Today was our last Three Choirs Festival concert before we head back to London Heathrow and on to the next part of our journey. We heard a huge contingent from the Sydney Philharmonic Choirs, about 150 people out of an organization of 2,000 singers! There were many familiar pieces, such as the opener, Hubert Parry’s… Read More Cathedral classics… plus!
Last night was our last evening concert for the Three Choirs Festival—an all-Mozart concert including the Requiem and the Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin and viola, K 364—a most unusual concerto. However, don’t get me wrong—there’s still one more nighttime concert left in the Festival but by that time we will be on… Read More Magnificent Mozart!
This morning we attended a lecture by Paul Hale, the consultant on the new organ at Gloucester Cathedral. Over 95% of the pipes are new, replacing a 1971 installation. At the beginning of his talk, he said we would be having a contest for anyone to win a free copy of his latest book, “The… Read More The new organ at Gloucester Cathedral
I admit that I wasn’t too excited to see that the Association of Anglican Musicians had programmed a hymn festival at 9:30 in the morning. At least for me, I generally don’t feel like singing that early in the morning. However, my skepticism turned to pure joy when I found out who was going to… Read More Robert McCormick, brilliant improvisateur
Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary Evensong to celebrate the founding of The American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival. Here’s what Rich Arenschieldt, chair of the American Friends, wrote: This year’s festival is a special one for the American Friends, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary. We are offering something never before done at Three… Read More 10th Anniversary Evensong
Maybe you’ve heard of this term before … and maybe not. Here’s what I found about this phenomenon called “musical chills” in a paper written by Emily Nusbaum and Paul Silva. Have you ever had the experience of listening to a favourite piece of music and suddenly you get a little spikey feeling running down… Read More Frisson
Yesterday was a huge day here at the Three Choirs Festival, starting with a Festival Eucharist in Worcester Cathedral where Charles Marie Widor’s Messe à deux chœurs & deux orgues was the communion setting—set for two choirs and two organs. After lunch we attended a concert by the Corvus Consort, then rushed off to Choral… Read More Saxophone Brunch and Saxophone Byrd!
Today is the last day of the Three Choirs Festival and we have only scratched the surface on the number of events that are presented. I didn’t want to give you the impression that the only events I wrote about are the only ones that happened — quite to the contrary! I just counted up… Read More Last days in Gloucester
Yesterday there was a rail strike which “derailed” our plans for getting from Edinburgh to Gloucester efficiently where the Three Choirs Festival is being held. Instead of a 5-3/4 hour journey we had to endure a 9 hour bus ride. I was trying to determine which was worse, a 9-hour plane ride or a 9-hour… Read More On the way to Gloucester
Last night I stayed up late, to take advantage of Priority Booking for reserving tickets for the Three Choirs Festival, billed as “the world’s finest choral music.” The booking office opened at 10:00 am in Gloucester, UK, which is 11:00 pm in Hawaii. I logged onto my computer at 10:55 pm and didn’t finish booking… Read More Three Choirs, here we come!