Author Archives: vhk10

Fitting in Prom 68

Posted on September 22, 2014 by vhk10

My family realised that time was running out for getting to a Prom this year and so some of them went to Prom 68, the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst. This concert wasn’t all that well attended (they had been … Continue reading →

Posted in going to concerts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten favourite anthems

Posted on September 14, 2014 by vhk10

I’ve been invited to name my ten favourite anthems. Like most people I can’t come up with a definitive list, though I think half of the following would be on any list of mine. I have excluded liturgical settings, even … Continue reading →

Posted in repertoire | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starry anthems in Gloucester

Posted on September 13, 2014 by vhk10

I joined the Cathedral Chamber Choir on and off for part of its week in Gloucester Cathedral. On the Tuesday we sang Jonathan Dove’s Seek him that maketh the seven stars. I’d guess that this isn’t in the repertoire of … Continue reading →

Posted in singing at services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

a super chorus for Bath?

Posted on September 9, 2014 by vhk10

I’ve just been reading a recent issue of Bath Life in which they interview Will Dawes, the director of music at Bath Choral Society. He expresses a wish to pull together various local choirs as a ‘super chorus’. ‘There are … Continue reading →

Posted in choirs | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Prom 44: Strauss, Elgar and Berlioz

Posted on September 5, 2014 by vhk10

I don’t think I’ve been in the Arena for a sell-out Prom before. I was sold my ticket with seconds to spare before I squeezed into the Arena. A popular programme, and I heard a fair few Australian accents in … Continue reading →

Posted in going to concerts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building an audience (1): building relationships

Posted on September 3, 2014 by vhk10

This is a perennial problem for choirs, never more so than in these times when choral singing is popular but audiences may have watch their outlay. My comments here are really about the Bath choral scene, which I know about … Continue reading →

Posted in choirs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Did the Chantry Singers leave a gap?

Posted on September 2, 2014 by vhk10

I realise it’s a few years since the Chantry Singers disbanded. The choir was flourishing right to the end, but the founder and musical director felt she had achieved what she wanted with it, and sensed that the market was … Continue reading →

Posted in choirs | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Assumption in Milan

Posted on September 1, 2014 by vhk10

I have been fortunate to be in Milan for some major festivals of the Church year, and this year we were there on the feast of the Assumption. I went to Vespers, which included a procession around the building for … Continue reading →

Posted in category-defying, going to services | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Peterborough pitch

Posted on August 24, 2014 by vhk10

There is a proposal to re-tune the organ at Peterborough Cathedral down to A=440. About a third of the necessary money had been raised when Robert Quinney landed the job at New College Oxford earlier this year, but when the … Continue reading →

Posted in singing at services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Singing to Barry Rose

Posted on August 20, 2014 by vhk10

I rejoined Birmingham Conservatoire Camerata for a concert in St Andrew’s Church, Cheddar later in the week. This was sacred and secular choral music loosely grouped by themes and interspersed with some solo items. There were a couple of pieces … Continue reading →

Posted in singing in concerts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An upper-voice evensong

Posted on August 5, 2014 by vhk10

I don’t think I’d ever sung one of these before. In fact I don’t think I’d sung an upper-voice service since I was at school, though I have sung music for these forces in concerts, most notably in Turin. I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in singing at services | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wyvern Central

Posted on July 7, 2014 by vhk10

I didn’t get to sing in the Great Chorus but there was a reprise of two pieces that were performed at it: Zadok the Priest and the Hallelujah Chorus at the end-of-year Commemoration Service in Bath Abbey. This gathering must … Continue reading →

Posted in children, singing at services | Tagged , | Leave a comment