Author Archives: vhk10

Bath gains a music shop

Posted on November 13, 2012 by vhk10

Early last year Bath lost its sheet music shop. Now it is about to regain one, as Music Dynamics are expanding from their base in Stroud and about to open a shop in Broad St. It’s a shame it wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in published music | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

choir emails

Posted on November 12, 2012 by vhk10

I’ve had two opposing experiences with choir emails recently. One was a list created for a concert I was at one time interested in singing in. I received a 6MB message from this list, almost all of it being a … Continue reading →

Posted in choirs | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Friendship but no food

Posted on October 24, 2012 by vhk10

Last year my family thought making me a ‘Friend’ of the Bath Mozartfest would be a nice birthday present. The privileges included early booking, a free programme and an invitation to the ‘Friends’ and Patrons’ Lunch’, and they thought the … Continue reading →

Posted in category-defying | Tagged | 1 Comment

at the Exultate Singers 10th anniversary reunion

Posted on October 13, 2012 by vhk10

It was fortunate that this concert was when it was, as almost any other weekend around now would have not allowed me to take part. I was invited back to join in some pieces in the concert in St. James’s … Continue reading →

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

Prom 57: a sprint from Ely

Posted on October 13, 2012 by vhk10

Somehow I managed to get away after 4 p.m. evensong at Ely Cathedral, made it to the railway station, leapt onto another train at Cambridge and then arrived at the Albert Hall around 7 o’clock to be there for the … Continue reading →

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

a reunion with Cambridge Voices

Posted on September 21, 2012 by vhk10

On the Sunday of my Ely visit, Cambridge Voices (described in their publicity as ‘one of Europe’s finest choirs’!) came to rehearse Bach’s B minor Mass in the Lady Chapel under the direction of Ian de Massini. I dropped in, … Continue reading →

Posted in choirs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

going up the Octagon

Posted on September 21, 2012 by vhk10

I have never been able to go up the Octagon in Ely Cathedral before, but it is now open to the public on guided tours, and some of us in the Cathedral Chamber Choir seized the chance to do so … Continue reading →

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

a Cathedral organist in a village church

Posted on September 11, 2012 by vhk10

The small village of Rumengol in Finistère has no amenities other than a bar and a church. However it’s no ordinary church, as twice a year it holds a pardon (religious festival with processions). The Assumptiontide pardon co-incided with our … Continue reading →

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

Prom 39: the off-stage brass that wasn’t

Posted on September 3, 2012 by vhk10

It’s been a dozen years since Berlioz’ Grande Messe des Morts was heard at the Proms, and the Albert Hall would seem a natural place for it, because of the huge forces, including four extra sets of brass instruments. When … Continue reading →

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

Prom 12: Interval O’Boulez

Posted on September 1, 2012 by vhk10

My husband took the elder children to hear Daniel Barenboim conduct the West-Eastern Divan orchestra in a programme of Boulez (Mémoriale and Messagesquisse) and Beethoven (Fifth and Sixth Symphonies). They got a slip in their programme saying that the interval … Continue reading →

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