h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We're singing the Verdi Requiem on Sunday night, in the National Concert Hall, Dublin. It's almost sold out at this stage with only 48 seats left to sell. 27 of those, the very front row, only went on sale last night.

The Requiem is a massive work with a huge orchestra. Although officially a "mass for the dead", it is more like an opera than a mass - Verdi was agnostic. There are about 130 of us in the choir and we're rearing to go. It'll be a great night.

Best Wishes Gnomon - it's an absolutely wonderful masterpiece - do it justice.

Scorp x

These days, I can't hear Verdi's Requiem or Carmina Burana without thinking of the X-Factor!

Good luck with it!

Friday 15th May 2009 19.50

Dear Gnoman,

I think you have sung an important musical work every single year since I have known you - i.e. about eight years. !!

Des the choir you sing for sing a different work every year or do you repeat works you have already sung? What "voice " do you have - bass, tenor or what? Do you hav any redordings? It would be great to be able to buy one and hear your choir singing.

the best of luck with this work. I hope that you have a wonderful audience with ALL the tickets being sold.


with best wishes that you will all be in "good voice",

Christiane,
Ar80

We sing Handel's Messiah every year at Christmas in aid of charity. So far we have raised about 150,000 pounds for charity. In our "Spring" concert, we try to do a different work every year, but occasionally repeat. We did the Verdi Requiem last in 1999.

Saturday 16th May 2009 6.50

Thank you Gnoman for your reply.

Why don't you do a list of all the choral works in which you have sung? You still do not tell me whether you are a bass, tenor or whatever the other male voice is called contra-something I think.

It would be really interesting. You must have a wonderfully innovative conductor for your choir. Or are they called a choir master/mistress. I do not know. I have never sung in a choir. Not because I did not want to, but there appeared to be none around. Or perhaps it was because every spare minute I had I was either practising the piano, 'cello or swimming the miles I had to swim. Life was very very busy. !

AlsoRan80 - 81 next Saturday - Oh my goodness - and still kicking. !!

I sang as tenor for 19 years, but then I found it became a strain to reach the high notes. So for the last four years I have been a bass. I'm what's called a 1st Bass, because I'm at the higher end of the bass range. Counter-tenors are very rare; there is not normally a counter-tenor section in an amateur choir - that part would be given to the women to sing. There's always more than enough women, as far more women sing than men.

I haven't got a list of everything we have sung sing I joined the choir in 1986, but I could probably make one up.

Saturday 16th May 2009 14.30

Dear Gnoman

Thank you for letting me know that you are a first Bass.!

You need not bother to make up a long list of operas/oratorios or what have you that you have sung in. I just wish I could attend one of your concerts in person. !! It must give you a lot of joy.

How are les filles? They are both musical as well.And how is their French?

I have been having fun going through GB wonderful photo ciollection of the meet. I would never have survived the afternoon./eveninhg It is all I can do to get around my flat. !!

Still I was incredibly lucky that Hypatia came to visit me. And that yesterday I was taken to a most perfectly wonderful garden by my carer, who has disappeared into thin air today after I had given him a loan. !!(This was a volunteer carer!!)

Oh dear. Will I ever learn?

Have a good weekend.

Christiane
AlsoRan80

Oh, Christiane, I hope he turns up with an apology. You are too generous and kind by half.

Websailor

Saturday 16th May 2009 2009 18.50

Hi WS ,

Thanks so much. I also hopes he turns up. He seemed such a nice guy, Perhaps something has happened to him. He is off to do a course next week and his son is supposed to be coming in to wheel me around as it really does make a big difference to be able to get out in this really beautiful little town.

So one can but hope.

go well,

Christiane
AR80

Well, the Verdi Requiem went well. A former conductor of our choir was in the audience and he thought it sounded amazing - he's someone whose opinion I would trust. There were the usual few dodgy bits that you get in any amateur choir production, although the worst moments were the direct fault of one of the (professional) soloists.

We had a choir of about 140 and a 58-piece orchestra. This was probably slightly imbalanced - we should have had an 80-piece orchestra, with more strings, but we had to strip it down to the bare minimum to reduce cost. This unfortunately means that the strings get reduced. Five cellos playing the same note are cheaper than eight cellos. On the other hand, eight trumpets playing eight different notes can't be reduced to less than that, so the brass and woodwind sections stayed at full numbers. To match an 80-piece orchestra, we'd need a choir of 140 semi-professional singers capable of producing the volume to match the orchestra, or a choir of 250 amateurs like us, which would mean we'd need a bigger venue to cover the costs. I think we settled for a good compromise.

Between the very loud singing and the pints consumed afterwards, I haven't got much voice left.

Monday 18th May 2009 10.10

Dear Gnoman,

It was really inconsiderate of Verdi to give eight trumpets each a different note to "blow" yet give the same note to the string ('Cello) section.!!

I must admit that whoever was being sent off with this Requiem had a good "blast off".

I am amazed that everyone is paid. for professional orchestras I can understand it. But for amateur orchestras it is strange or perhaps it is not. I would have thought it would have been a great honour to play in an orchestra when one was not a professional.

Anyway, you all seemed to have had a great time and gave a lot of people great pleasure. Do you only give one performance?

So what is the next work that you are going to perform?

With all good wishes,

Christiane
AR80

The choir is amateur, but the orchestra is professional. There would not be an amateur orchestra in Ireland capable of playing the Requiem.

We're finished for the summer now. In the autumn, we'll start rehearsing Christmas Carols and Messiah, for our December shows. These are our money makers - the carols for ourselves, and Messiah for charity. I believe we've made about £150,000 for charity over the last 20 years or so by singing Messiah.

Next spring, we'll do another big work. We don't know yet what it will be, but it could be the Monteverdi Vespers.

Speaking as one of the audience, it was a really great concert! The choir and orchestra had a truly powerful sound in all the loud parts, and the work was very affecting in the quieter sections. Altogether a great success.

Azara

18th May 2009 13.50

Dear Azara,

I am sure that it was!! But you know your brother better than anyone - he is such a perfctionist. !

Are you not playing any more.?

Nice to hear fromm you. I can no longer go to live concerts. I used to love both the Barbican and the Festival Hall.

And I find there are practically no concerts being broadcast on either TV or on the radio.


With kind regards

~Christiane
AR80

Dear Gnoman,

Gosh, you are all very ambitious. ! What lovely music to look forward to. How long is one able to sing in a choir.?

Are the girls singing as well?


It was good to hear from Azara.

Must

I want to hear what the speaker has to say and then watch Chelsea Flower show. !!

Kind regards

Christiane
Ar80