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E-mail: ece@paulspicer.com
Website: www.englishchoralexperience.co.uk

NEWSLETTER No.4

15 December 2020

Dear All

These times of uncertainty with the unknown all around us, including the positive news of the vaccine, the ocean of uncertainty over the Brexit deal which is coming to its conclusion as I write, and the certainty that we are going to have to live with the virus and all the associated restrictions for some time yet, make the task of writing this newsletter a difficult one. But I wanted to be in touch with everyone for Christmas to wish you all the happiest festive season possible under current restrictions.

I am still working hard on the ECE commission and have now completed five movements (the latest being the setting of Philip Lancaster’s lovely poem which also provides the title of the whole work: ‘Oceans of Eternal Thought’). Here is a bit of the manuscript of that with the text page to the left.

As to next year’s courses, we are still having to wait to see what is possible. I think it will be very unlikely that we will be going to France at Easter, and by then we will have the ‘double whammy’ of additional travel restrictions to Europe which will be a pain for all of us. I am sure some of you will be strong Brexit supporters but I would like someone to tell me the advantages it will bring us other than the extremely nebulous concept of ‘sovereignty’ when, in truth, we rely so much on our European neighbours and friends as well as our global contacts for trade and security. Anyway, I will get off my hobbyhorse! I love this though:

I rather expect that the first course we will be able to hold will be the July week at Abbey Dore though if Winchester in May is possible we will jump in there. We wait to see. But I really hope that if July is where we restart we can have a celebratory week with lots of people, happy partying and wonderful music making. I will be looking forward to sharing the new commission with you and lots of other varied repertoire. We hope the conductors’ course will also be able to get going again.

Some of you may be interested in the new CD release from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir which has had a clutch of excellent reviews. It’s a disc of Marian-related pieces entitled Rosa Mystica and is on the Somm label as usual. Very varied repertoire including John Tavener, Nicholas Ludford (fantastic substantial piece from the early 16th century), Bruckner, Howells, Dyson, Britten, Judith Bingham, Trond Kverno, Cecilia MacDowall, Ola Gjeilo and Carl Rütti. It might make a good last minute Christmas present!

I know there are lots of calls on everyone’s purses at this time but please don’t forget the urgency of the Abbey Dore roof appeal. It is a huge job and like all churches and cathedrals they have been severely affected by the lock-downs and not receiving income such as we give them for our choral week.

https://www.doreabbey.org.uk/roof-appeal

You can see what’s happening by looking this up on their website through this link.

I send all of you warmest good wishes for Christmas and the sincere hope that 2021 will start the process of returning to some sort of normality and that we may be able to start singing together again.

From Paul, Rei and Troppo