We started rehearsing some new pieces on Sept 8th for a concert on December 8th.
We are doing (so far)
- Gerald Finzi – Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice.
- Herbert Howells – Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing.
- William Walton – Make we Joy now in this Fest.
- William Byrd – Sing Joyfully
We’ve done a run through of the Finzi which is quite tricky and of the Byrd which is much more straightforward.
Our accompanist Richard recommended the recording of the Finzi on the 1986 album Bax and Finzi: Choral Music by the Choir of King’s College which is available on youtube if you’d like to listen. It starts off slowly and beautifully and then goes through a number of transformations, which means lots of learning.
Finzi wrote a lot of songs including settings of Hardy poems and some wonderful settings of Shakespearean songs which are great fun to sing (and listen to).