A Very Diverse Repertoire

One thing the Pink Singers are justifiably proud of, and something which is almost a second tag line for us (after London’s lesbian and gay community choir of course!), is our “diverse” repertoire. This title is most assuredly justified – we perform all kinds of music including operatic choruses, classical music, pop and jazz. This diversity is simply a reflection of the fact that our music is suggested by the various members of the choir who, being very varied, naturally have very varied musical tastes. The final choice is a result of its filtration for entertainment, educational value and challenge by Mladen and Michael D. Most choirs usually attempt just one of these categories, and it is certainly to our merit that we even attempt doing all these different styles and sing them well too.

After watching The Last Choir Standing last Saturday, however, what was noticeable was that there were no classical choirs in the mix, not one. Instead we have choirs which sang golden oldies, musicals, gospel music and a bit of pop, but no choirs which tackled the really difficult and more nuanced classical works. I wonder whether this is because there were no classical choirs who applied to this contest, or whether they were all eliminated early on as being insufficiently telegenic? by the way, that picture is not of us, but one of the choirs on the TV show called Handbag of Harmonies.

It cuts both ways though, and even though the Pinkies sing all sorts of music, there are certain choral styles in which we are noticeably lacking. We tend not to perform any sacred or gospel music for instance, and with some justification. As a choir we have a history of helping to support and promote the gay rights movement back in the 80s, a role which extends to this day. 25 years ago, this meant that many of our original goals were at odds with the performance of what was thought of as “music of the enemy”. In fact, I believe it is what led to the formation of Diversity, the other great lesbian and gay choir in London, whose original remit was to perform that half of the musical cannon which mentions the word “god”.

It does need reminding, however, that in the last concert we did perform Karl Jenkins’ Requiem, which is of course, entirely religious in content. For that matter we sang Schubert’s Ave Maria, also unabashedly Christian. I don’t think anyone objected to the content per se – memorizing the Latin alone was sufficient cause for objection – but this may partly have been due to the fact that the lyrics were in Latin and thus the meaning was obscured. I think that if the songs had been in English and we were singing “Hail Mary, mother of God”, rather than “Ave Maria, mater Dei” there may have been a little more discomfort.

Why am I even mentioning this? Well, because I have this internal conflict too. On the one hand the choir should never be deprived of singing some truly stupendous music. A higher deity inspired (and paid for) some of the most beautiful, most challenging choral works of the 17th to 21st centuries, and it would be a shame indeed if we were to exclude it all based on an unwillingness to approach religious themes.

At the same time, we are in more progressive times, and if Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, can write that a gay relationship may be akin to marriage in God’s eyes, then it suggests that that bridge over troubled waters is being built. Is the gay militancy of the early 80s relevant to us in the mid naughties when we seem to be trying to meet the “other side” half way?

Yet, despite this intellectual justification, I must confess that emotionally I am not all that keen on singing pieces of music with a religious bent. It is not specific to the Christian god either, I’d feel uncomfortable singing any song which praises, say, the Buddha for instance. Having been brought up Roman Catholic, I fully realise the confusion and unhappiness that religion can cause on a young man growing up gay.

I had a chat with Carsten, one of the blokes I’m working with on Various Voices, at the pub after the last meeting, and his view was that there were many other choirs out there to sing religious music anyway – a gay choir should be about showtunes. In the end though, all play and no work makes Jill a dull girl, and the Pink Singers would never have reached the technical musical heights we have, or constantly improved, if we just sang songs from the theatre and our voices had not been put to the test by more complicated classical works.

I’m still not sure I can articulate my view that well still, but in the end it is about the music and how much fun we have performing it. If that includes Christmas Carols for instance, then so be it. All it does mean in practice is that religious music has to be that much more inspirational, more complicated and more enjoyable before the Pinkies will even consider doing it, and I get over my hangups. That, and I think it might be fun to do a few gospel pieces! Long may this diversity continue.