Category Archives: repertoire

owning the notes

Posted on May 23, 2016 by vhk10

I am now finding out just how well I know (or don’t) the Three Choirs pieces, and so how much work I need to do on them. The pieces for the six main concerts divide neatly into three pairs in … Continue reading →

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the work I’ve avoided to date

Posted on May 11, 2016 by vhk10

All my life I’ve managed to avoid singing Carmina Burana, but it was bound to catch up with me sooner or later, and that moment has now arrived. This is one of those pieces that polarises singers and audiences. What … Continue reading →

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Note-bashing with YouTube

Posted on September 28, 2015 by vhk10

I frequently turn to YouTube to help me learn unfamiliar church music repertoire; even if I already have a recording, it’s often easier to reach for an online performance than trying to locate it on a CD or cassette tape. … Continue reading →

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Ten favourite anthems

Posted on September 14, 2014 by vhk10

I’ve been invited to name my ten favourite anthems. Like most people I can’t come up with a definitive list, though I think half of the following would be on any list of mine. I have excluded liturgical settings, even … Continue reading →

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my top 10 moments in the Grande Messe des Morts

Posted on July 3, 2014 by vhk10

@gloschor I spent last Saturday rehearsing Berlioz’ Grande Messe des Morts in preparation for performances in the autumn. I’m still smitten by this piece and present my short list of favourite moments. N.B. I don’t want to imply that the … 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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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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How to improve on Handel

Posted on March 20, 2013 by vhk10

I don’t often get so grabbed by a half-heard piece of music that I have to drop everything to listen properly, but it happened the other day. I was in the kitchen defrosting the fridge and across the hall Radio … Continue reading →

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My fantasy Mass

Posted on February 7, 2012 by vhk10

I’m going to put together a Mass setting for my own amusement (and I suppose that of my readers) of some of my favourite settings of these familiar texts. Two constraints: no composer is to be repeated, and the movements … Continue reading →

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LPs batch 27: forever in the catalogue

Posted on May 7, 2011 by vhk10

Not much early music among our LPs, but I hit a chunk of it here with two lots of Monteverdi. Sadly, I think the eponymous Monteverdi Choir’s performance of the Vespers of 1610 (the earlier, studio, recording) is in too … Continue reading →

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