PDtP: Manchester’s clearly mad for it!

Quite incredible, really. Less than 3 weeks ago, I had no idea that I’d soon be writing the review of our very first Manchester Polyphony Down the Pub.

It all came about after I heard the Halle Choir and Manchester Chamber Choir join forces to sing the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with the BBC Philharmonic at the Proms (if you’re quick you can still catch the performance on iPlayer). The singing was so impressive, I just knew we had to try out a Manchester PDtP.

Despite having almost no time to pull it together, we managed to set up a session for around 40 singers, thanks to the efforts of our obliging hosts at Odd Bar and the social media wizardry of Alice from the Manchester Chamber Choir.

And what a night it was! Clearly, the Manchester singing talent is not restricted to the Halle and Chamber Choir folks. Just about every piece we sang worked from the very first run-through, not just in terms of accuracy but also in phrasing, dynamics and communication between singers.

Difficult to pick out highlights from an evening of such brilliant music-making but I have to mention the canonic sauciness of Allegez moy (very appropriate considering the pole-dancing that was going on opposite the pub!), the stunning double-choir Alma Redemptoris Mater (both ways were equally amazing) and the bonus Ne irascaris, Domine, which was only on the setlist by accident but ended up being the perfect way to close the evening.

A return visit is definitely on the cards so keep an eye out for updates. In the meantime, thanks again to all who came and made it such a great evening.

Cheers

Kevin

PS Hope to fit in at least one more tour venue before the summer is out…