Worcester Classical Guitar Orchestra
The orchestra meets to rehearse every two weeks during term time and gives two concerts a year: one in the summer around June and July, and one in the early winter around November. The programme for these is continually evolving with new pieces being brought into the repertoire after each concert, but it usually involves a bit of shuffling as we like to play the pieces we enjoy, more than once.
Our conductor gives a passable impression of a chicken during a recording session.
Recently the orchestra has been recording some of the older pieces in its repertoire so that cherished works may be preserved. The recording project is a long-term commitment with local sound engineer Peter May, which one day , will result in a CD that concert-goers can enjoy too, but its main purpose is to feed the living archive of society achievements. A historical document that (literally) records some of our finest moments.
The Orchestra
The orchestration of a piece determines the number of sections in the orchestra and this can change from piece to piece. It is the conductor’s job to balance and shape the musical structure to achieve the perfect singular vision of the work as a whole.
A typical arrangement is in four parts, hence four sections, but any part may use divisions in the orchestration and then sections split into “desks” – smaller groups of players or soloists who each take a line in the musical passage. An orchestral arrangement in four parts can launch off into five, six or more parts for certain passages within the music.
All our players use standard nylon strung classical guitars to achieve the orchestral sound. Our view is that the dynamic potential of our instrument is better suited than most to producing orchestral effects. The WCGO is not an orchestra because of the instruments we play; rather, an orchestra because of the process we use to play orchestral music.
The Music
Some of our pieces start life as adaptations of pieces written for guitar quartet. However, a good deal of our repertoire is either specially written for or is specifically arranged for the guitar orchestra and this comes from a number of sources. Quick surveys of our recent programmes reveal several original guitar compositions from Chris Kilvington, Carlo Domeniconi, Norbert Leclercq and Roland Chadwick but Stephen Begley has also composed for the orchestra in the past. A small sample of the repertoire he has arranged for the WCGO includes, Greig’s ‘Peer Gynt Suite no.1’, Saint Saens’ ‘Danse Macabre’, Vivaldi’s ‘Op.3 no.10 Concerto (for four soloists)’ and the list continues to grow.
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Click on a score to download a sample.
The guitar produces a rich sound-world of many colours and many effects and is equal to a great many of the challenges your average composer can throw at it. Effects are a small part of what we set out to achieve; our unbridled aspiration, is to present the music with the singularity of purpose that transcends the instrument and best represents the music itself.
We like the guitar, but we absolutely love making music together.