Category Archives: singing at services

the frivolous time of year

Posted on June 26, 2014 by vhk10

At this season the music I’m asked to sing tends to lighten up a bit. First up was Rossini’s Messe Solennelle with Bristol Choral Society – the first time I’d performed with them in Bristol Cathedral, so there was new … Continue reading →

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When our families are broken, when our homes are full of strife

Posted on May 9, 2014 by vhk10

The above text has just been added to the list of inappropriate/tasteless things I’ve sung at weddings (most singers I know have such a list). It was the first line of a verse of a hymn we sang during the … Continue reading →

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Good Friday and Easter 2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by vhk10

This was actually my first Good Friday singing in the church choir (I’d been away the last two years), and this year the service took the form of Stations of the Cross with musical interludes. There were some new pieces … Continue reading →

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two Abbey services and a funeral

Posted on January 31, 2014 by vhk10

I joined the choir of St. Peter’s Caversham to sing a Saturday Evensong in Bath Abbey. Our canticles were Stanford in G and the introit and anthem were selected for Epiphany: Here is the Little Door by Howells, and Mendelssohn’s … Continue reading →

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Shading into Epiphany at Southwell

Posted on January 26, 2014 by vhk10

First engagement of 2014 was when the Cathedral Chamber Choir went to Southwell Minster for a weekend of services. Liturgically, the weekend shaded from Christmas into the first Evensong of Epiphany, and our choice of music reflected this. Karl Rütti’s … Continue reading →

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Our Tavener tribute

Posted on December 31, 2013 by vhk10

Much Christmas programming must have included something by the late John Tavener. Our carol service included God is with us near the end. This piece has been on my wishlist for a few years, despite the fact that it is … Continue reading →

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O Clavis David

Posted on December 27, 2013 by vhk10

Our Advent carol service used the O Antiphons and I was assigned O Clavis David, which posed the question of how to pronounce ‘sceptrum’. I decided on ‘ske-‘ with a rather soft k sound, which according to the rules is … Continue reading →

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Duruflé’s Requiem (2): Bath

Posted on November 26, 2013 by vhk10

The second performance of the Requiem came a week later, at our Remembrance Sunday service. We would not normally do an entire Mass setting, but we were playing host to a visiting choir, conducted by a former organist who now … Continue reading →

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Duruflé’s Requiem (1): Winchester

Posted on November 18, 2013 by vhk10

It’s been nine years since I sang Duruflé’s Requiem which was something of a cult piece when I was a student. And then I am invited to take part in two performances with different choirs in the space of nine … Continue reading →

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Health and safety at Canterbury

Posted on September 26, 2013 by vhk10

The Cathedral Chamber Choir was at Canterbury for their summer week this year. We rehearsed in All Saints’ Chapel because the song room was unavailable for ‘health and safety reasons’. As one of our singers fell on the steps leading … Continue reading →

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