Author: Siobhan Jones

Piano Recital – Maria Levandovskaya, Sat 29th June We are grateful to Maria Levandovskaya who stepped in at the last minute yesterday to cover for Robert’s cover(!) at our rehearsal. She played beautifully so we were delighted when she told us she happens to be performing in concert in Barnes this Saturday 29th June. Details of the event are below and flyer…… Read more →

Dear All One-off change of venue for 25/6:  Tuesday’s rehearsal (25/6) will take place at St Michael’s Church in Barnes, address: 39 Elm Bank Gardens, Barnes SW13 0NX https://stmichaelbarnes.org/contact-us/ . Same time as usual 19:45-21:30 St Mary’s unfortunately double booked us with an election hustings event leaving us little alternative but to move.  None of our previous venues were available hence the choice of St…… Read more →

Dear All What an enjoyable and positive rehearsal with Penny on Tuesday!  The only bit we stumbled on was the ‘Ne ab-sor-be-at….’ in Domine Jesu p47-48, bar 21-32. So, if you get chance have a look at that ahead of Saturday.  And, after Penny’s exclamation (mid-conducting!) in the Lux Aeterna keep singing through the ‘et lux per-pe-tu-a…’ phrase p79 bar79(33)…… Read more →

Dear All We had a thorough work through of the three opera choruses with Penny on Tuesday as well as looking at Osana from the Sanctus. Points to take away: Magic Flute – COME IN EARLY! at the start of of each phrase  Che del Ciel – place clear emphasis on the ‘Cu-sto-di-sca-no Co-si’s’ Placido è il mar – smooth/even…… Read more →

Dear All We had an excellent run through of the whole Requiem on Tuesday. Ben is very pleased with how it’s going!  And here are his specific notes to work on (three weeks and two remaining rehearsals before the concert!). I’m still searching for a version of Placido with more legible Italian. As soon as I find it, it’ll be…… Read more →

Dear All This week we did some thorough work on Tito’s Che del Ciel, and looked at the last movement of the Requiem, Lux Aeterna (beautifully similar to the first), and the Hostias, including the ‘Quam Olim Abrahae’. Ben’s tips: Brighten the sound of Hostias by aiming for a mid-Atlantic ‘Has-tias’ pronunciation and keep the semi-quaver runs in the Lux…… Read more →

Dear All We made good progress on Tuesday working on Tito’s Che del ciel, a first look at the start of the Hostias up to bar 55 (start of Quam olim Abrahae), Agnus Dei and a run through the Kyrie. Hopefully, everyone is now clear on the pronunciation of the Italian in the Tito chorus. The Kyrie was sounding really good;…… Read more →

Dear All We had a marvellously energetic and productive first rehearsal at St Mary’s looking in detail at the finale of the Magic Flute and the Introitus and Kyrie from the Requiem. Ben was very pleased with how it went! Some of Ben’s tips: Attack the ‘Dona’s’ in the Introitus as though flicking a rubber band, articulating the ‘D’ Bring…… Read more →

Dear All I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. We’ll be back singing next Tuesday 16th April – hurrah! Remember we’ll be in ST MARY THE VIRGIN’S church Mortlake, 19:45-21:30 as usual. Please allow plenty of time to find parking which is a bit trickier than at Christchurch. The entrance is accessed via the path (‘Church Path’) running alongside the church. The big wooden door…… Read more →

Dear All  Delighted to say I’ve just received a message from Brenda to pass on to the choir:  “Please pass on my thanks to the choir for their card and the socks!  I am still under doctor’s orders but hope to come back soon.  I hope all goes well with all the concerts etc in the meantime. I am pleased…… Read more →