Song of the Ribbon Weavers

The Song of the Ribbon Weavers is a new piece of music specially commissioned for Bedworth Singers and funded by a national Lottery grant.  It tells the remarkable story of the plight of the Bedworth ribbon weavers in the 1850’s and how they found a new life in Australia.

Henry Bellairs was rector at the time and his daughter, Nona, raised money for some of the starving families to migrate to the new colonies. She gave them writing materials with the request that they should write home to tell of their experience in their new homeland. The letters tell a graphic story of the hazardous journey and how they found a better life. One letter home to Miss Nona even included a gift of 2 small nuggets of gold. The music includes a chorus where our young singers imitate the sounds of Australian birds as described in the letters.

The words for the new piece were written by one of our choir members, Brian Liggins, and the music was composed by Nuneaton born Nicholas Spencer.

July 2009

Bedworth Singers Lottery Award

Bedworth Singers (formerly Bedworth Choral Society) are celebrating a £7000 award from the National Lottery “Awards for All” scheme. The award is to cover new uniforms, some portable staging and a new commissioned piece of music to be performed at a special re-launch concert in October 2009.

The choir are a group of enthusiastic singers of all ages and abilities and are hoping to attract younger members to join us. We have a hands-on approach and will make the money go further by buying our own materials and having the uniforms tailored by a choir supporter. As usual, the biggest decision the choir has had to make is…  what style and what colour? Similarly, the staging is being constructed by 2 of our talented men and designed to be collapsible (hopefully not when the choir are on it) and able to be easily stored and transported in sections by our members.

For the commissioned music we have chosen a local theme of the lives of Bedworth ribbon weavers who were facing starvation in the 1850’s and found a new and prosperous life by emigrating to Australia. The piece starts with the arrival in the town of a new rector, Henry Bellairs, who had fought at Trafalgar and who takes on the task of bringing order (with his fists if necessary) to an unruly populace. With no work in the ribbon weaving trade, Henry’s daughter Nona raised money for the starving weavers' families to emigrate to Australia and asked them all to write home and tell of their experiences. Fortunately for us, many of those letters still exist today and, using their descriptions, the music portrays the long and hazardous voyage and a better life in their new land. Some could even afford to send gifts home. One letter says “I send you two small nuggets of gold” - how’s that for a song title? The piece includes music for young voices as well as adults and is interspersed with narrative passages. Both the composer and librettist have local connections and the narrator will be a local historian. 

Bedworth Singers are a friendly and good humoured group who have recently performed Carmina Burana
and Faures Requiem, and are rehearsing for a summer concert of lighter music and then the new commissioned music which will be performed as part of a “Voices for Hospices” concert at Bedworth Civic Hall in October.