VCHpresents Organ: A Christmas Carillon

A CHRISTMAS CARILLON

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2022 Victoria Concert Hall Sponsored by

PROGRAMME

Evelyn Lim organ

Yap Wai Hoong organ Ministry of Bellz*

Damien Lim Principal Conductor

Valerie Lee Associate Conductor

Carillon from 12 Pièces, Op. 16 3 mins by Léon Boëllmann

Ring in Exaltation! (O Come All ye faithful)* 2 mins by Douglas E. Wagner

Fantasy on Ukrainian Bell Carol* 3 mins by Mykola Leontovych (arr. Childers)

We Three Kings* 4 mins by John H. Hopkins Jr. (arr. Raney)

Dance of the Reed Flutes from The Nutcracker* 3 mins by Tchaikovsky (arr. Griffin)

A Christmas Festival* 7 mins By Leroy Anderson (arr. Thompson)

Fugue sur le thème du Carillon des Heures de la Cathédrale de Soissons, Op. 12 4 mins by Maurice Duruflé

Carillon 7 mins by William Mathias

And All That Jazz* 3 mins by John Kander & Fred Ebb (arr. Hanson)

Sway (Quién será)* 3 mins by Pablo Beltrán Ruiz (arr. Ethuin)

Morning Has Broken* 5 mins Traditional (arr Raney)

Let There Be Peace* 4 mins by Sy Miller & Jill Jackson (arr. Wagner)

Battle Hymn of the Republic* 4 mins by Julia Ward Howe (arr. Dobrinski)

CONCERT DURATION: approximately 1 hour (with no intermission)

EVELYN LIM organ

Evelyn Lim keeps a busy schedule as organist, pedagogue and church musician. She is Director of Music/ Organ Instructor at Methodist School of Music, and Pipe Organ Master at the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, where she gives organ tours and assists organists. Evelyn also teaches part-time at Dulwich College (Singapore). With her team of passionate organists and friends in the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, she organises workshops, masterclasses and concerts with local and international artists and clinicians.

Evelyn enjoys working with the Singapore Symphony Group in the VCHpresents organ programmes, and performs as solo and collaborative musician with local and international ensembles and orchestras. She holds a Doctoral degree in Organ from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).

YAP WAI HOONG organ

Yap Wai Hoong is an Automation Engineer by profession. His passion for music led him to learn the clarinet and eventually the organ. He now serves as an active member of the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, organising events such as concerts, masterclasses and various musical projects that bring organ music to the local communities. He has performed in local recitals (such as VCHpresents Organ series) and wind-ensemble and orchestral concerts. A student of Dr Evelyn Lim, he has also participated in several masterclasses, both locally and in Italy.

MINISTRY OF BELLZ

The award-winning MINISTRY OF BELLZ (MOB) was established in June 2007. Its purpose was to create an advanced-level handbell ensemble for current and former school ringers, to continue their passion in the art of handbell ringing.

As Singapore’s premier Handbell ensemble, the team’s performance engagements include birthday parties, weddings, Christmas, corporate & charity events, government & private functions. In the past fifteen years, the team has amassed more than four hundred shows including performances in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, UK,

Handbell Ringers

Amanda Soh

Chan Yi Shi

Chew Pei Jin, Sarah

Chin Hui Jun

Crystal Goh Ying En

Emily Siqi Puah

Francine Lim Jia Ni

Goh Kiat Yin

Himani Vinod Vasnani

Jacklyn Loke Jia Ying

Jade Goh Ying Hui

Jasmin Lim Ker Xin

Jessica Lee Jun Fong

Jessie Zhou Xinyang

Kao Wei Lin Eloise

Kyrin Sethel Chong

Lee Kai Yin Kaylyn

Li Jiahui

Lim Jin Yi, Ethan

Low Kai Shing Kareen

Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, South Korea and Taiwan.

The MOB achieved the Gold with Honours Award at the Hong Kong International Handbell Olympics 2013. The MOB is also the holder of three Singapore Book of Records.

Coming together with the common passion of handbells ringing and music making, the ensemble is recognised as a “Leader in Handbells Music” in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

www.mobellz.weebly.com

Percussionists

Melody Joy Chee

Neo Meng Yao

Ng Praise Gigatt

Ng Yi Wei Melodie

Ooi Xin Ying

Sarah Koh Hui Khoon

Tan Jie Xin

Tan Ling Yue, Gloria

Tan Shin Lu

Teng Rou Yi

Leong Su Juen Luo Bingrui

DAMIEN LIM Principal Conductor

Trained as a percussionist and electone musician, Damien is Founder & Music Director of the award-winning Ministry of Bellz from Singapore. Percussion and handbells has led him to perform, teach and adjudicate in more than twenty countries, including the USA, Japan, Egypt, Turkey, Ireland and France.

Damien advocates the importance of quality teaching, learning and performance in music-making. He holds a Master’s of Music from the University of West London (UK) and is a Fellow (FRSA) with the Royal Society of the Arts (UK), a Fellow (FLCM) of the London College of Music (UK) and Executive Director of the Handbell Ringers of Singapore

(HRSG). He directs handbell teams at six schools, is a consultant for eight other school ensembles and teaches at SPED Schools.

A firm believer of “creative excellence through handbell music”, he contributes actively to the development of handbell standards in Singapore though his works. He constantly seeks to be “purposeful in pursuit of excellence”.

www.damienlim.weebly.com

VALERIE LEE Associate Conductor

Valerie was introduced to English Handbells at a young age, ringing with the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church. To pursue her interest, she joined the Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School (PLMGS) Primary School Handbell team in 2007 and performed at the 13th International Handbell Symposium in Orlando, Florida (USA). The team attained the Gold Award at the 2010 Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) under Mr Damien Lim. She then continued her ringing through PLMGS (Secondary) until 2014.

In 2013, Valerie joined the Ministry of Bellz (MOB), and performed in Hong Kong in 2019 and Thailand in 2022. She was given the opportunity to learn conducting in 2017 and 2021, and co-helmed her first concert, MOBXV: Milestones, in June 2022.

Valerie’s dedication to handbells comes from her love for musicmaking and the performing arts. She also enjoys ballet, chorale singing and playing the piano.

Valerie was appointed MOB’s 1st Young Associate Conductor in 2021.

PROGRAMME NOTES

Over the centuries, bells have announced weddings, celebrated victories, mourned deaths and summoned people to religious observance. Even the casual listener will notice that some bells in European towers play songs and melodies. (The famous chiming of Westminster’s “Big Ben” clock in London comes to mind.) These bells (Carillons or Chimes) are not swung, but struck with a clapper, operated by a person playing a keyboard (Carilloneur), or by an automatic mechanism. Carillon music became very popular in Northern France, Netherlands and Belgium in the 17th century, and developed into an art. Carillons consist of numerous bells of varied sizes, so that complex and pleasing melodies and accompaniment may be played.

The British devised a different system of ringing tower bells — change-ringing. Instead of one person playing all the bells from a keyboard, a rope hung from each bell and a single change ringer pull one of the ropes to turn/swing the bell and sound it. Hence, one bell — one rope — one person; 8 bells — 8 ropes — 8 persons! The necessary but noisy rehearsals disturbed the entire town, so in the 17th century, change ringers invented handbells to practice quietly. In the 1830s, handbell-ringing was brought to America where over time, it became popular in churches and schools. Handbell choirs range from the basic bell starter set of two octaves to as many as five octaves. Much handbell music features complementary instruments such as the flute, violin, organ or brass ensemble.

“Bells, bells, bells –

To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells! ”

– Edgar Allen Poe

The catchy melodies from European tower bells inspired composers of organ music to imitate bell tones or their tunes in their music. The Frenchman Léon Boëllmann’s Carillon, Op. 16 for organ opens the concert this evening with a cheery, 3-note dance in the bass “bells” (played by the organ pedals) and a happy melody. After a brief reprieve and a quiet second melody, momentum resumes and builds, ending grandly.

Next, the handbells are invited to “ring in the season’’ with Ring in Exaltation! This piece is an adaptation of the famous tune for Christmas O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis). The energised rendition with dance-like syncopated rhythms and continuous eighth notes laying over the carol tune is sure to usher in the festive mood!

The Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych adopted a 4-note motif from the Ukrainian folk chant Shchedryk which then evolved into the well-known tune Carol of the Bells. In this arrangement entitled Fantasy On Ukrainian Bell Carol, one might mentally paint an ethereal Eastern European landscape with repeated peal of bells sounding faintly in the distance, which eventually evolves into a brilliant and sonorous carol.

We Three Kings by John Henry Hopkins Jr. bears a Middle-Eastern flavour as the music is set in a minor mode. Joel Raney’s arrangement with finger cymbals and tambourines evokes an oriental dance. Imagine the journey of the Wise Men following the Bethlehem star, traveling with their camels, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to the manger where the infant King of Kings lay.

No festive holiday is complete without Tchaikovksy’s classic ballet, The Nutcracker The Dance of the Reed Flutes occurs in Act 2 of the ballet, as Clara travels to the Land of Sweets and a celebration is held in honour of her brave defeat of the Mouse King. The festive cheer continues in A Christmas Festival. Ride along to a medley of well-loved Christmas favourites, including Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Jingle Bells and a reprise of Adeste Fideles

The organ returns with French composer Maurice Duruflé’s Fugue sur le thème du Carillon des Heures de la Cathédrale de Soissons, Op. 12. This piece is based on the 8-note tune from the clock bells at the Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais in Soissons, Northern France. The melody rolls along, shimmering and building, then breaks off into a concluding series of crashing chords.

As for the Welsh composer William Mathias, his Carillon is inspired by the sonority and overtones of bells, rather than any particular tune. Here at the Klais organ at the Victoria Concert Hall, we use a palette of tone colours from the Hautbois, strings, Mixtures and Mutations (1-1/3rd pitches etc.) as well as the standard loud combination stops, to portray myriad sonorities. This ingenious and teasing piece was commissioned by the Allen Organ Company for the 1990 Conference on Music and Worship in Montreat, North Carolina.

Jive on to the stage with And All That Jazz, the opening number from the musical Chicago, where the Vaudeville enchants with both sharp and sensual movements. Next, dance along with Sway (for handbells), a dynamic rendition of Quién será, originally written by Mexican composer Ruiz, and later adapted with English lyrics into the pop classic we know today.

Morning Has Broken is based on the Gaelic tune Bunessan. This song was made popular thanks to pop musician Cat Stevens and his album Teaser and the Firecat. In Joel Raney’s rendition this evening, we revel in tonal colours from handbells with handchimes, small percussion instruments and the organ, playing a gentle rhythm and evoking a sense of gratitude over the beauty of simple joys.

Often performed throughout the year (but particularly during the Christmas season) is Let There Be Peace on Earth. Arranger Douglas E. Wagner cleverly pairs it with the spiritual I’ve Got Peace Like a River – a timely reminder for humankind that peace has to “begin with me”.

Although our final piece of music is born out of troubled times, the Battle Hymn of the Republic is often played outside of its original patriotic purpose. Evidenced in its uplifting refrain of “Glory, glory, Hallelujah”, Dobrinski’s settings calls for a bold opening fanfare that precedes a stately marching tune, with trumpet calls and key changes, building toward a glorious and majestic conclusion. As the year draws to a close, may this piece of music likewise speak of our own victories over personal inner battles, drum up our courage and hope for the coming new year!

Written by Evelyn Lim, Yap Wai Hoong