University of Virginia Library

Singers Invade Europe At Spring Break

By PATTI KYLE

At the end of March, when
most of the University is taking
off for the beaches or home,
the University Glee Club will
board a 747 jet for Rome,
launching a 17-day tour of four
south central European
countries. The Glee Cub had
been toying with the idea of a
European tour since last year.

Plans became more
concrete this fall when they
contracted with Performing
Arts Abroad, a London-based
organization which sets up
tours for worthy American
groups. The agency arranged
hotel accommodations, meals,
transportation overseas, and
bus transportation in Europe.
They will also provide
publicity and arrangements for
the Glee Club's performances
in Europe.

Expenses

The total cost for the 55
participants in the tour is
$28,000, or $525 per person.
Most of the expenses have been
defrayed by individual
contributions. Members of the
Glee Club have themselves
pledged to meet 75 per cent of
the tour's cost, about
$20,000. At this writing,
approximately $6,000 is still
needed.

An ambitious financial
drive has been organized by the
Glee Club to attain the
requisite working capital.
Letters to alumni giving
information about the tour and

asking for contributions have
been sent out. The Seven
Society and other
organizations on the Grounds
are being solicited for funds.

A community-wide drive to
collect trading stamps has been
organized, the companies
having agreed to exchange the
stamps for cash. Booths will be
set up in March at Barracks
Road and downtown for
collection. Above all, the Club
hopes to enlist the aid of
students and faculty in the
fund-raising, stressing that its
members will be representing
the University in their concerts
abroad.

Record Profit

Profits from A Shadow's on
the Sundial, the Glee Club's
recent recording, will also go
toward the tour. The record
contains several traditional
settings of English, French, and
Italian madrigals, some of
which will be sung in Europe.
Two more serious works
included are Francis Poulene's
Lauds of St. Anthony of
Padua, which the Club plans to
sing in Padua, and Dietrich
Buxtehude's Cantate Domino,
"Sing To God The Lord"

"From Rugby Road to
Vinegar Hill" (two verses only)
and "Glory, Glory To
Virginia" combine in a pleasant
medley, offering a sharp
contrast to the above pieces.
Also included among
Virginians are new
arrangements by recent Glee
Club directors of "The Good
Old Song,", "Virginia Yell
Song," and "Ten Thousand
Voices."

A recent addition to the
collection is "Vir-ir-gin-i-a," by
Professor Emeritus of English,
Arthur Kyle  Davis , Jr. Setting
verses to a chorus by G.F.
Handel, Professor  Davis 
dedicated his new song on
April, 1968, to the Jefferson
Society. He sang the first
performance of it on that
occasion.

Portions of two other
compositions that the Glee
Club has come to regard as
their own have been included.
One is Randall Thompson's
Testament of Freedom which
was dedicated to the Glee Club
in 1943, having been composed
for the Two Hundredth
Birthday of Mr. Jefferson.

Summer Songs

The other composition was
written by former Glee Club
director David H.  Davis ,
entitled Summer Songs. The
title of the album, A Shadow's
on the Sundial, is taken from
the name of the concluding
Summer Song in the group.

The album represents a lot
of work on the part of the
Club members. It seems the
incentive involved has
produced what many consider
to be one of the best albums
ever put out by the group. The
album can be purchased for
$5.25 at the corner stores,
Newcomb Hall Bookstore,
Stacy's Music Ship, and HiFi
House or through any member
of the Glee Club.

Glee Club: Grueling Practice Sessions

In their final attempt at
fund-raising for the trip, a
benefit concert will be held on
March 24, in Old Cabell Hall.
This will be the Glee Club's last
performance prior to their
departure for Europe.

The repertoire will include
many of the numbers they will
be performing in Europe most
of which haven't been
performed here before. Tickets
will be $5.00 for reserved seats,
$3.00 regular, and $1.50 for
students. All additional
contributions will be
welcomed.

Departure

The culmination of all this
work comes on March 30,
when the Glee Club will depart
from Washington, D.C. for
their 16-day jaunt. First stop
will be Rome, where they will
give their first concert on April
1. The group will then go on to
Florence for another
performance on April 3.

Four other performances
will be given in Padua, Italy,
Innsbruck, Austria, Munich,
Germany and St. Moritz,
Switzerland. Stops will be
made in Venice, Salzburg, and
Milan between engagements.

It's a well-known fact that
European audiences tend to be
much more musically
sophisticated than Americans.
Taking this into account, the
Glee Club has gathered a large
repertoire of madrigals, sacred
pieces, and drinking songs
(traditional of course).

Repertoire

They have included such
varied works as Persichetti's
Song of Peace, Carl Orff's
Concerto di oct, Josquin's
Gloria, Heinrich Schutz's
"Buccinate" and "Jubilate
Deo" from Symphoniae
Sacrae, Zoltan Kodaly's
Drinking Song, and selections
from the Oxford Book of
Ballads. The final repertoire for
each concert will depend
largely on the setting for each
particular performance and the
type of audience involved.

The Glee Club will wrap up
their performances abroad in
St. Moritz on April 13. After a
one-day rest in Milan, they will
return to Washington D.C. on
Saturday, April 15 just in
time for the Sunday grain
parties on Easter Weekend.
And you can bet they'll have
stories that will make a
Wahoo's adventures in
Lauderdale seem tame.