Articles

Why choral singers are so special – Chris Lee

I returned to singing in a choir in 2000, at the same time as I ‘discovered’ running and acquired an interest in mindfulness.

My interest in all three was prompted by my mental ill health at the time; we know how physical exercise and singing can raise our spirits (and the running also helps when I’m late for a rehearsal).

When it comes to singing in a choir, there’s simply no alternative to being mindful – being in the present with no brain space to regret the past or fear the future.

Singers in a choir rehearsal are typically expected to:

• Sing the notes on the page
• Read the words – often in a language other than English (Latin, Russian, German - we’ve done them all)
• Sing in tune by listening to the accompaniment
• Sing in time and in tune with other members of the choir
• Watch the conductor and listen to him
• Concentrate on breathing, pronunciation, posture, and the dynamic instructions from the composer in the score (how loud/quiet to sing etc)

For 90 minutes during every weekly rehearsal I have no alternative other than to focus on ‘the job in hand’ to the exclusion of all other thoughts – and I love it!

Performance runs in the family – John Birchall

Tenor John Birchall is new to the Royston Choral Society (RCS). We asked him to introduce himself as he prepares for his first RCS concert – a performance of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man – on 14th November.

My father took part in World War Two as a performer, travelling all over India as a comedian, children’s entertainer – all sorts of things, occasionally proper plays. He was an RAF mechanic but, as far as I know, he never fired a shot in anger. My mother was not herself musical but she was keen that I should sing in the church choir, and I willingly did so when I was seven.

Many years on, I’m lucky to have a very musical family – my wife’s a professional violinist and teacher, my son’s a composer, and the other two are violinists playing with the City of Birmingham and Welsh National orchestras. So I have no excuse for not getting involved as well.   

I discovered the Royston Choral Society through my wife Googling for something and she came across the choir. She told me my voice was ‘reasonable’ so I thought I’d give it a go. It’s going very well so far [after four rehearsals] – people are very friendly and welcoming. I think it makes a difference because everyone wants to be here. That said, I’ve sung in some choirs where I didn’t want to be there!

I’m looking forward to the concert in November – I like the idea of performance. I was a teacher and a lecturer and that’s all about entertainment. I learnt a lot from my father. My advice to anyone who is thinking of joining the Royston Choral Society is – give it a go – people will make you feel very welcome and you never know where it might lead.

My early musical life – James Boyle

At the age of nine I sang for the local parish church and a boys-only school choir called the Elysians. The name is an adjective from Greek mythology, it describes something that is blissful, delightful, and so perfect or serene that it feels otherworldly or divine.

About 20 of us toured several concert venues, singing to mainly mums and dads. It included Up, up and away, Me Ol’ bamboo, Sisters and the one I still know - The song of the Clyde.

All memorised by ear along with dance routines. The choir eventually went on to Opportunity Knocks on TV which included my brother Paul*. My voice began to break and that was it for 44 years!

Now back in two choirs, attempting to read music, slightly different material and no dance routines… so far!

*Sadly they didn’t win

The world is short of tenors

“All my life tenors have been the smallest section,” says Will Todd, a British composer. But the shortage of tenor singers is worsening. The lack of high men’s voices, which add colour and harmony to many choral works, is a growing problem for amateur and church choirs. Given the enormous scale of choral singing, it is a problem for music in general. For more on this, click here https://archive.li/Ei7NZ

The 2025/6 season reviewed – Neil Marshall

How would you sum up the choir's year in up to 5 words?

An astonishing musical journey

What was your favourite piece and why?

Brahms ‘Ein deutsches Requiem’ was an enormous challenge because of its sheer scale – Brahms's longest and largest-ensemble work – and having to master a score written in ‘old’ German. But the end product was 70 minutes of stunning artistry and the joy of a requiem written, not for the dead, but for the living. And it went in a flash!

What was your favourite concert and why?

Without a doubt, the March 2026 concert [Brahms Requiem]. Such a wonderful programme for the audience to enjoy, with a formidable contribution by the East Herts Sinfonia - and probably the best ever performance by RCS. I’m sure most of us felt that it was an exhausting day, but the comments by members of the audience were so wonderfully uplifting - testament to Andrew’s ability to continuously ‘grow’ his choir. An unforgettable evening!

Suggestions how we could make the experience (for singers and/or audience) better?

None needed – we appear to have found a sweet spot, with the choir constantly challenged by Andrew and a consistently large and supportive audience. And we are blessed with such a wonderful home and performance space for the choir at St John the Baptist.

What are you looking forward in the year ahead?

The ‘Elijah’ oratorio has an exquisitely dramatic score, with the choir sometimes performing in eight parts, so that will be fun to learn. But I just love the sheer warmth and joy we see in the faces of our audience during our Christmas concerts. It feels like being part of a rather large and supportive family; and we all regress just a little bit back to being a child at Christmas again. Priceless!

We all have those favourite films, those most beloved television programmes where the enjoyment of the storyline is enhanced by some fabulous music. In short, the soundtrack and the music are more than the sum of its parts.  These are some of mine.

Midnight in Paris - a 2011 film written and directed by Woody Allen

Opening Sequence ‘Si tu vous ma mere (If you see my mother)’, performed by Sidney Bechet on Soprano Sax. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnpWcwMNyKY&t=9s

The beautiful opening scene tracks Paris from daybreak to midnight and has been described as Wood Allen’s love letter to Paris. The hero of the story Gil Pender, a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancée and their divergent views on life and aspirations, which become increasingly exaggerated as he travels back in time to the 1920s each night at midnight. This is one of those films which we love so much that we can quote lines from it and during a short break to Paris at the beginning of this year we joined the fabulous “Cine Balade” a movie walk through the City of Dreams. Our wonderful guide Juliette started the tour playing the Bechet piece. We were smitten.

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud - Lift to the Scaffold

1958 crime thriller directed by Louis Malle, film score by Miles Davis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXWs52QiiIM&t=1s

The film stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as illicit lovers whose murder plot starts to unravel after one of them becomes trapped in an elevator. Mile Davis’ score for the film is considered by many to be groundbreaking, with jazz critic Phil Johnson describing it as "the loneliest trumpet sound you will ever hear, and the model for sad-core music ever since. Hear it and weep."

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Christmas Time is Here)

TV film 1965 - Vince Guaraldi Trio (vocal version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvK3jEXJFdg

An unseasonal offering but surely the very best jazz Christmas record. On December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on TV screens across America and instantly captured the hearts and ears of a generation. Jazz artist Vince Guaraldi, working primarily with bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli composed this magical tune featuring young choral singers from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, CA. The melancholy and wistful nature of Charlie Brown is brought to life in this beautiful rendition.

Diva 1981

French thriller directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix

Aria “Ebben? Ne Andro Iontana” from La Wally composed by Alfredo Catalini and performed by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hsmoo97CVA&list=RD2hsmoo97CVA&start_radio=1

I was a fan of Moviedrome, a BBC series presented by Alex Cox who would provide intriguing and interesting descriptions of his favourite cult films and Diva was one such film. A postal worker’s secret opera recording sparks a gripping chase through Paris and this haunting piece of music captured the mix of genres – noir, new wave.

Death in Venice

Mahler Symphony No 5 Adagietto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUV3Ueobr88&list=RDBUV3Ueobr88&start_radio=1

I’m aware that this sumptuous piece of music will be so familiar, but I include it nevertheless. As I stepped off the train at Venice with my inter-railing student colleagues in the 1980s, I was absolutely captivated by this most beautiful of cities. This piece of music ran through my head as we wandered the squares and streets. I had long adored Visconti’s film, being a huge fan of Dirk Bogarde and the Thomas Mann novella. Mann himself once said that he had “given Aschenbach the mask of Mahler”. The journalist Susanne Kubler described the film’s soundtrack as much more than just a background to the action “the music becomes the narrator”. It is simply sublime.

From the TV series Homeland

Truth – Kamasi Washington

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyV5fOqxlL4&list=RDJyV5fOqxlL4&start_radio=1 (the music)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqKkxh57KGc (the episode ending)

From the moment I heard this piece of music I loved it. It was playing as the magnificent TV series Homeland concluded. Whilst others had written the series off, those who persevered to the end and Lindsay and I were amongst that number were rewarded with the most beautiful denouement. James Donaghy wrote in The Guardian:

“The final episode was titled Prisoners of War, a homage to the Israeli series on which it was based, and a reference to the endless cycle of strike and counterstrike, confidence and betrayal, in which the intelligence officer Carrie (Claire Danes) and her long-time mentor, Saul (Mandy Patinkin), are trapped. In the final episode Carrie, Russia’s star defector, lives in a god-tier apartment in Moscow. She has just finished her first book and, to celebrate, her partner takes her to see the jazz star Kamasi Washington in concert. It’s the discordant avant-garde jazz that has opened every show since 2011. It’s the very essence of Carrie’s Dionysian energy – chaotic, intuitive, transgressive.

Back in the US, Saul gets an advance copy of her book, a Snowden-esque memoir called Tyranny of Secrets – Why I Had to Betray My Country. It’s a real page-turner. Saul particularly likes the hidden message he extracts from the spine of the book about a backdoor in the Russian’s missile defence system. Carrie is the new asset. As the penny drops, Saul beams a smile of fatherly pride. Logistically, it’s entirely implausible, but emotionally, it’s the perfect conclusion – it’s Homeland in a nutshell.”

The piece of music being played was entitled “Truth” and the truth was that Carrie had neither abandoned her country nor defected from the idea of democratic rule. The music could not have been more perfect. Homeland fans wept at this beautiful and perfect conclusion.

I was introduced to music at an early age. My grandmother played the piano professionally, but my father revolted against it so he didn’t! Despite this, I played the piano and that was the start of my ‘musical career’.

As far as singing was concerned, I could always hold a tune and did sing with the school choir. But I had quite a broad midland’s accent as I was growing up and my piano teacher, who was also a singing teacher, said my singing was no good because of my accent!   

Consequently I didn’t do much singing for years. Then quite recently I had more time and, when volunteering at Wimpole [National Trust Property], I joined the Wimpole volunteer choir at Christmas. I enjoyed that - remembering all the carols - and then I volunteered to sing in the church at Wimpole – a cappella [unaccompanied] with members of the public – not as scary as it sounds and good fun.

On the back of my Wimpole experience, I decided to get back into singing. I live in Royston and knew there were several choirs in the area. The evening rehearsals for the Choral Society suited me and I wanted to try something a bit more serious, having done some classical music years ago.

My first performance was Brahms German Requiem and that was a baptism of fire! It was hard work but I really enjoyed it – I survived and was buzzing for weeks after the concert. I’m not a singer of old who’s come back to singing, I’m a person who likes music and has decided to do more singing.

I enjoy the communal aspects of the choir – it’s very friendly and I’ve had a lot of support. I was a little nervous at first when I started but it was all fine in the end.

I’m looking forward to our next concert [Sea Pictures by Edward Elgar, and works by other English composers] and I’m enjoying it a lot. The music is very expressive and there’s lots to get my head around – I like that it’s so different from the Requiem.

I first joined the Royston Choral Society in 2018, having lived and worked in Brussels for over 20 years.

While in Brussels, I sang with a small a cappella [unaccompanied] chamber choir called The Brussels Madrigal Singers, whose repertoire was largely Renaissance. So coming to sing with the Royston Choral Society has been a very different experience: the last time I sang in a choir of this size was when I was at university - many years ago!

It has been a joy, not only to revisit works that I sang as an undergraduate such as the requiems of Verdi and Brahms, but also to be introduced to works that I’ve never before sung such as Britten’s War Requiem and Bach’s Mass in B minor.

My personal highlights have been our performances of Mozart’s Requiem, back in 2022 when we were emerging from the horrors of the pandemic and more recently, the St Matthew Passion by J S Bach - music that simply touches the soul!

Singing aside, I have also made several lovely friends within the section - something that helped me on a personal level, to integrate back into life in the UK as a retiree.

My choral singing started at primary school, where I was in the choir.  We enjoyed singing, which was supposedly unison singing.  However, the teacher spent a lot of time prowling around trying to find a "boy who was singing harmony".

The day of the school concert came, and we were part of this.  We were marshalled in an unfamiliar classroom, which belonged to an older year.  I was pleased to find some new books, including "So you want to be....a Librarian".  This was much better than my own classroom, where the only career options for girls were Nurse or Teacher.  I picked up the book and was soon engrossed in the exciting world of the Librarian.

After a while, I realised the noise level had dropped.  Indeed, there was no-one but me left, which was odd.  I emerged to find the concert was over and my mother was wondering why she had had to come when I hadn't featured at all.

Since then, I've kept a closer eye and ear on my fellow singers and haven't (as far as I know) missed another performance.

This second opportunity in my life to sing the Brahms German Requiem took me back to my earliest memories of that wonderful work and the realisation that I have known and loved it for more than 60 years.

Back in Hull in the very early 60s, LPs were a bit of a luxury. You went down to Gough and Davy’s rather grand music shop in Paragon Street, and they would put you in a booth with earphones on and play the disk for you, so that you could sample it before buying. If your pocket money was about 5 shillings a week, a 12 inch LP costing 32s/6d – 38s/6d – that was nearly £2! a major investment However, my brother discovered that Hull Central Libraries periodically sold off worn records from their lending stock at bargain prices, One day he came home with a rather tatty DG double LP record of the German Requiem which he’d found there. (AI tells me it was the Berlin Phil under Fritz Lehman and the Berlin Motet choir; the soprano was Maria Stader).

Well, I fell in love with it. It was like nothing I had heard before, brought up as I was on a choral diet of Handel and G&S [Gilbert & Sullivan]. The sheer splendour of the music, the stirring fugues and the novel harmonies made me want to share it with my friends in the school choir and orchestra, but they weren’t too impressed; it went on rather too long for them, although the loud bits were quite exciting. Nobody stayed to the end when I played them the whole thing.

At university in London, my musical horizons expanded greatly. Otto Klemperer could be seen conducting the Philharmonia at the Festival Hall, only a short bus ride away. I heard Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing lieder there too. I joined a church choir and found it was the one where Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Dearmer had compiled the English Hymnal. I often found myself sitting among the basses next to a young Cambridge student called John Rutter, whose family lived nearby. Brahms was not forgotten, but he had a lot of competition for my musical attention by then.

We must now fast forward half a century to 2015 when I was living near Royston; my lovely wife Sarah was terminally ill, and virtually all my time was spent caring for her. I brought her along in her wheelchair to all the RCS concerts and though I would have loved to sing with them, it seemed impossible. Then I heard that RCS were planning to perform the German Requiem under their new conductor Andrew O’Brien, and I realised that this was an opportunity I could not possibly miss. Tuesday night was my only night off in the week, when neighbours come to sit with Sarah so that I could go to my Rotary club; but I would never have a chance to sing the Requiem again. So I joined RCS, and it was nearly all I had hoped for – though not quite all, because the four-handed piano reduction cannot compare with the wonderful orchestral original.

And now there’s to be another performance, this time with a full orchestra. I don’t have a very long bucket list, but this one is definitely in there, and near the top too, so I can tick it off with grateful thanks to Andrew and the Royston Choral Society for allowing me to do it again.

Two months after that 2015 performance, Sarah died, and ‘Wie Lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen’ was among the music I chose for her funeral service.