Why Sing?

I write this the day after returning home from a 9-day singing and conducting summer school with Sing for Pleasure. Based at Jesus College, Cambridge, it was utterly exhausting yet completely exhilarating. Work began at 8.45am last Sunday morning as we started learning Sarah Quartel’s “A Winter Day”, led by the SfP tutors. Sublime … More Why Sing?

I Will Come to You – M Fairbairn (b. 1986)

Like many of the pieces I write about in this blog, I was introduced to this song at a rehearsal of the Manchester Chorale. We were learning it for our summer concert programme in 2018. Imagine our pleasure when one of the Chorale members chose it as the bridal entry music for her wedding, and asked us to sing it for her … More I Will Come to You – M Fairbairn (b. 1986)

The Crown of Roses – words Pleshcheev (1825-93) tr. Drearmer, music Tchaikovsky (1840-93)

Did you know that carols, like puppies, are not just for Christmas? According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a carol is a song characteristically of religious joy, associated with a given season, with uniform stanzas or verses that may alternate with a refrain … More The Crown of Roses – words Pleshcheev (1825-93) tr. Drearmer, music Tchaikovsky (1840-93)

When is a ‘Performance’ not a ‘Performance’?

Regular readers will know how important music is to me, and much has been said about the importance of music in worship over recent weeks – in a weekly course, in our church services and in magazine articles. It has been all the more poignant for the long absence of music from our worship, and its reintroduction at the end of July … More When is a ‘Performance’ not a ‘Performance’?