Tuesday 29 November 2011

Christmas Cheer

Our Christmas album, including the newly-published, A Festival of Carols in Two Minutes, is newly available for digital download....

Hooray!

Luton Music Club

Lovely evening on the Thameslink line! [Home by 11.43 !]

NEWS FLASH! :- choralstore.com have our newly-published Xmas arrangement, as their work of the week... look here

Luton Music Club are a thriving club meeting on Mondays at Luton's Library Theatre; and we had a great time; beginning in the 12th century with Hildegard of Bingen (Ave generosa); and ending with Billy Joel's Goodnight, My Angel.... and much inbetween - Byrd 4-part Mass, Lambeth Walk etc.!

Our old friend, Richard Sisson [Widow of Kit and the Widow] came, as he is a longtime supporter of the Club, and it was great to see him... and congratulate him on his part in the Comedy Prom! He said he enjoyed himself...

We have a Captain Beaky dance (hah!) rehearsal at the RAH tomorrow morning... so night night!

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Sheet music download

Our Festival of Carols in Two Minutes is available for download NOW from choralstore.com
- Hooray!
[Some may know the arrangement as 'Carol']

First of many we hope... we are truly published by Edition Peters...

Altogether now....

"Once in... a manger... one silent night......"

Sunday 20 November 2011

Ah, Vienna

A lovely day and night in Vienna...
We visited the Theatre am Spittelberg, where we will be performing in the Summer next year (great to see it), and it was good to be in the city without it being below freezing!

Voicemania audience were as splendid as ever, and we had a glorious evening... and made sure that they know how to make a cup of tea... [German words by our old friend Rainer Wallraf, with national anthem as tune]...

We were also afforded the pleasure of watching Vocal Tempo, a cuban a cappella group, who won the second series of Spanish X Factor (Factor X !) - they were brilliant! Their instrumental impressions were excellent, and of course... rhythm - perfeccione!

We reminded the good people of the Vienna Cricket Club - oh yes, there is one - and talked of the game and sang our Ins and Outs - Cricket Tea Towel to them... it must have worked, we sold many CDs...

Steve then rushed off to see his wife sing with John Malkovich in New York, as you do!

Thursday 17 November 2011

Voicemania in Vienna

A rare treat - out here a day early so we were able to catch a bit of tonight's Voicemania gig... and we saw the UK group - The Boxettes... very fine; and with the World female beatbox champion, Bellatrix herself, in their midst. The group started at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2007... great to hear them.
Earlyness also allows us to see more of this fair city than we usually do...
Exploration tomorrow, after a good night's sleep.

Might also rehearse for our parts of Captain Beaky at RAH in December, and our Bridewell shows...
Later, we share our gig with Cuban group, Vocal Tempo - groovy!

Night night

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Golden Bridge Awards

Sang tonight in Quaglino's at Green Park, central London, for the BLCC Golden Bridge awards, we know about these via the Anglo-Belgian Club - Thanks to Michel Vanhoonacker for inviting us (once again!). Good to have ex-Swingle, soprano (and Belgian) Ann de Renais introducing us...

Just three small bursts of us amidst much celebration of the strength of commerce between Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK. [BLCC = Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce].

Quaglino's - very splendid; food delightful, as one would expect... we were all surprised it only opened in 1993; the name feels as if it has been around longer than that!

A game of two halves for the audients; quite pathetic lack of joining in in the "rat da dat da dat" in Chanson d'amour, but rousing "OYs!" in The Lambeth Walk...

I know they are all going to go home and order their Xmas copies of Songs of Cricket...
...off to Vienna tomorrow.

Friday 4 November 2011

CH Recording #2 & Tim Rice bash

We had second successful day at Champs Hill, after a splendid meal and night there (none of us had been to bed so early for years!); Producer Alex served us well again, keeping us on the straight and narrow... & almost all the a cappella stuff is done... Hooray!
Mary & David are such good hosts; I think we may enjoy doing this again...

Then today, we were up bright and early for a sound check at the Dorchester Ballroom, Park Lane, in preparation for being Sir Tim Rice's backing group in our hit, 'Wanderin' Star'... (accompanied on the piano by Chris Hatt). We sang a grace and a couple of cricket songs too...
Lots of money was raised for the Lady Taverners charity in this lunch in celebration of Tim... many famous names gave messages by audio and video, as well as of course, many others being there in person. Rachael Heyhoe-Flint [newly ennobled], Judith Chalmers, a sea of Rices [Tim's two brothers did a great double act & Tim's children gave him a revealing and hilarious quiz (which he passed!)], Jack Rowell, Bella Emberg, Angela Rippon, Tony Lewis, Christopher Martin-Jenkins & Mike Gatting were all there... People were meant to be sardonic and funnily horrid, but TRice being such a nice chap, this never lasted long and all ended up saying what a great friend he is, and all-round jolly fellow!
I had forgotten how central to getting ladies admitted to the MCC he was - Rachael was very moving on the subject.-

Also on the musical bill, a quick recital of oscar-winning hits from Alan Menken (glorious); and duets and solos from Tim Rice & Friends, performed by Emma Munro-Wilson & Lewis Bradley, accompanied by Duncan Waugh.

Messages came from Elaine Page, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Sir John Major - and the lunch only overran by an hour and ten minutes!

Another life-enhancing event, celebrating a truly Great Britain...

Thursday 3 November 2011

Champs Hill Recording #1

Presently at Champs Hill, recording our next album... Songs of Love and War:- doing the a cappella stuff on this sojourn... we will add the tracks with Malcolm Martineau when the great man is free! [Early next year...]

Fantastic room to sing in, atmosphere to record, and of course the surroundings at the Bowerman's... quite lovely... & the board and lodging is very good in this hotel too!
Yum!


The Producer is Alexander Van Ingen, and a fine chap he is... ably assisted by Clare...

One a cappella day down... one to go...

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Christmas news

There will be more on this anon... but for the moment our Christmas News!

1. Our Festival of Carols in Two Minutes will be available in print SOON... the first of our arrangements to have been published by Edition Peters (hereafter known as "The Management")

2. Our album Christmas with Cantabile - The London Quartet will be available for digital download by the end of the month (or sooner).... WATCH THIS SPACE

3. We have a couple of Christmas Concerts on two Tuesdays in the Bridewell Hall, Bride Lane, Fleet Street (wonderful acoustic)....6.30pm on the 6th and the 13th December....

Good news to all men (and women...)