Band Of Bears Debut

Ritchie's "amply formed choir", Band of Bears, is performing at the BearHug Christmas event this Sunday. Should be a good show, Ritchie, one of the resting basses, has a really warm voice. I don't fit into the bear demographic, but have to say that of all the gay communities, I think they are the most fun. I'm sure a posse will get together after rehearsal on Sunday to troop down there.

The deets:

Doors open 5pm, 'on stage' at around 8pm.
Hot Festive food will be provided.
Door Entry for non-members is £3.
Bromptons, 294 Old Brompton Road, Earls Court.
Earls Court Tube (exhibition exit).

Of Rowdiness And Reflection

I really enjoy singing with the Pinkies, and performing gives me a buzz I get excited about. But last night's gig with the small group was tempered by the knowledge that it was for World AIDS day. As has become near traditional now, we were supporting Positive Rainbow, a wonderful group providing assistance for people with AIDS in north London. Every year the story is the same though: government funding is steadily being cut for organizations just like this.

On the one hand, the battle against AIDS appears to be turning the tide. Sitting on the Victoria line on the way up to the White Hart pub where we performed, I read an article on the epidemic in the Economist which argues that since people are living longer with AIDS, and the overall number of people with AIDS has actually decreased, the epidemic has peaked. I am hoping against hope that this is the case, and I can see why the government has made AIDS less of a priority as a result, but the numbers mean nothing to an individual with the disease, or groups like Positive Rainbow on the front line.

That said, spirits were high last night, and I arrived at the pub to find some Pink Singers already helping themselves to the odd pint, while others were busy changing into the informal concert gear in the pub's kitchen. I've done a number of gigs with the small group before, but even so, swapping shirts next to the pickled onions was a new experience. The other novelty was actually seeing how big the small group was. Past gigs have had in the region of eight to twelve members, so it was a bit of a surprise to see so many.

The swollen numbers were due in no small part to the newbies, especially Charlotte, Amy, Kate, Gill P, Celso, Charles, Colm, Joey and Ben (I hope I've not forgotten anyone). They very gamely decided to come along and perform for the first time with the oldies, and were much appreciated. It certainly can't have been easy since they had to cope with the lyrics and music, and performing. I guess a bit of practice before Paris is always handy!

We belted all three songs as planned: You'll Never Walk Alone, Come What May and Abba Pink. Of the three I thought that Abba went down the best, although it was hard to tell from the relatively stoic faces of the audience. Performance-wise I thought Come What May was the best, the other two having a couple of missed entries, noticeable, hopefully, only to members of the choir.

Thankfully, we weren't the only performers that evening. There were a couple of drag acts as well which we got to see after our stint. The first artiste was incredibly funny, but really pushed very close to the line and occasionally crossed over into the non-PC territory. Even I wasn't spared her sharp wit, but I did enjoy her act very much.

Having some time to grab a drink and munch on party snacks also gave me a chance to chat with James M. He was telling me that despite having a really tough day, he was looking forward to this evening, just as a chance to unwind and sing a couple of songs. I couldn't agree more - there is nothing like getting together with friends, and the Pink Singers, because of our numbers, tend to bring our own party along with us. Love it!

Lost In Paris?

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Mobile Video Hat

If you've seen me in rehearsal you will realise that not only do I lug around all my music and a bottle of water, I also carry all sorts of digital paraphenalia for capturing the moment. Sometimes though, I wish I had more hands so I could, for example, video our choreography and hold my music or run the dictaphone at the same time. Enter the Nokia Mobile Video Hat, which far from being a joke item, actually exists. How wonderfully practical! Who needs to see real life when you can look through a viewfinder? Christmas is coming up, who can I bug for a present?

Finger OnThe Pulse

I am guilty. Guilty of not checking up on the Pink Singers' website regularly. But I met up with Nathalina, our super new webmaster, last night and was compelled to have a look. What a great job she's doing! She has most recently posted the official event report for Helsinki and our performance with Out 'n Loud (i.e. not the Pink Insider's view). This one comes courtesy of Mikki, and is particularly significant, because it was her first trip overseas with the Pinkies. Head on over for her experience of our visit to Finland, and while you're there take a peek at the official photos too.

World AIDS Day

As you are no doubt aware, World AIDS Day this year is on the 1st of December. As is now traditional for us, we will be helping to support Positive Rainbow and the good work they do in North London by giving a little performance at their annual party tomorrow. If you are interested in coming along, the good news is that it is free, and we will be singing two or three numbers from this season's repertoire, at the moment they are ABBA Pink and You'll Never Walk Alone, although if pressed we can pull Come What May out of the bag. The even better news is that the "small" group is much larger than in previous years, and we actually have basses this time, so Johnathon won't have to do double duty. Anyway, here are the details:

7.30 pm
28 November 2007
Positive Rainbow
White Hart pub
51 The Hale
Tottenham Hale
London, N17 9JZ

See you there!

So They Say

This Sunday's rehearsal was in the wonderfully lit hall at the top of the Space. The venue is cavernous, and the late autumn light gave the room a real grandeur, even if you ignore the sprung floors. The recurring issue appears to be with the chairs, or lack thereof, but it sure beats the old system where we had to lug the fold-ups from the basement ourselves. It does mean a bit of a delay, and the poor basses and altos spent a quarter of the rehearsal squatting (see picture, especially of Nath's glamorous silver boots).

As for the rehearsal proper, we ran through most of the repertoire for Paris and some for the winter concert too, performing most of the pieces twice. The first run-through always sounds a little ropey as we settle into the song, but Mladen has taken to making us sing the second one without the sheet music, which brings problems of its own, especially when it comes to the lyrics. Humming Dies Irae to myself several times a day has actually helped to overcome my aversion to it, and I have to say the choir performs it really well now, with a real feeling of aggression with a steady build up to that wonderful orgasm at the end. Under two weeks to go till Paris, so just in time too!

After the rehearsal we went to the pub as usual and a bunch of us then joined Philip G for his birthday celebration at Savoir Faire near the British Museum. Conversation flowed freely and the company was, as always, exceptional. It was great to see "resting" Pinkies there like Ritchie and Iain, and even better to see that some newbies came along too. I sat diagonally opposite Amy, one of the new altos who was summarily pulled away from me by Susan when they went off to karaoke somewhere on Frith Street at the end of the evening. Must speak to her more, she seems totally lovely.

All Hail The Hypnotoad!

Good news everyone! Futurama is back! This has got to be one of my all time favourite TV series, very clever, very funny and with just the right touch of pathos and unrequited love. Awww... Instead of the normal series, however, the show is to be released in four two-hour-long straight to DVD movies. The first is called Bender's Big Score (you have got to love a show with a cigar smoking robot called Bender) and I hear that if you know where to look for it, you can already get it on-line... Of course being a true fan, you would download the torrent and then buy the DVD when it comes out, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you!?!

Bearfaced Cheek!

On Tuesday Liang and I went down to the Terracotta Army exhibition currently showing at the British Museum. Really impressive stuff and well worth seeing. However, my rather frivolous take home message was that most of the warriors from over 2,000 years ago have exactly the same facial hair pattern as me: try as I might I simply cannot grow a beard.

My current beard-jealousy stems from being surrounded by such lovely growths on the faces of my friends John and Celso. Hell, last week Simon showed up at my flat with a week of hair growth and looked damn fine. I can see how such hirstutism can become a bit of a fetish, and even Vogue says that beards are back.

Unfortunately I am blessed/cursed with an almost pathological alopecia so whatever the vagaries of fashion I have just one look. Sigh...

Rainbow Springfield, Grim Up North

I don't really watch all that much television, preferring to spend my time probing the nether regions of the worldwide web, but this week has been a bit of an exception. For one, I've taken to recording the Simpsons on Channel 4, because, after what feels like a decade, they are finally broadcasting episodes I have not seen a million times before. Wednesday's episode began with the Springfield gay parade, with a float from the Steelworkers of America, and one called Keepin' In The Closet featuring none other than Smithers and Patty (Marge's sister).

The Simpsons always makes me laugh, but continuing on the gay theme, and attacking the same themes of being gay, in the closet, and a blue collar worker in a much grittier style, was the third episode of the second season of The Street on BBC One last night. This one was about a Mancunian construction worker Charlie (a very grizzly and double-eye-bagged Vincent Regan) falling for his colleague Tom (a buff and tattooed Will Mellor). The story itself wasn't about their relationship, but the how Charlie loses control as he tells lie upon lie to cover his secret. There isn't really a happy ending as the fallout is pretty awful from both his family (yes, he is married with two children) and the community at large, but at least when he does come out, the honesty is far less wretched than the hiding. Charlie does eventually stay with Roz, his wife, but the closing image is of her watching him go off to a job from their living room window, with this incredible look of regret.

I have two very good gay friends who are/were married. The first is someone I have known for a very long time, and while we came out together as teenagers, he elected to settle down as an adult with a very lovely woman. This is perhaps a more modern relationship, in that she is fully aware of his past, and I can see that the two of them are very happy together and great friends. In the end, gender is perhaps not the issue, but companionship.

My other friend did in the end leave his wife, but maintains a very close and healthy relationship with her and his children. He has since gone on to remarry (another guy in a similar position) and their super extended family is a source of incredible warmth and love. It takes a huge amount of courage to make this kind of leap, but I have seen that it does not necessarily lead to tragedy.

Hairless Bitches

Johnathon emailed a link yesterday to a page in the London Paper called the Columnist. It is a guest article with writers who change from week to week, and it just so happens that this week it was written by a gay “39-year old banker”. Hmmm. You can almost see where this is heading.

The gist of his argument, inelegantly presented in a rant, is that he hates it when people live up to stereotypes, in particular the prancing, shaven, luvvy image conveyed by certain sections of the gay community. It is interesting how he prefaces his verbal stream of consciousness with a statement that he is all for diversity, before single-handedly dismantling any claim to reasonable thought.

Yet, stripping off the offensive words, is there a kernel of truth? I worry that some of what he is trying to say resonates somewhat even with liberal ol' me. What I have often discovered, however, is that in the wise old words of Yoda "fear leads to hate". That is, if I dislike something it is because, for some reason, I fear it.

So let's break it down. I remember feeling uncomfortable around a similarly outrageous friend of mine. We were at university and he invited me down to his flat in London for a night out to celebrate his birthday. He was always a live wire, but the time away from home meant that he could really experiment. That night all sorts of chemicals were inhaled, before my friend changed into his sequinned g-string worn under a tartan miniskirt, before heading out to the clubs. I have always been more of a Gap dresser, so in my button-down Oxford and chinos we certainly made an odd couple on the tube. He of course had no problems with the way he looked, but I felt more than a little self-conscious sitting by him. I really didn't understand why he needed to buy into that whole "camp gay" persona.

The reality is that I was not comfortable enough in my own sexuality to cope with being in close proximity to him; that (oh noes!) other people might think that all gay men behave like that, or worse that other people might think that I behave like that!

So the problem was not with my friend, but with me.

London has one of the most diverse gay scenes in the universe. On a night out in Soho it is easy to be misled that the gay community only consists of twinks, bears, muscle marys and whatever group current terminology has a description for. But there are many, and arguably larger, groups for which no label exists and that includes those gay men who are not image-driven and therefore meld seamlessly into the background of humanity which is this great city. I'm thinking of the majority of the members of the Front Runners for example.

The really good news is that whether you subscribe to a label or not, none of these groups is exclusive. Even better, when you are in a social group like the Pink Singers, you'll find that everyone mingles with everyone else without any preconceptions. My experience of gay men in London does not jibe at all with the columnist's.

If, in the end if this 39-year old banker hates "faggy duchesses" then he really needs to ask himself why he feels insecure about them, and then he really needs to get out more!

P.S. The picture of the hairless bitch accompanying this post is in fact a Chinese crested dog, the most famous of which is Halston, Amanda's dog in Ugly Betty. Hey, I too can be a faggy duchess!

A Few Changes And An Invitation

If you have been visiting my little blog over the last few days you will notice that I have made a few changes. Apart from the banner which is now animated, I have syndicated the RSS feed through Feedburner. It is now even easier to subscribe to - just have a look at the Subscribe To Me! section in the column to your right. If you find the whole RSS business a little too confusing, then you can even get an email whenever the blog is updated. You will get no more than one email a day, so don't worry! While you're in that right hand column you can also get a sneak listen to one of my favourite tracks from our CD Hand In Hand, and perhaps even buy a copy?

I also wanted to say that although it appears that there is just one Pink Insider, there are in fact three at present who are contributing their thoughts of being in the Pink Singers to In The Pink(ies). If you are a Pinkie and want to share your (unofficial but positive) experiences with our readers, then please feel free to let me know and I will add you to the contributors.

Stardust: The Princess Bride With CGI

Mel from the sops and I went to see Stardust last night. It was one of those horrible, drizzly early winter evenings, where the normal throngs of Leicester Square are repalced by people hurrying by in umbrellas. In short, a perfect night for catching a film. Now I know that Mladen didn't like the film, but I am going to say staright off that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There is nothing complicated about the story at all, and in many ways it is the same variation on the Taming-of-the-Shrew-meets- Brothers-Grimm story that we saw in that other favourite film of mine, The Princess Bride. The hero of this film is somewhat less attractive than Cary Elwes, the heroine more gutsy than Princess Buttercup, and the dialogue a little less scintillating, but there are a few gems. We have Robert de Niro playing a (rather hackneyed) camp gay pirate captain who needs to maintain his image of ruthlessness, and Michelle Pfeiffer doing her whole pretty-again-ugly-again routine. She is gorgeous by any standard, but you do wonder whether any of the liver spots are genuine.

The best part of the movie is that it almost exactly matches the mental image I created of the world of Stormhold when I read the book by Neil Gaiman. Of course the book is more subtle, especially towards the end where the Sienna Miller character (oh bad acting thy name art Sienna) is not quite the wanton hussy she is made out to be and is indeed much more sympathetic. I can see why they had to simplify things for the cinema, because it would require another half hour to explain how the passage of time differs between our world and faerie.

Anyway, all in all a worthy film and very enjoyable.

Marriage Made In Heaven?

I just paid a visit to our own website and noticed the bumph for the Paris concert is up. We are, of course, performing with the inimitable Equivox, and the picture on our home page comes off the Equivox website. They have most definitely changed their stage wear. The last time I saw them perform was back in Various Voices 2005 Paris, and they were a hoot, dressed as they were in a cross between panto and Village People outfits. Not sure that the current bridal wear is an improvement, but it is most assuredly striking!

Looking at the order of the performance as well, it appears we will be following the pattern as set up by Out 'n' Loud where the host choir sings first and we will be bringing up the second half. Traditionally it is the other way around. I guess it just adds a little pressure on us to perform. Then again, our concert gear is comparatively staid in comparison, so for entertainment value, the only way is up!

The Stalker Song

I realise I am bit of a roll post-wise today, but I promised Simon that I would blog about the new Shayne Ward song, Breathless. We were watching X-factor last week when Mr. Ward came on just before the results to plug his latest single. Now there is no denying that this guy has a great voice and is good-looking to boot, and the song itself is beautifully composed and really rather sweet.

But, and this is a big "but", I still refer to it as the "Stalker Song" because of the truly horrendous lyrics. Perhaps I am a bit cynical, but who can see the romance in a phrases like,

And If we had babies they would look like you,
It'd be so beautiful if that came true.

Or, even more nausea-inducing,

And if we had babies they would have your eyes,
I'd fall deeper watching you give life.

This all-too-readily calls to mind imagery which involves an operating theatre, a speculum, a lot of wet towels and an awful mess.

Plus, if someone told you that they really hope your babies look like you and that they'd enjoy watching you deliver them, isn't it kinda creepy? I mean, like 200-yard-restraining order creepy?

The Pink Singers' Facebook Group

Uh, okay... If, like me you live under a rock in a grubby T-shirt and never go out, then please skip this post. Because the Pink Singers now have their own Facebook Group. Yessiree, now proudly linked in the Officially Pink section of this blog. I'm reliably told that this is not just for Pink Singers old and new, it is also for friends of the Pinkies, and people who might be interested in coming to our concerts or joining our group. More of the smiley group you know and love, but on line! Go on, join, you know you want to!

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet!

I freely admit to being a bit of a geek, and although I haven't quite stepped over into playing a games console (unlike Andrew D, but he has an excuse!), a lot of the news I read includes information on new upcoming video games.

One hotly anticipated newcomer is Mass Effect. The gameplay is supposed to be pretty cool, but it has gained some degree of notoriety because of the inclusion of a "raunchy lesbian love scene". Now, I'm not sure which planet these journalists are on, but the scene, reproduced in its full-but-totally-safe-for-work glory above, is about as raunchy as peeling a carrot (of course it depends on how you peel it, and whose carrot!)

One of the lesbians is in fact a blue alien, so I am not sure it necessarily counts as "lesbian" if one of the partners isn't human. The wooden acting and total absence of any passion whatsoever puts it in league with most straight porn involving two women, but I suppose the awkward dialogue ties in nicely with my own experiences of trying to get someone into the sack. Check out the ultra-cheesy Titanic moment at the end.

I'm sure Mass Effect beats most games where you run around trying to shoot things, but while playing a lesbian seems to be fairly acceptable in the male-dominated gaming arena, it would really be revolutionary if, in the game, you could also let your male character get some hot gay human-on-alien action. Than again, having seen what the male aliens look like, perhaps not.

I'm Comin' Back Home

I've been in the the Pink Singers now for nearly five years, and in that time we've rehearsed in all manner of locations: at the Drill Hall, at some churches near Euston and behind King's Cross, at the Place and at a school near Holborn amongst others. But of all of these places my favourite has got to be the Royal Academy of Music, which is where we returned to yesterday.

Not sure what it is exactly, perhaps it is the rather historical venue, or the "pride by association" I get from wandering around the halls with all these talented music students. Then there is the fact that I live quite nearby, so getting to RAM is much more convenient for me than the farther flung Place. And finally, but no less significantly, there is the much prettier pub we slope off to after the rehearsal.

It is that time of the year again, when the sleet is coming down and it is freezing, and we rush from warm (and stinky) rehearsal room to warm and cosy pub. I know its not Christmas yet, but it feels like it could be Christmas.

Despite all this romanticism, even I realise that we are starting to outgrow the rehearsal spaces at RAM and need to resort to venues further afield. Yesterday's rehearsal wasn't that well attended, but even so, it was hard not to gag just a little when I re-entered the room after having popped off to the loo. You know things are bad when you out-smell the toilets.

As for the rehearsal proper, we seem to be hitting the "perfecting" phase now, where we know most of the notes, and it is a question of interpretation and perhaps running through a few tricky phrases. The sound is becoming somewhat more cohesive, and by the time Paris swings around in a manner of weeks we will be ready. Sue and I managed to sing through most of the repertoire without sheet music for the first time. Woo hoo! The choreography on the other hand...

Believe It Or Not...

...I'm walkin' on air, I never thought I could feel so free-ee-ee.

That is the song which I've been humming for the last two days. It is always rather disconcerting when I find I know all the lyrics to a song, yet can't identify it. Anyway, thanks to Celso's encyclopaedic knowledge of 80s TV shows, it turns out that this was the theme tune from a series called "The Greatest American Hero". I remember watching this religiously when I was but yea high. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, it is possible to relive the experience, over and over (and over) again.


Itch now duly scratched, time to move on to the next random song!

Who The Hell Is Timothy Leary - Dearie?

Our joint song in Paris is Let The Sunshine from the musical Hair. Since I have never seen either the musical or the film version, it is a bewildering blend of lyrics - what do smells of laboratories have to do with Manchester, England? - which on the face of it appear disjointed. The only bit which is vaguely familiar is the "Let the sunshine in" chorus, but even that is without context.

Anyway, to try to make sense of it all, I've done a bit of a search, and it turns out that the story is about a guy called Claude Hooper Bukowski. Claude is from Flushing, Queens, but wishes he were from Manchester, England. Not sure where the advantage lies in that, but it does explain why Manchester, England is Claude's theme tune. It is the song he sings at the start of the show to introduce himself to the Tribe, a bunch of anti-war hippies (this being 1968 and all). To cut a very long and rather meandering story short, Claude eventually gets signed up for the Vietnam draft, letting down his friends.

What we are singing with Equivox, is in fact two songs, The Flesh Failures, a song sung by Claude in his shame at giving in to being a solder, in which he reprises his theme tune, which is then followed closely by Let The Sunshine, the song performed by the Tribe as the musical's finale. At the very end of the show, Claude dies in Vietnam.

To pile on that additional layer of complexity, the storyline to the film was significantly changed from the musical, and to explain the scene in the video above, the officer arriving in the car is the real Bukowski. Instead, the one who answers to Bukowski is his best friend George Berger, who took Claude's place so that Claude could spend his last night before shipping out with his girlfriend. When he sings, "That's me!" he is merely continuing this subterfuge, but the shot of his grave at the end indicates that, for his sacrifice for his friend, poor George died out in Vietnam.

Confused yet? Either way, someone dies in Vietnam, and the songs are about the tragedy of war. They are supposed to be sad and pensive, not chirpy and fun.

Oh, and this is a picture of Timothy Leary, the American writer, psychologist and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use. He is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD and coined and popularized the catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out." Perhaps that explains the "laboratories" reference in the lyrics of the song? Who says being in the Pink Singers isn't educational?

I'm Gonna Keep On Dancin'

I think everyone knows I'm a big fan of Paleday, Anthony's band. They are really talented songwriters, and Anthony has a great voice and stage presence. Over the last year they've gone from strength to strength, culminating in their official record launch yesterday at the Soho Review bar. Naturally, a few Pinkies went down for a beer and a boogie.

Simon and I got there quite early to find Emelda and Sue had already staked a seat at the front. Part of Paleday's branding is the three coloured bowler hats, white for Anthony, red for Sam and black for Stephen, so it was quite cool that they were giving away spangly plastic ones on each table. So, no, the ruby hat was not part of Celso's original outfit, or a co-ordinated look on the part of the rest of the Pinkies. That said, why isn't Andrew F wearing one?

Paleday produce reliably dance-inducing disco, so it wasn't long before we were all jumping away on the floor. It looked like the band have a sizeable fan base, especially for Stephen, and there was a bunch of terribly trendy younglings in super retro 80s gear celebrating one of their birthdays. Didn't stop us oldies from shaking our groove thang, and I even managed to get Mama and Auntie Stubbs to dance too.

What really surprised me though, was some of Paleday's slower songs. Of course the Pinkies already know Look Up At The Stars quite well, and of course we sang along, but they also performed a new number called Blue Sky which was really very sweet.

Anyway, good luck to them, and I am sure we will be hearing more of them on the airwaves in the future.

Oh Agatha!

I went for a run, as will hopefully now be usual, with the Front Runners last night. My running is improving very gradually, and I have been also slowly getting to know some of the other members. At present I tend to run on the Monday and the Saturday, with the odd Wednesday thrown in if I can fit it in. The difficulty in getting to know people is that there tends to be about forty or so members at a shot, which can be quite daunting, and the same runners aren't there from week to week, which can make any attempts at getting to know someone futile.

That said, I have made some really interesting friends. On the Saturday I go for a run with Robert, who is my pacer since he runs ever so slightly quicker than I, and I also get on fabulously with a guy called Ingo. So much so in fact that people have asked me whether I knew him from before. No, actually we just met, but he has a great sense of humour with which I have a great affinity.

Last night, I ended up going out for a meal with Martin, Dylan, Tian Peng and John, all of whom are also really nice people. Ordinarily we go to a pub round the corner for dinner after the run, but since the chilli I had there the last time tasted like a reheated ready-meal, and I paid twice what it was worth, we decided to be a bit more adventurous and went to an Italian just opposite Lambeth North tube.

The waitress there was a very excitable woman called Agatha. She kept on saying how she loved us, and never had so many "muscley boys" at her table before. If we'd stayed on she would have introduced us to her colleague who also "likes the boys". Oh the irony! I am definitely not muscular at all, and neither, dare I say it, are Martin or Dylan - no offense, but they are built for speed not for bulkiness. In fact the two most shapely, if you can call it that, are John and Tian Peng. But then again neither are obsessive about it either. So perhaps her standards are low, at least on the gay scale, I can't speak for straights! Nevertheless I do appreciate the unsolicited compliment.

Anyway, I had a very pleasant, albeit hefty, meal and spent most of the evening flirting with Agatha, with her flirting back! Oh, it was fun. Not sure I can eat there every Monday though...

P.S. The original caption for this picture was that Arnie had pecs bigger than his head. This is both revolting, yet strangely appealing at the same time...

Fast Train à Paris

If you've been following this blog you'll realize that we're off to Paris in just under 4 weeks' time (!) The details are on our website, but basically, make a date for:

Saturday 8 December 2007
6 p.m. and 8p.m.
Mairie du IIIeme
2, Rue Eugene Spuller
75003 Paris

You will notice that there are two times listed, and that's because we will be performing our repertoire twice. Word on the street is that the venue is quite small, and to make the exercise worthwhile financially, two seatings will be required. this is, I think, the first time we will be performing the repertoire twice on one night which will be a bit of a novelty. But I am worried that with some of the very high notes of You'll Never Walk Alone and Come What May, at least in the tenor line, I personally will have trouble getting through it once, let alone twice.

A potential highlight is that the Mayor of that arrondissement will be opening the concert, although I do wonder whether he/she is inclined to sit through both sessions. The definite highlight is just the fact that we will be in Paris at the start of winter when the days are short and the sky is (hopefully) clear, singing with friends and wowing the audience.

Oh, and watching Mladen panic the week before!

Ironically though the main attraction for me is the outgoing journey from St. Pancras Station via Eurostar. The Barlow shed is opening this week and looks totally gorgeous.

Aaargh! I hate French and Latin!

I have been spending the last few days trying to memorize the bloody lyrics to Dies Irae and Hymne à l'amour. Being unable to speak either Latin or French, it has proven to be a major exercise in frustration. With most songs we learn I sing it a couple of times, the lyrics seem to fall into place, and I develop a muscle memory of the piece. With these two pieces, however, I am finding it really hard.

The worst is the Jenkin's piece, mainly because I have no melody to rely on (most of the tenor line is a single note, or a slow scale), the metre is exactly the same for all the six verses and it is super fast to sing as well.

Like a saddo, I have taken to carrying a sheet of paper around with me with the lyrics and looking at it when I have a free moment. It is like using flash cards, I read a line e.g. "Judex ergo cum sedebit", and then, looking away, I have to respond "Quid quid latet apparebit, nil in ultum remanebit".

Sigh.

P.S. In my quest for esoteric pictures, the above is of a western chorus frog Pseudacris triseriata. Heh heh! Geddit? Latin? French? Singing?

Jenkins' Dies Irae: A Translation

We've sung Mozart's Dies Irae before, but we sang an edited version. If you know the Latin Mass you will be aware that it is actually much longer than that. According to Wikipedia, the Dies Irae is a poem describing "the day of judgment, the last trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames. The hymn was used as a sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass until the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal."

In Latin:

1
Dies iræ! dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla!

2
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

3
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

4
Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

5
Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

6
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

7
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

In English:

1
Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophets' warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

2
Oh what fear man's bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.

3
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.

4
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.

5
Lo! the book, exactly worded,
wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.

6
When the Judge his seat attaineth,
and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.

7
What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding,
when the just are mercy needing?

In total there are actually 19 verses, thanking the stars we only have to sing seven of them!

P.S. For the translation of In Paradisum check out this post. Picture of The Last Judgement by Hans Memling.

Almost Paris

I have been away from rehearsal for 2 weekends while Simon and I were away in the U.S. on holiday, but we are back now, and it was with some trepidation that we returned to rehearsal to face two new songs
Let The Sun Shine In and Dies Irae from Jenkins' Requiem. The latter Mladen would like us to perform in Paris, while the former, well, we have to perform because it is our joint song. A few seasons ago we attempted, but never followed through on, a version of this song from Hair, and all I will say, for diplomacy's sake, is that it is an interesting arrangement. I don't know the musical well at all, but England and Manchester in particular seem to feature prominently in it. Perhaps this is an incentive to watch the show? Despite these misgivings, I think we did pretty well and the difference between how it sounded at the start of the rehearsal and the end of the rehearsal was staggering, thank goodness!

As for the other songs, they are shaping up well too, and for the first time ever, I think we paid attention to the markings on the sheet music and actually sang "pianissimo" when it was written "pianissimo". Notice I did not write "forte", mainly because we tend not to have a problem with "forte". Ever. In particular, even the semi-horrifying Come What May is sounding less like a dying cat, although we are still quite a way away from tenderness and romance.

The other highlight was some of the Soprano 1s going for gold by singing parts of Lacrimosa an entire octave above what was written; that goes to a high D for the musically inclined. Despite their hesitation, I think it sounded wonderful, and it was quite angelic to hear their high voices floating above the more earthy tones of the rest of the choir.

It was good to chat with some of the new members, even if I find that I am often in such a rush to arrive and leave that I don't get that much of a chance. Celso, who is the tenor who got me into the Front Runners in the first place, was there. He seems to be enjoying himself and is a really dedicated member, so props to him! It seems rather tragic to me, but in the break I was regaling Miranda, Tim R and Andrew D with my, and Johnathon's, adventures in the Front Runners. I also spoke briefly to Joey and Colm, ironically as my bladder was about to explode while queueing for the loo. Needless to say, the conversation was very brief.

All in all I thought it was a very exhausting rehearsal, especially for the tenors who have to hit ridiculously high notes in both Come What May and You'll Never Walk Alone but one in which we seemed to cover a lot. Paris really isn't very far away, so we need it!

P.S. The picture associated with this post is actually quite accurately linked to the title because the Eiffel Towel you see above is the one in Las Vegas, not Paris, but you knew that!

Living The Dream

I know loads of musicians who wish they could give up the day job and live on music alone. Unfortunately, it is a really tough world out there, and my impression is that for every Kylie there are a million who have fallen by the wayside. That said, I haven't heard a band with such catchy music as Paleday in a very long time, so it comes as no surprise that they are finally having a press album launch cum gig on Tuesday 13th November at 7.30pm at the Soho Revue Bar, London, W1F 0ED. The Pink Insider will definitely be there shaking his pink booty all night! I've been priveleged to watch Anthony (a Pinkie!)and his band develop over this very exciting time, and all I can say is good on them, I can think of no-one who deserves it more.

Oh, and do visit their website for the coolest in press photos!

Of Musicals And Chess

My first ever musical was Starlight Express in London all those years ago. I was thirteen, and despite it not being one of the most sophisticated art forms in the history of humanity, was mesmerized. It sparked off an obsession which continued with Les Misérables, Blood Brothers, The Phantom Of The Opera, Into The Woods and a dozen other stage shows of the 80s and early 90s.

I am pleased to say that not only did I have the original cast recordings to all these shows, I actually managed to see all of them performed with one great, and much lamented, exception: Chess.Brought to us by the guys from ABBA, who could not love the drums of One Night In Bangkok or the melodies of I Know Him So Well? I was on a conference in Stockholm in 2003 when I chanced upon a performance in the Nykvarns Folkets Park - my hopes were raised, only to be dashed when I realized it was sung in Swedish.

Anyway, this story does have a happy ending. I was watching Breakfast on BBC this morning when Josh Groban came on. I'm not sure what exactly he is promoting at the moment, but the conversation turned to his recent appearance on Any Dream Will Do with Lee Mead. He was asked, given his theatrical training, whether there was a chance that he would return to musical theatre, and his reply was that it was great to be able to dip his toes in occasionally, and that he would be giving this concert of Chess in May next year at the Royal Albert Hall.

The other rumour/highlight is that one of the female roles is to be played by none other than Idina Menzel. This is going to be a concert made in heaven!

Here are a couple of YouTube videos: one of Josh Groban performing the wonderful Anthem (I Mitt Hjärtas Land for the Swedish speaking crowd), and the second of the even more amazing and original Tommy Körberg singing the same song. I really like both, although I wish Josh would pronounce his 't's when he sings 'petty' rather than Americanize them.