Back again in the final hours of 2008 to review the year just past. 2008 would have done well to live up to 2007, and unfortunately it didn’t, although there were quite a few highlights from my point of view. I sang Bach’s B minor Mass for the first time (as a soprano) and also Britten’s War Requiem. I sang in many cathedrals and major churches including Beverley Minster and had some varied solo opportunities.
I was sorry that there weren’t any chances to sing with Chorus Angelorum this year (as far as I know all the choir did during the year was some Messiahs in the run up to Christmas).
The readership of this blog remains steady, if still lower than it was in its previous location. Among the more interesting of this year’s comments was one from a long-term committee member of the Manchester Chorale, with whom I was able to discuss what happened at my audition for that choir and afterwards. I am on the lookout for places where the blog can be listed, and noting the searches which lead here. I may adjust the content slightly in order to be picked up more by search engines (which index new posts quickly), but rest assured this will not mean a dramatic change to the sort of things I write about. I’ll work on reducing the ‘uncategorised’ category in the cloud which I’ve added recently; I’m hoping that the cloud will make it clear that the blog isn’t just about singing in church services.
As for making resolutions for 2009, I am a bit wary of the whole business after last year, when I resolved to be a regular reader of Miles Kington, who was dead before January was out. However there are some ambitions I’ve had in past years which I think I now have to let go. For example, it is very unlikely (I’m told) that the Bath Festival Chorus will be reforming in the near future. I had hoped that Richard Hickox might take it on as a retirement project, but he too died in 2008.
I realise my time-keeping is getting a bit approximate. This is not naturally a strong area of my musicianship and I have to work on it every so often. 2009 ought to be one of those times!
2009 does at least have quite a few dates booked already; first up is a weekend of services at Durham Cathedral with Priory Voices.