{"id":3,"date":"2010-10-15T11:21:09","date_gmt":"2010-10-15T11:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/cantusfirmus\/?p=3"},"modified":"2010-10-15T15:30:59","modified_gmt":"2010-10-15T15:30:59","slug":"cantus-firmus-on-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/cantusfirmus\/2010\/10\/15\/cantus-firmus-on-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Cantus Firmus: on song"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the wealth of auditions over a two-day period, this year\u2019s Chamber Choir has emerged, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the last. This year the Choir is larger than in previous years, so much so that we\u2019ve had to change rehearsal venue from the Old Telephone Exchange to Grimond Lecture Theatre II.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The new team!<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the first two rehearsals, we\u2019ve begun exploring the repertoire for this year\u2019s series of concert engagements, which has grown to include \u2018Advent by Candlelight\u2019 in St. Mildred\u2019s Church in Canterbury in December, and a concert at St. Gregory\u2019s, Wye \u2013 these alongside the customary performances in the University Carol Service at the end of term, and the Cathedral Crypt concert in February. A packed year indeed… (More details on our on-line events calendar here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The theme for this year\u2019s Crypt concert is music from England, Wales and Scotland, and in the first rehearsal we worked through motets by William Byrd and Sir John Tavener; for the Advent concert, we began singing some Advent antiphons from manuscripts dating from the four-stave notation system popular until the sixteenth century; this gives the choir the chance to read from historical notation and an added sense of the past to the music being sung.\u00a0 We also began working at a carol I\u2019ve written for the December Carol Service, a setting of A Babe is Born<\/em>, which employs open-fifth pedal chords to create a medieval atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\"CecilianAlso bursting back to life this term is the Cecilian Choir, formed from Scholars, students, staff and alumni. The Cecilian Choir was a new venture last year, and is back by popular demand: rehearsals begin next week, and we\u2019ll be working towards a very exciting programme for performance in the Spring term, about which more will be revealed later…<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an exciting time: new musical students, new ensembles forming, and the beginning of this year\u2019s musical journeys exploring old and new repertoire. \u00a0As a conductor, first rehearsals are terrifying: will everyone turn up, will they get on with each other, will the balance of the voice-parts work, will they like the repertoire I\u2019ve chosen, how quickly will they learn the music, and, perhaps most importantly \u2013 will they enjoy themselves and want to come back next week ?<\/p>\n

You can follow the story of the choirs here, from first rehearsal to final performance; we\u2019ll also be bringing you audio clips of the choirs in rehearsal and sneak previews of some of the pieces being performed this year. Stay tuned…<\/p>\n

(And if you\u2019ve a fond recollection or stories from your experience with the Chamber Choir in previous years, get in touch<\/a>: we\u2019ll be featuring them in a regular column here.)<\/p>\n