It’s like having a new toy that we want everyone to play with! Our new choirbook stand got its first outing at the Friends of Cambridge Early Music workshop, Sisters of Ferrara, on the weekend of 13-15 September.
Using some Sibelius-generated scores we sang chant and polyphony from parts, learning all the time about how high it needs to be, how many can stand around it, and crucially – what it feels like to sing in a huddle rather than a semicircle.
After the workshop was over, we packed it up in the back of the car, and took it on a short trip down the M11 and the M23 to Brighton, where the singers and musicians of Musica Secreta had their turn to play.
This was our first chance to rehearse for our upcoming CD launch and concert tour, “From Darkness Into Light” – finding out how the stand works for the professional ensemble is a crucial step to making the performance happen in the way that we’d like.
Having the viol in with the singers helped with communication, as did having our voice-part “partners” diagonally opposite. We are still working towards the optimal huddle distance, too!
We hope you will join us at our concert in Brighton on 25 October: the CD launch and opening event of the Brighton Early Music Festival.
