Bah, humbug!

[j4]

New in the snack-machine today: Walkers turkey and stuffing flavoured crisps, with "Merry Crispmas" emblazoned across the front of the packet.

*

In a probably-doomed attempt to swim against the tide of tinselled tat, I'd really like to get to a decent Nine Lessons and Carols service this year. However, I haven't really had much to do with churches in Cambridge, for obvious reasons, so any recommendations welcomed. Not sure yet whether I feel like going the whole way and queueing for the famous one, though.

It's particularly at Christmas that I realise how much I miss chapel choir, actually. Does anybody know of any Cambridge college chapels who let non-students (not even ex-students of Cambridge) sing with their choir? I sing alto/tenor, can read pointed psalms, and can sight-sing reasonably confidently (though less so in auditions, natch).

Comments

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Someone else of the female persuasion who sings tenor! Hurrah!

I only know of one other besides myself. She and I went to the Big Sing (or whatever it was called) rehearse-and-perform-Carmina-Burana-in-a-day the other year, and wound up in the front row of the tenor section... which meant in the front row of the entire choir. I'm not quite certain what people made of a couple of women in the middle of what theoretically ought to be a male section, but what the hell... we could sing the part and that was what mattered.

[angua.livejournal.com]

You can add me to that too.. although to be fair I'm quite a high tenor and I'm much more suited to alto.

I generally sing alto but on occasion when the tenors were being wusses I've been drafted in before :)

[j4.livejournal.com]

when the tenors were being wusses

Are they ever anything else? ;)

I was the most macho member of Pembroke's tenor section... I found this quite worrying.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

I'm a tenor too. And there was at least one more in Chaos while we were at uni.

(Chaos: CHoir And OrcheStra...)

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Oops, no, the S stands for Society. Brookes aren't quite that strange.

[j4.livejournal.com]

Wow, envy -- I'd have loved to do "Carmina Burana"!

I've known quite a few female tenors actually -- I'm used to singing in small choirs/groups and there are always more lasses than lads, and the girls with decent lowish altos tend to get roped in as emergency tenors. Why do so few blokes seem able/willing to sing tenor?

There was one service at Pembroke where I was singing tenor, Edmund (our junior organ scholar) was singing alto, and Sara (senior organ scholar) was making the most of a hangover and singing bass. We thought it was hilarious, but I doubt if the congregation (usually consisting of one or two ancient half-asleep dons) even noticed...

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Back in high school, we had a madrigal group consisting of about half a dozen sopranos, about the same number of altos, me singing tenor and our (male) physics teacher singing bass. Bass is unfortunately a little beyond me even with a hangover, though with my current scratchy throat I might be able to make a better stab at it than usual :)

The tenor part for Carmina Burana's great. Not only do you get most of the well-known tunes (an octave or two below the sopranos) but the men have a lot of the really fun bits anyhow - In Taberna is sooo much fun to sing, even if it does require inordinate amounts of breath to keep up with the pace.

[j4.livejournal.com]

We never managed a madrigal group, but we had the "Sixth Form vocal ensemble" which didn't have any basses but managed some rather nice close-harmony singing nonetheless.

Bass is unfortunately a little beyond me even with a hangover

Me too! Bottom D is about my sensible limit, bottom C at a push (and it doesn't always come out very well). Sara managed a clear, no-nonsense bottom A. *boggle*

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

About the same as me, then. I can make bottom C with luck and a following wind, but not reliably; D is usually fairly sure, E is never a problem.

A. Sheesh. I should be so lucky. :)

[keris.livejournal.com]

I've been known to get a B or B flat before, although C is really my performing limit. I can't sing alto, it goes way too high!
*waves and bounces*
dott the midget tenor.

[teleute.livejournal.com]

I am so impressed with you all. I'm a confirmed mezzo since despite haveing a 2.5 octave range the sop parts are too high and the alto parts too low. I once managed a low D when I had tonsilitis, and was really proud of myself. However, due to the tonsilitis, I could only sing about 5 notes, all of them lower than I'd ever sung before ;)

[imc.livejournal.com]

Why do so few blokes seem able/willing to sing tenor?

Because low notes are more fun? :-)

Most men appear to be baritones and thus struggle at tenor parts when they go too high. Some tenor parts are interesting and I've been known to section-hop on occasions when there are too few real tenors, but I have to cheat to get the top notes.

[kaet.livejournal.com]

I sing a slightly sharp B flat. On good days I can also sing a slightly flat B natural.

[emperor]

Wow, envy -- I'd have loved to do "Carmina Burana"!

I'm always amused by the "fish chorus"[1] :-)






[1]oh, for tuna!

[j4.livejournal.com]

<groan>