There was an interesting interview today with Alexander Armstrong talking about his time at Trinity and especially the work of the great, and much missed, Richard Marlow as a director and arranger. AA's enthusiasm for singing in a choir which attempts the highest standards, and the satisfaction obtained, was infectious. A good ambassador for the cause. The strangest fact to come out of the interview with S M-P was that Bach wrote the tune to 'Christians Awake'. John Wainwright would be well flattered.
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Must have a listen. The Choir is so patchy these days it's easy to miss the worthwhile bits! -
Christians Awake, Sleepers Wake - it's all the same on a sleepy Sunday afternoon!Bach wrote the tune to 'Christians Awake'.Comment
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I find SM-P#s relentless bossiness - that AA interview showed it well - and her non-stop trails, reminders of the programme we're listening to, and the sheer formulaic nature of the prog. And the intros by singers in 'my choir' feature are pretty well word for word the same every week.
AND, how about this, 'my choral classic' = Hymn to St Ceciilia by Britten /The Sixteen / Christophers. And blow me down if not an hour later exactly the same piece sung by exactly the same team.
Erm.............right and left hand at the Beeb?Comment
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And why the insistence on playing the opening chorale from the Bach cantata instead of the part AA actually wanted and spoke about?
I don't really understand what the point of the programme is, other than to fill in a time slot with minimal effort. A missed opportunity to learn about things choral at home and around the world and through history, and gain insights into performing practice, comparison of different approaches and styles to the same work, choral composers(do you need to be a singer to write for the voice?).There have been some interesting programmes on TV, so why not on 'the home of classical music'(aargh)Comment
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was Mr Armstrong promoting his new CD? The TV advert frequently appears.Comment
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Yet we heard nothing of it - so why in fact was he on at all? Just because he once sang with Trinity Camb., and is [apparently] a 'name'? ???Comment
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He's a 'name' in another context, so the fact that he's come out as a singer means his CD of solo items will get lots of publicity. This piece was about his background as a choral singer, which seems fair enough for this programme.Comment
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Probably mercs although he wasn't OTT about it. I enjoyed the interview and learned a lot about choral students having, shamefully, previously known nothing ..... As someone has said not playing the portion of Bach he was so enthused about was crass. I have listened to the CD and IMVVHO he has a fair voice and is brave enough to include 2 songs from our homeland. It also includes In The Bleak Midwinter so you can give it as a Christmas present mercs .....Originally posted by mercia View PostComment
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