said The Guardian, of Saturday's gig. And the Manchester Evening News actually mentioned the choir! So it must have been good. He (Robert Beale, as usual) remembered the Oldham concert, but luckily not the memory aspect - I was worried they were going to draw comparisons. He didn't actually comment on Saturday's Beethoven specifically (other than by implication - he liked it!) but about the Kodaly he said: "This requires much of a choir: not merely learning to sing in Hungarian, but exploring a range of tone and dynamic, from the sweetest mellow concord to six-part writing at full pelt and with a top soprano line consistently high in their range. The Hallé ladies are a mainly youthful gang these days, and they achieved this with splendid tone and effective balance."
I can't decide whether to be pleased we're thought of as youthful or upset at the idea that I'm not one of the youthful ones :p
Talking of reviews, the Times doesn't seem to have made it to Manchester this weekend, making the mistake of staying in London to hear a really bad concert. Ouch! "The Cadogan Hall was sold out, with an audience who were either deaf or in denial." Hee!
Other news: we finally have a broadcast date for the People's Chorus. Saturday 9th December. \o/
Messiah tomorrow. Probably (sadly) no plans to do it from memory. But I live in hope :-)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
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11 comments:
You have to assume that the "youthful" refered to all of us! It is nice to read a review where we actully get mentioned in detail. We deserved it of course!I loved the whole evening and managed to not look too often at my score just enough to not sing in the wrong place! I will miss tonight so please pass on any news about Messiah from memory coz I shall have to start learning now.
Don't worry, Libby, as far as I know we're not doing any of Messiah from memory. I'm going to see how much of it I know though. I remembered most of the Amen Chorus when we tried it, and I know Hallelujah. I aim to try and add some of the earlier ones to my memorized list.
I don't think Jamie was saying that the concert wasn't great - he said several times that it was - just that the Kodaly wasn't quite as good in the evening as it was in the afternoon (which is true, I think, and I overheard several other people saying so on the night), and that some people weren't personally prepared enough for the piano rehearsal. Which is also true, and annoyed me at the time, as I said.
It *is* nice to be praised in reviews, though, I agree. And I think I know who you are now :-)
Does responsibility not come down to those who are paid to accept that responsibility?
It is too easy to shift 'lack of commitment' from the professionals onto those who give up their time and energy unstintingly, trusting that those in charge know what they are doing!
'Temper tantrum'? Nothing of the sort.
I disagree with 'anonymous'. The responsibility is collective - it is up to all of us to give our best - otherwise why bother being in a choir. If we all said we needn't bother because we're not being paid we wouldnot be the choir we are!
I am afraid that you miss the point entirely!
I agree with you, Barbara. Well put.
I don't think I have missed the point!
The issues are:
1. I know the date of the concert
2. I know what I have to do for that concert
3. We have all had language training from the lovely Beni
4. We were all asked to look at the Hungarian between rehearsals
5. If I know that I have difficulty with the language then it is up to ME to do something about it
6. Being part of an internationally renowned choir isn't just a matter of being able to sing well - it's about PERFORMING!
7. The buck stops HERE with ME for MY performance in rehearsals and on the night!
*applause*
Go Barbara! You speak the truth!
And why comment as an anonymous person? If you've got a view then air it!
I think you're Lucy - am I right?
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