The choir party
I had meant to write about this soon after the event but never got round to it, but given the quality of this year's vintage I do want to make a point of commemorating it, even at this late stage, so here goes ...
A bit of background to start off with: there's a choir dinner every December, a more-or-less formal event held at one of the private golf clubs, attended by current and retired members of the choir, along with the clergy. The choir party, which usually takes place in late January, is an altogether more relaxed affair hosted by the rector and his family. His wife, who sings soprano in the choir, takes it upon herself to cook a choice of main courses, while members of the choir share out responsibility for salads, desserts and the like (I contributed a tartiflette and a Sachertorte this year). The other thing to point out is that the evening culminates in a cabaret put on by various members of the choir: a chance for us all to let our hair down, so to speak.
On the culinary front, it was a superb occasion: Claire outdid herself in the kitchen and there was a delicious choice of salads. The dessert buffet was as good as ever, with the highlight proving to be by far the simplest dish: raspberries in redcurrant jelly, just sharp enough to set off the richness of the other dishes.
As for the cabaret, it was fabulous. Last year's consisted almost entirely of musical items, most of them sung, but this time round we had clarsach (Scottish harp) music, a trombone duet, a thoroughly idiomatic recitation of Burns' Tam O'Shanter in addition to all the singing. My main contribution was a rendition of the Méditation from Massenet's Thaïs (which had been performed at the Fringe concert we sang in last year), only with a twist: not being a violinist, I shared soloist duties with Eleanor, turning it into a tribute to I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. Yes, we played it on kazoo and swanee-whistle - it was a hoot. Mother, who'd arrived in Edinburgh that afternoon, demanded to know afterwards why no-one recorded these things ...
(If you're unfortunate enough not to know ISIHAC, here's some information on it; I can also recommend listening to a recent broadcast - click on "Comedy & Quizzes" and scroll down the alphabetical list.)
As it happened, the day of the choir party was also Luke's 30th. I'd spoken to him during the afternoon - before he'd got a chance to get horribly drunk - and am glad to say he was delighted with the present I got him: the full score of Così fan tutte, a mutual favourite which we'd seen at ENO three years ago in a sparkling production. We're now busy working out when one of us can visit the other again ...
A bit of background to start off with: there's a choir dinner every December, a more-or-less formal event held at one of the private golf clubs, attended by current and retired members of the choir, along with the clergy. The choir party, which usually takes place in late January, is an altogether more relaxed affair hosted by the rector and his family. His wife, who sings soprano in the choir, takes it upon herself to cook a choice of main courses, while members of the choir share out responsibility for salads, desserts and the like (I contributed a tartiflette and a Sachertorte this year). The other thing to point out is that the evening culminates in a cabaret put on by various members of the choir: a chance for us all to let our hair down, so to speak.
On the culinary front, it was a superb occasion: Claire outdid herself in the kitchen and there was a delicious choice of salads. The dessert buffet was as good as ever, with the highlight proving to be by far the simplest dish: raspberries in redcurrant jelly, just sharp enough to set off the richness of the other dishes.
As for the cabaret, it was fabulous. Last year's consisted almost entirely of musical items, most of them sung, but this time round we had clarsach (Scottish harp) music, a trombone duet, a thoroughly idiomatic recitation of Burns' Tam O'Shanter in addition to all the singing. My main contribution was a rendition of the Méditation from Massenet's Thaïs (which had been performed at the Fringe concert we sang in last year), only with a twist: not being a violinist, I shared soloist duties with Eleanor, turning it into a tribute to I'm sorry, I haven't a clue. Yes, we played it on kazoo and swanee-whistle - it was a hoot. Mother, who'd arrived in Edinburgh that afternoon, demanded to know afterwards why no-one recorded these things ...
(If you're unfortunate enough not to know ISIHAC, here's some information on it; I can also recommend listening to a recent broadcast - click on "Comedy & Quizzes" and scroll down the alphabetical list.)
As it happened, the day of the choir party was also Luke's 30th. I'd spoken to him during the afternoon - before he'd got a chance to get horribly drunk - and am glad to say he was delighted with the present I got him: the full score of Così fan tutte, a mutual favourite which we'd seen at ENO three years ago in a sparkling production. We're now busy working out when one of us can visit the other again ...
posted by Anthony at
00:11
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