The organist librarian

On Wednesday back to Philharmonia Chorus after a gap since the Verdi Requiem to rehearse Beethoven's "Fidelio" at Hinde St Methodist church with Martin Merry of ENO. I was unable to sing at King's Cambridge as the concert fell on Easter Vigil but heard the excellent broadcast on Easter Monday (Light of Life and Sursum Corda by Elgar, Vaughan Williams 5 mystical songs). It is 28 years since the chorus first sang on stage in Fidelio in Orange. It was an amazing experience. Zubin Mehta conducted the Israel Philharmonic with Gundula Jamowitz and Jon Vickers. I have a video of the rehearsals with the chorus trying to march! The feeling of liberation was fantastic after being cooped under the stage in the heat. At one rehearsal we sang every verse of Ilkley Moor ba tat as we waited. Professionals would never have stood for it! At another both cameras ran out of film. Seeing the film of the performance 10 years later was sad as several friends had passed on. The coach had a ...

The singing this morning at St Andrew's was pleasing. We chanted Psalm 27, sang Martin Shaw's setting for 3 voices and Attwood's lovely "Turn Thy face from my sins". After a delightful lunch at Louise and Tom's, we went to the organ recital at Our Lady of Grace and St Edmund, Chiswick, which is a lovely church on the main road. David Scott introduced an excellent programme of Bach, Buxtehude, Byrd and Albinoni. The organ has an impressive Continental sound ideal for Buxtehude and he played very well. There was an appreciative and large audience which is unusual these days for an organ recital. We introduced ourselves to David and explained that the wedding will take place there in August and he knows St John's, Upper Norwood and its fine organ! We were sitting with SSG member Andrew Lubienski, organist at Shepherds Bush RC and he kindly invited us home for tea where we met his wife Louise. We listened to some of a Chiswick choir recording of Gerontius whic...