Summer events – with added dulcimers

With Easter past and Guildford not yet in our minds, it must be time for a concert. We’ve called this one Midsummer Magic; the Magic in question is the magic of showbusiness. Graham has picked several pieces with cinematic associations, including a rarely-heard arrangement by Nozomu Abe.

Not all the magic will come from the handbells – we will be sharing the concert with Nonsuch Dulcimers. The two types of dulcimer should make a fascinating contrast. So come along and be swept up in the Midsummer Magic!

St Mary’s Church, Church Gate, Thatcham. Saturday 18th June at 7.30pm. Tickets £6 (concessions £5, accompanied children free): email dianne@barfield.org.uk .

Our small team are also playing in the “That’s Entertainment” day at Ashford Hill on the 25th of June. They’re performing at 2.30, and also running a workshop session at 3.15 when visitors can try the bells and find out more about the music. It should be a relaxed, informal chance to try handbell ringing. (If you try it and like it, you might like to join our new beginners’ team!)

 

A new handbell team for beginners

(Edit: new date for the taster session. Come and try a genuinely collaborative form of music!)

Have you ever heard handbells being played and thought you would like to try this lovely activity? Or perhaps you have never heard handbells and would like the opportunity to hear and try them for yourself. If so, we have the answer: a new handbell team for beginners.

 

Christmas engagements 2015

What would Christmas be without advertisements? We have something to advertise too: the Basing Singers have kindly invited our small ensemble to join them in their Christmas concert, in Old Basing Village Hall, Saturday 12th December 2015, 7.30pm. Profits from the concert will be donated to charity – so if you’re in the area, come and hear them and us!

You can find more information about the Basing Singers on their website.

The day after that we’re playing in Thatcham’s Civic Carol Service, to welcome people in and as part of the main service. This is at St Mary’s Church, Church Gate, Thatcham, Sunday 13th December 2015, 4.00pm. We’ll be playing before the service starts as well as during the service. All welcome!

We also have engagements for clubs and a pre-school – perhaps you’ll see us at one of those too!

 

On to Guildford

It’s in the nature of handbells that we rarely have time to enjoy the afterglow of a performance. We’re usually on to the next set of music pretty quickly after a concert. So I thought I’d get in with the after-concert post before we go on to the next engagement!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Golden Anniversary concert. We had (as was made clear at the concert!) distinguished guests from the handbell world, as well as members of Bill’s family and Thatcham VIPs. The sheer spread of people was a measure of how universally liked and respected Bill is. Bill’s successor will have a hard time to match Bill’s supportiveness, vision and diplomacy. Thanks, too, to Judith and the ladies of Lambourn Chimers for their work serving the vital refreshments, and to Richard Butler for compering.

Now we move on to the Guildford music. This is for the Handbell Festival Service at Guildford Cathedral – the biggest spectacle of our handbell year that’s open to the public. We’ll be joining with teams from all around the South-East to play in unison, accompanied by an organist and other instruments. The teams in their coloured uniforms playing to the direction of the conductor is a spectacular sight, and we all enjoy being able to co-operate to play music more difficult than we can manage alone.

The service is at Guildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, Guildford GU2 7UP on the 14th of November at 3pm.

 

Barfield Handbell Ringers

The Barfield Handbell Ringers are one of the biggest handbell orchestras in the south-east of England. Our 16 members play 5½ octaves of bells, 3 octaves of handchimes and other instruments like Belleplates. We were founded in 1965 – you can see more of our history on a separate page.

Would you like to book Barfield for an event? Contact details are on the booking page.

 

Thatcham Festival 2015

We’re pleased to be part of the Thatcham Festival again. Barfield have been involved with the Festival for some years now – indeed, some of us can remember when it was just an Arts Festival!

This year in addition to our informal workshop session a small team of us are playing in the Festival Finale. We’ll be joining musical acts and the prize-winning poetry from the competition. Come along and see Thatcham’s talent!

Full team workshop session: Monday 19th October, 7.30pm, at St Mary’s Church meeting room. No tickets needed, just drop in.

Festival Finale (small team): Friday 23rd October, 7.30pm, at St Mary’s Church. Free tickets from Picture It, 17 High Street, Thatcham.

 

Our next concert: 26th September 2015

Our Golden Anniversary concert will be on the 26th of September 2015, 3.00pm at St Mary’s Church, Thatcham.

This will be Bill’s last major concert as Musical Director. Half the music is significant pieces from Barfield’s history, and half is simply some of Bill’s favourite pieces.

Refreshments will be provided at the interval, and we’ll be happy for people to try the bells. Try your strength with the 32G, see the bells from our point of view, or find out how we play two bells in one hand!

Tickets cost £6 or £5 concession. Accompanied children are free. Tickets are available from Picture It, 17 High Street, Thatcham, or from Dianne Rogers our Secretary (email dianne@barfield.org.uk).