Chapel Choir outing to The Foundling Museum
This year the Chapel Choir will present a Christmas Concert for a Charity called Coram. The charity was founded in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, a philanthropist who wanted to provide care for children left dying on London's streets. Coram is one of the UK's first children's charities and continues to work to this end today. Artist William Hogarth and composer George Frederic Handel were early supporters of the charity's work. Hogarth donated a number of his paintings to the Hospital and Handel composed the Foundling Anthem, performing it to raise funds each year on his birthday. Handel left a copy of score of The Messiah to the charity in his will, which is on display today in The Foundling Museum.
On Thursday 22nd November, a blustery day, boys in the Chapel Choir went to visit the Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London. We saw paintings by Hogarth and artefacts in the Handel collection including a copy of the score of The Messiah. The boys had the opportunity to dress up in clothes of the era, and were given a most informative and interesting guided tour of the museum by an excellent volunteer guide. We saw many other exhibits from the original museum, including one of the original refectory tables made of Elm, a once common tree but now virtually extinct due to Dutch elm disease.
Dressing up!
The Chapel Choir perform in St Andrew, Holborn at 6.30pm on Thursday 13th December, 2012.
Tickets are available from: http://coramcelebration.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C
http://www.coram.org.uk/
http://www.standrewholborn.org.uk/
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/
The Chapel choir with the Thomas Coram statue.