Author: K O'Neill

I am a classical music enthusiast and a lover of choral music in particular. I run the Polyphony Down the Pub social/singing night, probably the most thrilling singing-Renaissance-motets-in-the-backroom-of-a-pub experience you could ever hope to have.

You’ve converted me

And I didn’t see it coming.

As you may have guessed from the title of last week’s PDtP, I’ve never been a huge fan of English madrigals.

In fact, for me they were a necessary evil – after all, you can’t really do a survey of Renaissance repertoire without them – rather than music that anyone would actually sing willingly. (Not sure why I have such a strong dislike; maybe I’m allergic to nonsense lyrics.)

However, following our session, I’ve seen the light; it’s clear there are at least 13 of them that are actually damn good, and some of them even approach the exquisiteness of form and expression that is more often found in our sacred repertoire.

This is all down to the commitment and verve that you demonstrated in busking through them, so much so that it ended up being one of the best sessions we’ve had.

As always, I’ll let some of those who were there sum it up:

(That’s all right, Alex; we won’t tell anyone.)

https://twitter.com/eteinvincible/status/732282707657428992

And once again, my favourite part of the evening was the ‘after-hours’ session, when we revisited the best pieces as a much smaller group.

https://twitter.com/NickWebbBass/status/732316535646265344

Thanks again to all who came – and for showing me that there is such a thing as a good madrigal. (You just have to search hard for it.)

Next session is tentatively scheduled for June 13th; will confirm later this week and post the booking link at the same time.

I’m also hoping to make a special Counterpint announcement in the next day or so, so keep an eye out.

Cheers

Kevin

 

 

 

Is it possible to overdose on twee?

If so, I’ve come dangerously close over the past few weeks, wading through scores and scores of English madrigals, picking out the very best (or the least sickly sweet) for our session next week.

Before we get on to the links to the music, though, I should just remind everyone that we are fully booked for next Monday.

If you’ve registered but are now unsure as to whether or not you’ll definitely be able to make it, please cancel your booking ASAP but definitely no later than Sunday evening – cancelling on the day doesn’t leave us enough time to fill the gap and it’s not fair to the people on the waiting list.

Please don’t send an e-mail – just cancel via the Log in link under Your Account in the confirmation e-mail you received when you booked:

Your account.jpg.png

OK, with that out of the way, you’ll find the links to the scores in the usual place.

There’s a mix of well-known numbers, some of which we’ve sung before, and a few lesser-known gems that I hope you’ll enjoy busking through.

That’s it – looking forward to seeing many of you on Monday.

Cheers

Kevin

 

3 updates for the price of 1

There’s been a lot going on with PDtP/CP in the past couple of weeks, so much so that we haven’t had a chance to get in touch with you – so here’s a review of our last couple of sessions plus a heads-up  on the next one.

Counterpint April 21st, the Punch Tavern

We we enjoyed a great night at the Punch for another Counterpint, despite the fact that we had competition on the raucousness front…

This didn’t stop us from getting stuck in in our usual fashion – a few top Bach chorales to get us going and then a dive into the treasures of the Renaissance. And bowls of chips.

It was a fantastic atmosphere on the night, helped no doubt by a good split between regulars and new faces. Thanks again to all who came and we hope to be back at the Punch soon.

Polyphony Down the Pub at Travelling Through, April 25th

As the Horse and Stables were booked up, we had the chance to try out a new venue: the cafe of the excellent Travelling Through bookshop on Lower Marsh.

Once again, we defied probability to come up with a great night of singing. Owing to the smaller space, we had fewer voices than usual but that only seemed to add to the magic of the experience.

Highlights for me were the gorgeous 7 part Ego flos campi by Clemens non Papa and the final run-through of Handl’s Ecce quomodo moritur justus, though there were many more besides.

All in all, it was a great evening and Travelling Through are keen to have us back so watch this space for future announcements.

Next PDtP session

I can finally confirm May’s PDtP details: Monday May 16th, back at the Horse & Stables. It will be madrigal-themed (lawks!), but I hope it’ll be largely bearable.

I’m sure there’ll be room for everyone who wants to come but just to give everyone a fair chance, booking goes live via this page at 8pm on Monday May 2nd.

(Also hope to announce a May CP session soon…)

That’s it for now – thanks again to everyone who came along to our April sessions and hope to see you soon.

Cheers

Kevin

Counterpint April 21st update

As a heads-up, we’ve had a couple of cancellations for Thursday’s Counterpint at the Punch so there are still places available for all voices.

I was hoping to share with you today the sheet music but this morning I opened my laptop to find it simply doesn’t work any more, which means it will be tomorrow or Tuesday before I manage to pull it all together again via a functioning machine.

Rest assured, though, that it will be the usual top quality that you’ve come to expect, something to which ASUS computers might like to aspire in future.

Cheers

Kevin

Extra places at Counterpint April 21st

Although the first lot of spaces at Counterpint at the Punch on April 21st are now fully booked, we’re releasing 2 more places for each voice group at 9 a.m. this Saturday, April 16th; once these spaces go, we’ll open a waiting list in case of any late cancellations.

Also, we’ve had a soprano cancellation for PDtP on April 25th; the first soprano to drop me a message via the comments box below can have it, though note that the session starts at 6.30 p.m. and we can’t accommodate late arrivals on this occasion.

Cheers

Kevin