The Argo sets sail at Tonbridge
The long-awaited Whole School Concert, featuring the world premiere of the musical work The Argo, took place last week after being postponed due to the pandemic exactly three years ago.
Inspired by the legendary voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, the story follows Jason’s journey to Colchis after being challenged to prove his worth by bringing back the fleece of the Golden Ram.
The School’s former Composer-in-Residence, Hywel Davies, and our Director of Music, Mark Forkgen, set their own challenge to boys and staff to stir The Argo into life.
Split over two nights in The Chapel of St Augustine, the Whole School Concert involved six of the Houses performing on Thursday 16 March and the other six on Friday 17 March.
The Whole School Concert is a memorable experience for all Tonbridge boys, only occurring once during their time at the School. Every boy is involved, forming the Whole School Chorus, performing alongside soloists, the Tonbridge School Symphony Orchestra, choristers from Hilden Grange and Yardley Court, and The New Beacon School Choir.
Productions were further enhanced with performances from Bradley Smith and Toby Stafford-Allen, and from OTs Laurence Williams (FH 03 – 08) and Ben Michaels (FH 07 – 12).
Mark Forkgen, the School’s Director of Music and Conductor of The Argo, explains that “presenting a work of such complexity brings many challenges: the whole School has to play the roles of the Sons of Iolcus, Heroes and the Argonauts, singing in different styles; a sung narration tells the story with a solo cellist and other soloists play named characters. The Symphony Orchestra accompanies the drama, adding a wealth of colour to proceedings”.
TIM SEVERIN AND THE JASON VOYAGE
It is unclear whether the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts is a myth or reality, or if they even existed at all.
Their journey took them from present-day Greece, across the Aegean Sea, through the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, through the much-feared Bosphorus into the Black Sea and along the entire north coast of Turkey, ending up in the state of Georgia in the Soviet Union.
Author and explorer Tim Severin, an Old Tonbridgian (MH 54 – 57), decided to investigate the story of Jason back in the 1980s. He had a 20-oar galley built in the Aegean to the exact specifications of a Bronze Age boat and, with his crew of new Argonauts, made the same perilous 1,500-mile journey.
Tim and his crew proved that, in spite of the dangers and discomfort, Jason could have made the journey in an oared galley, which many experts had considered impossible. Along the route, Tim also investigated many of the adventures that legend attributed to the Argonauts, from the clashing rocks in the Bosphorus to the bulls and serpent at the end of the voyage.
His conclusions were published in his book, The Jason Voyage (1985).
