Author Archives: vhk10

Ascension Day in Chichester

Posted on May 22, 2023 by vhk10

Being within striking distance of Chichester Cathedral and with a free evening, I went to their Ascension Day Eucharist. I had some time beforehand to wandered rou those parts of the interior which were open and unscaffolded, and found myself … Continue reading →

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Elgar in St Paul’s outside the Walls

Posted on May 1, 2023 by vhk10

The name of the church sounds better in Italian – S Paolo fuori le Mura – and according to Wikipedia it’s the tenth largest church in the world. Still not the largest in which I’ve sung The Dream of Gerontius … Continue reading →

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My St John’s Smith Square début

Posted on April 25, 2023 by vhk10

I’m rather ashamed to say that I am not sure I’ve ever been to a concert in St John’s Smith Square (though I have heard countless broadcasts from there). However, I have now, rather unexpectedly, had the chance to perform … Continue reading →

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Priory Voices at the Abbey

Posted on April 17, 2023 by vhk10

A social media post alerted me to a weekend visit by Priory Voices to Bath Abbey and I went along to Sunday evensong. It is a few years since I sang with this choir, and although I went to many … Continue reading →

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Holy Week/Easter 2023

Posted on April 14, 2023 by vhk10

I was able to sing in all the choral services at church for Holy Week and Easter this year. We put together our service of music and readings for Good Friday rather quickly and I found I had to learn … Continue reading →

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a home-grown St John Passion

Posted on April 12, 2023 by vhk10

I was given a ticket to Bath Abbey’s Holy Week performance of Bach’s St John Passion, given by the Abbey girls and men with Ruairi Bowen as the Evangelist and Rejouissance playing. The Abbey is still unheated (a part has … Continue reading →

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a dodransbicentennial memory test

Posted on April 10, 2023 by vhk10

Howells Hymnus Paradisi is the major choral work which I had not sung for the longest time. I did it as a student, but never since then, although I have twice sung Howells’ Requiem, which is the source of some … Continue reading →

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three services at the Abbey

Posted on March 31, 2023 by vhk10

I’ll roll the three most recent outings of Bath Abbey’s Chamber Choir into one post. On 5 March we sang Peter Philips’ Ave verum and Purcell’s Remember not, Lord at the earlier sung Eucharist. A week later we were back … Continue reading →

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a meaty interpretation

Posted on March 22, 2023 by vhk10

Preparing for my next concert I was directed to a YouTube recording of one of the pieces. In the ‘if you liked this, you might also like this’ column on the right, alongside two movements from the other piece in … Continue reading →

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lauter Zucker sein

Posted on February 28, 2023 by vhk10

This line from the text of Bach’s motet Jesu, meine Freude felt appropriate to the Paragon Singers’ study day at St Swithin’s Church, as we were plied with large quantities of home-made cake morning and afternoon! I felt I was … Continue reading →

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Go to Jail

Posted on February 22, 2023 by vhk10

The branch of the Premier Inn I stayed in at Bury St Edmunds was previously the town gaol, and retained some of the original features (not in my room, I’m happy to say). After not singing last year with the … Continue reading →

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Bachfest 2023

Posted on February 18, 2023 by vhk10

I didn’t get the the Bath Opera spring production this year – The Merry Widow – as the Thursday night sold out (perhaps because the tickets were cheaper) and that was the only night I could go. So instead we … Continue reading →

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