Author Archives: vhk10

Other recordings I’ve made

As I’m on the verge of recording a CD, it’s time to look back at other recordings I’ve made. The new recording with Bristol Choral Society will be the sixth professional one I’ve made. The others (mostly recorded when I … Continue reading

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Round-up of 2019

This wasn’t a particularly notable year with obvious high points, rather one in which I revisited places (Truro Cathedral) and works I had not encountered for a long time. The latter included three Requiems (Mozart, Brahms and Howells’), the last’s … Continue reading

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two carol services

I’ll do a very quick round up of Christmas music. I miss the carol burn-out suffered by many people I know by going away for Christmas but I did sing in our Advent carol service. The new piece this year … Continue reading

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a belated return to Vivaldi’s Magnificat

Vivaldi’s Magnificat must, rather unfairly, get a fraction of the performances of his Gloria. I sang it many years ago in Cambridge – conducted by John Alldis, no less – I think to boost the sound of the singers on … Continue reading

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two lots of carols for the Christmas market

It’s a few years since I sang carols at Bath’s Christmas market. This year I had two shots, back to back! Firstly I did some moonlighting by running through a few standard carols with the combined forces of some of … Continue reading

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Brahms with 4 hands

I have sung Brahms’ German Requiem within the lifetime of this blog, but it was not long after I started it! Instead I’ve twice attended a series of rehearsals with Bristol Choral Society for performances I couldn’t take part in. … Continue reading

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accompanying The Women of Ryazan

The silver screen came back to Christ Church for another silent film accompanied on the organ, as part of the Bath Film Festival. This time David Bednall played for the remarkable 1927 Russian film by Olga Preobrazhenskaya, The Women of … Continue reading

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rehearsing but not performing

Fortunately I rarely have to pull out of performances because of illness, but a number of times in the last few years I’ve gone to rehearsals for a concert I wasn’t singing in. Twice the work concerned was the German … Continue reading

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railway bitonality

My recent visit to Japan (the previous one was just before I started this blog) didn’t have a great deal of musical content, but I was able to observe again one feature of travel there: the use of distinctive melodies … Continue reading

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the animals get it right

I once heard this as a comment on The Cunning Little Vixen, which I went to see at the Wales Millennium Centre. (For some reason Welsh National Opera thinks that Bristol audiences can’t handle Janáček and don’t bring their productions … Continue reading

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