Author Archives: vhk10

an authentic harmonium

Posted on May 18, 2018 by vhk10

I joined local choir CanZona (the median capital letter differentiates it from the ensemble Canzona) for a performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in aid of our church organ fund. Years ago the Cambridge Chamber Group was going to do … Continue reading →

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captured by the Muse in the stratosphere

Posted on May 6, 2018 by vhk10

My attention was drawn to this telecast of a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music by a friend who is the brother of the tenor soloist. I enjoyed the performance, with brisk tempi and … Continue reading →

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memory test

Posted on April 28, 2018 by vhk10

It is my boast (and this is a bit of a boast) that I almost never totally forget a piece of music that I’ve performed, however long the interval until I perform it again. Unfortunately I usually don’t remember it … Continue reading →

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taking Duruflé to Lisbon

Posted on April 24, 2018 by vhk10

I have not been on many foreign choir tours – on average, it’s been about once every four years – but two of the few that I’ve done involved Duruflé’s Requiem. Perhaps it’s because it is a substantial work for … Continue reading →

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Holy Week and Easter 2018

Posted on April 17, 2018 by vhk10

I missed singing the Good Friday service last year, but this year I was available for everything except Maundy Thursday. Palm Sunday included Peter Aston’s Hosanna to the Son of David, one of his more mediæval-influenced works, and Leighton’s Solus … Continue reading →

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in praise of … the forgery

Posted on March 30, 2018 by vhk10

For Good Friday we are about to sing Crux fidelis by the person I shall call – following the convention used for Classical authors – Pseudo-King John IV of Portugal. This work obviously fooled the musical world for a while, … Continue reading →

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a dancing palm tree and a light-up whale

Posted on March 26, 2018 by vhk10

A recurring theme this spring is religious pieces in a jazz style. This time it was my first encounter with Jonah-Man Jazz, with the local primary school doing it as an end-of-term performance in church. The church choir provided me … Continue reading →

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channelling my inner Benny Hill

Posted on March 22, 2018 by vhk10

Carmina Burana is never going to be a favourite of mine, but this time round I enjoyed it rather more than before. Maybe with a woman conductor there’s a bit more of an air of complicity? At any rate, I … Continue reading →

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the harpsichord playing of my dreams

Posted on March 9, 2018 by vhk10

I didn’t want to miss the Bath Bachfest lunchtime recital of Mahan Esfahani and Michala Petri, either of whom would be a draw on their own. They came to the Guildhall with a programme of music by Handel, Bach, Telemann, … Continue reading →

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Opera at the V & A

Posted on March 1, 2018 by vhk10

I caught the V & A’s exhibition Opera: Power, Passion and Politics 10 days or so before it closed (which it has done now – sorry), and found it thought-provoking though not in the ‘unmissable’ category. The exhibitions centres on … Continue reading →

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Jenůfa at Hayesfield

Posted on February 28, 2018 by vhk10

Bath Opera have found a new venue; the Roper Theatre at Hayesfield School, which I visited a couple of years ago (when it was brand new) to see my son’s final-year primary school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We … Continue reading →

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Come and Sing (2): the Mass in Blue

Posted on February 13, 2018 by vhk10

Six days later, it was a very different though equally challenging take on the Ordinary of the Mass, as Will Todd’s Mass in Blue was the featured work in Bristol Choral Society’s first Come and Sing of 2018. I’d heard … Continue reading →

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