This was a new development at Bath Abbey and the Chamber Choir was singing. One novelty for me The Magi’s Dream by James Whitbourn, better known to me as a producer of Choral Evensong broadcasts, with words by Robert Tear, better known to me as a singer. (I have sung a Mass setting by Whitbourn.) Notable for its gradually increasing tempi and rather abrupt ending, it can be heard in a recording by King’s College Choir.
Our introit from the West end was Omnes de Saba by Handl, which I did years ago with the Chantry Singers. Apart from that we sang some usual suspects by Lauridsen, Cornelius and Howells.
January also contained a sad event of a kind I’ve mostly been spared, the funeral of a member of our church choir. The rest of the month was quiet, not least because I had a nasty cough which got in the way of any singing.