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We\u2019d had a hard two hours, in particular looking at the rhythmic minefield that is Steve Martland\u2019s Make We Joy Now<\/em>. We\u2019d also worked through a further four carols, including the rich sonorities of Peter Warlock\u2019s heart-rending Bethlehem Down<\/em>, a piece in which you have to be constantly on your toes to be ready for passing chords and leading passages that occasionally don\u2019t do what\u2019s expected of them. \u00a0Parry\u2019s Welcome, Yule!<\/em> Is a sprightly, consort-style carol that nevertheless has some tricky passages. We\u2019d also looked at a new Advent Antiphon, O Clavis David<\/em>, that doesn\u2019t quite lie as easily as the earlier ones.<\/p>\nLooking beyond Christmas to the Crypt concert in February, we’d also begun working on O Sonno<\/em>, a wonderful Italian madrigal with deeply sonorous harmonies exploring the plaintive text; more Italian vowel-shapes to perfect…<\/p>\n The final piece in the rehearsal, the rich and strangely haunting Remember, O Thou Man<\/em>, we had looked at in a previous session, and the group sang it confidently. On the spur of the moment, to keep the choir on their toes and give them something new to think about, I asked them move into mixed formation, such that each member was standing next to someone singing a different voice-part, and we began the carol anew.<\/p>\n As soon as the first verse began, it was clear that something different was happening: the sound had changed and was deeper, richer and more sonorous \u2013 the result of each member suddenly having to take full responsibility for their line when they were unable to rely on hearing the same line sung by their neighbour. The transformation was immediate \u2013 and you could see an awareness of this gradually permeating the group as the verses unfolded. There was a palpable sense of excitement at the new sound, and some of the group started to smile without being able to help themselves.<\/p>\n When we finished, the atmosphere was electric: we\u2019d stumbled across something quite dramatic, and something that made the whole group aware that there was a quite astonishing sound waiting to emerge. We\u2019ve decided to explore this idea in future rehearsals: whether we use it in performance or not remains to be seen. Having written previously<\/a> about the idea of moving the choir around in rehearsal, and the positive effect it can have, it was quite something to see it working, and to see the group as a whole come alive to its potential.<\/p>\n Great stuff: well done, team. (Just make sure you keep looking at the Martland in between rehearsals!).<\/p>\n And just to whet your appetites, here’s King’s College, Cambridge in Warlock’s carol…<\/p>\n