Author Archives: vhk10

tape to CD

Posted on April 28, 2021 by vhk10

As part of the church ‘Time and Talents’ fund-raising drive, I got a request to transfer four cassette tapes to CD for a member of the congregation. This inevitably doesn’t produce as good results as transferring LPs: you don’t have … Continue reading →

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I have a tin ear for organ stops

Posted on April 13, 2021 by vhk10

This year’s Lichfield Cathedral Lent Quiz invited competitors to identify stops on the Cathedral organ. I did have a go at a dozen or so of these. Some of the less standard ones I was able to identify but most … Continue reading →

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The Bath Festival Orchestra revives

Posted on March 26, 2021 by vhk10

Against all probability the scaled-down Bath Festival 2021 will feature for the first time in many years (I’d guess 40 years at least) an ensemble called the Bath Festival Orchestra. This has been refounded with a new remit for the … Continue reading →

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evensong wishlist

Posted on March 15, 2021 by vhk10

From time to time I’ve made a wishlist of pieces I’d like to sing on a Cathedral visit. Time to revisit this and make a new list. Either I’ve never sung these, or not for a very long time, and … Continue reading →

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pick up anthem

Posted on March 9, 2021 by vhk10

On Monday nights recently I’ve been taking part in a trawl through some of the European Sacred Music collection. I have sung many but by no means all of these, and some of the ones I have sung I have … Continue reading →

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my favourite Zooms

Posted on February 14, 2021 by vhk10

There is a parody of the first verse of ‘My Favourite Things’ by Ian McMillan doing the rounds ‘Lawyers in meetings who look just like kittens…These are a few of my favourite Zooms’. I’ve added a couple of verses specific … Continue reading →

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in praise of … Cathedral choral societies

Posted on February 13, 2021 by vhk10

I was sorry to hear this week of the death of Lucian Nethsingha. One of the tributes I read mentioned that while director of music at Exeter Cathedral he had also conducted a choral society based there. And this set … Continue reading →

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Amen to that!

Posted on February 9, 2021 by vhk10

Following on from the canticle and anthem ‘World Cups’, Twitter has recently been enlivened by a similar venture to find the setting of the best setting of the word Amen. I followed this from the start and indeed nominated a … Continue reading →

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in praise of … the pieces that swallow rehearsal time

Posted on January 30, 2021 by vhk10

I’m not sure I’m really praising these, as in fact they are a nuisance. We have all encountered them – the pieces which seem innocuous and straightforward, yet which consume the lion’s share of rehearsal, possibly leaving others unprepared. How … Continue reading →

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Lockdown encore une fois

Posted on January 23, 2021 by vhk10

So this month everything went online again. No physical rehearsals and indeed after some debate we have stopped our church services as well. But I still spend several evenings a week in choral activities. Gloucester Choral Society has now dipped … Continue reading →

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what was salvaged from 2020?

Posted on December 31, 2020 by vhk10

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’ … Continue reading →

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Lichfield, the geeks’ cathedral

Posted on December 31, 2020 by vhk10

I hope they won’t mind my describing them that way. Not long ago I wrote about their project to crowdsource transcriptions of their 19th-century music lists. I’m still at work on this, a few days of music at a time … Continue reading →

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