The Erleigh Cantors usually perform a concert in May, and this year it was decided to honour the Marian connexion (our reader read the poem by Hopkins on this theme). We did so with a large number of mostly short pieces, many revived from Cathedral visits.
Some highlights from the music I already knew were: the Giles Swayne Magnificat, which I’ve only ever sung with this choir; anniversary composer Holst’s Ave Maria (I’m gradually working round all four soprano parts in this piece); Rihards Dubra’s Ave Maria; Tavener’s Hymn to the Mother of God; Guerrero’s Ave Virgo sanctissima; Jonathan Dove’s Vast ocean of light (not really a Marian piece but it was fresh in the choir’s memory). Also Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin, which seemed to have a sickness jinx affecting the solo quartet; I was a late substitute for an indisposed soprano and am apparently turning into a Britten specialist this year.
There were several pieces new to me. Franz Biebl sounds as if he ought to be Baroque but he is much more recent. His Ave Maria exists in several different arrangements which caused some confusion in rehearsal. It’s quite a long piece and the soprano part gets strenuous in places. Paul Mealor’s O sanctissima Maria, by contrast, lies low, especially at the end. I’d heard Judith Weir’s Ave Maris Stella on the radio recently so it was good to perform it. I had only sung anthems by Vivanco before, but we included his Magnificat on the 8th tone, where the polyphonic verses have different numbers of parts, a trap for unwary singers. (However Mapa Mundi editions are the best for laying out the lines so that you don’t miscount!)
We had a good sized audience of Eurovision refugees as last year.