Monthly Archives: April 2007

Bruckner did not write heavy metal

But this didn’t stop the Grauniad from putting a spurious umlaut over the u in his surname today. I recommend the Wikipedia article on this topic. I expect that I won’t be mentioning heavy metal again here in a hurry … Continue reading

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a top C

I hadn’t been asked to do one of these in performance for a while (the last time I think was when I sang in the chorus in Mahler 8). But there was one at the end of a specially-written descant … Continue reading

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Tribulation

The St. Matthew Passion wasn’t the only choral work I performed for the first time in Holy Week. On Good Friday I went over to Oxford to sing in a scratch performance of Rossini’s Stabat Mater at St. Giles’s Church … Continue reading

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friendly and unfriendly choirs

Most choral singers must have had this experience: of trying to engage another in the choir in conversation, who has clearly decided that you aren’t in their league and can safely be ignored. I’ve already written about the time I … Continue reading

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the Chorus Angelorum

This was the name of the choir assembled to sing a big performance (really, there is no other kind) of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Bath Abbey tonight under the direction of Gavin Carr and accompanied by the English Chamber … Continue reading

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the golden age of compound time

As I was singing the opening chorus of the St. Matthew Passion a thought occurred to me: why did it go wrong for compound time after the baroque period? Why did later composers use it less, apart from niche markets … Continue reading

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