La Collégiale

When I'm singing I don't have time or opportunity to take photos, so here's a quick snap taken in the imposing Eglise Collégiale in Castelnaudary. It's a pain to sing in, notably because the ideal spot for the choir is at the back of the church. That means all the dozens of pews have to be turned round for the performance and then returned to their original position afterwards. Luckily with 50 choir members the restoration of the original arrangement didn't take too long. Then it was off to the Mairie to eat, drink and make merry, celebrating the end of our first series of concerts as an independent choir.

It all went well, although it seems it is impossible for us to sing this programme without making an egregious error -- but never in the same place. Today the tenors produced a completely off-the-wall note in Bruckner's Locus Iste, a piece we know so well that we sing it without scores. Actually well enough that despite their bum steer the rest of us managed to get it back on track. This hasn't been my favourite programme by any means, but it has its moments. Today's soundtrack is Byrd's Agnus Dei, the piece I liked best (apart from the encore, see yesterday's backblip). I made a Flickr album of the best photos.

While I was singing, S had been out walking all day, so it was a rather atypical wedding anniversary, celebrated with a quiet late-evening glass of wine at home.