Choral Music at the Cathedral
Nov. 28th, 2008 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhythmaningLast weekend, I went to a concert by the Scottish Chamber Choir at St Gile’s Cathedral. A friend was singing in the choir.
I am not a huge fan of choral music, but I also like doing things that I wouldn’t normally do; and I wanted to see the cathedral as a functioning building rather than with the eyes of a tourist. I am also always telling myself that I should go to more classical concerts, because I always seem to enjoy them more than I expect. (Plus, I like listening to music I don’t know.)
It was also the fortieth anniversary of the Scottish Chamber Choir, and I enjoyed the last concert I saw them perform – in last year’s festival (in another cathedral – St Mary’s, in the West End) – and I reckon it is a good thing to support them. (Perhaps I have more of a community understanding than I thought.)
It was very cold walking to the Royal Mile; the sky was clear-black; stars were out.
Lit only by a few chandeliers, the cathedral was suitably moody. I found it rather beautiful. The concert was sparsely attended, which made me glad I had gone along to support the choir before they’d even started.
The first half had works by Bach (Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied and Schütz (Deutsches Magnificat and Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied), with an organ piece by Buxtehude (Praeludium in C) – the organ sounded really impressive: big music indeed.
I liked the music, although it didn’t necessarily grab me. It made me thoughtful and meditative.
The second half, though, really did grab me. First up was a premier by Kenneth Dempster - a setting of two poems: Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and Norman McCaig’s Autumn. (OK, I have no idea why the only version of the McCaig poem is on an finance website! The internet is a strange place). This was beautiful and powerful.
Then the choir sand Michael Tippett’s Five Negro Spirituals (from “A Child Of Our Time”). This worked really well – it was moving and marvellous.
All in all, I really enjoyed the concert – I was very glad I went. The combination of the cathedral setting and the contemplative music was excellent!
Edit: by the way, I find it interesting how, whilst I don't like reading poetry, the same writing either set to music or read to me can be very effective.
I am not a huge fan of choral music, but I also like doing things that I wouldn’t normally do; and I wanted to see the cathedral as a functioning building rather than with the eyes of a tourist. I am also always telling myself that I should go to more classical concerts, because I always seem to enjoy them more than I expect. (Plus, I like listening to music I don’t know.)
It was also the fortieth anniversary of the Scottish Chamber Choir, and I enjoyed the last concert I saw them perform – in last year’s festival (in another cathedral – St Mary’s, in the West End) – and I reckon it is a good thing to support them. (Perhaps I have more of a community understanding than I thought.)
It was very cold walking to the Royal Mile; the sky was clear-black; stars were out.
Lit only by a few chandeliers, the cathedral was suitably moody. I found it rather beautiful. The concert was sparsely attended, which made me glad I had gone along to support the choir before they’d even started.
The first half had works by Bach (Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied and Schütz (Deutsches Magnificat and Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied), with an organ piece by Buxtehude (Praeludium in C) – the organ sounded really impressive: big music indeed.
I liked the music, although it didn’t necessarily grab me. It made me thoughtful and meditative.
The second half, though, really did grab me. First up was a premier by Kenneth Dempster - a setting of two poems: Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and Norman McCaig’s Autumn. (OK, I have no idea why the only version of the McCaig poem is on an finance website! The internet is a strange place). This was beautiful and powerful.
Then the choir sand Michael Tippett’s Five Negro Spirituals (from “A Child Of Our Time”). This worked really well – it was moving and marvellous.
All in all, I really enjoyed the concert – I was very glad I went. The combination of the cathedral setting and the contemplative music was excellent!
Edit: by the way, I find it interesting how, whilst I don't like reading poetry, the same writing either set to music or read to me can be very effective.