Tour Updates

Muriel Brindle

How sad to learn of Muriel's passing today (2nd February 2012). We had all hoped to
hear of a period of remission so that we might be with her again, but alas, it was not to
be.

I could write and say that Muriel was a long-standing member of the Chorus and sat on
the committee for many years, etc , etc. What I want to say is that this woman had
elegance, poise, loved music, was clearly well-educated and yet was fantastically
grounded too. She was earthy in that sense of 'feet-on-the-ground' not
'head-in-the-sky'. She was incredibly welcoming to me when I joined the Chorus in
2005 and has been a constant source of encouragement to me.

Mike has been a constant supporter of Muriel's many music endeavours, and has been
a photographic record-keeper of the Chorus' activities over many years. He is part of
the KLFC family and has been on every tour as a lively participant. Like Muriel, Mike is
a really engaging and charming person, and we send him our sincere and heartfelt
condolences at this time; indeed to all Muriel's children and grandchildren as they
come to terms with the loss of one of those people who shone a light in the world.

For all those of you who worry about whether a voice can continue to be good as you
age- remember Muriel's example- each Music Director had no difficulty in hearing her
purity of tone and asking her to take solos. Muriel's voice was magic; I remember last
year standing right next to her in Ghent as we sang Vaughan Williams G Minor Mass- it
was inspiring to hear her strong and confident voice.

Sadly this voice has now fallen silent. We will miss her enormously. God bless you
Muriel.

NSO Concert with KLFC Ladies

The Ladies of KLFC have been invited to join the NSO to sing in their Holst Planets
concert on Sunday 25th March. Anyone wishing to take part should see Jess Woo.
Extra rehearsals have been scheduled for Monday's 5th, 12th, 19th March at 6:30pm
before the main KLFC rehearsal.

Greetings to Colorado Springs!

Hello to Tina Spiller Phillips and Soli Deo Gloria in Colorado Springs!
Here's a lovely version of 'Beatus Vir' (mp3) for you to listen to!

Good luck with your May 5th concert.

Coro Stellante Ladies Choir

Concert "Come to the Music" 5th February 2012 at 7pm
Venue: Downham Market Methodist Church PE38 9JE
Tickets Ł10 (Ł8)

Performance of Stainer's Crucifixion

Date: Wednesday March 28th 2012 at 7pm
Venue: Heacham Church
More details here (from Penny Sutton)

Choir Auditioning...July 2012

It's that time again folks............ whole Choir rehearsals will take place over the
weekend of 7th and 8th July. The format will be similar to that in 2010, Tom will
announce which piece he wants everyone to sing in plenty of time for manic practicing
and allocate a little rehearsal time to help us all out. The venue will be announced in
due course.

Frank Martin Day- Advanced Notice

Frank Martin Study Day - Saturday September 8th - Grimston School (it's not called
that now but I don't know the new name) rehearsals 10-1 and 2-5 with a BBQ
afterwards.

Normandy Tour April 2012

Stay tuned for more details as and when they become available.

Belgian Tour 2011- the Aftermath

Note...I am writing this on Dec 8th 2011...this section below soon to be deleted unless
you want it preserved in some format:

(Audio files at the end of this piece)

Well, putting the glorious beer aside for just a moment, we should highlight some of
the aspects of this year's tour...

* What a privilege it was to have a group of fine singers from the Southend Festival
Chorus sing with us and augment our ranks. They drank beer! They were funny! They
sang like professionals! Heartfelt greetings to Colin, Dennis, Gavin, Lawrence and
John...let's sing together again soon! Mama Mia- here we go again...my, my up the
Belfry!

A Limerick..

"In the most gratifying of trends
we find ourselves singing with friends
For bolstering our ranks
We give them our thanks
Our fine, new-found friends from Sarfend"

(try saying that quickly after some fine Belgian beers)

* The Battlefield Tour was very moving (as expected)- but who could predict how it
would move them personally? Important impressions for me -

(1) The silent and poignant grave of one of the youngest deaths in WW1: Valentine
Strudwick aged 15. That's... aged... 15

(2) The stark German cemetery at Langemark made all the more stark by the lack of
flowers or 'softenings' at the other Allied cemeteries. The sculptures by Emil Krieger
were fantastic in their mournfulness, too. A recent hand-written note on a grave noted
"to all our brothers and sisters- war is futile". I did not share the opinion of our
otherwise erudite tour guide when she postulated that the Germans did not look after
their cemeteries as well as the Allies- no, I think they are preserving the starkness of
the madness of war 90 years on with immense regret for their folly. "Let he who is
without sin cast the first stone".

(3) Our MD needing to take some time out after rehearsing at Tyne Cot- obviously
deeply affected by the surrounding graves, and (rightly) finding solace in his mum
(after all we are all sons and daughters of mothers),

(4) The evening ceremony at the Menin Gate- the austerity and reverence of the
ceremony overtook and overwhelmed us all- and so many people in attendance
(400?). One Australian lady came up to me afterwards and thanked me profusely for
our singing- apparently she just burst into tears as we sang- such is the power of
music to release emotions. I heard other chorus members tell of similar encounters.

* The first full concert in Ghent was (for me) marked by a lack of confidence all round,
certainly in rehearsal, and in the end proved unjustified. The concert went off well
enough, despite nervous fears. Ghent was a bit of a surpise wasn't it? A lovely city-
and one worth going back to in maybe 18 months when all the roadworks are finished.

I meant to go and study the 'Mystic Lamb' at the cathedral, but was completely taken
aback by the exhibit in the crypt by Miriam Kahn. Her work in clay and bronze was
absolutely stunning and arresting. She is one of those wonderful, rare observers of
human nature and I commend her work to you. Here is a short film about her. It's in
French. If anyone wants more, I'll translate it for you; but her evident humanity
transcends linguistic borders. After spending time with her pieces, I was exhausted
emotionally and will have to leave the Lamb for another visit. Thank you Miriam.

* The Bruges concert in Sint Jakob's... there was a moment early on, when, in
rehearsal, we first lined up and sang, and I thought "Oh No! What a disaster- the
acoustics are like a giant swimming pool". In an inspired gambit, Tom suggested we
sing in the round to try and 'contain' the sound and presumably to be able to
synchronise by seeing each others' lips move! It turned out to be a really inspired
decision- don't fight the acoustic, use it and co-operate with it. I loved this concert
and it will stay with me for a long time. Here are a few recordings from that concert.

The audio is untreated and is barely controlled by the chorus, but you can get a sense
of the majesty of the sound in that space. I can't reduce the reverberation digitally
and so "it is what it is". Don't compare these pieces to CD recordings but instead think
of them as audio snapshots; like ear polaroids for your memory.

"If Ye Love Me" Bruges 2011

"For the Fallen" Bruges 2011
(apologies for the car horn right at the end- it's real life , folks!)

"Beati Quorum Via" Bruges 2011

Apparently, some English people from Buckinghamshire were at that concert and were
moved enough to write to the Kings's Lynn News and commend us! How nice is that?

Finally...beer. Oh come on, the beer was absolutely wonderful. Rochefort 10 clocked in
at an impressive 11.5%. Jane Little (alto) had an epiphany and discovered fruit beers.
I advised anyone who would listen to me, and I even drank 'Pee Klak' after Clare
Maxwell (pucker second soprano) ordered it on the strength of its novelty name and
declared it to be 'sour and foul'. Not so Clare! It's beer! How bad can it be?

Extensive, idiosyncratic beer guide to Belgian Beers

Details of the 2011 Programme for KLFC Members

Here is the current programme of events for this year

Return of the Black Folder

The very nice man from the Black Folder company has sent us details of how to
purchase his super black music folders in 2011. Click here for details

Tips on Singing

Our Music Director recommends having a look at Gareth Malone's website for useful
tips on singing techniques. On this site there are links to a set of BBC 'masterclasses'
on warm-ups by Rebecca Lodge of the BBC singers and vocal sounds with Suzy Digby.
Is it just me or does she say 'Aardvart'?

There's a lot going on, and so here is a summary of other events taking place over and
above our normal concert programme. Information correct as of 24th Oct 2010

Advertising a Music-Related Event

Please feel free to request that information about a music-related event be posted
here in the members' area; it's better than clogging up the half-time interval with lots
of notices, plus the information is written for all to see. Write down the information and
pass it to Fraser Reich who will put the information on this site.

KLFC Meeting Minutes

Minutes of March 1st 2010 (PDF file)

Minutes of April 29th 2010 (PDF File)

Minutes of July 5th 2010 (PDF File)

Minutes of Sept 23rd 2010 (PDF File)

Minutes of Oct 26th 2010 (PDF File)

Minutes of Nov 29th 2010 (PDF File)

Minutes of Jan 11th 2011 (PDF File)

Minutes of April 4th 2011 (PDF File)

Minutes of November 17th 2011 (PDF File)