APOLOGIES for the absence of the Winchelsea article last week which meant some advertising did not get printed. This may have been due to an online fault that possibly delayed sending the article.
THE SEA is the theme at the Members’ Evening of the Literary Society on Friday May 16th at 7 for 7.30pm in the Court Hall. Members’ Evening is an annual event in the Society’s programme and it is an opportunity for members to share some time together by listening to each other’s choice of readings. As a community living close to the sea the scent of the brine and crash of the waves serve as an inspiration for the topic of the readings which is indeed “The Sea”.
WESLEY’S CHAPEL will be open on Saturday May 17th for a Coffee Morning from 10am till 12pm and all are invited. This will include a presentation by local history expert, David Lambourne, at around 11am. David’s history talk will be interactive, informative and fun and it is a chance to just come and relax and have a good chat. The 18th century Methodist Chapel is a centre of history in the town. It contains within its small area a large pulpit above the congregation where the itinerant preacher John Wesley gave the gospel to the people of Winchelsea.
RHS Chelsea exhibitor Trudie Easton will be speaking on “Nature’s Pharmacy” which involves the medicinal properties of plants and she will use them to create three arrangements. The talk is arranged by the Garden Society and will take place on Saturday May 17th at 2.30pm in the New Hall and all are welcome. Admission is £5 including a raffle ticket and the floral arrangements will be awarded to three winning raffle ticket holders.
WINCHELSEA ARTS presents the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra in concert on Saturday May 17th at 7.30pm in St Thomas’s Church, Winchelsea. Tickets are £24 (free for under 18s) available online at Winchelsea-arts.org.uk and at the door. The orchestra conductor is Marcio da Silva, flute player is Pasha Mansurov and the music is by Holst, Barber, Clarke and Britten.
SEA SHANTIES performed by the Rye Harbour Herrings will take place on Sunday May 18th at 6pm in the New Inn. This is a fund raising event in aid of Demelza Hospice Care for Children and everybody is invited to come along for an evening of Sea Shanties, drinks and fun.
NEW RESIDENTS to Winchelsea are invited to a free special tour of the town by FOAM (Friends of the Ancient Monuments and Museum) at 2.30pm on Saturday 17th May. It will be an opportunity to find out more about the town’s history, its buildings, and medieval cellars, and to discover how the charity FOAM and its 170 members help maintain some of them. Also, if you aren’t a new resident but have never quite got round to joining FOAM, you are also very welcome to come along. The tour will last about an hour and a half and include a visit to the Court Hall and a couple of Winchelsea’s unique medieval wine cellars which is all free. If you haven’t already joined FOAM, there is a good chance that the membership secretary will try to enrol you. To book a place on the tour please contact Chris Chappell chriswinchelsea@icloud.com or any other member of the FOAM committee. FOAM works with Winchelsea Corporation to raise money each year to keep the Court Hall, the three medieval gates and the Town Well in good order as well as supporting improvements to the Museum.
GARDEN SOCIETY is organising an outing to two award-winning NGS gardens in Seaford on Thursday 29th May 29th. The gardens are the magical Cupani and the stunning Driftwood. Driftwood has appeared twice on Gardeners’ World. The trip includes coffee, cake and a talk at Cupani.The coach leaves Winchelsea at 9am and returns by 5pm and it might be wise to bring a snack for lunch. Please book early, the phone number is 01797 224861 and the cost is £20 per person.
LEADING WRITER of texts for cantatas German hymnwriter and theologian Erdmann Neumeister was born on May 12th 1671. His place of birth was Uechteritz, near Weissenfels in central Germany. Although not well known Weissenfels is possibly the one town where many significant musicians between the 17th and 18th century have made an impact. Weissenfels was a centre for German opera and the Protestant church cantata and musicians such as Bach, Telemann and Handel had strong links to the town. Neumeister was one of seven children and his father was an administrator and played the organ at the church. The family had little money and it was not until the age of fourteen that Neumeister attended state school and then university four years later where he studied theology. In 1704 he moved to Weissenfels where he tutored the daughter of a duke.After her death he became a court preacher and then in 1715 he accepted the post of pastor at St James’ Church, Hamburg. This Lutheran church has a tower 410 feet high and a famous Arp Schnitger organ built from 1689-93. During his time as a Lutheran minister Neumeister was an important writer of texts for musical compositions that are sung and known as cantatas. He developed the idea of using texts for sacred cantatas based on the operatic aria form (solo song) that depicts a character’s emotions, displays a singer’s abilities and may use repetition. This secular music technique used in opera was extended by Neumeister to church music. His hymns were set to cantatas and he was a major librettist writing texts for musical works. Neumeister’s texts often included verses from Lutheran hymns which were set to music and used by Bach and other composers for their church cantatas. A well-known hymn by Neumeister which was arranged as a cantata is “Christ receiveth sinful men”. The hymn would have been sung in operatic form and the text translated into English begins “Sinners Jesus will receive; Sound this word of grace to all Who the heavenly pathway leave, All who linger, all who fall.” And continues with “Christ receiveth sinful men, Even me with all my sin; Purged from every spot and stain, Glory I shall enter in.” The Bible describes how Jesus meets with sinners to bring them to repentance and salvation. In Luke 15:2 the Pharisees and scribes complain saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them” and similarly in Matthew 9:10-13 the Pharisees question why Jesus would associate with tax collectors and sinners. To which Jesus replied that it was not the healthy who needed a doctor, but the sick and stated “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. These verses show Jesus’s message of grace concerning healing, redemption and renewal. Other Christian songs by Neumeister are “Jesus! Great and wondrous Star”, “As God wills so will I” and “Lord Jesus Christ, my highest good”. Neumeister’s work led to the development of the Protestant Church cantata which was central to Lutheran worship in the 18th century and is used today during special services in traditional Anglican churches and in local arts concerts.
WINCHELSEA BEACHCommunity Association (Registered Charity) is holding a 60’s and 70’s Disco and the music is by “Sounds Around” with DJ presenter Jeff Loveday. The Disco will be held in the Community Hall on Saturday May 17th at 7.30pm and you will need to bring your own refreshments. Dress to impress if you can as there will be a 60’s and 70’s Fancy Dress Prize awarded for the best costume. The tickets are £5 available by phone on 07927 107678 or email parkermary848@gmail.com
Cindi Cogswell cyncogswell@btinternet.com