Recordings made during our school days
Here are some '1957' lads, circa 1962, round someone's house after school with a tape recorder, enthusiastically commissioning David Cheepen to do impressions of teachers - much hilarity, energy, and friendship here. This recording comes courtesy of John Radley – a film maker too - do have a look at his work, made around the same time as this audio tape. But enjoy this page first, of course!
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Records recorded circa 1948/9
Miss Pyke and Mr Lowry feature with the Senior Choir in this series of recordings made in 1948/49. That we can all now enjoy them is thanks to Old Wealdens who bought the, presumably 78rpm, recordings at the time, and have kept them safe all these years, notably Eddie Orchard 1944, and Rosemary Luck 1941.
Senior Choir
- Handel's Messiah
- Elgar
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Recordings made by Old Wealdens at the Millennium Concert
These excerpts are from a recording of the Millennium Reunion Concert, made on a portable tape recorder during the performance by an audience member. It is sheer magic that the Old Wealden in question thought to do it, and that the little cassette survived the post, and storage; and is now, as far as we know, the only one in existence. It is full of atmosphere and sense of occasion, the hall full, and the stage full of Old Wealdens wanting to recapture the excitement of concert night, back in the day. Listen to Graham's welcome and the first item - Fair Phyllis.
It is long, and as it would be invidious to select some solo items over others, we have chosen only group items to share on here, with just one exception: Howard Stollar did play his guitar brilliantly, as ever, but it is his ‘commissioned’ but unprogrammed brief encore that we are including, for obvious reasons: The Harrow Weald Talking Blues.
The conductor of all was of course Irene Pyke, and the piano accompanist, as well as soloist that day, Elizabeth Winfield née Ralls. Among the excerpts is one of Elizabeth talking about those wonderful Harrow Weald pianos, and their players; and with a typical memory of Mr Crowle Ellis, who loved to hear them – whatever they were doing!
You will hear Graham Kingsley 1950, then the Chair of the OWA, welcoming us all and introducing the first choir item, a madrigal: Fair Phyllis. They later also perform a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan: ‘Strange Adventure’.
These excerpts – as did the concert itself – end with the mass singing of the ‘school’ hymn, and of course, The Weald – with attention to detail that will have delighted Irene Pyke – we do remember where to breathe, and where to run the lines on. This recording is rather precious, as there seems to be none made at the time, when we were actually in those days of youth. If you know different, please tell us! The mighty applause we gave ourselves, and the rousing three cheers to end, sum up a day to remember – the splendid meal and gathering that followed were memorable too!