Singing Bach

Choir this evening and a work by Bach is offered up, Ich hatte viel Bekummernis BWV 21. It's about 40 mins making it the longest piece this chamber choir has tackled. I actually know it from a programme I made about the singer Emma Kirkby for ITV a couple of years back. She made it sound so effortless then but tonight, oh God, it's like putting together a giant musical jig-saw. Being the slightly austere choirmaster that he is, Nicky insisted on running it at a faster tempo than any of us could really manage. Still, you do get some sense of the overall picture doing it this way. Continuing the jig-saw comparison, by the end of the rehearsal I'd say we'd found all the pieces with straight edges. A small start then. Thank God we've got until April to perform it. Earlier some dispute as to whether we should perform Beatus Vir by Monteverdi. Yes, said some, it's a lovely piece. No said others, it's too populist. What's wrong with that etc etc....to be decided. The world wants to know.