CE St Mary's Collegiate Church, Warwick Wed, 7th June 2017

[mw963]

I've had a couple of takers for the Salisbury Girls recording; I assume there's no other interest and I shall therefore take it down shortly. However, if anyone wants it it'll still be there for the next twenty-four hours, and if for any reason you don't want to contact me personally you can I'm sure drop dear ardcarp a PM, as he has details of the recording's whereabouts on the internet.

But what a plunge into the archives - I'm just listening to St John's Christopher Robinson Advent 1995, hanging on (just) on digital Sony F1 PCM video-tape. Which probably doesn't mean much to the non-technical, but the Sony F1 PCM system was used by the BBC from c 1985 - c 1990, along with BT vision links, to bring virtually every broadcast Evensong from the OB site back to London Control Room.

[jonfan]

Apparently if you put info into a computer for an ideal design of a car the result will be the same everytime. What a good job that doesn't apply to top lines of choirs, boys and/or girls. It's so hard to put into words the difference between girls and boys voices that even the experts on this board struggle. What we should celebrate is the tremendous quality we are treated to and the diversity of approach. Maybe the age of the singers has a bearing? I took a tape of the March 1993 Salisbury broadcast and the immediate impact was the energetic youth of the sound, featured most noticeably in the opening carol and the Lindley Ave Maria near the end. St Davids' sound, with an age range 8 to 18, could be an Oxbridge college. I joined the sponsorship scheme to support Richard Seal's initiative straight away; where they pioneered others have keenly followed. (Surely this service should be on an archive outing in the near future please BBC.)Recently we've heard girls from Truro, Warwick and St Davids - all superb and all fantastically different.