Chairman: Garry Broughton. Secretary: Judith Wardman
PRESENT at 2.15: 15 members (not a quorum). It was agreed to proceed with as much of the AGM business as could be conducted without formal voting.
1. Apologies for absence: Sheila Barnes, Carey Beebe, Andrew Benson-Wilson, Brian Blandford, Anna and John Blomfield, Harry Booth, J. Brummitt, John Collins, Caroline Dooley, Sally Fortino, Christopher Gold, John Greenhalgh, Edmund Handy, Richard Ireland, Francis Knights, J. P. Lester, Darryl Martin, Lynne Mirrey, Peter Mole, Charles Mould, Patricia Murdoch, Grant O’Brien, Duncan Preston, Elizabeth Royle, Karin Richter, Malcolm Russell, Micaela Schmitz, Peter Stephens, Michael Telford, Koen Vermeij, John Weston, Brian Wishart, Akihiko Yamanobe.
2. Minutes of the 9th Annual General Meeting, 26 June 2004, were circulated, taken as read and discussed. Approval and adoption were postponed because of the lack of a quorum.
3. The Chairman gave this report:
Welcome to the 10th Annual General Meeting of the British Clavichord Society, and welcome to a new venue for the BCS. The Dutch Church at Austin Friars (Augustinian Monastery) has a certain relevance to the world of the early keyboard, not just because the sixteenth-century 2000-strong Dutch community in London contained many keyboard instrument makers but more particularly because, although the church was totally destroyed by Hitler’s Luftwaffe, the archives in the crypt survived. As those of you who have read Malcolm Rose’s article in the November 2004 Early Music will know, these archives contain many references to Lodewijk Theewes, maker of the only keyboard instrument to survive from sixteenth-century England (the 1579 claviorganum in the Victoria and Albert Museum). Lodewijk was deacon of this church from 1573 and an elder from 1585. Unfortunately there is no evidence of him making a clavichord . . .
Last year’s AGM was a very special occasion: celebrating our first ten years, honouring Bernard Brauchli and Virginia Pleasants (whom we miss very much since she moved back to America), and enjoying recitals by Paul Simmonds and Derek Adlam, followed by a splendid banquet.
The fifth Edinburgh weekend at the end of August lived up to the high standards set by its predecessors and indeed went a step further, with the world’s first clavichord composition competition, which exceeded all our expectations. For many members the other highlight of Edinburgh was not one of the fascinating talks and recitals but the soundboard painting workshop, when we happily messed around with paint and brushes under the direction of Sheila Barnes. As you all know, Sheila is retiring from the post of treasurer: I know she doesn’t want any sort of fuss, but I must take this opportunity to pay tribute to her and to thank her, on behalf of the whole membership of the BCS, past and present, for the immense contribution she has made to the success of our society. In her roles as treasurer, and for the first five years, membership secretary, Sheila, with great wisdom and efficiency, has played a large part in ensuring the society’s financial stability and success. Of course her greatest achievement on behalf of the BCS has been the organization of the biennial Edinburgh Clavichord Weekend. Instituted by John and Sheila and courageously carried on by Sheila after John’s death, the Edinburgh event has, thanks to Sheila’s famous hospitality and determination, become an essential part of the clavichord revival. We send her our heartfelt thanks.
The final event of our anniversary year was a magical recital by Carole Cerasi at the Art Workers’ Guild in Queen Square, London, the very place where Arnold Dolmetsch made his first clavichords 110 years ago.
This brings me to perhaps the biggest problem faced by the society: putting on such events is becoming more and more expensive, especially in London, and audience figures are showing a tendency to decrease, despite the fact that membership of the society, thanks to the efforts of our membership secretary, Peter Bavington, is fairly constant at just over 200. On 24 April Peter Maxwell Davies, who took a clavichord with him when he moved to a crofter’s cottage in the Orkneys, will give the Royal Philharmonic Society lecture with the title ‘Will Serious Music Become Extinct?’
The BCS says Not if we can help it, and produces as evidence the recent Clavichord Education Day at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. Thanks once again to the efforts of Richard Ireland, our Education Initiative Co-ordinator, much enthusiasm for the modest clavichord was generated, and about fifty pupils gained valuable hands-on experience under the guidance of Steven Devine (himself a former pupil) on the eight clavichords assembled for the occasion. The head of keyboard music at Chetham’s, Murray McLachlan, described the day as ‘so inspiring and eye-opening’.
We hope that our next clavichord day, on 30 April, our first venture to the West Country, at Ashburton near Totnes, will, thanks to the efforts of Paula Woods, generate similar interest and enthusiasm, and – along with our continuing sponsorship of individual students – will help to consolidate the future of the instrument.
It is pleasing to report that society members are increasingly active in events outside the aegis of the BCS: Byron Mahoney, Bridget Cunningham, Paul Simmonds, Derek Adlam, Christopher Hogwood, Laurence Cummings and Micaela Schmitz have been, or will be, involved in clavichord recitals and workshops. This year will also see the visits of two great clavichordists: Miklós Spányi is giving two recitals in June, and on 15 October, Gustav Leonhardt will give his third recital for the BCS in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford.
On a sad note, I must report the death of Rex Muffett, one of the Society’s links with the mid-twentieth-century revival of the clavichord: he gave the first clavichord broadcasts on the BBC’s Music at Night series and used to practise at Tom Goff’s house and workshop in the sixties (see the February newsletter).
When not playing or listening I hope all BCS members are busy reading our newsletter, which continues to cover the whole spectrum of the clavichord world, thanks to the efforts of editor Peter Bavington, who would dearly like someone to volunteer help in this area as guest or assistant editor.
Could I also make a plea here for members to donate any spare materials they have (books, magazines, articles, discs, printed music etc.) to our archives?
Finally I must, on behalf of the whole membership, thank our secretary and events organizer, Judith Wardman, for her tireless behind-the-scenes work, our President, Derek Adlam, and our committee: Francis Knights, Byron Mahoney, Darryl Martin, Julian Perkins, Karin Richter, Micaela Schmitz, Paul Simmonds and Paula Woods.
4. Annual accounts and Treasurer's report
The independently examined accounts for the year 2004 and the following report from the Treasurer were circulated:
These Accounts are for the financial year from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 and they record the transactions which took place during that period. I would like to thank Mrs Dianne Fraser who examined them in the place of Mrs Joy Beer who has been unwell.
At the end of the year there were still a number of invoices which had not been submitted and these were paid after 31 December 2004. These late payments, amounting to £2015.49, are listed on a separate sheet and they are included in the Statement of Funds under the heading of Creditors. Please note that the bank charges of £60 were due to a bank error and were refunded.
Receipts for the year amounted to £11079.19, as shown on p. 1. Payments out as shown on p. 2 came to £15865.55 but this figure includes payments of £5171.41 made to 2003 creditors. When this amount is deducted and expenses to 2004 creditors are added in, the payments out for the year total £12709.63 (see Balance Sheet). This resulted in a deficit for the year of £1630.50 which was not unexpected. The Society still has a healthy balance of £9171.52.
Two major items of expenditure were Meetings and Concerts and the Composition Awards. Expenses for promoting concerts and events have gradually risen over the years and whereas in the past income received from ticket sales more or less covered the outgoings, this is no longer possible. A worthy new expense of £2685.50 was for the Composition Awards: this covered prize money, fees to the judges and players and administrative costs. We are most grateful for sponsorship of this event by the PRSFoundation (Performing Rights Society) £500, the International Centre for Clavichord Studies (Magnano) £341.53 and an anonymous donor £100. (Of this, not shown in the present accounts, is £100 received in 2003 and £250 paid in after the end of the financial year.) We would also like to express our appreciation of an anonymous donation of £200 towards the promotion of Educational activities.
The Society's funds are held in two accounts with Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), one being a Deposit Account which is convenient for the Membership Secretary for paying in subscriptions and for receipts from the Bookshop; the other is used mainly for making payments out by cheque. Both accounts gain a small amount of interest, this year amounting to £127.89.
After all the events of the year the satisfactory balance of £9171.52 at its end will allow the committee to arrange further exciting and interesting projects.
Sheila Barnes, Edinburgh, April 2005
Approval of the accounts was postponed.
5. Election of Committee members
The Chair asked whether there were any new nominations in addition to those listed in the Agenda; there were none. Elections were postponed.
6. Election of Examiner
The Secretary reported that Brian Blandford had kindly agreed to stand for election as Examiner. The election was postponed. Warm thanks were recorded to Mrs Joyce Beer, who had generously acted as Examiner since the beginning of the Society and was now retiring for health reasons, and to Dianne Fraser, who had examined the 2004 accounts.
7. Any other business
a. The Secretary announced that Peter Bavington had
prepared a new Membership List, which was available for members to
collect if they wished or would be posted later.
b. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was proposed by the Secretary and
supported unanimously.
The inquorate meeting closed at about 2.35.
The AGM was reconvened at 3.50, with about 20 members present.
Votes were taken and carried unanimously on the following agenda items:
2. Minutes of the 9th Annual General Meeting.
4. Annual accounts and Treasurer’s report
5. Election of Committee members:
David Hitchin (Treasurer), proposed by Paul Simmonds,
seconded by Peter Bavington
Paula Woods, proposed by Micaela Schmitz, seconded by Judith Wardman
Francis Knights, proposed by Garry Broughton, seconded by Darryl Martin
6. Election of Examiner:
Brian Blandford, proposed by Judith Wardman, seconded Peter Bavington
The quorate AGM closed at 3.58.
At 4.05 a recital of clavichord solos and duos was given by Kasia Tomczak and Julian Perkins.
updated 17 February 2009