy of Thornbury Choral Societies. As there are several different colours involved in the scores we are singing from we are very keen to use folders to give a uniform appearance. Folders will be on your seats when you arrive on Saturday 4th July. After the concert please remove your scores from the folders and place the folders in the boxes provided..
SCORES
The only score that singers have hired is the Peters edition of the Bruckner Te Deum and there will be boxes for these to deposit your hire scores in on either side of the staging. If you have purchased the Peters score of course these do not have to be returned. The Mahler scores are all paid for and are your own property.
CONCERT DRESS
For ladies – black top with at least three-quarter length sleeves, long black skirt or trousers.
For gentlemen – white shirt, black bow tie and evening dress trousers. Unless it happens to be very cold on 4th July we will not be wearing dinner jackets. We will be changing in the Green Room and will be able to leave our smart clothes there for the rehearsal, the concert manager will lock the suite when we are rehearsing.
WATER
If you feel that you need to take a bottle of water in to the concert please can you take as small a bottle as you can manage with and keep it out of sight, both when taking your seat and also while sitting down. It is essential to stay hydrated while we sing as we do not want any cases of heatstroke.
For the rehearsals on 3/7 and 4/7 pm we will not be having a juice break after an hour or so as this will mean dismounting the staging which takes time. Please bring any liquid refreshment that you require for those rehearsals. Non-alcoholic, of course!
PROGRAMMES
We have produced a 28 page programme with details of the orchestra and conductor, lists of the orchestra, singers and most importantly a write-up on the works that we are performing together with the librettos where we are singing. At 4.45pm on the 4th after the afternoon rehearsal we would like a number of singers to help by putting a programme on each audience seat, also the soloists, singers and orchestra seats. The boxes of programmes will be stored in the Cathedral and the authorities are going to lend us a trolley to shift them.
WEEK 5
Wednesday 1st July – local rehearsal from 7.30pm-9.30pm at Tabernacle URC Church, Parsonage Street, Dursley GL11 4BJ. This will be taken by Steven Kings and accompanied by Alison Howell. The church is situated on the street leading into Dursley from the A38. There is very limited parking at the church and these spaces are reserved for the conductor, accompanist etc. but there is a large car park at the leisure centre (Swimming pool) which is 50 yards further on and more parking at Sainsbury’s (with a 2 hour maximum).
We are not running a bus to these four Dursley rehearsals. The following have agreed to drive and offer lifts, please contact one of the specified drivers and arrange pick-up points with them and offer payment for petrol.
Mike Elcock (07979 700340)
Jos Gregson (07974 049406)
Caroline Stoner (07720773301)
Tessa Sullivan (07771 904670)
Lyn Summers (07866 992133)
Directions to Tabernacle URC, Parsonage St., Dursley, GL11 4BW
Travelling from Gloucester
Follow the A38 south to Slimbridge Roundabout.
Turn left along A4135 for 3.5 miles/5.2 km. The church is on your left just before the roundabout in the centre of Dursley.
Turn left at this roundabout for Parking at the Swimming Pool or in the centre of Dursley or turn right to park opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Thornbury
Follow the A38 north to Berkeley Road Junction.
Turn right along B4066 through Cam to the roundabout junction with the A4135.
Turn right towards Dursley for ¾ mile/1.2km.
The Tabernacle Church is on the left just before the roundabout at the centre of Dursley.
Turn left for parking at the Swimming Pool or turn right for parking opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Bristol
Follow the M5 North to J14 (Falfield) and come off left towards the A38 along the B4509.
At the A38 traffic lights turn right towards Dursley.
Follow the directions above from Thornbury.
Thursday 2nd July - rehearsal 7.30-9.30 at St John’s Northgate, Gloucester GL1 2AN to be taken by Adrian Partington accompanied by Steven Kings. Please attend if you possibly can. Please use the St John’s Lane entrance, not the Northgate Street entrance as this will facilitate checking in. We will be serving water and orange squash at around 8.30. There is a bus from Thornbury to this rehearsal.
Follow A417 towards Gloucester. At the first roundabout, take the 2nd left (A417). At the next roundabout take 2nd left (Corinium Avenue). At the next roundabout turn right along Barnwood Rd. At the *next roundabout turn right onto Estcourt Rd. At the next roundabout follow Estcourt Road (straight on). At the next roundabout turn left into Kingsholm Rd (A430) and follow the A430 to the Gouda Way T junction and turn right. Turn left into Park St/Hare St car Park.
Walk south along Hare Lane and turn right into Northgate Street. Turn right into St John’s Lane to Church entrance.
One of our members warns as follows:-
London Rd is closed westbound at Great Western Rd.
It's a long term closure for the cycle track from Bishop's Cleeve to Stroud. People from Cheltenham and other places east of Gloucester probably use the ring road and approach Hare Lane car park from St Oswald's Rd. That's what I would do but there may be some who come in on London Rd and need to turn right at Black Dog Way. This is impossible now.
Here is an article from Gloucestershire Live with details.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/one-way-system-place-gloucester-11000491
Please note it is easier to travel into Gloucester via J11A rather than from J12 if travelling from the South, although you could follow the A38 to Cole Avenue and turn right onto the A38 Southern and Eastern Avenue to Barnwood Rd Roundabout, turn left onto Barnwood Rd and follow instructions above.
Friday 3rd July rehearsal - 7.30-10.00pm at Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury GL20 5RZ to be taken by Adrian Partington and accompanied by Jonathan Hope. This is the rehearsal where we are told where to sit by Trevor Bartlett, the concert manager. If you cannot attend at this rehearsal please get a neighbour to reserve you a place.
There is no parking available at the Abbey. Public parking is available at Vineyards and Meadow car parks. (GL20 5PG and GL20 5QB)
Please arrive by 7.15pm and be seated by 7.25pm.
Please enter by the North Door. Seating plans are available and the concert managers (Trevor Bartlett and Andrew Woodhall) will be present to assist you. PLEASE NOTE THE SEATING PLAN IS DIFFERENT TO WORKSHOP AND REHEARSAL SEATING.
At the end of the rehearsal please stay seated until after the concert manager has issued gathering, mounting and dismounting instructions for the next day. We will dismount from the stands TOP row first.
Unless instructed otherwise your rehearsal seat will be your seat for the rehearsal the next day and the concert.so please make a note of who is standing beside, in front of and behind you.
Saturday 4th July afternoon rehearsal - Please be at the Abbey by 1.15pm and seated by 1.35pm. Assembly instructions and mounting plan will be announced before rehearsal starts. The rehearsal will start promptly and will end at 4.45pm prompt. There is a service starting at 5.00pm so please clear the area quickly.
Green Room facilities have been arranged in the Meeting Room adjacent to the Abbey Café. This will be open from 12.30pm and closed at 1.30pm. Changing facilities are available behind screens in the meeting room. The Green room will only have seating for approximately 60 people due to fire regulations. The room will be secured at 1.15 and opened again at 4.50. One of the concert managers will have the key.
The Green Room can be used after the rehearsal and before the concert (4.50pm to 7.10pm) however it is maximised at 60 persons. PLEASE NOTE the Green Room will be supervised or locked between 5.00pm and 6.15pm whilst the concert managers have a meal break. After 5.00pm seating in the Abbey Café can be used. PLEASE NOTE. The café will not be open and no food or drink will be available. If you take in your own food please be responsible for clearing away any rubbish.
Before 4.45pm the Café and the toilet facilities are open to the general public. Toilet facilities are limited to say the least.
Saturday 4th July Performance - At 7.00pm please start to assemble in the transepts as instructed at the rehearsals. Seats 1-8 in the north transept and seats 9-16 in the south transept. Please stand quietly and follow the instruction of the relevant concert manager.
At 7.15 the choir will mount the staging, starting with the front row. Please remain standing until all are in place then upon signal from one of the tenors (TBA) take your seats. All rise as Adrian enters and remain standing until Adrian signals to be seated.
There will be a short interval after the Bruckner Te Deum. Please remain in your seats if possible but remember to stretch and take on some water.
At the end of the concert and after the applause, encores and presentations (if any) please dismount in an orderly fashion from the top row.
The green room will be opened by the concert manager but will be only open for a short period of time until the keys have to be handed back to the verger.
A38 Roadworks
NB Please be aware that the A38 between Almondsbury and Grovesend/Thornbury has roadworks until at least October 2026 and parts of the road may be closed or reduced to one lane after 8pm. If you are coming from Bristol or Bath etc. it is probably best to use the M5.
The road works are open during the day (6am – 8pm).
For further information please see www.southglos.gov.uk/a38-bsw-active-travel
If you have any queries at all please contact me at any of the contact points at the head of this Newsletter. I will be attending all rehearsals.
Jos Gregson
Chairman, South Cotswold Big Sing Group
- 2026 Big Sing Newsletter No 2 (2026 Big Sing)
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Date Posted: Wed, 10 Jun 2026
Reply to Jos Gregson,Dear Singer,
18 Willoughby Close,
Alveston,
Bristol BS35 3RW
Tel: 01454-411652
Email: josgregson@gmail.com
SCBSG Website: bigsing.org
WEEKS 3 and 4
Thank you for signing up to sing in our performance of the Brahms Academic Festival Overture, the Bruckner Te Deum and Parts II and III of Gustav Mahler’s Das klagende Lied. This will take place in Tewkesbury Abbey on Saturday 4th July 2026 as part of the Cheltenham Music Festival, we will be conducted by Adrian Partington and accompanied by the British Sinfonietta. There will be four soloists in the Bruckner and three soloists in the Mahler.
If you would like details of the scores being used, Adrian Partington’s score amendments and which rehearsals to attend these were in Newsletter No. 1 which can be viewed on the website www.bigsing.org
TICKETS
I have a number of concert tickets available for sale. These are priced at £42 (44), £32 (28) and £15 (28). Numbers in brackets are the numbers of seats in our allocation. We have a large orchestra and the four front rows have been removed and the rows have been re-numbered so that the front row is now I.
£42 seats – I7, M1-4, P12-15, Q1-2, R12, S1-4, V1-4, W12-15, X4, Z1-2, Z14-15, BB9-10
£32 seats – DD10-11, EE1-2, GG8-11, HH3-6, KK1-6, LL10-12, MM2-3, OO9-12
£15 seats –these are aisle seats and unnumbered, state whether you prefer south or north aisle. On the seating plan that is attached available seats are marked with an X
You can also look on the Cheltenham Festival website. As I sell tickets I will update this list so that it is current when I send it out. Seats are also available from the Cheltenham Festival Box Office at cheltenhamfestivals.com/booking
BUSES
We will be running buses from Thornbury to every Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury rehearsal and the performance. These will leave from outside Aldi in Thornbury which has two car parks adjacent to it. The cost will be £20 per trip and the 33-seater coach will be operated by Mike’s Travel. Booking forms are available on the SCBSG website bigsing.org, from myself or can be sent electronically.. It is very important that singers complete and return the forms to me as we anticipate that there will be much demand particularly for the Tewkesbury runs.
WEEK 3
Thursday 18th June – local rehearsal from 7.30pm-9.30pm at Tabernacle URC Church, Parsonage Street, Dursley GL11 4BJ. This will be taken by Steven Kings and accompanied by Alison Howell. The church is situated on the street leading into Dursley from the A38. There is very limited parking at the church and these spaces are reserved for the conductor, accompanist etc. but there is a large car park at the leisure centre (Swimming pool) which is 50 yards further on and more parking at Sainsbury’s (with a 2 hour maximum).
We are not running a bus to these four Dursley rehearsals. The following have agreed to drive and offer lifts, please contact one of the specified drivers and arrange pick-up points with them and offer payment for petrol.
Mike Elcock (07979 700340)
Jos Gregson (07974 049406)
Caroline Stoner (07720773301)
Tessa Sullivan (07771 904670)
Lyn Summers (07866 992133)
Directions to Tabernacle URC, Parsonage St., Dursley, GL11 4BW
Travelling from Gloucester
Follow the A38 south to Slimbridge Roundabout.
Turn left along A4135 for 3.5 miles/5.2 km. The church is on your left just before the roundabout in the centre of Dursley.
Turn left at this roundabout for Parking at the Swimming Pool or in the centre of Dursley or turn right to park opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Thornbury
Follow the A38 north to Berkeley Road Junction.
Turn right along B4066 through Cam to the roundabout junction with the A4135.
Turn right towards Dursley for ¾ mile/1.2km.
The Tabernacle Church is on the left just before the roundabout at the centre of Dursley.
Turn left for parking at the Swimming Pool or turn right for parking opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Bristol
Follow the M5 North to J14 (Falfield) and come off left towards the A38 along the B4509.
At the A38 traffic lights turn right towards Dursley.
Follow the directions above from Thornbury.
WEEK 4
Wednesday 24th June – local rehearsal from 7.30pm-9.30pm at Tabernacle URC Church, Parsonage Street, Dursley GL11 4BJ. This will be taken by Steven Kings and accompanied by Alison Howell. Details as for Thursday 18th June (note change of day)
Thursday 25th June - rehearsal 7.30-9.30 at St John’s Northgate, Gloucester GL1 2AN to be taken by Adrian Partington accompanied by Steven Kings. Please attend if you possibly can. Please use the St John’s Lane entrance, not the Northgate Street entrance as this will facilitate checking in. We will be serving water and orange squash at around 8.30. There is a bus from Thornbury to this rehearsal.
Follow A417 towards Gloucester. At the first roundabout, take the 2nd left (A417). At the next roundabout take 2nd left (Corinium Avenue). At the next roundabout turn right along Barnwood Rd. At the *next roundabout turn right onto Estcourt Rd. At the next roundabout follow Estcourt Road (straight on). At the next roundabout turn left into Kingsholm Rd (A430) and follow the A430 to the Gouda Way T junction and turn right. Turn left into Park St/Hare St car Park.
Walk south along Hare Lane and turn right into Northgate Street. Turn right into St John’s Lane to Church entrance.
Please note it is easier to travel into Gloucester via J11A rather than from J12 if travelling from the South, although you could follow the A38 to Cole Avenue and turn right onto the A38 Southern and Eastern Avenue to Barnwood Rd Roundabout, turn left * onto Barnwood Rd and follow instructions above.
A38 Roadworks
NB Please be aware that the A38 between Almondsbury and Grovesend/Thornbury has roadworks until at least October 2026 and parts of the road may be closed or reduced to one lane after 8pm. If you are coming from Bristol or Bath etc. it is probably best to use the M5.
The road works are open during the day (6am – 8pm).
For further information please see www.southglos.gov.uk/a38-bsw-active-travel
If you have any queries at all please contact me at any of the contact points at the head of this Newsletter. I will be attending all rehearsals.
The next Newsletter No. 3 will include changing facilities, what to wear for the concert, getting on and off the staging etc.
Jos Gregson
Chairman, South Cotswold Big Sing Group
- 2026 Big Sing Newsletter no 1 (2026 Big Sing)
-
Date Posted: Fri, 29 May 2026
Reply to Jos Gregson,
18 Willoughby Close,
Alveston,
Bristol BS35 3RW
Tel: 01454-411652
Email: josgregson@gmail.com
SCBSG Website: bigsing.org
WEEKS 1 and 2
Dear Singer,
Thank you for signing up to sing in our performance of the Brahms Academic Festival Overture, the Bruckner Te Deum and Parts II and III of Gustav Mahler’s Das klagende Lied. This will take place in Tewkesbury Abbey on Saturday 4th July 2026 as part of the Cheltenham Music Festival, we will be conducted by Adrian Partington and accompanied by the British Sinfonietta. There will be four soloists in the Bruckner and three soloists in the Mahler.
As there is a very busy rehearsal schedule and we are using several different venues I am planning to send out a regular Newsletter well before the start of each week giving details of dates and venues and also other details such as tickets, buses, concert dress etc.
WHICH REHEARSALS SHOULD I ATTEND?
Adrian would like all singers to attend the rehearsals that he is taking, namely those on 4/6, 6/6, 25/6, 2/7, 3/7 and 4/7. The evening rehearsal on 3/7 is particularly important as that is when our Concert Manager, Trevor Bartlett will sort out the seating plan and allocate places. If you cannot attend this please arrange with someone from your voice section to make sure that you know where to sit.
Singers from audition choirs are also encouraged to attend the local rehearsals in Dursley. While these are for singers from smaller choirs to get to learn the work it is very helpful to have a more experienced singer singing alongside one and I hope that many of you will consider doing this.
SCORES
The hire score that we are using for the Bruckner Te Deum is Peters, for the Brahms we have our own copies and for the Mahler we have had special copies printed.
SCORE AMENDMENTS
Adrian has produced a number of revisions to all three scores. These are available to download on the website www.bigsing.org or if preferred ask me and I can email them to you. I will also have printed copies at rehearsals.
TICKETS
I have a number of concert tickets available for sale. These are priced at £42 (44), £32 (28) and £15 (28). Numbers in brackets are the numbers of seats in our allocation. We have a large orchestra and the four front rows have been removed and the rows have been re-numbered so that the front row is now I.
£42 seats – I7, M1-4, P12-15, Q1-2, R12, S1-4, V1-4, W12-15, X4, Z1-2, Z14-15, BB9-10
£32 seats – DD10-11, EE1-2, GG8-11, HH3-6, KK1-6, LL10-12, MM2-3, OO9-12
£15 seats –these are aisle seats and unnumbered, state whether you prefer south or north aisle. On the seating plan that is attached available seats are marked with an X
You can also look on the Cheltenham Festival website. As I sell tickets I will update this list so that it is current when I send it out. Seats are also available from the Cheltenham Festival Box Office at cheltenhamfestivals.com/booking
BUSES
We will be running buses from Thornbury to every Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury rehearsal and the performance. These will leave from outside Aldi in Thornbury which has two car parks adjacent to it. The cost will be £20 per trip and the 33-seater coach will be operated by Mike’s Travel. Booking forms are available on the SCBSG website bigsing.org, from myself and are also attached. It is very important that singers complete and return the forms to me as we anticipate that there will be much demand particularly for the Tewkesbury runs.
WEEK 1
Thursday 4th June - rehearsal 7.30-9.30 at St John’s Northgate, Gloucester GL1 2AN to be taken by Adrian Partington accompanied by Steven Kings. Please attend if you possibly can. Please use the St John’s Lane entrance, not the Northgate Street entrance as this will facilitate checking in. We will be serving water and orange squash at around 8.30. There is a bus from Thornbury to this rehearsal.
Follow A417 towards Gloucester. At the first roundabout, take the 2nd left (A417). At the next roundabout take 2nd left (Corinium Avenue). At the next roundabout turn right along Barnwood Rd. At the *next roundabout turn right onto Estcourt Rd. At the next roundabout follow Estcourt Road (straight on). At the next roundabout turn left into Kingsholm Rd (A430) and follow the A430 to the Gouda Way T junction and turn right. Turn left into Park St/Hare St car Park.
Walk south along Hare Lane and turn right into Northgate Street. Turn right into St John’s Lane to Church entrance.
Please note it is easier to travel into Gloucester via J11A rather than from J12 if travelling from the South, although you could follow the A38 to Cole Avenue and turn right onto the A38 Southern and Eastern Avenue to Barnwood Rd Roundabout, turn left * onto Barnwood Rd and follow instructions above.
Saturday 6th June? -? Workshop 10am-4pm at Christ Church, Malvern Road, Cheltenham GL50 2JH to be taken by Adrian Partington accompanied by Chris Williams. As many of you as possible are urged to attend. There will be a tea and coffee break at around 11am, please bring a mug. Please bring your own lunch, we will stop for lunch between 1pm and 2pm. Parking – Please be sensible with parking and provided that you are fit park well away from the church, there is a lot of on-street parking. If you are coming from south of Bristol this might be a very good occasion to use the bus from Thornbury.
Coming in to Cheltenham from Junction 11 on the M5 approach Cheltenham on the A40. Cross the first roundabout taking the third exit, pass GCHQ on your left and take the second exit at the next roundabout. Go straight ahead at the lights by the Shell station into Lansdown Road, Malvern Road is the eighth left turn and Christ Church faces you at the bottom of the road. There is parking along a lot of Malvern Road but as stated above please if possible park a good distance from the Church.
Thursday 11th June – local rehearsal from 7.30pm-9.30pm at Tabernacle URC Church, Parsonage Street, Dursley GL11 4BJ. This will be taken by Steven Kings and accompanied by Alison Howell. The church is situated on the street leading into Dursley from the A38. There is very limited parking at the church and these spaces are reserved for the conductor, accompanist etc. but there is a large car park at the leisure centre (Swimming pool) which is 50 yards further on and more parking at Sainsbury’s (with a 2 hour maximum).
This is a new venue for us but is highly rated by Tyndale Choral Society who use it for their regular rehearsals.
We are not running a bus to these four Dursley rehearsals. The following have agreed to drive and offer lifts, please contact one of the specified drivers and arrange pick-up points with them and offer payment for petrol.
Mike Elcock (07979 700340)
Jos Gregson (07974 049406)
Caroline Stoner (07720773301)
Tessa Sullivan (07771 904670)
Lyn Summers (07866 992133)
Directions to Tabernacle URC, Parsonage St., Dursley, GL11 4BW
Travelling from Gloucester
Follow the A38 south to Slimbridge Roundabout.
Turn left along A4135 for 3.5 miles/5.2 km. The church is on your left just before the roundabout in the centre of Dursley.
Turn left at this roundabout for Parking at the Swimming Pool or in the centre of Dursley or turn right to park opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Thornbury
Follow the A38 north to Berkeley Road Junction.
Turn right along B4066 through Cam to the roundabout junction with the A4135.
Turn right towards Dursley for ¾ mile/1.2km.
The Tabernacle Church is on the left just before the roundabout at the centre of Dursley.
Turn left for parking at the Swimming Pool or turn right for parking opposite the Old Spot Inn.
Travelling from Bristol
Follow the M5 North to J14 (Falfield) and come off left towards the A38 along the B4509.
At the A38 traffic lights turn right towards Dursley.
Follow the directions above from Thornbury.
Saturday 13th June? -? Workshop 10am-4pm at Christ Church, Malvern Road, Cheltenham GL50 2JH to be taken by Steven Kings accompanied by Chris Williams. As many of you as possible are urged to attend. There will be a tea and coffee break at around 11am, please bring a mug. Please bring your own lunch, we will stop for lunch between 1pm and 2pm. Parking – Please be sensible with parking and provided that you are fit park well away from the church, there is a lot of on-street parking. If you are coming from south of Bristol this might be a very good occasion to use the bus from Thornbury.
Coming in to Cheltenham from Junction 11 on the M5 approach Cheltenham on the A40. Cross the first roundabout taking the third exit, pass GCHQ on your left and take the second exit at the next roundabout. Go straight ahead at the lights by the Shell station into Lansdown Road, Malvern Road is the eighth left turn and Christ Church faces you at the bottom of the road. There is parking along a lot of Malvern Road but as stated above please if possible park a good distance from the Church.
A38 Roadworks
NB Please be aware that the A38 between Almondsbury and Grovesend/Thornbury has roadworks until at least October 2026 and parts of the road may be closed or reduced to one lane after 8pm. If you are coming from Bristol or Bath etc. it is probably best to use the M5.
The road works are open during the day (6am – 8pm).
For further information please see www.southglos.gov.uk/a38-bsw-active-travel
If you have any queries at all please contact me at any of the contact points at the head of this Newsletter. I will be attending all rehearsals.
Jos Gregson
Chairman, South Cotswold Big Sing Group
- 2026 Big Sing 4 July (2026 Big Sing)
-
Date Posted: Thu, 30 Apr 2026
Dear Singer
I am sending this to you as you took part in the April 11th Workshop studying the three works that we are to sing in Tewkesbury Abbey on the above date, the Brahms Academic Festival Overture, the Bruckner Te Deum and Mahler's Das klagende Lied or have been one of the singers who has added your name to the list but could not take part in the Workshop.
If you are intending to sing with us but have not yet sent in your form or paid please could you do this as soon as possible as I have a lot of work to do before the concert including writing the programme etc. If it helps you may pay by cheque and postdate to the 1st June, I will check dates.. A booking form is attached
There will be a bus from Thornbury to the 7 rehearsal and performance venues in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury, these will run from outside Ald in Thornburyi. These are on June 4th, 6th, 13th, 25th, and July 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The cost will be £20 per trip. A schedule with timings will be sent out nearer the time to book your place.
On Dursley rehearsal dates we are asking members of the choir with larger cars to offer lifts and will send out more details nearer the time, Passengers can offer some petrol money to drivers.
I now have our allocation of tickets for the concert and there is a map attached to this email Seats in green are $42, in purple are £32 and aisle seats (unreserved) are £15.£42 seats – I7, M1-4, P12-15, R12, Q1-2, R4-7, S1-4, S9-12, V1-4, W12-15, X4, Z1-2, Z14-15, AA6-7, BB9-10
£32 seats – DD10-11, EE1-2, GG8-11, HH3-6, KK1-6, LL10-12, MM2-3, OO9-12
£15 seats –these are aisle seats and unnumbered, state whether you prefer south or north aisle.
IAs I sell tickets I will update this list so that it is current when I send it out. Seats are also available from the Cheltenham Festival Box Office at cheltenhamfestivals.com/booking
Looking forward to singing with you
Jos
