Author Archives: vhk10

a funeral and an anniversary

Posted on May 4, 2026 by vhk10

Having not sung there for a long time, I returned to St Mary’s Bathwick to sing twice within the space of a month, for a sorrowful and a joyful occasion. The first was the funeral of a former priest-in-charge at … Continue reading →

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from Palm Sunday to Good Friday

Posted on April 9, 2026 by vhk10

The Abbey Chamber Choir got to sing two services in Holy Week. As last year, we provided the music for the afternoon service on Palm Sunday, but this time it was a straightforward evensong. Somehow Ernest Bullock’s canticles in D … Continue reading →

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a belated return to Tewkesbury

Posted on April 1, 2026 by vhk10

I have not sung in Tewkesbury Abbey in a long time; my only previous occasion was a day trip for a Saturday evensong with my church choir from Manchester. It was good to have an opportunity to return with Gloucester … Continue reading →

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Purcell, Charles Andrews, Ives, Morley and Byrd for Lent

Posted on March 25, 2026 by vhk10

Meanwhile at Christ Church we sang evensong mid-March with more Purcell (Thou knowest, Lord) and the ‘faux-bordon’ canticles by one Carolus Andreas. I am suspicious of the provenance of these last. They have been reprinted by the RSCM (starting in … Continue reading →

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Purcell, Lotti and Byrd for Lent

Posted on March 2, 2026 by vhk10

For the second year in a row the Chamber Choir sang at the Abbey on Ash Wednesday. We opened with Purcell Remember not, Lord, used Byrd’s Four-Part mass as the setting, and during the Ashing sang Lotti’s setting of the … Continue reading →

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six of the best

Posted on March 1, 2026 by vhk10

Three of us went on a birthday outing to hear the Gesualdo Six at the Wiltshire Music Centre, giving a programme called Nachtmusik, setting texts in English, Italian and German, with less emphasis on the early repertoire that features in … Continue reading →

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a missed chance to sing Israel in Egypt

Posted on February 25, 2026 by vhk10

A couple of years before I started this blog I sang in a performance of Israel in Egypt with the Brandon Hill Singers. (It was I think the last performance with orchestra that the choir ever gave.) Apart from Deborah … Continue reading →

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Post-Christmas carol services (2): Candlemas

Posted on February 6, 2026 by vhk10

On into February, there was a Candlemas carol service in church, a service which we put on in some years. There was one new piece for me: David Ogden’s setting of Angels from the realms of glory. Not an arrangement … Continue reading →

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Post-Christmas carol services (1): Epiphany

Posted on January 31, 2026 by vhk10

I sang in two carol services for the latter part of the Christmas season, both of which brought new repertoire with them. First was Bath Abbey’s now annual Epiphany carol service. Among more standard pieces, we did Palestrina’s setting of … Continue reading →

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2025 round-up

Posted on January 1, 2026 by vhk10

2025 was an odd year, both for what it contained and for what it didn’t. The outstanding feature was the two overseas choir tours in quick succession, with Bristol Choral to Latvia and Gloucester Choral to Transylvania. They just happened … Continue reading →

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Advent and Christmas 3: Rutter-tide in St David’s

Posted on December 26, 2025 by vhk10

We went as usual to the Nine Lessons and Carols in St David’s Cathedral. There was more John Rutter than usual, probably because as already mentioned he has a major birthday this year. It included what I think is one … Continue reading →

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Advent and Christmas 2: inclusive carols, the hospital lobby and Jethro Tull

Posted on December 19, 2025 by vhk10

My second tranche of seasonal music began with an inclusive service at church for our Open Table Network congregation. This began and ended with some appropriate ‘songs from the shows’, which was for me a welcome chance to dip into … Continue reading →

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