A great day and a fabulous concert "The music was wonderful, Bill would have appreciated the expert organ playing and the choir." "I wouldn't have missed it for the world", "An amazing concert, it was really wonderful" and written to someone who didn't make it "You missed a treat, the concert was fabulous" On Saturday 11th July there was small invasion of our village by 26 Germans ... at our invitation. Kantorei Prenzlau and friends had come to give a concert in church to celebrate the 150th birthday of our organ, made by the company Hill & Son. On arrival they briefly met their hosts for later in the day and then set off through the village for their rehearsal. I sat in and was amazed how strict a taskmaster their musical director Hannes Ludwig was. The choir started with a good 15 minutes of physical and oral warm up exercises and then it was onto the pieces they would sing later in the day. Instructions were all in German of course, so I only got the gist of them but there was much gesticulation involving the back of the neck and hands flowing from the mouth which I assumed meant loosen up and let the sound flow. Notes and harmonies had to be perfect, I think Hannes tried to get the starting pitches for the first piece from an app on his phone but with the mobile signal in church so bad, he reverted to analogue techniques - out came a tuning fork to help him sing the starting note for each section of the choir. The choristers were moved around to get the sound balance right and once they began singing, there was the timbre, crescendos and diction to get perfect too. The choir didn't seem to mind being corrected and encouraged and the final result was definitely worth it. Rehearsal over, the choir went back to their hosts for lunch and a quick change of clothing before returning to church for the concert itself. It started with Bach's famous Toccata & Fugue and closed with a roof-raising rendition of "Now thank we all our God", sung simultaneously by the choir in German and audience in English. In between there was fine a cappella singing and beautiful music from the cello and organ, but I wonder what our residents bats thought of the cuckoo in their midst! After the concert the hosts and a few others joined our guests in the village hall to get to know them a little more and wish them well for the rest of their UK tour. At the end of the concert we were presented with the English edition of Hannes' book W. Hill & Son (1832-1916) , organ builders by appointment. Ladbroke organ is included alongside many of its illustrious big brothers located in Westminster Abbey, York Minster, Kings College Chapel Cambridge, Sydney Town Hall and the one moved from Kilbarchan in Scotland to Hannes' church, Marienkirche in Prenzlau, Germany, to name but a few. This book joins others belonging to our church, including Ladbroke and it's owners, published in 1914 which covers the Lords of the Manor since 1086 and Rectors since 1290, and both the large leather bound Bible and prayer book presented in July 1876 when the church was re-opened after the George Gilbert Scott renovation. If you would like to see any of them just ask.
Our 2026 Easter trail for the young and young at heart takes the form of a scavenger hunt, looking out for different things in nature which remind us of the first Easter. Leaflets with the instructions in the church porch 28th March - 12th April.More info on this page
Kids Get CreativeWe need your pictures on the theme of Celebrating Mothers & Others to display in church on Mothering Sunday (15th March) and afterwards in the phone box. Design your own or pick up a colouring sheet from the church porch.Join us at our All Age Service on Sunday 15th March, 10.30am to celebrate all those who love, care for and nuture others. There will be a chance to chat over a cuppa afterwards and crafts available for the youngsters.Our family-friendly Discover Fossils sessions are back on Sat 14th and Sunday 15th March, 2-4pm, for more details see the services and events page. Free Guided tours available, currently booking for Wed 11th March, Sat 14th and Sunday 15th March. Enquiries for these and later dates to ladbrokechurch89@btinternet.comOur last Lent Lunch of delicious soup, bread and cheese will be on Thursday 19th March, see calendar for details
