Author Archives: vhk10

Artist Focus

Posted on February 26, 2008 by vhk10

Like a lot of Radio 3 listeners, I scan the listings in Radio Times for the week ahead, looking for particular pieces of music I would like to hear. They can usually be picked out easily by composer because the … Continue reading →

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keeping it up

Posted on February 12, 2008 by vhk10

One of the choirs I sing in used to have problems with intonation – in particular, it would lose pitch when unaccompanied. Rehearsing with them recently, I realised that this was much less of a problem now. What has happened? … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Wiltshire

Posted on February 1, 2008 by vhk10

I am on the email list for the Wiltshire Music Centre, or at least I was. A recent message alerted me to an interesting concert coming up. Then I realised that I’ve fallen off their mailing list, although we attend … Continue reading →

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Conducted Tour

Posted on January 24, 2008 by vhk10

I posted the following review to Facebook’s Visual Bookshelf, whence I think it’s been copied to Amazon. I may as well cross-post it here. I still miss Bernard Levin’s articles; I wonder what he would have said about the Diana … Continue reading →

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Pauline texts

Posted on January 22, 2008 by vhk10

I subscribe to the Yahoo email list for lay-clerks/choral scholars, and the following is adapted from a reply I recently made to a query on the list. There was a request for anthems associated with St. Paul. When I last … Continue reading →

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silent spring

Posted on January 14, 2008 by vhk10

I spent part of an evening last week emailing people to turn down requests to sing. I was a bit sorry to do this, although of course it is nice to get the requests in the first place. But the … Continue reading →

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this blog is lonely!

Posted on January 1, 2008 by vhk10

I moved this blog in the autumn but Google hasn’t yet caught up with it, although I’ve twice submitted the site for inclusion. So the visits have come from my regular readers or via links on my web page or … Continue reading →

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2007’s and 2008’s resolutions

Posted on December 31, 2007 by vhk10

Time for the annual review of the year and some resolutions for 2008. 2007 taught me that you simply cannot guess at New Year what the next twelve months might bring. I couldn’t have imagined that in June I’d be … Continue reading →

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avoiding a run chase

Posted on December 30, 2007 by vhk10

My last performance before Christmas was the Messiah with Chorus Angelorum and members of the Bath Philharmonia in Ottery St Mary. I worked out that I must have sung at least nine performances of this now (here’s an account of … Continue reading →

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In Terra Pax

Posted on December 30, 2007 by vhk10

A quick round-up of some pieces in the Chandos Singers’ latest concert in mid-December. We (in fact mostly the men) sang a mediæval Gloria. (I’ll fill in the composer’s name when I’m in the same place as the programme). I … Continue reading →

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Venter puellae baiulat

Posted on December 11, 2007 by vhk10

I hadn’t come across this Latin verb before, but it turned up in the text of A solis ortus cardine. We sang a ‘standard’ selection of verses at various points during the Advent carol service. (I am relieved it wasn’t … Continue reading →

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Leif Segerstam conducts

Posted on December 4, 2007 by vhk10

On the second Saturday morning of the Mozartfest I heard the Belcea Quartet perform Haydn (op. 77 no.1), Ravel’s quartet and Mozart’s clarinet quartet. The highlight of this was the wonderful stillness of some of the quiet passages in the … Continue reading →

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