Songs from the heart

Choral voices bring cheer to Chadsey’s

Last Sunday afternoon, the tasting room at By Chadsey’s Cairns Winery was filled with the delightful sound of Cor Aut Mors, a group of young women with a passion for Latin hymns and folk songs from the British Isles dating back a few centuries ago. It marked the end of Wassail at the winery, and the final winegrowing season for Richard Johnston and Vida Zalnieriunas. After almost two decades of making wine, the couple have decided to move on to another phase of their lives and take a break from the physically and mentally demanding task of operating a vineyard. Vida says that while this past season was a challenging one, with a late start and the weather doing almost the exact opposite things that were needed, they ended up with a bumper crop and will have enough wine to keep the tasting room open for at least two years. However, she feels that this is the right time for a change. “At this age, I’ve already had a lot of departures and losses and partings, and I think one should move graciously into the next stage of one’s life,” she says. “It feels natural, and it’s okay to let go and pass the torch.” She is very much looking forward to not having the winery dictate the pace of her life. “I would love to, with Richard, be able to experience the weather every day without a sense of urgency. I would like to read the paper in full, with a cup of coffee, without roaring off and doing something in the winery or in the store. I would like to travel with Richard. The future is all open and we just have to figure it out.”

(L-R): Mel Wright and Andrea Ziedenberg of the choral group Cor Aut Mors sing in the tasting room at By Chadsey’s Cairns.

A slight miscalculation meant that the winery is still celebrating Wassail in the County a week or two after all the other wineries had laid it to rest, but it provided an excellent opportunity to hear some traditional music celebrating the holiday season. About two dozen people enjoyed some mulled wine with the music in the afternoon, and there was another night-time performance in the barn. The group Cor Aut Mors began as an impromptu collection of young women who sang the traditional folk song Red, Red Rose at a bridal party. “We started singing songs together for fun, and we thought why don’t we organize this and make it so that we can just get some girls together and have a nice time,” says choir director Helene Goderis. The connection to the winery is that Richard and Vida’s daughter Daiva is one of the founding members of the choir, and in fact until now, the choir has only performed in public at By Chadsey’s during Wassail. The name of the group is Latin and translates to “heart or death”. “We knew that we wanted to do some Latin hymns, and we were looking for the most dramatic and overblown name, so Heart or Death it was,” says Helene. There are about 15 members in the choir, although just seven were present on Sunday. Only one member of the group is a professional singer, and all the others are in the arts and travel extensively for their work. They take their music from old songbooks, or by scouring YouTube for traditional British folk songs, which they then adapt to their voices. Some of the songs are incredibly complex, especially those in multi-part harmony, and the group meets for a weekly practise. It is a happy coincidence that their shared love of music is very well suited to Wassail. “I’m like an old-fashioned girl and I like older music and it’s amazing because we have super-diverse taste, but we all love the Latin hymns, the Scottish revival folk songs, anything from the British Isles and old Christmas tunes,” says Helene. This is the third year they have performed at the winery, and they have decided to give a couple of additional performances at other locations in the next few weeks. “We’re so happy to come here and sing, it’s the best weekend,” says Helene. “We can spend time making meals together, practising singing. It’s what we really look forward to. We’re very happy to be here.”

Members of Cor Aut Mors (L-R): Erika Lobko, Mel Wright, Darby Millbrath, choir director Helene Goderis, Emily Harris, Andrea Ziedenberg and Rita Fernando.