Tag Archives: South West Festival Chorus

RIP Joanna

Posted on October 15, 2021 by vhk10

I was sorry to learn this week of the death of Joanna Wiesner at the age of 96. You couldn’t be very involved in choral music in Bath without coming across her, in my case mostly through the South West … Continue reading →

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what has survived?

Posted on May 7, 2021 by vhk10

As choirs begin to poke their head above the parapet again and prepare for live performance, I find myself reviewing the differences between what is returning and what there was in spring last year. As far as I know only … Continue reading →

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a new chapter for the South West Festival Chorus

Posted on January 26, 2019 by vhk10

I used to sing quite regularly with this choir, which puts on ‘all-comers’ concerts preceded by intensive rehearsal twice a year. But I haven’t done so since 2013. I dropped out partly because various friends no longer sang in the … Continue reading →

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2014 and 2015’s resolutions

Posted on January 9, 2015 by vhk10

2014 certainly had some very high points – comparable to if not better than the annus mirabilis of 2007. These include, in approximately chronological order: singing Messiah in Bombay and Goa with the South West Festival Chorus performing the Glagolitic … Continue reading →

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The Messiah in India

Posted on April 17, 2014 by vhk10

The South West Festival Chorus believes in travelling the world and followed taking Gerontius to China a few years ago with performances of the Messiah in India. We were not quite trail blazing as we were following in the footsteps … Continue reading →

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Resounding Russian music at the Forum

Posted on July 19, 2013 by vhk10

I signed up for the South West Festival Chorus intending to sing The Kingdom by Elgar, and got as far as borrowing a score, but the programme was then changed to a ‘Russian Spectacular’. It was the first time I … Continue reading →

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Adam and Eve-ing it

Posted on July 19, 2012 by vhk10

I took part in the South West Festival Chorus/Bath Phil’s performance of Haydn’s Creation. Our conductor, Jason Thornton, told as that Haydn had been inspired to write the work after conducting Messiah in Bath Abbey, so by performing it there … Continue reading →

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Svyat! Svyat! Svyat!

Posted on March 5, 2011 by vhk10

Singing familiar texts in an unfamiliar language can make them feel altogether different. I know very little Russian, so there was a lot of grappling with the Old Church Slavonic texts of Rachmaninov’s Vespers (strictly the ‘All-Night Vigil’), which I … Continue reading →

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a colossal nightingale

Posted on February 17, 2010 by vhk10

This was Heine’s description of Berlioz and I can’t improve on it, so I’m borrowing it for the title of this post. A few years ago I learnt some of Les nuits d’été, including Le spectre de la rose. The … Continue reading →

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the singing revival

Posted on December 31, 2009 by vhk10

There’s been a lot of media interest recently in a national revival in singing. How has this affected me? When you look at where this revival is taking place, it’s mostly in the unauditioned sector, and though this isn’t where … Continue reading →

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