Author Archives: vhk10

more singing for the famous

I don’t knowingly do much of this but got another such engagement later in the week – singing in a small choir at Bel Mooney’s wedding.  This was my first encounter with the book of wedding anthems edited by Judy … Continue reading

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

Savitri

I did something rather out of the ordinary last weekend and sang in a private performance of this one-act opera by Holst. I have rather mixed feelings about Holst’s music in general; there are delicate pieces such as the Nunc … Continue reading

Posted in singing in concerts | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Proms 60 and 66

My husband and daughter went to both of these. Prom 60 was the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra playing Also sprach Zarathustra and Sibelius 2. The verdict was that the Strauss was rather rambling but the Sibelius went down well. Prom … Continue reading

Posted in going to concerts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Laved, illumined

I sang these words as part of the rather contrived acrostic hymn for St. Bartholomew at Norwich Cathedral during the Cathedral Chamber Choir’s week there. I joined part way through and so missed such delights as Rose in C minor. … Continue reading

Posted in singing at services | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Prom 45

I went with my daughter to this Prom (BBCSO conducted by Knussen) and I think we chose well. We enjoyed Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces the most. I don’t know these as well as I should; they’re a bit less in-your-face … Continue reading

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

a Wagnerian pizza

Earlier this month in Sicily I consumed a ‘Parsifal’ pizza at a restaurant which for some reason had an Arthurian theme. Among the ingredients were rocket, prosciutto and mushroom, but it wasn’t a great success, being on the soggy side. … Continue reading

Posted in category-defying | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

three sermons about Mary Magdalene

Guildford is hardly your standard cathedral – it looks so like a cinema that one almost expects the organ to come up through a hole in the floor. We (the Erleigh Cantors) were made welcome on a return visit there … Continue reading

Posted in singing at services | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Listen Again

Been listening quite a lot to old Radio 3 broadcasts on this recently. I like Mahler 1 and Tchaikovsky symphonies, but I think the ‘archived online audio’ choices are looking a little old. Can we have some more recent ones? … Continue reading

Posted in broadcasts, on the Web | Leave a comment

Dayglo recorders

We had one of these (made from orange plastic), but it hasn’t been too good in recorder class at school, what with the usual beginner’s tendency to overblow. We’ve replaced it with a brown Yamaha version which sounds rather better. … Continue reading

Posted in children | 3 Comments

as I said to the ondiste …

There are about 20 such people, and I got the chance to meet one of them during the Chorus Angelorum’s trip to Turin to perform Messiaen’s Trois Petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine. The ondes Martenot is an instrument which … Continue reading

Posted in singing in concerts | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

a monstrous crow

It was a busy week so I will be brief about my most recent outing with the Chandos Singers. All music new to me, with a mixture of the early (Michna, de las Infantas, Vivaldi and Handel) and the contemporary … Continue reading

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

a coincidence involving Messiaen

My final concert in the Bath Festival was Joanna MacGregor playing Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus. It’s a long time since I’ve been at a concert where most of the audience were on their feet at the end. But … Continue reading

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