Like most singers, I have lost a large number of opportunities to perform this year. A rough list: four concerts with Bristol Choral Society, three with Gloucester Choral Society, the Erleigh Cantors’ 30th anniversary bash, a day working on Tallis’ Spem in Alium, a Cotswold Big Sing Mahler 8, visits to York Minster and Bradford, Portsmouth and Chichester Cathedrals. Plus whatever other concerts I might have been offered (Proms, Bath Cantata Group, CanZona?) and countless church services both regular and special occasion. Opportunities to go to concerts likewise disappeared.
Another way of looking at it:
- when I next sing a service in a Cathedral it is likely to be two years since I last did so in person
- when I next sing Choral Evensong it is likely to be over a year since I last did so
- when I next sing a concert it will be over a year since I last did so
- when I next sing a concert with Bristol Choral Society it will be two years since I last did so
- when I next sing in the Bristol Beacon (the former Colston Hall) it will be at least four years since I last did so
- when I next sing with a large orchestra it is likely to be at least three years since I last did so
Not all of these delays are entirely due to the coronavirus pandemic; the reopening of the hall in Bristol (when Bristol Choral Society can use large orchestras again) was delayed by two years even before that happened, and for various reasons I did little performing outside church in autumn 2019.
So what was I able to do? Rather more than many people, and for part of the autumn I was in the fortunate position of having three choirs which had restarted. The main events, in the order they occurred:
- Recording a CD with Bristol Choral Society in January
- Singing a visiting-choir Candlemas evensong at St Mary Redcliffe
- A ‘Come and Sing’ of Dido and Aeneas
- Hearing Simon Rattle conduct Berg and Beethoven at the Barbican Centre
- Going to Bath Opera’s staging of Gounod’s Faust
- Bach’s St John Passion with Gloucester Choral Society in March
- a choral Mass at the Duomo in Milan
- Making recordings with Christ Church, Bath used at a service in Guildford Cathedral in August (note ‘in person’ above)
- Recording the shortlisted entries for Bristol Choral Society’s Mary Otty Carol Competition
- Singing Candlemas, Advent and Christmas carol services
I have also discovered that I don’t get on with rehearsals on Zoom (I tend to crouch over the device) or singing in a mask (I feel disconnected from the sound I make). But I have got practised at singing my line to a backing track, of organ or singers, with clicks or a conductor.
I’m not even going to try to predict 2021. Some already postponed events have been postponed again, but others remain pencilled in for now.