Author Archives: vhk10

Toward the Unknown Region

Posted on February 17, 2015 by vhk10

This piece was only a name to me until I signed up for Bristol Choral Society’s Come and Sing, which this year featured the music of Vaughan Williams. It’s a ‘song’ for choir in a genre which has now gone … Continue reading →

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The wheel turns again?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by vhk10

Back in the early years of the millennium, there was a shortage of choral singers in Bristol, with choirs all fishing in the same limited pool. After some defections and outright poaching, the Brandon Hill Singers could not recruit new … Continue reading →

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an extraordinary corset

Posted on February 8, 2015 by vhk10

Cinecasts of opera performances are popular these days, but I’ve never been to one until last week, when we went to Andrea Chénier, beamed from the Royal Opera House to our local Odeon. I admit to having a soft spot … Continue reading →

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a sad visit to Cambridge

Posted on February 1, 2015 by vhk10

I am not yet at the age where one regularly attends funerals of friends who were no older than oneself, but one such occasion took me to Cambridge early in the New Year. I had once been a member of … Continue reading →

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retaining the tonality of A

Posted on January 20, 2015 by vhk10

I can’t actually remember which tonality we had to retain during the Gospel reading at Worcester Cathedral, but our musicianship was tested by having to remember the note needed for the response afterwards. For the third time in my last … Continue reading →

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Bath loses a CD shop

Posted on January 19, 2015 by vhk10

Bath Compact Discs – which regularly featured on lists of the type ‘The Best Little Shops in Bath’ – has now closed. The website is still going (although the directions to the shop are still there as I write this) … Continue reading →

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New programmers for the Bath Festival

Posted on January 16, 2015 by vhk10

An announcement has been made about the appointment of two ‘programmers’ for the Bath International Music Festival this year. The only place I can find it is at ‘Listomania Bath’ here; rather surprisingly there is nothing in the Bath Chronicle … Continue reading →

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Turkish marches and children’s toys

Posted on January 16, 2015 by vhk10

Central Europe fought the Turk but appropriated some of his music in the form of the ‘Turkish march’. Some famous examples of this have enjoyed a fresh outing by being played on electronic gadgets of one sort or another. Beethoven’s … Continue reading →

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2014 and 2015’s resolutions

Posted on January 9, 2015 by vhk10

2014 certainly had some very high points – comparable to if not better than the annus mirabilis of 2007. These include, in approximately chronological order: singing Messiah in Bombay and Goa with the South West Festival Chorus performing the Glagolitic … Continue reading →

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a new conductor for Bath Camerata

Posted on January 5, 2015 by vhk10

It’s been announced that Nigel Perrin will be standing down as musical director of the Bath Camerata in April this year, and the choir is advertising for a replacement. I sang for a short time with the Camerata when I … Continue reading →

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Carol singing on Sion Hill

Posted on January 2, 2015 by vhk10

As I was in Bath this year, I looked for some local door-to-door carol singing to join in but didn’t find any. It’s less common in urban areas than in villages, and in central Bath there is the problem that … Continue reading →

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some new pieces for Advent and Christmas

Posted on January 2, 2015 by vhk10

Our well attended Advent and Christmas carols services brought some new music for me to sing. We made a dramatic entrance at Advent singing ‘Unborn’, the opening of Alec Roth’s oratorio The Traveller. Not often you get a text in … Continue reading →

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