The Lieder
Newsletter for the Christchurch Liedertafel Male Voice Choir.
Issue 10
April 2025
Editorial
As we draw closer to our May concert, the year marches on. The autumn leaves are very colourful this year and will fall over a longer period, given the wetter time we are experiencing. I was in Wanaka and Cromwell over Easter and the colours down there are magnificent and some of the best you will ever see - just stunning. Central Otago colours are so much brighter than ours.
Anzac Day at the end of this week in Cathedral Square is always a good chance to show the Choir’s musical adaptability and I hope will be well attended by our choristers.
MM
Dates for your Diary
- Concert dates 2025
- Rehearsal St Andrews Chapel 9-00 Sat 3rd May
- May 4th Aug 10th Nov 30th
- Friday 6 June 2025 Volunteer Opportunity – The Big Sing 2025
The NZ Choral Federation is looking for volunteers to support The Big Sing Canterbury & West Coast Regionals at the Christchurch Town Hall.
Roles include front-of-house, door supervision, and choir hosting. Whether you’re free for a few hours or the whole day, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Sign up here:https://forms.gle/mb25jNLP9MJ86ESK6
Choir Profiles
About seven years ago, an old friend whom I had not seen for a long time invited me to join the Liedertafel male voice choir. I enjoy singing and since work and family commitments that would have prevented me from joining a choir in the past were no longer an impediment on Monday evenings, I accepted that invitation. Liedertafel Ccoir practices on that evening soon became a highlight of my week. They offer warm fellowship, vocal tuition and exercises, the pleasure of attuning your voice with others to create wonderful harmonies, and a physical boost that lingers all the way home.
Colin Heinz
Notes from the Podium
Over the last couple of rehearsals, we’ve talked through preparations for the upcoming ANZAC Dawn Service - a moment that’s always significant for the Liedertafel. Our involvement in these commemorations goes right back to the First World War, when the choir was invited to lead the public in song both at the outbreak and again at the war’s end. It’s a legacy we’re proud to continue, and a reminder that what we do as a choir can carry real meaning beyond the concert stage.
Whether we’re singing at dawn in remembrance or taking the stage for Encore!, the music we share has a purpose. Each piece in the concert has been chosen not just because it sounds great (though it does!), but because it says something—about hope, perseverance, joy, or simply the beauty of the human voice in harmony. In preparing our concerts, we aim to offer more than just a series of showpieces—we’re sharing songs that connect, that move, and that stay with people.
It’s a real privilege to be part of both these events. As we rehearse, let’s stay connected to what makes the music meaningful—for us, and for those who’ll hear it.
Thomas Woodfield
On a side note.
Here is link: https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/recipes/feijoa-jam/
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Love Food Hate Waste
Method. Wash the feijoas and chop the tail end off. Blitz the whole feijoas in a food processor. Pour the feijoas into a pot and add 1 cup of water (you need enough water so they stew and don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.)
lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz |
History Section.
Peter Law was born in 1926 and joined Liedertafel as a second tenor
at 26 years. His father was already in the first tenor section of the Choir
He sang in the second tenors and remained in that section for all years
in the choir. He was president for the year 1973-74. It was a first in that
his father had also held the role of choir president some 10 years before.
Peter was choir librarian and secretary giving service in these roles
for some years. When retired from the choir in 2012 it was at the end of
60 years of his time in Liedertafel. Peter was also made a life member.
Peter had attended St Andrews' College prior to leaving to work in his
father's vegetable and dairy shop in Fendalton. He recalls that he would
drive the company truck to Rangiora and return with up to 200 boxes of
apples direct from the grower for the retail trade. After the shop business
was relinquished, he worked for years in the Canterbury Crematorium.
Widowed some 8 or so years ago Peter will be 100 next year and
meanwhile enjoys life in a retirement home in Opawa where he can still go
for short walks outside as well car outings with his son. He is always
keen for news of Liedertafel'
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