Author Archives: vhk10

quick on the draw in Wells

Posted on March 21, 2014 by vhk10

Just a quick note of an evensong I went to in Wells Cathedral, sung by the men and boys. A mixture of periods, with the Byrd responses, Howells in B minor and Wesley’s Wash me throughly. The Howells in particular … Continue reading →

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scanning the Bath Festival programme

Posted on March 16, 2014 by vhk10

We’ve just received the Bath Festival programme for 2014’s festival, and I looked through to see which concerts I might want to go to. But I was struck by three things: the shortness of the programme, the relative absence of … Continue reading →

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a local première of the Glagolitic Mass?

Posted on March 11, 2014 by vhk10

@bristolchoral I’ve been going round saying that our forthcoming Glagolitic Mass is the first in the Bath/Bristol area for at least 20 years. Then I started to wonder whether it was in fact the first ever. Unless you have a … Continue reading →

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The Great Chorus

Posted on March 5, 2014 by vhk10

The children’s school is putting on one of its occasional concerts in which they invite parents and others associated with the school to boost the school choirs in a concert. I sang in the last of these; unfortunately I will … Continue reading →

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a Bath Camerata workshop

Posted on March 4, 2014 by vhk10

I didn’t attend the workshop which invited others to join the Bath Camerata to rehearse and perform a short programme, but came along to the concert at the end. Partly because it was local, but also to meet Camerata members … Continue reading →

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Martin and Tallis in the Victoria Rooms

Posted on March 4, 2014 by vhk10

After my awful experience with the toaster last time, I made sure that the programme for the Bristol University Singers’ concert was unaccompanied. They interleaved Frank Martin’s Mass for double choir with Tallis’ Lamentations of Jeremiah, in a demanding programme … Continue reading →

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Why I’m like Lohengrin

Posted on February 19, 2014 by vhk10

There was a mildly embarrassing moment at the beginning of our opera gala concert last weekend: as usual, we were all lined up in rows to process on and the names of those on the end of each row (including … Continue reading →

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My 13

Posted on February 18, 2014 by vhk10

The new Op13 music shop in Bristol has some posters inside, each showing 13 composers chosen by local musicians, some known personally to me. I couldn’t see them without thinking of what my own list would be and have used … Continue reading →

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Is choral poaching wrong?

Posted on February 15, 2014 by vhk10

It’s a strong term for something that it’s unpleasant to be on the wrong side of. I’m referring to the practice of persuading members of other choirs to leave and join yours instead. It’s commonest when there is a shortage … Continue reading →

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Keith James Clarke, Mahler’s Heavenly Retreats

Posted on February 8, 2014 by vhk10

These ‘encounters with the master’s Composing Houses’ are written by an architect and Mahler enthusiast. Our copy was given to some family members while they were standing in a Prom queue. It’s a popular cliché now that men like sheds, … Continue reading →

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