Suomen Tasavalta

Woo hoo! Had some really good news today - the Pinkies are heading to Finland for a concert with Out 'n Loud. It is a big relief, because there was a worry that we wouldn't have an overseas trip this year. Thankfully, Nathalina's been hard at work, and she met with the Helsinki-based choir last week and we have sorted out a tentative date in September.

If you've been following the saga, you'll know that we were supposed to be going to Paris as the guests of the zany Equivox. Unfortunately, the venue fell through at the last minute, which has left us a little in the lurch. One of the highlights every year is our joint trip away to some European city. Last year's trip to Copenhagen, hosted by the wonderful and ever so gracious Carmen Curlers, just left us wanting more!

Apart from Linus Torvalds, I must say that my knowledge of Finland is minimal, but I guess I now have six months to brush up on the language and culture. It looks like Out 'n Loud have a single out with two songs: Var är min midja (Where Is My Waistline?) and Shoppaileen (I'm Going Shopping). My first words in Finnish, strangely useful.

Look Up At The Stars!

Another interesting rehearsal yesterday, with two cool bits.

Firstly, as you know, we are currently going through a season of singing training sessions, and had (yet another) voice coach. This week we had a woman called Sandra. She was confident, colourful and larger-than-life, and quite clearly had had much experience in teaching people how to sing, particularly when working in groups.

We went through through bel canto again, and she made both Andrew F and Arnaldo giggle with her pronunciation of voce di petto. Unlike the previous trainers though, she started with the absolute basics before even allowing us to make a sound. We went through the anatomy of the head, mouth and throat resonators and how they affect tonal quality, and I learned that each note in every singer's range is a continuum of tonal components, made up of where that sound comes from.

Forty minutes of theory later, she made us hum notes in a scale to detect the source of the sound, before we could open our mouths to let the sound come out. What was interesting was that each of us had different experiences of where the sound originated for exactly the same note. At the end of the session I felt a whole lot more aware of how I personally achieve the tonal quality of each note. It remains to be seen, in future sessions, whether what I am doing is right or not. Overall, I thought she was really good, and there is certainly potential for future development.

Secondly, it was the inaugural rehearsal of Anthony's song "Look up at the stars". The story behind it is really touching, and the plan is for his band Paleday to perform it a couple of times before releasing it as a CD for Alzheimer's Research. To give it that extra kick, he has added a choral backing arrangement to swell the second half, and we ran through it yesterday. Despite my initial misgivings, and the inevitable horror as everyone tries to pick up the notes, it actually sounds wonderful. Anthony sang the solo part on the piano, and I had goosebumps it was that good.

It looks like the first live performance will be in Dingwalls, Middle Yard, 8 Camden Lock, NW1 8AB at 8pm on Wednesday, the 28th of March. I'm sure details will be posted on the Pink Singers website soon, but you can also check out Paleday's website for the latest info. Tickets are only £6 in advance and £8 on the door for a brilliant night of music and disco!

Michael's Laptop Is Go!

I met up with Michael this afternoon. He had gone to see a performance at the Royal Opera and after that we got together at the PC World in Tottenham Court Road. Although he was quite happy to go with whatever I suggested to him, I thought it best that he at least have a look at the hardware before plonking down the cash on a laptop.

As it turns out he was quite happy with the size and weight of the computer and so we went back to my flat and bought it on line. To be honest I would have bought it from PC World if they sold it with Windows XP, but as it was Vista-only there, I was worried about compatibility with the music software and drivers Michael will be using.

Michael has some really exciting ideas of what he will be using his synthesizer and new laptop for. Quite apart from simplifying the production of rehearsal tracks, it will also mean that for performances he will no longer be limited to the piano sound. Now that we are tackling an even wider repertoire, he is interested in using everything from strings, to bass, to guitar, to whatever you can imagine.

I must say that I am thrilled with anything which makes our performances more interesting and dynamic. Different instruments will add an extra dimension to our stage presence, but will take a bit of getting used to!

The Requiem: An English Translation

I am so happy that we are tackling Jenkins' requiem this season. It is a beautiful, modern take on the requiem mass which so many composers have put their personal stamp on before. The Pink Singers sang Mozart's version not that long ago, so these lyrics are not really new to us. That said I thought it might be nice to have a loose English translation as a gentle reminder, especially for those of us whose Latin is non-existant!

I have only included the words to the Introit, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa and In Paradisum because those are the parts we will be performing for summer 2007, but here is hoping that we get to do the whole work, perhaps with the LGSO. That would be a dream come true for me!

Introit: Requiem Aeternam and Kyrie Eleison

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis care veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
You are praised, God, in Zion,
and homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer,
to You all flesh will come.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Dies Irae

Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

Day of wrath, day of anger
will dissolve the world in ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Great trembling there will be
when the Judge descends from heaven
to examine all things closely.

Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus,
pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem. Amen.

That day of tears and mourning,
when from the ashes shall arise,
all humanity to be judged.
Spare us by your mercy, Lord,
gentle Lord Jesus,
grant them eternal rest. Amen.

In Paradisum

In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs receive you
in your coming,
and may they guide you
into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the chorus of angels receive you
and with Lazarus once poor
may you have eternal rest.

The only choral parts remaining are the Rex Tremendae, Confutatis, Pie Jesu and Lux Aeterna!

Bad Logo Design

They are knocking down the Middlesex Hospital, and all residents of Fitzrovia have been sent an invitation to see the plans for the new building. I had a free moment just after lunch yesterday, so I went down with Beryl, who lives in one of the lower flats. The exhibition itself was interesting, but what caught my eye was the logo of the development company, called Candy & Candy.

What do you see through the peep hole? Candy and even more candy no doubt. In my view it was a very bad design choice. Perhaps it doesn't rank as highly on the all time list of worst possible logos, but I still think it is pretty awful.

What are the worst logos ever? Well, here we have the Arlington Paediatric Center's logo, and the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. These designs are so bad they are almost legendary. In comparison, the Pink Singers logo is a paradigm of elegant understatement. I think it works very well precisely because it is so simple. There is some discussion about a possible update or even replacement, but I will be sorry to see it go as I think it is a strong identity for us.

Taking A Stand In Riga?

I have to say that I am in no way a gay activist. I like to just get on with my daily life, do my work, spend the weekends with Simon, maybe catch a film. It is all quite humdrum really.

This summer though, the Pinkies have been invited to perform at a Pride march, not in London, but in Riga, the capital of Latvia. Apparently, the London and Riga Prides are twinned. The official website is here, but I must warn you that it is possibly the most visually annoying page I have seen, ever. There is also a really noisy song which cannot be turned off, so make sure your volume is down before clicking on the link.

Anyway, today Tim sent a snippet around by email which is quite eye-opening. In particular:

In an interview with Diena newspaper, Janis Birks said he was ashamed at events last year, when bags of human excrement were thrown at gay marchers.

This almost begs some kind of light-hearted response. But we are really very lucky in London, and can take things for granted. Looking at the BBC archive, the combination of "Riga" and "gay" don't seem to sit well together. The Pink Singers were formed to sing at London Pride in 1983, perhaps we should be singing in Riga in 2007?

I wonder whether my pac-a-mac is pee and poo proof.

My Glottal Onset

We had a tremendous rehearsal yesterday, in the main because of the enjoyable voice coaching session we kicked off with. It was conducted by a different person from last week, this time a cheerful chap called Ben. He has a list of affiliations as long as your arm, but came across as very good humoured and really quite bashful.

We're a fairly mixed bunch in terms of singing experience, so it was ueful to go through the basics from 'twangs' to 'plosives'. And once again we were reminded of the elastic recoil of your belly following a full exhalation. Definitely not one for those of us who spend over half their waking hours trying to hold their belly in!

In the rehearsal proper we attacked the Bruckner motets for the first time - they didn't sound as awful as I had expected. And it was Michael's bright idea to give Jenkins' Dies Irae a shot in the last twenty minutes before the pub. What amzingly good fun! People actually applauded when it was done.

A New Laptop

I've been having a look at a new laptop, not for myself - heaven knows I have enough computing gadgetry to last a lifetime - but for Michael.

This is a great thing for the choir, because the rehearsal tracks can be produced much more easily, which hopefully means less labour for the already overworked Michael, and quicker access to music for the rest of us.

Anyway, although I have some knowledge of the bits which make up a modern computer, my experience with midi keyboards, composition software and other music related paraphenalia is nigh on negligible. It is one thing to recognise brands like Fujitsu, Dell and Toshiba, aqnd quite another to have to deal with Korg or Motu.

Thankfully, with Liang's help, I now have an idea of how everything connects up. Hopefully we'll see the fruits of this soon!