2015-2023 and all the way to India
In February 2015 came one of the most ambitious overseas concert that I had been involved in - to Mumbai to give what were believed to be the first two performances in India of the Verdi Requiem. We stayed in a very nice hotel, the only problem being that most of the choir seemed to be accommodated in the top of the 17 floors; this meant that we had to allow about 15 minutes for us all to get to the ground floor because of the capacity of the lifts. The concerts (and rehearsals) took place in the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). In the 1960s some influential businessmen had persuaded the city authorities that if Mumbai was to become a major international centre, then the cultural side had to be taken into consideration. The city needed world class theatres and concert halls, but there was no space to build them. So the decision was taken to reclaim some land from the sea, and the NCPA was created. The acoustics of the concert hall were first class, but the stage was a bit cramped for a large choir.
The conductor for the concerts was Yuri Simonov, and in our first piano rehearsal he reduced the accompanist to tears. He was clear with the choir what he expected from us, and generally we did what he wanted. Singers very much rely on the accompanist, but as long as he or she keeps time and is recognisably close to the correct notes, we can survive. However Yuri was demanding perfection, and seemed more concerned about her playing the correct notes. He even insisted on her repeating a link passage where the choir were not singing. Eventually Gavin Carr stepped in and said he would take over from her. We all found it extremely embarrassing. When it came to rehearsing with the orchestra, he was just as critical of some of the players, and even the soloists. Eventually one of the players answered him back, which made the situation worse, but we made it to the end without too many casualties, and were making a good sound.
The Symphony Orchestra of India was founded in 2006 and was the only professional symphony orchestra in India. However only about a third of the players were from the subcontinent, the rest being freelancers from all round the globe, including Russia, South Korea, and the Netherlands. While not of the standard of the major European or American orchestras, they produced a fine sound, and we enjoyed performing with them.
Both concerts were sold out, and seemed to be major social events. While it is difficult to say what the demand for western classical music is in India, it would seem to be popular with the establishment. The miracle was that, in spite of the dire warnings about the perils of Indian food, the entire choir made it to both concerts, though there were one or two near misses. I suppose nobody wanted to go all the way to Mumbai and then be unable to take part. The Verdi Requiem is always a great piece to sing, but what made it special for me was the fact that most of the audience would have been hearing it live for the first time.
After the concerts were over, a group of us set off to visit, among other places, Delhi, the Taj Mahal and Shimla, reached by a spectacular mountain railway. But that is another story.
We obviously acquitted ourselves well, as we were invited back in 2018 to give two more concerts. The trip got off to quite a dramatic start as, though it was March 1st, there were heavy snow falls. I gave myself an extra two hours to make the train journey to Heathrow, but the coaches bringing the singers from Bournemouth only just got there before the whole of the area was gridlocked. One or two singers did not make it, but luckily the airport was not snowed in, and we got away without too much delay. This time our accommodation in Mumbai was the luxurious Trident Hotel, which had been one of the hotels targeted by a terrorist attack in 2008; there was a memorial in it in memory of the victims. It had the advantage of being within walking distance of the NCPA where we were performing again.
The concerts were part of a Spring series that was reasonably ambitious in its programming, though the most recent composer was Richard Strauss. His Alpine Symphony is not particularly well known and was programmed with Mahler. Our first concert was Beethoven (including the Choral Fantasy) and Haydn's Nelson Mass, conducted by Gavin Carr. And we rounded off the season with Messiah, conducted by Zane Dalal.
The final concert on the tour was on a rather different scale, in the grounds of a hotel in Jaipur. Before this, the official choir tour included a visit to the Taj Mahal, and while I would not have objected to seeing it again, it also seemed like an opportunity to experience a different part of India, so a few of us instead arranged for two nights in Jodhpur. We stayed in a fascinating small hotel that dated from the colonial era, just outside the old city walls, and visited the famous fort. This is renowned not just for its scenic aspect and historical associations, but also it is ideal for dramatic Bollywood epics - our guides had to explain what was genuine and what had been put in place for the latest blockbuster.
The next day we joined up again with the rest of the choir in by far and away the most luxurious hotel I had ever stayed in. It had been the former residence of the Maharajah who owned the hotel where we were giving our concert, and a special rate had been negotiated for us. The rooms were huge, the food was exceptional, and there was a serious danger of getting lost when trying to find the next rehearsal room or eating place. The only problem was that it took about an hour to reach along narrow unmade roads once you had left the main highways.
The Maharajah himself attended the concert and seemed very appreciative. The total attendance was about 60, including the small boys and monkeys that watched intermittently from the wall behind us. I can't remember very much of what we sang, apart from Blest pair of Sirens and You'll never walk alone.
For a number of years the composer Richard Blackford has been President of the Chorus, and they have been active in promoting his music. In 2019 they commissioned Pieta, a setting of the Stabat Mater with additional poems by the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. I had enjoyed his music and asked if I could be involved in its world premiere. This took place in the summer of 2019 in Poole, followed by a recording. I really got to like the piece. It is a great shame that Richard's music is not better known. It is accessible without being compromising, and whenever I have performed or listened to his music in concert it has always been well received.
In October 2022 there was another opportunity to sing Mahler 8. This time it was in a more traditional venue - the Royal Albert Hall. The Chorus joined up with the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral Society and the Wayneflete Singers plus the Bournemouth Symphony Youth Choir, a total of around 400 singers; there was a distinguished array of soloists, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Vassily Petrenko. It was quite a hectic weekend, with rehearsals in Woolwich on the Friday and Saturday, and a run through in the Hall on the Sunday before the 3pm start.
The concert was very well received, though I wasn't always sure what was happening. I was only a few feet away from the organ. It makes an impressive sound when you are sitting at the back of the stalls; when you are so close it can knock you sideways, and for the first few minutes I felt disorientated. I had been concerned beforehand because we had to be in our places half an our before the start, and we weren't allowed to bring any water with us. But as the performance went on I soon felt quite comfortable and was fine at the end.
Though this was, I think, the 5th time I had performed the work, it felt different (maybe more authentic) having such a large body of singers. This was especially true in the closing pages where the choir comes in ppp. The instruction was for everybody to sing as softly as possible, apart from us 3rd basses who start the passage on bottom E flat, who were to sing as loudly as possible. I wish I could have heard what it sounded like elsewhere, because between us we were making plenty of noise, even when it got as low as B flat (though I had dropped out by then). I'm sure it must have sounded impressive, more so than the fff top Gs a few pages later, when fortunately there was plenty of brass to cover us.
The last concert I sang with the Chorus was in July 2023 in Salisbury Cathedral, where we joined up with an American choir to perform Pieta and Hadyn's Nelson Mass. It was a tiring day with morning and afternoon rehearsals as well as the concert, not to mention an early start and late home, but I really enjoyed the day, and the thrill of the performance outweighed the tiredness I felt afterwards. But I wonder if that might be the last time I sing with them. I can't go into these concerts under-prepared, and rehearsals in Poole involve two hours driving in each direction. I have always been made very welcome, and Caroline Date and Gavin Carr have always gone out of their way to thank me for "helping them out". But as I approach my 80th birthday, it is unreasonable to expect them to allow me to sing without being re-auditioned.
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