 |
|---|
       |
|---|
 |
|---|
   |
|
RECORDING WEEKEND (scroll down for photos) Christmas came early to Weston-super-Mare on the weekend of 16th/17th September 2006 when 35 musicians descended on All Saints’ Church to record the CD. On arrival at the Friday evening rehearsal, we were immediately provided with wine and nibbles, as well as some freshly baked mince pies which promptly put us all in the Christmas spirit and prepared us for the weekend ahead! After a three hour rehearsal, we all enjoyed a plate of sausage casserole, a dish now synonymous with the annual Cancer Research UK carol service! Saturday was a 12-hour marathon of rehearsing and recording. After 20 minutes of balance tests at 9.30am, we began rehearsing, and even managed to record a couple of carols in the morning session. A lot of Saturday was spent recording carols with the Bristol Brass Consort, which required the sopranos belting out descants for much of the early part of the day! A small amount of free time during the afternoon took choir members to Weston-super-Mare pier to enjoy the delights of the arcade games – and most importantly the dodgems! This energetic afternoon put us in the perfect mood to record Howard Goodall’s vibrant carol Romance of the Epiphany, with 15-year old James Parfitt impressing us all with his expert double bass playing. At the end of an exhausting yet enjoyable day, the choir found their way to the Avon Tandoori where we were replenished with copious amounts of curry, and not to mention lager and wine! A late night made Sunday morning a hard start for us all; slightly harder for some than others, as a small group of singers made their way to the Cabot bars, returning to their hosts at 4.30am! However, refuelled by bacon sandwiches and coffee in the church hall, we started where we left off the previous evening. The arrival of Catrin Finch on Sunday lunchtime enthused the female members of the choir who had a particularly successful session recording two tracks from Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. Sessions were over by 4.30pm, finishing with a final take of We wish you a merry Christmas, a fitting way to end an indulgent weekend of Christmas carols! Thanks go to Jonathan and his parents, Chris and Lissie, for masterminding the whole weekend; feeding and watering us all and for organising our accommodation. The realisation that it was not Christmas for another three months made Monday morning a particularly dreary thought!
All images © Simon Tottman |
   |
|---|
 |
|---|