Our two carol services, separated by a fortnight, brought some new pieces for me to sing and some welcome reprises. Advent brought Anthony Piccolo’s I Look from Afar, quite a demanding setting of this text, but worthwhile. And my singing year ended as it began, with Poulenc’s Videntes Stellam. The Christmas carol service also included Warlock’s Benedicamus Domino, which I have heard many times on the 9 Lessons broadcast but as it happens never sung myself.
Each service also included a piece by James MacMillan: O Radiant Dawn and A New Song, both pieces I was keen to become a bit more familiar with.
One other event this month was that my husband went to hear Arcadi Volodos give a recital including Schubert’s D960 B flat sonata at the Barbican in London. As well as the performance he was impressed by the number of well-behaved children in the audience, some of them surprisingly young.