Spring Singing

So, Spring singing (Springing?) is upon us! Easter is gone and we’re all back from our holidays, if not a tad later planned for some of us… With a few additions to the ensemble – namely a couple of new members and a beard – preparations for summer music and the tour are in full swing. This is a brief note of what we’ve been up to over the last couple of months.

Before the Easter break the boys sang an Easter week service of music, punctuated by poetry. The very moving evening included Tallis’ Lamentations of Jeremiah, an appropriate piece which was depicts the composer’s own struggle against the religious oppression in Tudor England; and the singer’s favourite Lo the Full Final Sacrifice by Gerald Finzi. Also performed for the first time for a long time was Gustav Holst’s This Have I Done For My True Love, a fantastic piece of music set to a familiar text, part of which is often sung at Christmas in a setting by John Gardner. The poetry included works by W.H.Auden and Christina Rossetti, evoking thought and reflection as well as conveniently giving the singers a decent breather between each piece!

Shortly after, the choir sang an evensong of British music. The ATB sang the Rose responses, and the canticles were the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A flat by Edmund Rubbra, a piece whose fortissimo moments especially marked a great development of this year’s choir sound; focused and resonant. The anthem was a reprisal of Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice which has proved a successful choice for the choir this year and will continue to feature in concert and tour programmes this summer.

After the Easter break the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland meant the choir were left conductorless for a while. So while Mr Toyne was sunning himself in the Middle East and enjoying the delicacies Jordan has to offer, choir practices continued led by Mr Ferris, James and myself. On top of preparation for an All Saints’ Kingston concert in May a number of us rehearsed a short number (‘You Need Hands’ by Max Bygraves, arr. S Ferris) to sing at Malcolm McLaren’s funeral. Perhaps the most bizarrely wonderful gig we will ever sing, the non-religious funeral was not so much an occasion to grieve but a celebration of the great man, and saw stripey blazers fundraising for the tour whilst rubbing shoulders with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Johnny Rotten, Adam Ant, Bob Geldof and many more.

The concert we had been preparing for was soon upon us. With Herr Toyne back in the driving seat, rehearsals intensified and the hefty programme was thoroughly worked at. It included pieces by Purcell, Byrd, Tallis and Handel in the first half, followed by the Rubbra in A flat, Britten Rejoice in the Lamb and Finzi’s Lo the Full Final Sacrifice. The audience was treated to passionate, emotional and focused music; quite a feat for the young trebles especially who hadn’t sung such a vast concert before! A personal favourite was definitely the welcome return of the Britten, which we hadn’t sung since February 2009 where the choir performed it in Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand.

And that brings us to the status quo – busy preparations for a Gala concert in Southwark Cathedral and a tour of the Baltic States. Audiences can look forward to a mix of recently performed repertoire plus some new (possibly contemporary…) additions, almost certainly to include a return of Walton’s The Twelve due to popular demand. Watch this space!

Kieran Brunt