Rehearsing Vivaldi and Sibelius with Devizes Chamber Choir

 Attempting to sing Vivaldi's "Gloria" with the Devizes Chamber Choir.

We practised the "Qui tollis peccata mundi" on Tuesday evening, a part of the "Gloria" which is difficult to sing, because the notes move in semitones, and we tend to sing them flat!  Our conductor Liz does a wonderful job, trying to get us to sing in tune, but since half the choir were suffering from colds, it was not easy to sing good notes whilst coughing in four parts, soprano, alto, bass and tenor!   Bass coughing produces a really rich resonance!

Enthusiastic Liz.

We rehearse in the hall behind the "Sheep Street Baptist Church," which was, last night, either too hot or too cold!    At first our layers of clothing stay on, then half way through, off come the cardigans and jumpers!   

Apart from the "Gloria" we are working on two other pieces, the "Be Still My Soul" by Sibelius and "Springtime in Fünen" by Carl Nielsen, a rather jolly piece of music describing the island in Denmark where he was born.  Part of the piece is for a children's choir, and some children from a local church will sing with us at the concert on Saturday March 27th at 7.30pm in St John's Church, Devizes.

Studying the music and attempting to sing!

With the basses and tenors in the back row, with the sopranos and altos to the front, we work very hard at producing some good sounds, and it always sounds ok on the night!