Tsunami appeal gig update

So it seems that this concert, which was only put together last week, is completely sold out, and it sold like no other event the Bridgewater Hall has ever staged - the box office apparently had queues eight or nine deep at every window all weekend. They've sold so many tickets that they're not even having both choirs onstage throughout - the youth choir are going on first, and then processing off after singing their bit, so that the adult choir can sit in the same seats. (They do usually sell the unused choir seats for popular concerts, but they don't make the choirs share seats...)

I'm a bit disappointed with our contribution - at the request of Mark (Elder), we're doing the 4th movement of the Brahms German Requiem. The work as a whole is of course wonderful, but that is my least favourite movement from it by a long way. Oh well. (We wanted to do the Ave Maria from the Rach Vespers but Mark preferred the Brahms. Also, one or more of the Tippett spirituals would have been lovely if we'd had time to get them really good. I'd love to know how the management would've reacted to us doing "Deep River" :p ) Still, we do get to see most of the concert, including the Hallé and the BBC Phil playing together on the same stage for the first time ever (I think).

Tonight's rehearsal was fun - Jamie is back from wherever he was last week. Spent most of the time on the Elgar, again - we are all so looking forward to performing and recording this piece; it's so wonderful, yet hardly any of the choir knew it (including me). Of course there's the usual Catch 22 of recording an unfamiliar piece - of course you want a CD to listen to while you're learning it, despite knowing it's a waste of money ultimately because you're going to record the definitive version!

Also did "By and By" again - not much better than last week, and the altos are still all getting the repeated notes wrong on "I'm gonna lay down". Grrr. Hopefully tomorrow's sectional will sort that though. And I was most amused by Jamie demonstrating how he wants the word "load" to be sung. Apparently it involves an elbow movement (like Nigel's James Brown Random 9ths... long story...) and a feeling of extreme heaviness, although my amusement was mainly due to being reminded of Hoggy doing his Sam impression from ROTK ("I could 'elp you carry it, Mr Frodo! Share the looooad!")

Still no "Go Down Moses", sadly, but we did get a run through "Deep River", and we finished with one sing through of the Brahms, which will be fine. Oh, and we got unexpected expenses from the Hanley gig, and United finally beat Exeter :-)