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Collection Description
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Cambridge University Madrigal Society
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Description
The society was founded in 1920 as the Cambridge University Opera Society by Bernhard (Boris) Ord (1897-1961), then an undergraduate at Corpus Christi College, and a small band of amateurs anxious to preserve the enthusiasm caused by the first performance at Cambridge in that year of Purcell's 'Fairy Queen'. It sang both operas and madrigals for its own amusement and changed its name to the Cambridge University Madrigal Society in 1924. Its first public performance, with Ord by then a Fellow of King's College as its conductor, was of Byrd's 'Great Service' in Little St Mary's church in 1924. From 1928, it sang annually in May Week on the river Cam. It gave concerts in Paris, Leiden, Berlin, Hamburg and London and made recordings. In 1958, when Boris Ord became too ill to conduct, he chose Raymond Leppard (b.1927, Trinity College, MA 1955) as his successor. On the departure from Cambridge of Leppard in 1968, the society was dissolved. The society should not be confused with the Cambridge University Opera Society established in 1966 and formerly known as the Cambridge University Opera Group, whose records 1972-95 in the University Archives are catalogued as UA SOC.XI.
A full record of the whole of the Society archives is catalogued at University/SOC.XXII and is available on JANUS http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk , the catalogue of Cambridge Archives. Enquiries should be directed to [email protected]
A supplementary collection of 66 programmes is also held in the University Music Department as follows:
08/06/1924 St Mary the Less, Byrd Great Service (t.p. only). Boris Ord
07/02/1926 St Mary the Less, Palestrina, RVW, Boris Ord
23/07/1928 Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds. Wilbye madrigals. (3 copies)
09/06/1930 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Part of CUMS Festival of British Music
24/11/1930 Masonic Hall, Cambridge. Italian and English madrigals. Boris Ord
09/06/1931 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord (3 copies)
14/05/1932 Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds. Wilbye madrigals.
06/06/1933 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. (2 copies)
30/07/1933 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. (Cambridge Festival of English Music). Boris Ord
09/05/1934 Bedford School.
10/05/1934 Leys School, Cambridge
05/06/1934 King’s Bridge. Singing on the river. Boris Ord. (2 copies)
14/02/1935 King’s College Hall. Boris ord
16/02/1935 King’s College Chapel. Boris Ord
23/02/1935 Haileybury College. Boris Ord
07/06/1935 King’s College Hall. Gibbons madrigals and motets. (2 copies)
11/06/1935 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
02/11/1935 Central Hall, Westminster. Robert Mayer children’s concert. Malcolm Sargent. Boris Ord. LPO.
06/02/1936 Peterborough Cathedral. Motets. Boris Ord. Henry Coleman
16/02/1936 King’s College Chapel. Motets. Boris Ord
09/06/1936 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River.
24/01/1937 Masonic Hall.
06/02/1938 Benet Church. Boris Ord
30/05/1938 Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds. Wilbye tercentenary. Boris Ord
07/06/1938 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Wilbye Tercentenary. Boris Ord (2 copies)
19/11/1938 Central Hall, Westminster. Robert Mayer Children’s concert. Boris Ord, Boyd Neel, Boyd Neel String Orchestra.
07/06/1939 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord. (2 copies)
06/06/1940 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord. (2 copies)
11/06/1940 National Gallery. National Gallery concerts. Boris Ord (2 copies)
22/02/1941 Benet Church. Boris Ord
13/03/1941 Impington Village College.
09/06/1943 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Harold Darke
07/06/1944 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. (2 copies). Harold Darke
18/02/1945 King’s College Chapel.Harold Darke
06/06/1945 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Harold Darke
14/06/1946 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord (4 copies)
23/11/1946 Haileybury and Imperial Service College. Boris Ord
12/01/1947 BBC Broadcasting House
13/03/1947 King’s College Chapel. Boris Ord. Rena Kyriakou
04/06/1947 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord (4 copies)
10/08/1947 King’s Bridge. Madrigals. Boris Ord
09/06/1948 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord (2 copies)
13/02/1949 St John’s College Chapel. Taverner and Kodaly. Boris Ord. Robin Orr. (2 copies)
16/05/1949 Uppingham School. Madrigals. Boris Ord
08/06/1949 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord (3 copies)
17/06/1949 Aldeburgh Parish Church. Taverner and Kodaly. Boris Ord, Robin Orr.
(Part of the 1949 Aldeburgh Festival)
17/06/1949 Thorpeness Meare. Madrigals. Boris Ord (2 copies)
07/06/1950 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
16/06/1950 Clifton College (?Bristol). Boris Ord
13/07/1950 Jesus College Chapel.
29/07/1950 King’s Bridge. Madrigals. Boris Ord
06/06/1951 Kings Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
14/06/1951 Aldeburgh Parish Church. Boris Ord. Peter Hurford. (Part of 1951 Aldeburgh Festival and Festival of Britain)
04/06/1952 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
05/06/1953 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
06/06/1956 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Boris Ord
12/06/1957 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Raymond Leppard
09/06/1959 King’s Bridge. Singing on the River. Raymond Leppard
27/04/1960 Senate House. Thurston Dart, Raymond Leppard
11/03/1964 Senate House. Joan Westwood, Raymond Leppard
11/06/1964 Trinity College Backs. Singing on the River. Raymond Leppard
10/03/1965 Senate House. Raymond Leppard (3 copies)
08/06/1965 Trinity College Backs. Singing on the River. Raymond Leppard
01/12/1965 Senate House. Monteverdi. Raymond Leppard
07/06/1966 Trinity College Backs. Raymond Leppard
24/01/1967 Selwyn College.
06/06/1967 Trinity College Backs. Raymond Leppard.
Date range
-
Associated People and Organisations
Cambridge University Madrigal Society -
Berlin Philharmonic Strings -
Boyd Neel Orchestra -
Cantelo, April 1928 -
Clark, Patricia -
Darke, Harold -
Dart, Thurston -
English, Gerald -
English Chamber Orchestra -
Guest, Douglas -
Hurford, Peter 1930 -
Leppard, Raymond 1927 -
Leppard Ensemble -
London Philharmonic Orchestra -
Morison, Elsie -
Neel, Boyd -
Ord, Boris -
Orr, Robin -
Sargent, Malcolm -
Stewart, Katharine -
Watts, Helen -
Joan Westwood -
Associated Places
All Saints' Church, Huntingdon
Audley End
Bedford School Hall
British Information Centre, Berlin
Bryanston School
Cambridge Theatre
Castleacre Priory
Cecil Sharp House
Central Hall, Westminster
Clifton College
Clifton Hall, Nottingham
Croxton Park
Freemasons' hall, Edinburgh
Gonville and Caius college, University of Cambridge
Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge
Guildhall, Cambridge
Haileybury College
Hengrave Hall
Impington Village College
Jesus College, University of Cambridge: Chapel
King's College, Cambridge
L'Abbaye Royaumont, Paris
Leyden, Holland
Leys School, Cambridge
Masonic Hall, Cambridge
National Gallery
Parish Church, Aldeburgh
Peterborough Cathedral
Repton School
Royal Festival Hall
Selwyn College, University of Cambridge
Senata House, Cambridge
Shrewsbury School
St. John's College, University of Cambridge: Chapel
Little St. Mary's Church, Cambridge
Swakeleys, Uxbridge
Thorpeness Meare
Trent College
Trinity College, University of Cambridge: Backs
University of Manchester
Victoria and Albert Museum
Associated Times
20th century - mid 1931-1970
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Cambridge University Library, Music Department
West Road Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom Open Map
DOMUS
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http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Departments/Music/
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For details of other collections held at the same location: See the location record
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