I wasn’t able to attend more than two concerts because of my own singing commitments during the Festival but others in the family got out more. My husband went to the concert of Indian classical music given by Partho Sarothy and Kausik Sen at the Invention Studios. There used to be more Indian music in Bath – perhaps to entertain people who’d retired there after serving in the Raj – but now you usually have to go to Bristol to hear it. The concert was good but the venue rather gloomy with its dark walls.
He also took our elder son to hear Natalie Clein and Kathy Stott. This was our son’s first concert and we noticed throughout the festival that there were a few more young people at concerts than in some previous years. They thought the Rachmaninov op. 19 cello sonata came off best; the programme also contained one of Bach’s cello suites. Shostakovich’s op. 40 sonata had the feel of a piece written by someone who was still getting a feel for the instrument and not trying anything too daring. The concert ended with a tango by Piazzolla (who also supplied the encore). Suddenly there seems to be a lot of his music around and while it is enjoyable to listen to I’m not sure how much real merit it has and whether he will survive being currently flavour of the month.
Hi! I was surfing around when I came across your post from 2004 on chamber choirs in Manchester, and, as a soprano in The Manchester Chorale I feel the need to write to you. I am so sorry you didn’t get the opportunity to sing with us. I have been a member since 1993 and as far as I can remember, we did have a very stable membership for quite a few years during the 90s. I hope you can still listen to us with equanimity though! And if you’re ever in the area, please try again (although I don’t think there are any vacancies for sopranos at the moment!)
Happy singing,
WM x
I also came across your post from 2004 on chamber choirs in Manchester. I sing in Manchester Chorale and Duodecimo. I’m sure both choirs would be delighted to hear from interested singers!
I think Duodecimo was founded after I moved away – many chamber choirs sprang up in Manchester around the turn of the millennium. As enough time has gone by and different people have long since taken over running the choir, I can explain I was rather shabbily treated at my Chorale audition – a place in the choir was offered to me and then withdrawn. I could tell that the ‘waiting list for auditions’ I was put on didn’t really exist.