Start:	Dec 1, '07 7:30p
End:	Dec 21, '07

It's that time of year again. No snippets to whet your appetite this time round (sorry) - hopefully we might have a snippet or two of us singing when we've done the concert. This term it's Schoenberg, Britten, Poulenc, and some Swiss dude who has a christian name for a surname. They're all kind of tricky, but they're also all very rewarding. "Friede auf Erden" is an archaic German phrase meaning 'Peace on Earth' - unfortunately the first batch of tickets I printed out had a minor typo on them (I missed off the final 'n'), which apparently meant they translated as 'Peace on dirt' instead. Hey ho.

Start:	Jun 9, '07 7:30p
End:	Jun 9, '07 8:45p

This year we've sung some pretty challenging stuff, and this gig is no exception. Poulenc's music is, imho, fiercely intellectual and by no means easy listening, and the Tormis stuff is... well, it's in Estonian, okay?

The programme is chosen by our conductor - he always chooses really interesting lineups. I haven't asked him, but the theme I see running thorugh all this stuff is a meditation on humanity, or perhaps humanism (although I'm a bit vague on the precise definition of humanism). Anyway, the Poulenc piece seems very humanist to me, as are the French Chansons (I'm sure that should be Chansons Francais, but what the hell), whereas the madrigals are full of lusty singing about sex (as all madrigals are). Even the Jaanilualud (which means St John's Songs in Estonian) seem to be a mix of religious and profane themes. And of course the Ken Johnstone piece, as the name suggests, is about death, and our relationship with the dead. It's kind of an interesting mix, in an intellectual kind of way.

Some samples here.

Okay... bit of background - I'm singing in a concert on Saturday with this lot. Since Summer Girl can't make it (she has more important things to do, apparently), I posted this so she'd know what I'm talking about when I start to panic next week.