SCUNA history » Oyez » July 1969
The Vaughan Williams concert will take place on Friday 1st August at 8.15 pm in the University House Dining Hall. Works will be the Vaughan Williams, the Palestrina and Vittoria, the Seiber (hooray for Mirko),1 Alle Psallite and Gaudeanus.2 A saxophone quartet will also be around to tickle the audience to yet greater extasies. There remain but four (4) rehearsals to go,and as we are still not sure of some of the notes, everyone must be at every possible rehearsal from now on. Rolls will be going around. These rehearsals will be as follows: Friday, 1 pm HA Tank as usual; Sunday, all day at a farm (see below); Monday, University House Diing Hall at 7.15-9pm; Thursday, University House Dinging Hall,3 same times; Friday, the concert (be there at 7.45, all males4 please be there by 7.15 to help move those damned tables; Ewen H_________ is working on a master plan to rule the world and make sure that this time the tables know where they are supposed to go).
Sunday:all day rehearsal5 plus barbecue at Manar Farm, about 40 miles from Canberra on the Braidwood Road, about 12 miles before Braidwood.The farm is identifiable by the name on the gate, the bridge nearby,and what Ken H____ laughingly calls a car (a blue and white 1874 Holden station wagon)6 parked at the entrance. To get out there, meet in front of Burton Hall at 9.30 am (gasp) on Sunday morning, complete with music, a BBQ lunch (viz., bread, fruit and a hunk of cow). Also if you own, can borrow from your great aunt Maud, or can steal, any BBQing equipment (forks, portable gas BBQ, etc.,) and a car, you will be especially welcome.
The concert itself: this is being madly publicized via 2CY, articles in the Times and Courier, myriads of posters splattered over town and the University. Nonetheless sales of tickets to your friends, family and the neighbours' dog are vital. Tickets are available from Ewen (80c for students, $1.20 for people).
Post-concert rituals will occur at Ken and Janet's, __ Bremer St. Manuka.7 BYO etc. And as this is the Friday/Saturday of Bush Week, SCUNA will invade Civic en masse on Saturday morning (the true addict will achieve this by not going to bed after the party) and singing sweet nothings to the adoring public (Alle Psallite, King Arthur, All Pommies are Bastards and all those quaint, saintly songs that SCUNA knows and loves). Shudder.
The musicale last Sunday8 was an unqualified success; praise, glory and honour to Ken for organizing it, and to everyone that sang, played, convoluted or was simply there, also a special thanks to Sir Walter and Young Anthony. It was such happy innocent fun that we will have to have another one: perhaps in third term,if enough enthusiasm can be whipped up.
XXX
Gilbert
1Matyas Seiber's Yugoslav Folksongs - one of them attested that Mirko was handsome. Another was Hussars: in private moments, SCUNA sang "See the bold hussies". You can imagine what became of "Just to please the lasses, polish all your brasses; eighteen shining buttons, eighteen shining buttons."
2Typing reproduced faithfully. SCUNA always started concerts with Gaudeamus in those days; always wore academic gowns as well.
3The sound of cutlery being flung about was (still is!) a regular distraction in concerts held in UH dining hall, and other dining halls around campus. A pity, because apart from that they were great places to sing.
4Some things do change, after all.
5All-day rehearsals were a serious matter - finally a chance to get the choir together, and the soloists, and polish works before a concert. The Wednesday lunchtime rehearsals were principally notebashing sessions: many part leaders were working and couldn't attend. On Sundays there'd be a different turnout.
I remember this all-day rehearsal as very serious indeed. There was another (first term 1969?) at a church hall at Bungendore where I scandalised Michael B____ by accepting a cup of his authentic, gum-leaf-flavoured, properly-swung billy tea and then asking where the milk was.
6A solid family vehicle, but often stolen - apparently the 1874 (1962?) model was easy to break into.
7This was a great party, as all parties at Ken and Janet's were. Andrew B_____ told the joke about the gorilla and the banana. Andrew F_____ demonstrated his skills as a raconteur. It's possible Janet wore silver lamé. Does anyone remember going to Civic in the morning?
8If anyone remembers details of this (or any other early) musicale, please me. Was this the one where Gilbert sang the "pure young man" song from Patience?