Category Archives: going to concerts

the late quartets that weren’t

Posted on November 30, 2025 by vhk10

I hadn’t been to a concert at the Wiltshire Music Centre in over 10 years. Only a small part of this was accounted for by the pandemic hiatus; mostly it was because I fell off the mailing list for their … Continue reading →

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a Messiah about which there isn’t much to say

Posted on November 30, 2025 by vhk10

November 2025 was, I realise, a ridiculously busy month musically speaking. My final performance of the month was Messiah in Gloucester Cathedral. I’m beginning to run out of things to say about Messiah, which under natural conditions I’d aim to … Continue reading →

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revisiting Rossini

Posted on November 22, 2025 by vhk10

A decade ago I sang Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Bristol Choral Society in Bristol Cathedral. The wheel has turned full circle and I went back there to hear them sing the same piece. I was a guest of the … Continue reading →

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Diabelli at the Mozartfest

Posted on November 18, 2025 by vhk10

I was surprised that Cédric Tiberghien’s recital at the Mozartfest didn’t completely sell out, though there weren’t many nave seats left in St Mary’s church. Perhaps not so many people this year signed up for the weekend package offered by … Continue reading →

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why there are no posts in September

Posted on September 27, 2025 by vhk10

Of course that isn’t true because this will be the only September 2025 post in my blog. September, like January, is always a rather slack time for performances and this September just saw me singing in an evensong at church … Continue reading →

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Our Lady of Confusion

Posted on August 29, 2025 by vhk10

This is a cult of the Virgin (apparently a variant of Our Lady of Sorrows) associated with western Sicily. Our holiday just outside the town of Salemi coincided with the beginning of the festival in her honour, and the Capuchin … Continue reading →

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a farewell organ recital

Posted on April 30, 2025 by vhk10

I went to what was billed as an ‘Easter Bank Holiday Bonanza’, Dewi Rees’ final organ recital before leaving Bath Abbey for St Alban’s Cathedral. For this, a small part of the quire was cordoned off so that the audience … Continue reading →

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Modernism in London

Posted on April 5, 2025 by vhk10

I was not going to pass up an opportunity to hear Der Wein, the centrepiece of a concert at the Barbican themed around Baudelaire given by Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sophie Bevan. The concert opened with … Continue reading →

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Modernism in Cardiff

Posted on March 12, 2025 by vhk10

As a slightly belated birthday celebration for me we went to hear the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ commemoration of the centenary of Pierre Boulez in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff. I’d never been to a concert here, although I have used … Continue reading →

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Norma vs. Brecon Baroque

Posted on February 26, 2025 by vhk10

Bath Opera returned to Bellini (a few years ago they did La Sonnambula) for this spring’s production of Norma. Given the demands of the two principal roles, they were double-cast and tickets were sold to what was nominally the dress … Continue reading →

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