Tag Archives: Purcell

I had that Barry Rose in the back of my congregation once….

This happened to me once before, quite recently. This time the occasion was a memorial service at church for Martin, who sang in the choir until a couple of years ago. Martin was musically well connected (he’d been a recording … Continue reading

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my Proms début

I don’t take occasions like this for granted. After many years of going to Promenade concerts I was finally on the other side of the stage in the choir stalls as an ‘extra’ with the BBC National Chorus of Wales. … Continue reading

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#purcelgar

Acknowledgement to Dave Alkan for the hashtag, too good not to take over. When I get to sing in the Prom on Wednesday I expect I’ll want to write about the experience rather than the repertoire, so here are some … Continue reading

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I sell my soul to a Prom

I have a long-standing ambition to sing at a Promenade concert, and one of the things that attracted me to Bristol Choral Society was the occasional involvement of its members in these concerts (most recently in 2016 and before that … Continue reading

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avoiding the Prayer Fayre

The Cathedral Chamber Choir sang at Wells Cathedral for the weekend of Trinity Sunday. Well, sort of, as on the Sunday afternoon we made way for a ‘prayer fayre’ in the Cathedral and decamped to St Cuthbert’s Church, together with … Continue reading

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music for Royal occasions

This was the theme rather loosely applied to the Erleigh Cantors’ concert (with interspersed readings) in St Peter’s Caversham, where we’ve returned after some years decamping to Earley. We included some pieces from recent Cathedral visits such as Jonathan Dove’s … Continue reading

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rejecting the proof reader

Last year I was approached by a proof reader offering me their services (assisted by a special app which speeded up the process). As a sample of what they and their app could do, they pointed out a couple of … Continue reading

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at the home of the Garter

It was a long time since I’d sung at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – previous visits were quite social affairs with a drinks party for us in the conference centre next to the Chapel. This time the Erleigh … Continue reading

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Some contrasting Magnificats

The Erleigh Cantors sang a concert in St Peter’s Earley, built around three settings of the Magnificat. Two were settings we’ve trotted out in various Cathedrals: Giles Swayne’s (I have been so well drilled in this that I can now … Continue reading

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Ten favourite anthems

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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