Tags
Brahms, Ein Deutsches Requiem, Parliament Choir, Sweet Was the Song, We Three Kings, Westminster Cathedral
The Parliament Choir and guests gave an impressive account of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem last night in Westminster Cathedral to a packed audience. It is a difficult piece to bring off, the balance between the academic and the emotional often tipped in favour of the former and the sixth movement providing such a focal point in terms of drama and energy that the seventh, so important in terms of the architecture and the meaning of the work, can come across as an anti-climax. Thankfully yesterday’s performance was pitched just right. Next stop is the Christmas concert, not too far away, and I hope that we will be able to maintain these high standards.
I started putting pencil to paper yesterday for a new organ piece, one intended for the Parly Choir Christmas concert. The basic ideas are coming together fairly quickly, which is a good thing given that the deadline is not too far away, and I hope that it will be pitched at the right level. With a bit of luck there might be a bit of brass here and there as well.
My focus has shifted swiftly and sharply towards Christmas, and I also need to arrange We Three Kings and deal with any other bits and pieces which might need arranging or tidying. There is a performance of Sweet Was The Song coming up in Italy which might need that piece to be rearranged a little as well. The next few days are going to be busy, however, so I am going to need to take the opportunities to write as and where I find them and put other things onto the back burner for a while. With performances and broadcasts to come I shall need to be as prepared as possible.
Nicholas O'Neill 