Any qualms I had about being one of the oldies at the Church of the Holy Rude yesterday were swiftly allayed when we walked in to a sea of grey heads. The poor conductor, who was used to conducting two of the finest choirs in the world, let alone the UK, gradually lost the will to live as he tried to coax top C's from a soprano section with an average age of about 75 and to get the moribund alto section to sing anything but flat. The basses had two dynamics - forte and bawl - and the tenors, despite the conductor's polite suggestion that it was better to sing sharp than out of tune, droned along like a batch of elderly pancakes.
I enjoyed myself though. I did my best with the singing, and since I was on the front row, I was one of the ones who did look at the conductor - in fact we were eyeball to eyeball much of the time. He was a lovely man and tried so hard not to be irritated by our failings. I met up with some folk I haven't seen since I left Glasgow and got myself invited to an ordination, enjoyed the lovely atmosphere of the ancient church and had some very pleasant company.
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5 comments:
Sounds fun. I love the comment about the dynamics - I often find that with choirs. They think it is better to be heard regardless of how the hell they sound. Magic!
Ps - I may be conducting some choral works soon. I'll keep you updated
Ps - I may be conducting some choral works soon.
This sounds exciting!
It is. I am going to do a diploma in choral direction, I think. I need a new project that is not setting myself on fire. :-)
I liked your assessment of the choir you looked for the good and got something out of it.
It's my birthday today 5th of April
I know it's after 12 now but I never think it's the next day until the morning.
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