Berberis' World

Saturday, 17th November 2018, Great Hall, Goldsmiths College.

Antonin Dvorák: Te Deum, op. 103
Sonatina for piano and flute, op.100
Mass in D, op.86

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas
Organ and Piano: Martyn Noble
Flute: Jennifer Stinton

I’ve only just realised that I’ve sung the Te Deum before. That’s how much I enjoyed it.

The seating arrangements at Goldsmiths were changed for health and safety reasons, so we were closer to the audience than before, which turned out to be slightly disconcerting.

The flautist, Jennifer, was excellent. Both she and Martyn seemed not at all bothered by the unexpected noise of fireworks being set off during their sonatina.

I liked the Mass as a whole. Unfortunately, my personal performance was under par, despite a good rehearsal.

Thursday, 14 June 2018, 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, London NW8 9AY 

The last time I was at Abbey Road was on 18 June 2011, in the famous Studio 1, one of many singers taking part in the recording of The Peacemakers by Karl Jenkins. There was scaffolding covering the front of the building, which had been Grade II listed about 16 months earlier, but this didn’t stop the hundreds of fans who gathered on the pavement outside to take photos of the wall, the street sign, themselves and others crossing that crossing, which must irritate any driver – statistically, there must be some – who have no idea of its significance.

Seven years later, the scaffolding was gone, but the fans (of all ages, and from all over) were still there. What was missing was the road surface, including the also Grade II listed zebra crossing. There can’t ever be a good time to replace this particular piece of road – even if it’s not in its original location – which is why it was back before sunset, people marching in single file from one side to the other, camera flashes increasingly bright against the darkening sky.

Those who were available for the whole day had mustered at St John’s Wood United Synagogue before going to the studios to record various voice parts, as well as meet some of the celebrities who are also involved in the project. I’d planned to take the day off but a problem at work on Tuesday made that difficult, so I got there at about 4.30pm – all the photos had been done, all the celebrities had gone, but at least I’d not missed the alto recording.

Recording is an odd process. Songs are broken into phrases, and you sing the same few bars over and over until whoever’s in charge – Jon Cohen, for this recording – is happy. Sometimes, on the 4th or 5th take, you’ve forgotten what it is they originally asked for. How long the process takes seems to depend on which part is being recorded – with more people in the studio, you get more disagreements – and it was lucky for me, I think, that they recorded the tenors and basses first, and left the altos and sopranos until later.

Afterwards, there was time to sit in the café, or the garden, and chat, or walk back and forth over the newly-laid crossing, and mainly marvel at how much we – as a choir – have done since 2012. Since the 2015 campaign, there are a few people who are always involved when it comes to organising. Over time, they’ve formed relationships with people who know people who know people, and they’ve had the drive and the enthusiasm to get things done. It’s a thankless task, largely because the people who haven’t been involved in the organising are so busy enjoying themselves on the day that they forget all the hard work that goes into making things happen. Either that, or they’re too busy complaining about the venue or the catering to remember that it takes effort to arrange even the smallest gigs.

None of which should detract from the fact that it was a real privilege to be in such an historic building – let’s hope that the rumours of it being sold for flats aren’t true.

Saturday, 17th March 2018, Great Hall, Goldsmiths College.

Edward Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

The Bromley Boy Singers
Forest Philharmonic Orchestra
Tenor: Peter Davoren
Bass: David Stout
Mezzo Soprano: (I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember the name of the lovely lady who stepped in at the last minute – my profound apologies. I will find out.)
Organ: James Orford
Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

The text for Gerontius is awful stuff. The glorification of, and wallowing in, the suffering and pain and fear associated with death in the name of religion… it’s loathsome. It’s a tribute to Elgar that he managed to write music glorious enough to overwhelm such nonsense.

And I do mean glorious. As a member of the chorus, by far the highlight of Gerontius is in Part 2. It starts at figure 74 and goes right through to the end of figure 100, and is arguably some of the most exhilarating and exhausting music written for a chorus. It was fortunate that Dan’s conducting from figure 89 (moreso from figure 95) was at a speed slow enough that it allowed us to relish the big build-up to the final chord – and the lung-shredding crescendo through it – but not so slow that the mawkish text got in the way. I’ve heard recordings where it sounds like it’s on fast-forward, and they are definitely not to my taste. Happily, Dan seemed to agree.

Before this thirty six page workout there is a section in Part 1, from the start of bar 639 to the end, which is almost as fabulous, if nowhere near as physically draining.

Dan admitted that he had very personal reasons for staging this particular work. I understood this feeling completely. Performing Gerontius had been a long time coming for me: it was the next concert in line for the LCS when I left in 2008, and it was the same for the LPC when I unsuccessfully reauditioned in 2011. So there was a certain degree of ‘what’s going to happen to prevent me singing it this time?’ about this third attempt*. Viruses/work stress/another engagement could all have intervened – thankfully, nothing got in the way. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed rehearsing as much since the Deustches Requiem, and the concert did not disappoint.

*This isn’t strictly true. The third attempt was successful: in 2015, I somehow managed to get involved in a scratch performance of Gerontius that had been arranged by a wonderfully enthusiastic and dynamic woman called Diana Bickley. This was staged at Henry Wood Hall in Central London. I have to confess to not remembering much about it, apart from one rehearsal in a very warm room, and feeling very emotional during the section in Part 2 that I found the most rewarding in 2018.

So, thanks to Dan for choosing this for us, and thanks to everyone who made this concert so enjoyable.

Monday, 18th December 2017, Southwark Cathedral, London SE1 9DA.

Carols for choirs and audience: Once in royal David’s City/Of the Father’s heart begotten/Silent Night/Hark! the herald angels sing/The First Nowell/O come, all ye Faithful

Soloist on Once in royal David’s City: Joe Davies (Bromley Youth Music Trust)

Southwark Cathedral’s full title is, apparently, The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie. It’s across the road from London Bridge station, and right next to Borough Market, and is spectacular. I’d attended one of these services before, as a member of the congregation. This time, it was at the invitation of the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who’d invited us and The Metropolitan Police Choir to perform a couple of songs during the concert.

The Met Police Choir is 65-strong group of serving and retired officers and police staff. It was formed in the 1960s as a male voice choir but, in 2016, auditions were opened to men and women, and there were just over half of the choir present this evening. Even with reduced numbers they sounded amazing.

We sang ‘Behold That Star‘ (arr. by the genius that is Bob Chilcott) and ‘Bridge’, and I was genuinely pleased about how well they both went. There was no sign of the collective anxiety that occasionally mars a performance, despite the nervousness which surfaced after the dress rehearsal. The Met Police performed ‘Still, Still, Still‘, by Norman Luboff and it was beautifully done. They also sang ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ (arr. Arthur Warrell) which was completely different in tone but still sounded superb.

Young Joe Davies was note perfect, and seemingly not at all bothered either by the capacity audience or the many cameras which were undoubtedly focussed on him during his solo. And so polite! He came up to us during the reception after the concert and praised our performance, which was lovely of him.

And then there was the descant. There was no way I wasn’t going to sing them – apart from Silent Night and The First Nowell, which I don’t know that well. I’d probably not have been anywhere near as confident without Duffy next to me, and we belted out the lines with gusto. All in all, a great evening in a magnificent venue.

Saturday, 16th December 2017, St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Carols for choir and audience: It came upon the midnight clear/Gabriel’s message/The crown of roses/There is a flower/O little town of Bethlehem/Star carol/Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber/Sir Cristémas/Of the Father’s heart begotten/Carol of the bells/God is with us/I wonder as I wander/God rest ye merry, gentlemen/Hark! the herald-angels sing

Baritone: Pierpaolo Finaldi

Piano: Nico de Villiers

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

Ah, Xmas. Or Christmas, if you think the X takes Christ out of the season (it doesn’t). Add a splash of red to the usual long and black!, partake of mulled wine during the interval!, join in with the descant!

All three are optional, of course. In reality, as an alto, only two of them are achievable on the night. The descant is, on the whole, about two or three tones too high for comfort. Besides, some of the alto lines are actually better than the melody. Only some, mind you – there really are only so many Es you can sing in a row…

As far as the carols go, there were the usual suspects. All of these are lovely, and just being able to sing the tune in the last verse makes a change.

Gabriel’s message is – to all but the sopranos – you only get one word. The crown of roses is a song about a child being really very badly bullied – where were the parents of these yobs? Horrific.

There is a flower is a bit twee. I have never yet managed to pitch the C in bar 57. O little town of Bethlehem is rehearsed with the warning that it is NEVER ‘where meek souls will receive him still <breath> the dear Christ enters in’. We know. Why not remind the audience?

Star carol is really for children. And the 1980s.

Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber was my favourite, because the altos got to sing the tune… not once, but twice!! And there was much rejoicing. Seriously. Just remember to NOT sing verses 3 and 5, and yes there’s a verse 7 over the page. One of the best things about this being that, if you forget, there is a minim rest in the first bar so no-one will notice. The other best things are the final 10 bars. Splendid stuff.

I hate Sir Cristémas. But I can channel this into the first alto entry in bar 4, which helps me get through the rest of the nonsense. Dan loves it, so I can say with almost 100% certainty that we’ll sing it next Xmas as well.

Of the Father’s heart begotten is an old-school majestic sing, with a glorious alto line in the last verse. And the end of the first half of the concert.

There was the usual rush for mulled wine, which always smells nicer than it tastes.

Carol of the bells is irrevocably improved changed by the Cracked Christmas parody. God is with us is all breves and weirdness. Not sure about this one. Needs a good soloist, so that may limit whether we sing it every year. I wonder as I wander is quite jazzy – given my dislike of modern religious music, I shouldn’t like it, but I do.

God rest you merry, gentlemen is another make-sure-you-breathe-in-the-right-place carol. It’s ‘God rest you merry <comma> gentlemen’. Again, no-one takes any notice.

Hark! the herald-angels sing – I always want to sing the descant but it goes to a top A, and that’s a good tone above my present range.

Fantasia on Christmas Carols we’ve sung before. I think I also sang it with the LPC, but can’t find any evidence of that. Again, it needs a good soloist –  which we definitely had – and you need to be able to count, as the time signature is all over the place. There are a few bars towards the end that, in previous performances, I’ve always sung incorrectly but – yay! not this time.

A hugely enjoyable – and very well attended – concert.