Singing

I can't sing at the moment, having lost my voice, but thankfully I can still enjoy the singing of others.  Ann and I had a lovely evening out today when The Sixteen came to St Chad's, Shrewsbury as part of their latest travels around the country.  The music was wonderful, the singing superb.

There are actually 35 singers who will be part of this year's series of concerts, not 16, and on each specific evening, all told, there are 20 of those 35 taking part (6 sopranos, 4 altos, 4 tenors and 6 basses).  Two of the pieces were scored for ATB, so were sung by just 14 voices.  The quality of performance often suggested a far larger choir, and the blend of voices and the balance between parts is what makes The Sixteen so special.  There can really deliver some power: I should think St Chad's seats some 600 people, and some of the venues at which they'll be singing will be considerably larger than that - but, when it mattered, they could fill the building with song.

It was still light when we emerged, and made our way through the buzz of conversation to where bats were flittering to and fro among the trees at the top of The Quarry.  Unseen garden flowers scented the air as we made our way back to our car.  And a sense of having been part of a really quite special experience lingered with us as we journeyed home.