And what a relief it’s been this week to get into the new concert-hall and sing (well, for the members of the Chamber Choir and Cecilian Choir to sing, that is…). The reverberant acoustics mean we can actually start working to develop the ensemble sound, as we can now hear ourselves as the chords rise into the rooflight. Rehearsing the plainsong which opens Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with the Cecilian Choir gave us the first chance to shape the lines, waiting at the ends of phrases for the sound to recede before beginning the next – something the former choir rehearsal room (the OTE) has never afforded.

The Chamber Choir get moody…

The Chamber Choir rehearsal on Tuesday evening overran by some considerable margin, as we all got slightly carried away with exploring the acoustics in the new space; we ended up finishing at about 9.55pm. But we were having too much fun… At one point, the Choir were stepping in stately procession around in a circle to get the one-in-a-bar feel of Hear Thou My Weeping, whilst Emma organised them into mixed formation to explore the creation of an overall sound in You Are The New Day. Exploring movement and space was never a possibility in the OTE; this year, it might just become de rigeur…

Great Britten from the Cecilian Choir

There was great sparkle about ‘Wolcum, Yule!’ as the Cecilian Choir rehearsed the first movement of the Britten, whilst we were able to start crafting the rise and fall of phrases in the opening plainsong.

It’s been a terrific first couple of rehearsals; the chance for the Chamber Choir to sing the pieces we’ll be performing in the Gala opening concert in December, in the very space we’ll be using, will no doubt do wonders for our confidence on the night.

It all starts here…