Monthly Archives: September 2014

A return to the Royal Festival Hall

The Royal Festival Hall is beginning to feel like a home from home for me. Quite literally in one sense – because I grew up in a house where many furnishings had been purchased around the time of the Festival … Continue reading

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The Kinshasa band

The Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra, founded 20 years ago, visited the UK for a four-concert tour. We were invited to join them for the final concert in Bristol, in the finale of Beethoven 9. They brought their own strong choir with … Continue reading

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Fitting in Prom 68

My family realised that time was running out for getting to a Prom this year and so some of them went to Prom 68, the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst. This concert wasn’t all that well attended (they had been … Continue reading

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Ten favourite anthems

I’ve been invited to name my ten favourite anthems. Like most people I can’t come up with a definitive list, though I think half of the following would be on any list of mine. I have excluded liturgical settings, even … Continue reading

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Starry anthems in Gloucester

I joined the Cathedral Chamber Choir on and off for part of its week in Gloucester Cathedral. On the Tuesday we sang Jonathan Dove’s Seek him that maketh the seven stars. I’d guess that this isn’t in the repertoire of … Continue reading

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a super chorus for Bath?

I’ve just been reading a recent issue of Bath Life in which they interview Will Dawes, the director of music at Bath Choral Society. He expresses a wish to pull together various local choirs as a ‘super chorus’. ‘There are … Continue reading

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Prom 44: Strauss, Elgar and Berlioz

I don’t think I’ve been in the Arena for a sell-out Prom before. I was sold my ticket with seconds to spare before I squeezed into the Arena. A popular programme, and I heard a fair few Australian accents in … Continue reading

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Building an audience (1): building relationships

This is a perennial problem for choirs, never more so than in these times when choral singing is popular but audiences may have watch their outlay. My comments here are really about the Bath choral scene, which I know about … Continue reading

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Did the Chantry Singers leave a gap?

I realise it’s a few years since the Chantry Singers disbanded. The choir was flourishing right to the end, but the founder and musical director felt she had achieved what she wanted with it, and sensed that the market was … Continue reading

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The Assumption in Milan

I have been fortunate to be in Milan for some major festivals of the Church year, and this year we were there on the feast of the Assumption. I went to Vespers, which included a procession around the building for … Continue reading

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