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[ Biography ] [ Life in Hurstbourne Priors ] [ The Singer ] [ The Fly-Fisherman ] [ The Writer ] [ St Andrew's Church ] [ Churchyard ] [ Celebrations 2006 ]
A Celebration of Harry Plunket Greene in
Hurstbourne Priors
2006 marks the 100th Anniversary
of the installation by Harry Plunket Greene and Hubert Parry and dedication of
the Organ in St Andrew’s Church and the 70th Anniversary of
Plunket Greene's death.
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“I think it was the Best
Weekend I Have Ever Had!”
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The weekend of 8th - 9th July in
celebration of Harry Plunket Greene in Hurstbourne Priors was generally
agreed to have been a hugely enjoyable one. From the opening at 10.00am on
the Saturday, the atmosphere in the Village Hall was very happy, helped not
least by the warm welcome given to visitors, and the gentle anticipation of
the riverside walks, and the weather – sunny intervals, neither too hot, nor
too cold. The refreshments sold quietly
through the day, with walkers coming back from completing half of the walk,
valuing a short rest and an energy boosting tea and cake, before setting out
on the other leg.
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From then on, there was a steady
flow of people buying the map-ticket, and looking with great interest at the
exhibitions of historic village pictures and other material (for example,
The Invasion Committee
War Book) from private collections, and a smaller display about the life
and work of Harry Plunket Greene himself.
The various items for sale, Sir Michael Tim’s
numbered prints of The Bourne Rivulet, the Cheyne Records' CD
of historic recordings of Plunket Greene’s singing, copies of the new
edition of the classic Where the Bright Waters Meet, sold extremely
well. |
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Riverside Walks |
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The Church Flower Festival
also raised many compliments, with the theme, ‘the Riverside’. By the
font, we actually had a flowing ‘river’, and in other arrangements trout and
music (the Trout Quintet!). John Martin very kindly played the centenarian
organ for visitors. |
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Later on the Saturday evening,
around 60 members of the village met for a happy gathering and Barbecue
sponsored by the Parish Council, and salads donated by Vitacress, at the
Cricket Pavilion, though now there was quite a cool wind blowing. |
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On the Sunday, rain fell before
the walking started and left the early walkers wet around the ankles as the
vegetation dried out. Soon, however, the day warmed up, and the flow of
walkers resumed, and was still running at the close of the afternoon, with
late arrivals just able to complete a little of the uniquely available walks
before they closed.
On top of all this quiet excitement, Alan Sinclair of BBC South Today
came on Sunday to gather material for a news item on the weekend, which ran
later in the early evening news – just before the World Cup Final! |
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Invited guests, including three
descendants of the great singer, came to the Long House, where Plunket Green
had lived from 1902-1913, for tea, while preparations were being made for
the final event, Choral Evensong. |
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A very full church was uplifted
by the singing of the Sandham Singers, who contributed their experience of
singing in cathedral services around the country. The hymns chosen were
composed by Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford, both of whom wrote
songs specifically for Harry Plunket Greene to perform. Andrew Blake sang
the stirring unpublished arrangement of the 150th Psalm which Hubert Parry
wrote for his son-in-law to sing with organ accompaniment 100 years ago, at
the dedication of the new organ in St Andrew’s.
The weekend then finished with drinks at a reception back at the village
hall, a generous gift of a happy celebration and a chance to say a most
sincere Thank You to all those who had helped to make the weekend
both possible and successful. |
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As a result of the weekend,
£611.11 was raised towards the new font from the exhibition, sales and
walks, and a further £360.65 raised from the refreshments, Flower Festival
donations in the carboy in church, and the collection during Choral
Evensong: a total of £971.76. In addition, the collection at Choral Evensong
raised £457.90 for the hard pressed PCC general fund. This generosity really
was far beyond expectation, and most encouraging.
One of the long-lasting fruits of the weekend
will be the major public work of art commissioned for St Andrew’s – the
village’s new baptismal font. We are looking at ways to make the archive
materials displayed more available.
A villager paused a moment from helping with the clearing up on the Sunday
evening and summed up his feelings about the event,
“I think it was the best
weekend I have ever had!”
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A new Baptismal Font for St Andrew's Church has been
commissioned, designed and to be carved by Marilyn Smith, an artistic stone mason, who lives in Hurstbourne Priors.
Funds raised from this weekend in celebration of
Harry Plunket Greene's connection with the village will be put towards the
costs of carving and installing the new
Font, and improving its setting in the church.
A model of the proposed new font design. |
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How to find Hurstbourne Priors |
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- We are delighted that Jeremy
Dibble, Professor of Music at Durham University, and the nationally
renowned scholar of Parry, Stanford and other composers who wrote for Harry
Plunket Greene, has contributed an authoritative article on the
place of Plunket Greene in English music.
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