Author Archives: vhk10

owning the notes

Posted on May 23, 2016 by vhk10

I am now finding out just how well I know (or don’t) the Three Choirs pieces, and so how much work I need to do on them. The pieces for the six main concerts divide neatly into three pairs in … Continue reading →

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the work I’ve avoided to date

Posted on May 11, 2016 by vhk10

All my life I’ve managed to avoid singing Carmina Burana, but it was bound to catch up with me sooner or later, and that moment has now arrived. This is one of those pieces that polarises singers and audiences. What … Continue reading →

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The adventure begins

Posted on May 9, 2016 by vhk10

At last – some eight months after I auditioned – the rehearsals for the Three Choirs Festival Chorus are starting. Easily the biggest single choral undertaking I’ve ever been involved in. I have cleared my diary, bashed as many notes … Continue reading →

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Two funerals

Posted on May 9, 2016 by vhk10

I’ve recently been to a couple of funerals – one as an invited singer, one as a family friend. The former was my first visit to Bath crematorium and its chapel overlooking farmland south of the city. The family wanted … Continue reading →

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Gibbons for the Gaudy

Posted on May 3, 2016 by vhk10

I went back for a Gaudy at my old Oxford College, Merton. It was the first Gaudy I’d been invited to for 9 years, and the first since the choral foundation was set up. A selection of choir members sang … Continue reading →

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Cambridge Surprise Major

Posted on April 29, 2016 by vhk10

The Cathedral Chamber Choir’s Low Sunday weekend in Cambridge was a nostalgia trip for some of us, and was divided between two venues. On Saturday we were in Queens’ College Chapel, where we were left to our own devices to … Continue reading →

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church choir ghosts

Posted on April 29, 2016 by vhk10

Gradually going round the national patron saints, I went to sing at a St George’s day service at a church I used to attend. There is now an occasional ‘festival choir’ instead of the one that used to sing every … Continue reading →

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Five sell-outs

Posted on April 28, 2016 by vhk10

Public booking for the 3 Choirs Festival started earlier this month. I had priority booking as a chorus member, though my account has been disabled and no one is able to reinstate it. I managed to grab some tickets when … Continue reading →

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Das Lied on Earth Day

Posted on April 26, 2016 by vhk10

How often do you get a performance of Das Lied von der Erde more or less at the end of your street? I found this was happening just in time and grabbed myself a ticket. This was the Bath Philharmonia … Continue reading →

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Holy Week and Easter 2016

Posted on April 20, 2016 by vhk10

Coming soon after an extra licensing service for our new priest in charge, Holy Week was put together largely out of works already in our repertoire. I missed Maundy Thursday but otherwise was kept busy with Palm Sunday (Weelkes’ Hosanna … Continue reading →

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Call me Al (2): Ahoy!

Posted on April 11, 2016 by vhk10

Another week, another cantata by Alexander l’Estrange. This time it was Ahoy! for the Mary Rose, performed in Colston Hall as part of Bristol Choral Society’s outreach programme. Choir members were joined by a large crew from several Bristol schools, … Continue reading →

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the original Boris

Posted on April 8, 2016 by vhk10

We went to the cinecast of the ROH’s Boris Godunov. As I go to more of these, I realise there is a dedicated audience that I keep seeing at them, several of whom are known to me through other musical … Continue reading →

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