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85-673: The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill ( Yale Schola Cantorum / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra ) it regularly performs and records across London and the UK, including at the Royal Festival Hall , Royal Albert Hall and Abbey Road Studios . The choir's patron is King Charles III . Its conductor laureate was David Willcocks , who was the choir's musical director from 1960 to 1998. Other musical directors have included Charles Villiers Stanford , Ralph Vaughan Williams and Reginald Jacques . In 2013, John Rutter

170-891: A Gramophone award nomination; and Frederick Delius 's A Mass of Life , which received a coveted Choc de Classica from French classical magazine Classica , and was named Album of the Week by The Sunday Times and The Telegraph . Other projects include work with John Rutter and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and designer Richard Quinn at London Fashion Week, and appearances on The Andrew Marr Show , BBC Radio 3 , BBC One , Sky Arts and Sky Sports News . The Bach Choir regularly commissions new music, including from Roxanna Panufnik , Gabriel Jackson , Gavin Higgins , Carmen Ho, Charlotte Harding, James Wilson, Des Oliver, and Heloise Werner. Formed in 1875 for

255-629: A National Dock Strike, the Archbishop of Canterbury composed a prayer hoping for its prompt end. Helena arrived at the church, examined her service sheet, and in a voice described by her daughter as "the penetrating royal family whisper, which carried farther than any megaphone", remarked: "That prayer won't settle any strike." Her appearance and personality was criticised in the letters and journals of Queen Victoria, and biographers followed her example. However, Helena's daughter, Princess Marie Louise, described her as: very lovely, with wavy brown hair,

340-475: A beautiful little straight nose, and lovely amber-coloured eyes ... She was very talented: played the piano exquisitively, had a distinct gift for drawing and painting in water-colours ... Her outstanding gift was loyalty to her friends ... She was brilliantly clever, had a wonderful head for business. ... Music was one of her passions; in her youth she played the piano with Charles Hallé , Jenny Lind and Clara Butt , who were among her personal friends, and she

425-532: A building for the school in South Kensington . Her royal status helped its promotion, and she held Thursday afternoon tea parties at the school for society ladies, who wanted to be seen in the presence of royal personages such as Princess Helena. When the Christmas Bazaar was held, she acted as chief saleswoman, generating long queues of people anxious to be served personally by her. Helena

510-450: A choir was assembled and two performances of the Mass, conducted by Goldschmidt, were given on 26 April and 8 May 1876. The concerts' success encouraged the formation of a permanent choir with Goldschmidt as its first musical director. The choir's declared aim was "the practice and performance of choral works of excellence and of various schools". Initially, members were drawn exclusively from

595-407: A few miles from Windsor, after its consecration on 23 October 1928. Helena was devoted to nursing, and took the lead at the charitable organisations she represented. She was also an active campaigner, and wrote letters to newspapers and magazines promoting the interests of nurse registration . Her royal status helped to promote the publicity and society interest that surrounded organisations such as

680-434: A further £40 for each subsequent thousand copies sold. Martin chose the publisher John Murray , who after further negotiations with Bergsträsser, printed the first copies in mid-1884. It sold out almost immediately; but for the second edition, Murray replaced Sell's biographical sketch of Princess Alice with the 53-page memoir written by Helena. The problem of royalties to Sell was thus avoided, and that Helena gave her name to

765-426: A high standard at an early age. Other interests included science and technology , shared by her father Prince Albert, and horse riding and boating , two of her favourite childhood occupations. However, Helena became a middle daughter following the birth of Princess Louise in 1848, and her abilities were overshadowed by her more artistic sisters. Helena's father, Prince Albert, died on 14 December 1861. The queen

850-513: A lump sum. However, the Queen and Helena refused, claiming that the copyright belonged to the Queen, and that only Sell's original preface was open to negotiation. The royal ladies considered Bergsträsser's claims "unjustified if not impertinent", and would not communicate with him directly. Eventually, Bergsträsser came to Britain in January 1884, willing to accept £100 for the first 3,000 copies and

935-683: A part in Coronation Street in 1970 where he broke into the vestry to play the organ and was befriended by Ena Sharples . Hill was educated at Chetham's School of Music , Manchester, and St John's College, Cambridge , where he was Organ Scholar under George Guest . He spent two years from 1980 as Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral , under Richard Hey Lloyd . He was Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral from 1982 to 1987, then at Winchester Cathedral from 1987 to 2002, before returning to St John's College as Director of Music from 2003 to 2007. High-profile roles include Chief Conductor of

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1020-898: A quiet life in comparison to Helena's sisters. Following their marriage, they took up residence at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park , the traditional residence of the Ranger of Windsor Great Park , the honorary position bestowed on Christian by the Queen. When staying in London, they lived at the Belgian Suite in Buckingham Palace . The couple had six children: Christian Victor in 1867, Albert in 1869, and Helena Victoria and Marie Louise in 1870 and 1872, respectively. Their last two sons died early; Harald died eight days after his birth in 1876, and an unnamed son

1105-525: A quiet life, but did carry out a few royal engagements. On one such occasion, the elderly couple represented the King at the silver wedding anniversary , in 1906, of Kaiser Wilhelm II (Helena's nephew) and his wife Augusta Victoria (Christian's niece). During the Edwardian period , Helena visited the grave of her son, Prince Christian Victor , who died in 1900 following a bout with malaria while serving in

1190-422: A season's notice, giving the choir what was considered ample time to find a replacement. Probably at Vaughan Williams's prompting, the choir approached Holst, who had established a reputation as a first-rate choral trainer and teacher as director of music at St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith, and at Morley College. Holst confirmed his acceptance by letter on 16 December 1927, and it was arranged for him to start at

1275-519: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Princess Helena of the United Kingdom Princess Helena (Helena Augusta Victoria; 25 May 1846 – 9 June 1923), later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein , was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert . Helena was educated by private tutors chosen by her father and his close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar . Her childhood

1360-621: The Saturday Review that Helena wrote an English version that was thoroughly alive, with a sound dictionary translation and a high accuracy in spirit. Her final translation was undertaken in 1882, on a German booklet called First Aid to the Injured , originally published by Christian 's brother-in-law. It was republished several times until 1906. A copyright issue arose after the publication of letters written by Helena's sister, Princess Alice . In Germany, an edition of Alice's letters

1445-472: The St Matthew Passion — Vaughan Williams also gave audiences opportunities to hear works by contemporary composers, including his good friend Gustav Holst ; and in 1926 he conducted the choir in the first London performance of his oratorio Sancta Civitas . In October 1927, the start of the 1927/28 season, Vaughan Williams announced his intention to resign to concentrate on composing. He gave

1530-601: The BBC Singers from September 2007 until 2017. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to music. This article on a British conductor or bandleader is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a British classical musician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article on an organist

1615-705: The Cambridge University Musical Society , who had recently been appointed professor of composition at the Royal College of Music . Stanford expanded the repertoire with programmes which included the Brahms Requiem , excerpts from Parsifal , the Verdi Requiem and other contemporary works. The choir always had connections with royalty, and Queen Victoria became patron in 1879. To mark her golden jubilee in 1887,

1700-461: The Duchess of Kent , stood proxy); and the Duchess of Cambridge (the queen's aunt). Helena was a lively and outspoken child, and reacted against brotherly teasing by punching the bully on the nose. Her early talents included drawing. Lady Augusta Stanley, a lady-in-waiting to the queen, commented favourably on the three-year-old Helena's artwork. Like her sisters, she could play the piano to

1785-455: The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , that Helena "came into this world quite blue, but she is quite well now". He added that the queen "suffered longer and more than the other times and she will have to remain very quiet to recover." Albert and Victoria chose the names Helena Augusta Victoria . The German nickname for Helena was Helenchen , later shortened to Lenchen , the name by which members of

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1870-604: The First World War , she was one of the few maternal relatives that her nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II was close to. When he welcomed his first child , he went against Prussian tradition by asking Helena, not his mother, to assign a nurse for his son, causing a family scandal. King Edward died in 1910, and the First World War began four years after his death. Helena devoted her time to nursing, and her daughter, Princess Marie Louise , recorded in her memoirs that requests for news of loved ones reached Helena and her sisters. It

1955-519: The Order of St. John . In this position, she personally signed and presented many thousands of certificates of proficiency in nursing. Helena was also active in the promotion of needlework , and became the first president of the newly established School of Art Needlework in 1872; in 1876, it acquired the "royal" prefix, becoming the Royal School of Needlework . In Helena's words, the objective of

2040-504: The Royal Household on the recommendation of Baron Stockmar in 1859. He was trusted enough to teach German to Helena's brother, the young Prince of Wales , and was described by the Queen as "useful and able". When the Queen discovered that Helena had grown romantically attached to a royal servant, he was promptly dismissed back to his native Germany, and he never lost the Queen's hostility. Following Ruland's departure in 1863,

2125-538: The Second Boer War . She was met by South African Prime Minister Louis Botha , but Jan Smuts refused to meet her, partly because he was bitter that South Africa had lost the war and partly because his son had died in a British concentration camp . In 1902, Prince and Princess Christian moved to Schomberg House, 77–78 Pall Mall, London , half of which is now part of the Oxford and Cambridge Club . Before

2210-827: The Yale Institute of Sacred Music . He has been Musical Director of The Bach Choir , London, since April 1998. (He is also President of Bath Bach Choir ). He also holds the positions Chief Conductor of the Southern Sinfonia, Music Director of the Leeds Philharmonic Society , and Associate Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra . Hill is President of the Incorporated Association of Organists , succeeding Catherine Ennis . He had

2295-629: The Army Nursing Reserve. Though thought to be merely an artefact created by society ladies, Helena exercised an efficient and autocratic regime—"if anyone ventures to disagree with Her Royal Highness she has simply said, 'It is my wish, that is sufficient.'" The RBNA gradually went into decline following the Nurses Registration Act 1919 ; after six failed attempts between 1904 and 1918, the British parliament passed

2380-624: The British Nurses' Association (RBNA) upon its foundation in 1887. In 1891, it received the prefix "Royal", and received a royal charter the following year. She was a strong supporter of nurse registration , an issue that was opposed by both Florence Nightingale and leading public figures. In a speech Helena made in 1893, she made clear that the RBNA was working towards "improving the education and status of those devoted and self-sacrificing women whose whole lives have been devoted to tending

2465-640: The Prince of Wales and eight bridesmaids. Christian looked older than he was, and one guest commented that Helena looked as if she was marrying an aged uncle. Indeed, when he was first summoned to Britain, he assumed that the widowed Queen was inspecting him as a new husband for herself rather than as a candidate for one of her daughters. The couple spent the first night of their married life at Osborne House , before honeymooning in Paris , Interlaken and Genoa . Helena and Christian were devoted to each other, and led

2550-503: The Queen Victoria, to the point that she did not have a mind of her own, she actively campaigned for women's rights, a field the queen abhorred. Nevertheless, both she and Beatrice remained closest to the queen, and Helena remained close to her mother's side until the latter's death. Her name was the last to be written in the queen's seventy-year-old journal. In 1858, Helena and the three younger of her sisters were granted use of

2635-524: The Queen did not believe that Helena was really ill, accusing her of hypochondria encouraged by an indulgent husband. Queen Victoria wrote to her daughter the Crown Princess of Prussia, complaining that Helena was inclined to "coddle herself (and Christian too) and to give way in everything that the great object of her doctors and nurse is to rouse her and make her think less of herself and of her confinement". Not all of her health scares were simply

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2720-497: The Queen looked for a husband for Helena. However, as a middle child, the prospect of a powerful alliance with a European royal house was low. Her appearance was also a concern, as by the age of fifteen she was described by her biographer as chunky, dowdy and double-chinned. Furthermore, Victoria insisted that Helena's future husband had to be prepared to live near the Queen, thus keeping her daughter nearby. Her choice eventually fell on Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein ; however,

2805-542: The Queen's convenience. Alice also argued that it would reduce the already low popularity of her sister, the Crown Princess of Prussia , at the court in Berlin . However, and unexpectedly, the Crown Princess, who had been a personal friend of Christian's family for many years, ardently supported the proposed alliance. Despite the political controversies and their age difference—he was fifteen years her senior—Helena

2890-846: The Royal British Nurses' Association. The RBNA still survives today with Aubrey Rose as president. Emily Williamson founded the Gentlewomen's Employment Association in Manchester; one of the projects which came out of this group was the Princess Christian Training College for Nurses, in Fallowfield , Manchester. In appearance, Helena was described by John Van der Kiste as plump and dowdy; and in temperament, as placid, and business-like, with an authoritarian spirit. On one occasion, during

2975-530: The Unknown Region and A Sea Symphony . He steered the choir through the difficult years of the First World War; and in 1916, presided over the first performance of Parry's Songs of Farewell . The growing pressure of Allen's commitments obliged him to resign in 1921, to be succeeded by Vaughan Williams. While he remained faithful to the tradition of the performance of Bach — in particular,

3060-534: The age of 77. Her funeral, described as a "magnificently stage-managed scene" by her biographer Seweryn Chomet, was headed by King George V. The regiment of her favourite son, Prince Christian Victor, lined the steps of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle . Although originally interred in the Royal Vault at St George's on 15 June 1923, her body was reburied at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore ,

3145-537: The beginning of the new season in October 1928. By May 1928, however, his health had deteriorated, requiring him to withdraw his acceptance. With a new season fast approaching, the choir was in trouble. Malcolm Sargent was approached; he was interested in the role, but negotiations broke down over his insistence on using deputy choirmasters to take rehearsals that conflicted with his other engagements. Many choir members were already lobbying for Adrian Boult (who believed

3230-497: The bill allowing formal nurse registration. What resulted was the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), and the RBNA lost membership and dominance. Helena supported the proposed amalgamation of the RBNA with the new RCN, but that proved unsuccessful when the RBNA pulled out of the negotiations. However, she remained active in other nursing organisations, and was president of the Isle of Wight , Windsor and Great Western Railway branches of

3315-400: The chapel to the sound of Beethoven 's Triumphal March , creating a spectacle only marred by the abrupt disappearance of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge , who had a sudden gout attack. Christian filed into the chapel with his two supporters, Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar and Prince Frederic of Schleswig-Holstein , and Helena was given away by her mother, who escorted her up the aisle with

3400-529: The choir in its first recording – a somewhat abridged performance of the St Matthew Passion with Kathleen Ferrier as the contralto soloist. Despite several movements of the piece being cut, the recording still filled forty-two sides of the old style 78 rpm discs. Ferrier had made her debut in Messiah with the choir in 1943. Following the sudden departure of Jacques in 1960 after a heart attack,

3485-482: The choir invited Hubert Parry to compose its first commissioned work, the choral ode Blest Pair of Sirens . By the end of the 19th century, the choir faced a crisis. Deteriorating performance standards—due primarily to an ageing membership not subject to re-audition, and inadequate rehearsal time—produced mounting financial losses. Membership was opened to all social groups, and regular re-tests for existing members were implemented. Stanford resigned in 1902 to take up

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3570-415: The choir's future health, however, were the lack of a requirement for regular re-audition, and a five o'clock rehearsal time. While the latter ensured that members' evening social lives were not disturbed, rehearsal attendance by tenors and basses with business interests soon became a cause for concern. A positive feature of the wealthy membership, however, was that programming could be more adventurous without

3655-527: The conductorship of the Leeds Festival . He was replaced by Henry Walford Davies , who rebuilt the choir, then handed it over to Hugh Allen in 1907. Allen inherited a choir that included Ralph Vaughan Williams and later Adrian Boult among its singing members. He had already gained a reputation as a choral conductor at Ely and Oxford, and brought immense energy to the task. Under him a number of first London performances were given, including Toward

3740-462: The duchies, they became Prussian, but the title Duke of Schleswig-Holstein was still claimed by Prince Christian's family. The marriage, therefore, horrified King Christian IX of Denmark 's daughter, Alexandra, Princess of Wales , who exclaimed: "The Duchies belong to Papa." Alexandra found support in her husband, his brother Prince Alfred , and his second sister, Princess Alice , who openly accused her mother of sacrificing Helena's happiness for

3825-582: The flirtations, in 1863, she dismissed Ruland, who returned to his native Germany . Three years later, on 5 July 1866, Helena married the impoverished Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein . The couple remained in Britain, in calling distance of the queen, who liked to have her daughters nearby. Helena, along with her youngest sister, Princess Beatrice , became the queen's unofficial secretary. However, after Queen Victoria's death on 22 January 1901, Helena saw relatively little of her surviving siblings. Helena

3910-536: The latter, she was a strong supporter of nurse registration against the advice of Florence Nightingale . In 1916 she became the first member of her family to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary , but her husband died a year later. Helena outlived him by six years, dying aged 77 in 1923. Helena was born at Buckingham Palace , the official royal residence in London , on 25 May 1846, the day after her mother's 27th birthday. Albert reported to his brother, Ernest II ,

3995-402: The main role at her side, carried out the more important duties, and Helena took on the more minor matters that Beatrice did not have time to do. In later years, Helena was assisted by her unmarried daughter, Helena Victoria, to whom the Queen dictated her journal in the last months of her life. Helena's health was not robust, and she was addicted to the drugs opium and laudanum . However,

4080-563: The match was politically awkward, and caused a severe breach within the royal family. Schleswig and Holstein were two territories fought over between Prussia and Denmark during the First and Second Schleswig Wars . In the latter, Prussia and Austria defeated Denmark, but the duchies were claimed by Austria for Prince Christian's family . However, following the Austro-Prussian War , in which Prussia invaded and occupied

4165-475: The memoir to her sister attracted greater interest in the book. Helena's favourite son, Prince Christian Victor , died in 1900, followed three months later by her mother Queen Victoria , who died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901. The new King, Edward VII , did not have close ties with his surviving sisters, with the exception of Princess Louise . Helena's nephew, Prince Alexander of Battenberg (later Marquess of Carisbrooke ) recorded that Queen Alexandra

4250-594: The musical director should take all rehearsals); and, following the breakdown of negotiations with Sargent, he was approached. Although he was already heavily committed, Boult accepted the appointment; and in June 1928, the handover from Vaughan Williams (who was elected a vice-president of the choir) was finalised at the July 1928 AGM. Although only in charge for four seasons, Boult produced performances of high quality, and introduced challenging contemporary works. His lasting legacy

4335-490: The musical directorship went to David Willcocks , director of music at King's College, Cambridge . He was soon pointing the choir in new directions, introducing important contemporary works including Honegger 's King David , Delius 's Sea Drift and Janáček 's Glagolitic Mass. He undertook a number of recordings, including a performance of Britten 's War Requiem conducted by the composer, which sold 200,000 copies in its first five months. A series of foreign tours

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4420-534: The need to resort to performances of the popular oratorio repertoire to secure essential funds. The repertoire in the Goldschmidt years was biased towards motets and Renaissance church music, a reflection of his particular interests; but the connection with Bach was maintained by regular performances of the Mass in B Minor and some of the cantatas . Goldschmidt resigned in 1885 to be replaced by Stanford, organist of Trinity College, Cambridge and conductor of

4505-593: The new queen, Alexandra , insisted on replacing Helena as President of the Army Nursing Service. This gave rise to a further breach between the royal ladies, with King Edward VII caught in the middle between his sister and his wife. Lady Roberts, a courtier , wrote to a friend: "matters were sometimes very difficult and not always pleasant." However, in accordance with rank, Helena agreed to resign in Alexandra's favour, and she retained presidency of

4590-464: The purpose of giving the first complete British performance of J. S. Bach 's Mass in B minor , the Bach Choir continued and developed to become one of the world's leading amateur choirs. The original idea for the choir came from Arthur Duke Coleridge , a young lawyer and outstanding amateur tenor who became acquainted with the Mass while a student at Leipzig , where he studied music along with

4675-491: The result of hypochondria; in 1869, she had to cancel her trip to Balmoral Castle when she became ill at the railway station. In 1870, she was suffering from severe rheumatism and problems with her joints. In July 1871, she suffered from congestion in her lungs, an illness severe enough to appear in the Court Circular , which announced that her illness caused "much anxiety to members of the royal family". In 1873, she

4760-496: The role in her place. Alice was married to Prince Louis of Hesse in 1862, after which Helena assumed the role—described as the "crutch" of her mother's old age by one biographer—at her mother's side. In this role, she carried out minor secretarial tasks, such as writing the queen's letters, helping her with political correspondence, and providing her with company. Princess Helena began an early flirtation with her father's former librarian, Carl Ruland , following his appointment to

4845-477: The royal family invariably referred to Helena. As the daughter of the sovereign, Helena was styled Her Royal Highness The Princess Helena from birth. Helena was baptised on 25 July 1846 at the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. Her godparents were the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (the husband of Queen Victoria's cousin); the Duchess of Orléans (for whom the queen's mother,

4930-401: The same year, on 28 October, Prince Christian died at Schomberg House. Helena's last years were spent arguing with Commissioners, who tried to turn her out of Schomberg House and Cumberland Lodge because of the expense of running her households. They failed, as clear evidence of her right to live in those residences for life was shown. Princess Helena died at Schomberg House on 9 June 1923 at

5015-467: The school was: "first, to revive a beautiful art which had been well-nigh lost; and secondly, through its revival, to provide employment for gentlewomen who were without means of a suitable livelihood." As with her other organisations, she was an active president, and worked to keep the school on an even level with other schools. She personally wrote to Royal Commissioners requesting money; for example, in 1895, she requested and acquired £30,000 for erecting

5100-491: The sick, the suffering, and the dying". In the same speech, she warned about opposition and misrepresentation they had encountered. Although the RBNA was in favour of registration as a means of enhancing and guaranteeing the professional status of trained nurses, its incorporation with the Privy Council allowed it to maintain a list rather than a formal register of nurses. Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901,

5185-420: The telegram was received, and the King remarked to Helena's daughter, Marie Louise, that her former husband, Prince Aribert of Anhalt , did her a service when he turned her out. When Marie Louise said she would have run away to Britain if she was still married, the King said, "with a twinkle in his eye", that he would have had to intern her. In 1917, in response to the wave of anti-German feeling that surrounded

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5270-402: The upper levels of Victorian society, the social stratum in which Coleridge and Goldschmidt moved. Among the singing members was Princess Christian , the fifth child of Queen Victoria ; and among the founder-members, W.E. Gladstone . The exclusivity of the choir was perpetuated as recruits had to be proposed and seconded by existing members and approved by the committee. Of greater concern for

5355-502: The war, George V changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor . He also disposed of his family's German titles and styles, so Helena and her daughters simply became Princess Christian, Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise with no territorial designation. Helena's surviving son, Albert , fought on the side of the Prussians, though he made it clear that he would not fight against his mother's country. In

5440-454: The young Charles Villiers Stanford . He formed a committee to promote a British performance of the Mass, recruiting George Grove and John Stainer to serve on it. They appointed as musical director Otto Goldschmidt , the husband of Jenny Lind (the "Swedish Nightingale") who, as a former pupil of Felix Mendelssohn in Leipzig, had a good knowledge of the music of Bach . Within six months

5525-970: Was also arranged to the United States, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, France, Sweden and South Africa. The choir gave the Italian premiere of the War Requiem at La Scala , Milan . In 1968, the choir performed on the Rolling Stones song " You Can't Always Get What You Want ", with a choral arrangement by Jack Nitzsche . In the later part of the 20th century the choir worked with conductors such as Pierre Monteux (under whom it performed and recorded Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony ), Jascha Horenstein , Lorin Maazel and David Oistrakh . Willcocks retired in 1998 after thirty-eight years in charge. The current musical director, David Hill MBE,

5610-591: Was amongst the first members of the Bach Choir of London, founded by Lind's husband (and Helena's former piano teacher) Otto Goldschmidt . Her determination to carry out a wide range of public duties won her widespread popularity. She twice represented her mother at Drawing Rooms , attendance at which was considered equivalent to being presented to the queen herself. Helena was closest to her brother, Prince Alfred , who considered her his favourite sister. Though described by contemporaries as fearfully devoted to

5695-607: Was anxious to help children and the unemployed, and began hosting free dinners for their benefit at the Windsor Guildhall . She presided over two of these dinners, in February and March 1886, and over 3,000 meals were served to children and unemployed men during the harsh winter that year. Through her charitable activities, she became popular with the people; a contemporary author, C. W. Cooper, wrote that "the poor of Windsor worshipped her". Among Helena's other interests

5780-505: Was appointed in 1998, coming from a background of appointments as organist and master of the music at Winchester Cathedral and musical director of St John's College, Cambridge . David Hill (choral director) David Hill , MBE (born on 13 May 1957 in Carlisle , Cumberland ) is a choral conductor and organist . Since July 2013, he is Professor Adjunct of Choral Conducting and Principal Conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum at

5865-774: Was appointed president of the choir, following the death of Leopold David de Rothschild in 2012. Its vice presidents are Janet Baker , Felicity Lott , Roderick Williams and Sam Gordon Clark. The Bach Choir has performed for many film scores, including Kingdom of Heaven , Prometheus , Robin Hood , The Chronicles of Narnia , Shrek the Third , Jack the Giant Slayer , and The Martian . The choir has also released many acclaimed recordings, including Howells 's Stabat Mater and Missa Sabrinensis; Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem / Sancta Civitas (2010), which received

5950-491: Was claiming copyright of Alice's letters, and on that basis was demanding a delay in the publication of the English edition. Martin acted as an intermediary between Helena and Bergsträsser, who claimed to have received many offers from English publishers, and that the chosen one would expect a high honorarium . Bergsträsser was persuaded to drop his demand for a delay in publishing, and modify his copyright claims in return for

6035-524: Was decided that the letters should be forwarded to Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden , Princess Helena's niece, as Sweden was neutral during the war. It was during the war that Helena and Christian celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1916, and despite the fact that Britain and Germany were at war, the Kaiser sent a congratulatory telegram to his aunt and uncle through the Crown Princess of Sweden. King George V and Queen Mary were present when

6120-513: Was declared on 5 December 1865, and despite the Prince of Wales's initial refusal to attend, Princess Alice intervened, and the wedding was a happy occasion. The Queen allowed the ceremony to take place at Windsor Castle , albeit in the Private Chapel rather than the grander St George's Chapel on 5 July 1866. The Queen relieved her black mourning dress with a white mourning cap which draped over her back. The main participants filed into

6205-404: Was devastated, and ordered her household, along with her daughters, to move from Windsor to Osborne House , the queen's Isle of Wight residence. Helena's grief was also profound, and she wrote to a friend a month later: "What we have lost nothing can ever replace, and our grief is most, most bitter ... I adored Papa, I loved him more than anything on earth, his word was a most sacred law, and he

6290-641: Was forced to recuperate in France as a result of illness, and in the 1880s she travelled to Germany to see an oculist . Helena had a firm interest in nursing, and was the founding chair of the Ladies' Committee of the British Red Cross in 1870, playing an active role in recruiting nurses and organising relief supplies during the Franco-Prussian War . She subsequently became President of

6375-591: Was given the honorary position of High Steward of Windsor , and was made a member of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 . However, he was often an absentee figurehead at the meetings, instead passing his time playing with his dog Corrie, feeding his numerous pigeons , and embarking on hunting excursions. Helena, as promised, lived close to the Queen, and both she and Beatrice performed duties for her. Beatrice, whom Victoria had groomed for

6460-485: Was happy with Christian and was determined to marry him. As a younger son of a non-reigning duke, the absence of any foreign commitments allowed him to remain permanently in Britain—the Queen's primary concern—and she declared the marriage would go ahead. Helena and Christian were actually third cousins in descent from Frederick, Prince of Wales . Relations between Helena and Alexandra remained strained, and Alexandra

6545-408: Was jealous of the royal family, and would not invite her sisters-in-law to Sandringham . Moreover, Alexandra never fully reconciled herself to Helena and Christian following their marriage controversy in the 1860s. Helena saw relatively little of her surviving siblings, and continued her role as a support to the monarchy and a campaigner for the many charities she represented. She and Christian led

6630-420: Was my help and adviser ... These hours were the happiest of my life, and now it is all, all over." The queen relied on her second eldest daughter Princess Alice as an unofficial secretary, but Alice needed an assistant of her own. Though Helena was the next eldest, she was considered unreliable by Victoria because of her inability to go long without bursting into tears. Therefore, Louise was selected to assume

6715-506: Was published in 1883, by a Darmstadt clergyman called Carl Sell, who chose a selection of her letters made available to him by the Queen. When it was done, Helena wrote to Sell and requested permission to publish an English translation of the German text. It was granted, but without the knowledge of the publisher Dr Bergsträsser. In December 1883 Helena wrote to Sir Theodore Martin , a favoured royal biographer, informing him that Bergsträsser

6800-545: Was spent with her parents, travelling between a variety of royal residences in Britain . The intimate atmosphere of the royal court came to an end on 14 December 1861, when her father died and her mother entered a period of intense mourning. Afterwards, in the early 1860s, Helena began a flirtation with Prince Albert 's German librarian, Carl Ruland . Although the nature of the relationship is largely unknown, Helena's romantic letters to Ruland survive. After her mother discovered

6885-510: Was stillborn in 1877. Princess Louise , Helena's sister, commissioned the French sculptor Jules Dalou to sculpt a memorial to Helena's dead infants. The Christians were granted a parliamentary annuity of £6,000 a year, which the Queen requested in person. In addition, a dowry of £30,000 was settled upon, and the Queen gave the couple £100,000, which yielded an income of about £4,000 a year. As well as that of Ranger of Windsor Park, Christian

6970-568: Was the most active member of the royal family, carrying out an extensive programme of royal engagements. She was also an active patron of charities, and was one of the founding members of the British Red Cross . She was founding president of the Royal School of Needlework , and president of the Workhouse Infirmary Nursing Association and the Royal British Nurses' Association . As president of

7055-477: Was to initiate annual complete performances of the St Matthew Passion in English, a tradition that continues to this day. Boult was followed in 1932 by Reginald Jacques , who had been a pupil of Hugh Allen at Oxford. In a stay of twenty-eight years he introduced the traditional annual Carol Concert, ensured that activities continued without a break during the Second World War, and in 1947-48 conducted

7140-587: Was unprepared to accept Christian (who was also a third cousin to Alexandra in descent from King Frederick V of Denmark ) as either a cousin or brother-in-law. The Queen never forgave the Princess of Wales for accusations of possessiveness, and wrote of the Waleses shortly afterwards: "Bertie is most affectionate and kind but Alix [pet name for Alexandra] is by no means what she ought to be. It will be long, if ever, before she regains my confidence." The engagement

7225-469: Was writing, especially translation . In 1867, when the first biography of her father, the Prince Consort was written, the author, Sir Charles Grey, notes that the Prince's letters were translated (from German to English) by Helena "with surprising fidelity". Other translations followed, and in 1887 she published a translation of The Memoirs of Wilhelmine, Margravine of Bayreuth . It was noted by

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