Songs of the Rainbow

The house has finally lost its summer heat and it's time to drag in the logs.

Yesterday I joined a choir: Chorale Arc en Ciel, a small group of about 25 voices which meets in a town on the other side of Jonzac, about 40 minutes' drive away. We're doing three gigs before the end of December. The material is mainly chanson-style plus some short classical and liturgical pieces, and includes several in Russian. They don't have the funds to pay an orchestra, so most of the concerts are a cappella, or with organ or piano accompaniment. The standard is quite high, and the conductor is very clear; he concentrates on intonation and timing, with less emphasis on style than I'm used to, but it's so good to hear the basics being sorted out. They do some serious warm-up exercises, which is always encouraging.

The warm-up is taken by a teacher. It reminded me of the old primary school system in France where supervisors dealt with everything except the actual lessons, leaving the teachers free of such things as dinner duty and grazed knees. Anyway, the conductor shares the warm-up, so there's none of the lack of contact and opportunity for observation which marred the school system, useful though it was in other ways.

Back to our sheep[0]. An Anglo alto who lives near Lorignac gave me a lift and introduced me. They're a very friendly bunch (the choir, that is, not the sheep), with a social food-drink-and-natter session at the end of the rehearsal. I'm glad to say they didn't chat during rehearsal, which is so annoying. Because there was a shortage of sopranos, and they do quite a few divisi pieces, I felt especially welcome. It's going to be fun.

[0] Literal translation of a French phrase meaning return to the subject.