Author: K O'Neill

Monday’s 2nd birthday party was just too good for words but I’m going to give it a go! (As usual I’ll be getting a little help from our resident tweeters.)

https://twitter.com/BassooningVicar/status/788084417952702468

Having enjoyed some uncustomarily subtle singing of the warm-up Bach chorales (BWV 245.11 was given a particularly sensitive reading), it was down to business with the truly old stuff, starting with the Morales Regina caeli a 4 and a chromatically crunchy Vox in Rama by Zielenski.

During the break, I was presented with a marvellous birthday surprise – cupcakes baked by PDtP stalwart Dot Fraser! (By the way, if you are not going to Dot’s for all your music needs then you need to correct this. And Dot, you need to start a sideline in baked goods.)

Part 2 of the evening gave us Guerrero‘s Alma redemptoris mater and Gesulado‘s Sancti spiritus, Domine (yikes) before we started larging it with Clemens non Papa‘s 7 part bubble bath of a motet Ego flos campi.

https://twitter.com/NickWebbBass/status/788101796568961026

We finished up the section with a bona fide double-choir stunner, Palestrina‘s Laudate Dominum. (Apologies to Choir II for the stern words re: tempo but you know I only ever have your best interests at heart.)

Happily, the relatively simple harmonic structure meant that even after 3 or 4 glasses of wine you couldn’t really go wrong.

The final section of the evening started with perhaps the only duff number of the night, Byrd‘s O sacrum convivium.

While it’s fair to say that many of you voted for it simply because you wanted to see Byrd on the setlist, nonetheless the episode is currently tied with Donald Trump’s selection as Republican presidential candidate for 1st place in the List of Reasons Why Democracy Doesn’t Always Work.

The mood lifted with the glorious tweefest that is Morley‘s I love, alas, I love thee, one of the works that recently convinced me that some madrigals can indeed have a place in a civilised society.

And finally, in terms of real music we finished off with an incredible Victoria O magnum mysterium (I am very glad you voted for that!) and another fine bit of Palestrina, namely his Pueri Hebraeorum.

Once the proper stuff was done and dusted, there was one final piece of singing to round off the main event; the collective look of pain on all your faces really says it all:

(If you’re really lucky, you might get Bach’s recently rediscovered setting of Frosty the Snowman at our Christmas session…)

After the delicious cakes were distributed, we enjoyed a brief ‘after hours’ session in which we revisited some of the evening’s hits.

Even with reduced numbers, we still somehow managed to do full justice to the multi-voice Ego flos campi and Laudate Dominum, and topped it all off with one last O magnum mysterium which ended up being one of the finest pieces of singing I think we’ve ever enjoyed.

My thanks to all 68 of you who came, whether old-timers or newbies, as you made it such a great celebration.

One last thought. 2 years ago, I tweeted this in jest after our very first session:

And yet, look where we are today: PDtP and Counterpint are going stronger than ever, not just in London but in other parts of the UK, and there are other groups of singers in pubs popping up all over the place!

I’m very glad that it is an idea that has taken off and I hope that we’ll all be singing and boozing and laughing for a long time to come yet!*

Cheers

Kevin

*As long as it doesn’t involve that Byrd.

The people have spoken and we now have our set-list for Monday’s Birthday Bonanza.

I must admit to some surprise at a couple of the selections, but at least Peñalosa didn’t make it through. (Poor Peñalosa; his Ave verum has in fact made it on to tonight’s Counterpint runners-up set-list.)

Many thanks to all of you who took the time to vote; here now are the fruits of your labours:

Byrd: O sacrum convivium

Clemens non Papa: Ego flos campi

Gesualdo: Sancti spritus, Domine*

Guerrero: Alma redemptoris mater

Morales: Regina caeli a 4

Morley: I love alas I love thee

Palestrina: Laudate Dominum a 8

Palestrina: Pueri Hebraeorum

Victoria: O magnum mysterium

Zieleński: Vox in Rama

There’ll be the usual warm-up Bach chorales as well, so all in all it should be a great evening.

If you’ve signed up then you should have received an e-mail with the links to the scores. If you missed out on signing up, there’re still one or two places left at tonight’s Counterpint in the Cafe.

Cheers

Kevin

*The Gesualdo was tied with Croce‘s O sacrum convivium so the judges went with the work that’s likely to be more fun to sing under the influence.

…to have your say on what we should be singing at next Monday’s Birthday Bonanza; polls close at 10pm tonight. If you’re booked for the session, you’ll be getting an e-mail with the links to the scores on Friday afternoon.

(A couple of soprano spaces have come up for the night so if you want one of them, drop me a line via the comments box below and I’ll assign them in order of receipt.)

There are still places left at Friday’s Counterpint in the Cafe, in which we’ll be singing some of the works that don’t get picked for Monday – think of it as a warm-up to the main event!

Cheers

Kevin

Poll No. 10 of the PDtP 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list vote. (You can still vote in previous polls by clicking here.)

Have a listen to these 4 classic works that are long-standing favourites with choirs everywhere, then vote on which one of them you’d like to see in the line-up on October 17th. (The poll can be found beneath the 4th video.)

Byrd‘s back, this time with his Ave verum. Perfection in 4 part harmony.

Palestrina‘s Sicut cervus with the added bonus of its second part, Sitivit anima mea; how can you say no?

Victoria‘s unquestionable masterpiece O magnum mysterium.

Tallis (where has he been?!?) and his sublime If ye love me.

Which one will it be? ‘It’s going to be, um, vanilla’, thought the hippos.

(Poll will remain open until 10pm on Wednesday October 12th. Anyone can vote, even if you’re not coming to the session)

Poll No. 9 of the PDtP 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list vote. (You can still vote in previous polls by clicking here.)

Have a listen to these 4 works that we first sang in our most recent session in September 2016, then vote on which one of them you’d like to see in the line-up on October 17th. (The poll can be found beneath the 4th video.)

Should we call him Gallus or Handl? Who cares, when his Jesu dulcis memoria is as good as this?

But why has it taken so long for Byrd to appear in the polls? Here’s his O sacrum convivium.

Fellow Englishman Tye is also in the running with Laudate nomen domini.

Finally, Verdelot makes a reappearance with his ice-creamtastic madrigal O dolce nocte.

Which one will get through your collective taste barrier? Only time will tell…

(Poll will remain open until 10pm on Wednesday October 12th. Anyone can vote, even if you’re not coming to the session.)

Thanks to all who have been voting on our 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list.

At Friday’s Counterpint in the Cafe session, we’ll be singing some of the works that don’t make the final cut – though they’ll still be top-notch material, without a doubt.

The lovely team at Travelling Through have kindly agreed to extend the arrival time to 7pm, so book yourself a space here. (More alto spaces will be available from 5pm on Monday.)

Cheers

Kevin

Poll No. 8 of the PDtP 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list vote. (You can still vote in previous polls by clicking here.)

Have a listen to these 4 works that we first sang in our European special in July 2016, then vote on which one you’d like to see in the line-up on October 17th. (The poll can be found beneath the 4th video.)

Let’s go Dutch with Sweelinck‘s Viri Galilaei.

To be fair, Zieleński‘s Vox in Rama is also a strong contender for your vote.

Hang on, though; what about the clever canon in Mouton‘s Salva nos, Domine?

Then again, if we don’t sing Pedersøn‘s Kyrie from his Missa quinque vocum then who will?

Which one? It’s just so awfully difficult, isn’t it?

(Poll will remain open until 10pm on Wednesday October 12th. Anyone can vote, even if you’re not coming to the session.)

Poll No. 7 of the PDtP 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list vote. (You can still vote in previous polls by clicking here.)

Have a listen to these 4 works that we first sang back in May 2016, then vote on which one you’d like to see in the line-up on October 17th. (The poll can be found beneath the 4th video.)

Verdelot. He should be better known, judging by his Beata es virgo, Maria.

By contrast, Lassus is of course very well known but we don’t sing enough of him. You can rectify this by choosing his Laetentur caeli. 

Here comes Palestrina again, the old rascal! You gotta love his Pueri Hebraeorum (even when we sing it down a fourth)!

And, as always, Victoria is hot on his heels, this time with Gaude, Maria virgo.

Which one will get through? You must decide. You simply must.

(Poll will remain open until 10pm on Wednesday October 12th. Anyone can vote, even if you’re not coming to the session.)

I suspect they’ll go fast so get ready to book your space via this link.

However, if you do miss out or if you can’t make the 17th, you’ll be able to book for Counterpint in the Café on October 14th from 9am tomorrow.

Cheers

Kevin

Poll No. 6 of the PDtP 2nd Birthday Bonanza set-list vote. (You can still vote in previous polls by clicking here.)

Have a listen to these 4 works that first crash-landed onto the PDtP scene in our madrigal special in May 2016, then vote on which one you’d like to see in the line-up on October 17th. (The poll can be found beneath the 4th video.)

Will we find Pilkington‘s Have I found her? on the list?

Or how about the bittersweetness of Morley‘s O grief, e’en on the bud?

Then again, I have a strong feeling it will be Wilbye. Or will it be? Wilbye, I mean. Here’s Adieu, sweet Amaryllis.

Morley? Again? Well, he is pretty darn good, as may be heard from his I love, alas, I love thee.

Which one will it be? Do you care enough to cast a vote? Well, do you?

(Poll will remain open until 10pm on Wednesday October 12th. Anyone can vote, even if you’re not coming to the session.)