spb66 #41: Choir Song (contributed by Philip Chow)

Choir Song

GLORIOUS APOLLO

Glorious Apollo from on high beheld us,
Wand'ring to find a temple for his praise.

Sent Polyhymnia hither to shield us,
While we ourselves such a structure might raise.

Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,
Sing we in harmony Apollo's praise.

Here ev'ry gen'rous sentiment awaking,
Music inspiring unity and joy.

Each social pleasure giving and partaking,
Glee and good humour our hours employ.

Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,
Long may continue our unity and joy.

Glorious Apollo is a glee composed by Samuel Webbe Sr. in 1787 as a theme song for the newly founded London Glee Club.

A glee is a part song, usually scored for at least three solo voices, and normally sung unaccompanied.

Glee singing societies became wildly popular in the 18th century, and remained so throughout the 19th century. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, glee singing clubs gave way to choral societies, with a handful of exceptions. As communal choruses supplanted the earlier clubs, the term glee club was increasingly used to describe collegiate ensembles performing glees and other light music in informal circumstances.

Webbe's glee took root with the Harvard Glee Club, the oldest such group in America, which still sings this song. The Glee Club is part of the Holden Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the all-female Radcliffe Choral Society and the mixed-voice Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum. All three groups are led by Conductor Dr. Jameson Marvin and Associate Conductor Kevin C. Leong.

Webbe wrote the text as well as the music, and in it he faithfully traced the club's history; for the first couple of years, the meetings circulated among members' homes. This is reflected in the second line, which notes that the club was "wand'ring to find a temple for his praise."

It finally found its "temple" when the club's meetings moved to the Newcastle Coffee House.

Webbe's references to the gods of the Greek pantheon were part and parcel of the Georgian gentlemen's singing clubs' identification with the learning and leisure activities of the classical world.

Webbe structured the poem so that the first two couplets of each verse were sung by solo voices, with all the members joining in at the refrain, "Thus then combining. . . .". Written for three male voice parts with a three-part choral refrain, it remains to this day one of the most delightful remnants of the culture of Georgian England.

(Information provided by Henry Gaw)

SPC won the Intermediate English choir the year (Spring 1964) we performed Glorious Apollo.

However, we did even better the following year (spring 1965) w/The Toreador song and won the senior English Choir section and then beat out the winners of all the other sections:

Intermediate English, boys
Intermediate English, girls
Senior English, boys
Senior Chinese, boys
Senior Chinese, girls
Senior English, girls
Senior English mixed (coed) choir
for the highly coveted "Dr. Lam Chi Fung Cup" for the best choir among all the winners that year..

Moses Wu was of course our choir leader, but does anybody remember that our pianist was So How Leung, a highly talented pianist. He also happened to be Miss So Kok Chun's youngest brother and later on became the exclusive pianist for the famous HK Chinese pop singer Roman Tam (Law Mun). So How Leung was 2 years ahead of us at SPC.

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(Information provided by Philip Chow)

The Toreador Song
For a toast, your own will avail me, senor, senor,
For all your men of war.
Like all Toreador brothers hail me,
In a fight, in a fight, we both take delight.

All at once, there is silence, there is silence,
Oh! What is going on.
….
….

Oh…How he shakes his banderillas,
How madly now he runs,
The sand is red and wet.
See them running, see them climb the barrier.
Only one has not fled.

Come on, make ready!
Come on, come on!

Toreador makes ready.
Toreador, Toreador.
And think on her, on her who all can see,
On a dark-eyed lady
That love waits for thee, Toreador,
That love, love waits for thee.

P. Chow

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