Berberis' World

Saturday, 23rd March 2013, Great Hall, Goldsmiths College.

Henryk Górecki: Totus Tuus
Igor Stravinsky: Ave Maria/Pater Noster
John Tavener: The Lamb/The Tyger/Song for Athene

Frédérick Chopin: Polonaise in E flat Minor Op. 26 No. 2
George Gershwin: Prelude No. 1 in B flat major
Piano: Andrew Dutson

Arvo Pärt: Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen

Fratres
Piano: Nico de Villiers
Violin: Sebastian Müller

De Profundis
Magnificat
Nunc Dimittis

What I really loved about the music for this concert was its precision. The main problem with it was its precision. You have to be supremely confident to stay in tune whilst first one person, then those around them, then half a section, and finally the entire choir, sags half a tone, then another half, and finally into another key entirely. It’s also very melancholy, which – in my opinion – makes any deviation from the score not just inconsiderate, but insulting.

It’s not difficult to stay in tune. It just takes care and concentration. I get irritated with people who either can’t or won’t take the time to learn their parts. I get annoyed when they get phrases wrong despite having the tune played to them repeatedly. I get angry when they refuse to take any notice when they’re told they’re wrong. If you end a phrase a tone lower (and it’s always lower) than it should be, then you need to be paying more attention to what you are singing. You should also be paying attention to what your neighbour is singing. If they’re out of tune, they need to be told.

I have the word PITCH!! written like that in the last three systems of the Górecki. It matters. If you now can’t reach the notes you once could, consider moving to a lower voice part. Don’t think of it as a failure, think of it as a new adventure. These are the notes the composer wrote – please sing these, and not the notes you think they are.

Rant over. Don’t get me started on counting.

Transfixed utterly by the Fratres. Damn.

The Universal Edition scores we used for the Nunc Dimittis and the Antiphonen have the number of beats in the bar helpfully indicated by a big number above the bar, whereas the other pieces have the much more subtle time signature. Not sure why there’s a difference: if you can count, it doesn’t matter.

There are some really oddities in the Antiphonen. In the premiere, the sopranos and basses aren’t singing what is printed in the score. From bar 46, they sing what is not printed. This might explain why this is called the original version, although why Arvo Pärt would rewrite his own composition – or allow it to be changed – is strange. A cursory look online doesn’t reveal any clues, but I’m happy to be proved wrong.

There is a wealth of Pärt analysis online: in just one search, I found a bewildering doctoral dissertation by Allan J. Ballinger DM that I’ve set aside a day or so to read, and a more accessible Guardian piece by Tom Service. I can only comment as an amateur alto, and say that we got to explore the depths of our range with the first tenors in the O Adonia, as well as treating our vocal chords to a nice top E  in the O Schlüssel Davids.

All of this should really be hanging around a church vault for a few seconds after the singing has finished, not being stifled somewhat by the ceiling of Goldsmiths Great Hall, but the venue is what it is, and at least the sight lines are generally good so you can keep an eye on Dan.

Of the Pärt, I think my favourite was the Nunc dimittis. From the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening few bars, to the Gloria Patris, where the melody is passed seamlessly between voice parts, it’s gorgeous. Special mention goes to bar 93 – which is hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck-raising, spine-tinglingly beautiful – and bars 103-105; I have a version on my phone where these bars are the musical equivalent of having the best chocolate in the world melt in your mouth. Stunning.

This was Andrew Dutson’s last performance with the LCS, and he received a lengthy round of applause following his performance. I often wonder what the audience thinks of the foot stamping that’s become something of a feature at the end of a concert. It’s something I’ve only come across in choirs and, although it’s mentioned in passing here, it doesn’t appear on this lovely little pic…

…although it’s less ‘lightly stamp’ than trying to split the floor. If I was inclined, I’d do some more research.

What else? Nothing useful. Find it all on YouTube and immerse yourself.

Saturday, 15th December 2012, St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Carols for choir and audience: Make we joy now in the fest/A Boy is born in Bethlehem/Wither’s Rocking Hymn/O come, O come Emmanuel/Quem vidistis pastores dicite/Hodie Christus natus est/A great and mighty wonder/Infant holy, infant lowly/Ding dong! Merrily on high/Deck the hall/I wonder as I wander/There is a flower/See amid the winter’s snow/O come, all ye faithful

Piano: Nico de Villiers

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

Saturday, 17th November 2012, Great Hall, Goldsmiths College.

Mozart: Mass in C Minor
J S Bach: Jesu meine Freude
Beethoven: Choral Fantasia

Sopranos: Rachael Austen, Louise Kemeny, Helen Meyerhoff
Tenor: Thomas Herford
Bass: Philip Tebb

Forest Philharmonic Orchestra

Piano: Nico de Villiers

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

This was the first concert I did after I rejoined the Lewisham Choral Society. I’d briefly thought about going back after the debacle with the LPC but, whenever I did, I imagined returning would be a public admission of failure: I’d failed my re-audition with the LPC, and there were a number (albeit a small number) of people who would know that I’d failed. Also, I’d been part of a choir who’d failed to win a singing contest. I was going back because I just wasn’t very good.

I’d left LCS just before Stefan Reid departed. His successor – Dan – was one of the people who’d coached the hospital choir to our joint 2nd place at Llangollen, and it was Dan’s suggestion that I rejoin LCS. His enthusiasm was sufficient for me to think that it wasn’t out of pity, but a genuine belief that LCS was a very good choir and that I might enjoy it.

The bit of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia we performed sounded remarkably like an early draft of the last movement of his Symphony No. 9. Bach’s ‘Jesu meine Freude‘ is much nicer. It’s not Nänie – what is? – but I preferred it to the Beethoven. It was written for a 5-voice choir (!) and I don’t know whether or not this was the reason for omitting bars 123-146 and 277-405. It surely couldn’t have been because it’s difficult to sing, because there are longer semiquaver runs in the B minor Mass. Perhaps it was for time, or the overall feel of the piece.

The Mass in C is not as instant as the Requiem, although that’s probably because I’ve sung the latter half a dozen times, and it’s used in dozens of films, documentaries, adverts, etc. However much I prefer the Requiem, I’m not on the committee so the Mass in C is what we got. My score has yellow highlighter all over the first half, and then – apart from a few scribbles in pencil – there’s nothing. This probably reveals more about my frame of mind than anything to do with the music. A safe, if unmemorable, return.

Saturday, 30th June 2012, The Great Hall, University of Reading.

Schubert: Der Wanderer D493 – Gareth Rhys Davies (Baritone) and Edward Reeve (Piano)
Schubert: Fantasy in C Major D760 ‘Wanderer’
Solo Piano Improvisation: Edward Reeve
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op. 27 ‘Choral’

Soprano: Fiona Harrison
Mezzo Soprano: Louise Ratcliffe
Tenor: Philip Lloyd Holtam
Baritone: Gareth Rhy Davies

Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra
Leader: Neil MacLean
Conductor: Andrew Taylor

Not sure why I decided to do this. However, it was a day away from London, the weather was nice, and I enjoyed singing the 9th again.

Thursday, 1st March 2012.

Congratulations on being chosen by Gareth for the Lewisham Hospital choir!

We are emailing your line manager with all your rehearsal dates – on the condition they are happy to release you for these, you’re in the choir! If you don’t hear back from us, then please assume everything is OK.

FIRST REHEARSAL
The first choir rehearsal is taking place tomorrow, Friday 2^nd March, 12:00 – 14:30 in the Lessof Auditorium. This is located in the Education Centre at the main Lewisham Hospital site. There will be a 30 minute break in which you can go and grab lunch half way through the rehearsal.

Gareth also has something planned for the choir in the evening and you will need to be available 17:30 – 22:00. You will be given more information about this during tomorrow’s rehearsal. It would be a good idea to have something to eat before your evening with Gareth begins – for those who can make it, there will be sandwiches available at 17:00 in The Lewis Club (at the main hospital site).

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
Attached is a rehearsal schedule with a few tweaks to the dates. We’ve added the weekly Tuesday rehearsals to this schedule, so these are now all the dates you’ll need to be available for. Please note that most of the Tuesday rehearsals will take place 16:00-18:00. Please have a look and, if you haven’t let us know already, please let us know ASAP if you think you’ll have any problems attending any of these dates/times.

Finally, Gareth has asked if you could come to the rehearsal with the names of some songs that you would like to sing in the choir. These could be anything from personal songs that mean a lot to you, to songs that you think might be appropriate for you to sing as a group.

Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Congratulations once again
The Twenty Twenty Team