Category Archives: singing in concerts

my first performance of the Christmas Oratorio

Posted on December 21, 2021 by vhk10

Somehow I’d managed to miss doing more than odd movements of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Apart from the first chorus in isolation in a New Cambridge Singers December concert many years ago, and the chorale which turns up in Carols for … Continue reading →

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

dodging the demo

Posted on November 26, 2021 by vhk10

Straight back from holiday, and hot-footing it from a church awayday deep in the Mendips, I dashed over to Bristol to sing in the first concert I’ve done with Bristol Choral Society since summer 2019. This event defied many potential … Continue reading →

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

a feelgood piece to return with

Posted on October 20, 2021 by vhk10

I returned to the concert platform with Gloucester Choral Society in a performance of Haydn’s Creation. This is a piece that comes round every few years, and I’ve done it with a variety of groups. My records tell me that … Continue reading →

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

Dress code casual (and warm)

Posted on July 20, 2021 by vhk10

We ignored the second part of this directive for my first concert performance in 16 months, in the place where the previous one had been, Gloucester Cathedral. This time we were out of doors in the Cloister Garth (the lawn … Continue reading →

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

what was salvaged from 2020?

Posted on December 31, 2020 by vhk10

Like most singers, I have lost a large number of opportunities to perform this year. A rough list: four concerts with Bristol Choral Society, three with Gloucester Choral Society, the Erleigh Cantors’ 30th anniversary bash, a day working on Tallis’ … Continue reading →

Posted in going to concerts, singing at services, singing in concerts | Leave a comment

my verdict on the entries

Posted on December 14, 2020 by vhk10

Right, as promised here are my unedited thoughts on the finalists: I’m writing this a week before the final of the Mary Otty Carol Competition, hosted by Bristol Choral Society. In seven days’ time my thoughts can be compared with … Continue reading →

Posted in singing in concerts | Leave a comment

the last concert for a while

Posted on March 18, 2020 by vhk10

I rejoined Gloucester Choral Society to perform Bach’s St John Passion, after thinking carefully about the amount of time and travel involved. I shall never regret doing this, because of the significance that is now attached to it. By concert … Continue reading →

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

a belated return to Vivaldi’s Magnificat

Posted on December 9, 2019 by vhk10

Vivaldi’s Magnificat must, rather unfairly, get a fraction of the performances of his Gloria. I sang it many years ago in Cambridge – conducted by John Alldis, no less – I think to boost the sound of the singers on … Continue reading →

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

In the beginning

Posted on July 12, 2019 by vhk10

Bristol Choral Society’s 2018-19 season, themed around ‘War and Peace’, ended with reflection on hope and new beginnings in Bristol Cathedral. I’d never sung (or I think even heard) Copland’s In the Beginning before. It’s a setting of the Genesis … Continue reading →

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

my Bath Cantata Group début

Posted on June 12, 2019 by vhk10

The Bath Cantata Group has for years rehearsed near my home, and since a change of conductor a few years ago, I’ve taken more interest in its concerts. When I heard they were doing The Kingdom, I made some enquiries … Continue reading →

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

an Anglo-Spanish concert in Caversham

Posted on May 27, 2019 by vhk10

The Erleigh Cantors’ May concert this year reunited a number of pieces from recent Cathedral visits, by English and Spanish composers. It wasn’t all familiar territory to me, however. Having missed last July’s weekend in Hereford, I hadn’t previously sung … Continue reading →

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

two Requiems in Winsley

Posted on April 28, 2019 by vhk10

This spring is a time for rediscovering Requiems that I haven’t sung in ages. First it was Mozart, now Howells, which I have only sung once before, in my Cambridge days. (There are other Requiems that have long awaited another … Continue reading →

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