Tag Archives: Bach

three more funerals in May

I sang at four in all this month. I have already mentioned the first – the second was that of an old friend back in Cambridge. We sang Byrd’s four-part Mass, and I heard a voice from heaven by Tomkins, … Continue reading

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sung once before, years ago (2): Bach’s St John Passion

For years my friend from Merton days Sally Mears has been trying to involve me in musical ventures she organises in the Oxford area, and finally I was able to join for a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion in … Continue reading

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what’s top of the bucket list now?

Like many singers I have a ‘bucket list’ of the works I would like to sing and have never done. For as far back as I can remember until 2008, the work at the top of it was Bach’s B … Continue reading

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Bach cello suites at the Festival

Philip Higham played all six Bach cello suites in three lunchtime concerts and between us we got to all of them. The venues were scattered around the city centre: Argyle St URC church, St Swithin’s and the Masonic Hall. This … Continue reading

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the Evangelist jinx

I wonder whether I should be allowed to sing the St Matthew Passion at all, given that I seem to bring illness with me when I perform it. The first time I did so, the Evangelist was unwell and his … Continue reading

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three recordings of the St Matthew Passion

I’ve been preparing for a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, the first I’ve sung in for nearly ten years, and only the third I’ve ever been involved in. I know the notes of my part thoroughly as they were … Continue reading

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Trumpet and organ in Bathwick

St. Mary’s Bathwick is beginning a fundraising campaign for its organ (I think this is at least the third such campaign since I’ve been in Bath). It’s a Willis, and still at old Philharmonic pitch, which makes some performers baulk … Continue reading

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The Bachfest 2015

The Bachfest is the descendant of the Bach festivals which were once built around the Chantry Singers, and which has outlived them. My husband went to hear the Academy of Ancient Music under Bojan Čičić playing mostly J. S. Bach … Continue reading

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the frivolous time of year

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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My 13

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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