Rehearsing Benjamin Britten's "Rejoice in the Lamb" for a concert

William Sterndale Bennett's "God is a Spirit", from The Woman of Samaria. The Sterndale Singers rehearsal for a concert to celebrate the composer's bi-centenary in March 2016

Christmas music recorded by the choir at St. Marie's Cathedral Church in December 2020 during covid lockdown

The choir recorded Monteverdi's "Cantate Domino" during covid lockdown  in 2020

Choral music is so much more than just the music... 

For those who are musically inclined you will probably know this but for those that don't, what do we mean by "so much more than..."? 

The acoustics of different buildings and how music, especially choral music, is written to take advantage of the buildings' acoustics is a key part of performance. This was never more clearly illustrated than in a tour in France several years ago where multiple venues were booked and we sang some identical repertoire in each. The net effect... same music, totally different result. 

In the privately owned abbey with lofty acoustics the notes lingered and the effect was magical as the structure of the music did what it was meant to do. Two days later in a community centre the music was flat and all of the magic was gone. The only difference was the structure of the building....

So as a choir interested in great performances we love to go to different venues and try out their acoustics but obviously we have our favourites.

Different venues, different acoustics

Cavernous acoustics - The choir beginning to gather for a concert in France