Lighting the Legend, 4 November 2016

Back again in our spiritual home, and singing just outside of where we normally rehearse, we were again pleased to take part in this yearly event. Though we now sing in a variety of places and our members come from all over Greater Manchester and even beyond, we are the Ordsall  A Cappella singers, and we owe Ordsall.

There was a magical atmosphere again as people gathered with their beautifully fashioned lanterns ready for the parade up to Ordsall Hall.

This year Lighting the Legend kickstarted a week of events celebrating Salford TUC’s 150 year anniversary.

Yes, our songs reflected that sentiment exactly:

“Until nations cease to be,

Unison in harmony.”  

And “Drops of water turn the mill, singly none”. Definitely trade union spirit in those words.

Outdoor events and Greater Manchester are always bit of a risk; it poured. But we were well equipped with umbrellas and hats and it would take more than a few drops of rain to daunt Ordsall spirit. We tried to defy the weather by also including a rendition of newly learnt Here Comes the Sun. You know what?  The rain did stop for a very brief period after that.

Something else is very clear too: Ordsall rocks.  

Great fun for the choir again. And thank you for the sandwiches, Ordsall.  

Wig, hats and Wind in the Willows –singing at the Lowry 29 October 2016

Lovely to be invited again to sing in this fantastic space to help at the Family Fun Festival. We had fun too. Well, don’t we always when we sing? And getting to wear wigs and fancy hats and other funny things was just the icing on the cake.

Hats and wigs and other fun things. 

It was a bit of a challenge getting there:

·         Manchester United were playing at home in the afternoon

·         The matinee of a big musical was taking place at the theatre

·         There was an Open Day at Salford University

·         There were replacement busses on the Bury Metrolink line.

But would we let that put us off? Of course not! Twenty or so of us made it there and parts were well balanced.

We were looked after very well by Assistant Musical Director Daisy. I Got Rhythm; It Don’t mean a Thing; Deep River; Here, There and Everywhere / Long Winding Road; One Day Like This, Kiss the Girl, Deep River, Hail Smiling Morn; and we ended with Viva la Musica. Did we get the sound right up to the top of that gloriously high ceiling? I think we might have though we didn’t raise the rafters and the roof isn’t in need of repair. Ah, but that’s a song for another day.

Daisy doing great stuff. Love the new hair! 

We sang for forty minutes and what a nice selection of songs. In no particular order, as they say, because I can’t remember the exact order we did them in and forgive me if I’ve left any out, we performed:

We had an appreciative audience, so if you were there and stopped to listen- thank you.   

Several of us were able to stay on and watch Wind in the Willows.  It’s being shown here before it goes up to the West End. A real fun production, and even though it may have seemed a little sophisticated for this audience that had many children in it, they seemed to enjoy it. It’s a well-loved and well-known story so the adults enjoyed it.

There was some super music in it and I found myself thinking that several of the numbers would be fun to sing.

                 

The Hedgehogs, Field Mice and Swallows were delightful. There were a lot of different regional accents in the show – Irish, Brummie, Scouse, and of course Toad himself spoke a wonderful Received English verging on Posh.  

A difficult moment came when a piece of the set didn’t move; they had to bring the safety curtain down and the house lights up. We were still in Toad’s bedroom when he was supposed to be appearing in court. It only took a few seconds to fix and soon the show was underway again.

“It was just a technicality. You know how irksome these can be,” said Toad to the judge when he explained about stealing a car. HA HA!

It seemed like a cast of hundreds but there were just about as many in the cast as there’d been on our choir earlier. Gosh, they worked hard. And there was going to be an evening performance as well.   

The show finished conveniently at about 4.43. We scuttled off quickly to avoid the football crowds.

A fantastic afternoon all round.  No wonder we keep on coming back for more.       

Another weekend in May, away, at Rydal Hall, Rydal, Ambleside

Sitting in the sun and blinking in the sun- a few words form one of the songs we’re learning and weren’t we just doing that at Rydal Hall last weekend.

  

Blinking in the sun 

Some of us managed to get there early enough to enjoy the gardens and the four o’clock tea and tray bake. Others had to contend with usual Friday night traffic, a closed A591 and actually being able to get away from work.

The view form the terrace - some of us also had this view from our rooms

Everyone got there safely eventually. Supper was a flexible feast. And there was singing in the lovely entrance hall, and then later in the bar. 

We were lucky with the weather so as well as singing there was walking and talking and getting to know each other better. At least one of us went down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. Yes, there was a performance of this story in the gardens and anyway there is also a sculpture trail there all about Alice.  

The White Rabbit was very late.  

    

We were well looked after at Rydal Hall. The food was good and nicely presented. The cake, especially the cheesecake, was divine. Cake, is of course, always important to us. The staff were friendly and helpful.

Straight after breakfast on Saturday we got to it. 

The starter for Sunday lunch 

 

The 9.45 start turned into a 9.30 one. A day and a half of singing followed. Fifteen songs, no less. My, our sight reading improved. Some pieces were a little familiar, others completely new. There was a lot of Bahs (not just form the sheep, though they made enough noise) Tums, (no problems with the food)  and Yips (no, no-one had brought their dog along – that would be the sopranos!) A lot of lovely pieces.   

  

Music and more music

                   

Saturday evening there was more singing in the entrance hall. We tried out some of the new material but also went through some of our normal repertoire. We had no audience. We just sang to each other. That was kind of nice.  

We did the same thing again on Sunday morning outside for twenty minutes or so. This was a real highlight. What could be nicer than singing in the summer sunshine in this beautiful spot?  The sheep didn’t seem to mind. Neither did the tourists.

Singing in the sun

  

These weekends away are always a success. Our confidence grows. Friendships deepen. Ideas emerge. We’ve done a few now but this has to be one of the best venues.    

It was all over too soon.

But guess what – we’re coming again next year!                

Singing for Joey: The People's Premiere of War Horse, 23 July 2014

Suddenly there is the unmistakable noise of a horse’s hooves behind us. We’re singing in a gallery so this might be surprising. Yet we’re kind of expecting it. A change in the expression on the faces of the sopranos and basses, and the delight in the eyes of the guests arriving confirm that he’s here. The star of the show, Joey, has come out to greet us all.  

At The Lowry

There was a bit of a purple theme when we sang at The Lowry on Tuesday 10 December. Some of us wore purple tinsel, others wore purple hats and the collection bucket provided by The Lowry was also quite conveniently purple. The Appeal this year is about helping to build a bright future for young parents and their children in Salford. Read more here.

In the bath again

Yes, we were invited again to sing at the Victoria Baths, Manchester. This lovely building is being brought back to life and this time there was actually water in one of the pools. It felt a little chilly there: we have been spoilt by the recent fine summer. And as only one of the pools was filled we were again able to sing in the bath. There were a lot of people there, perhaps enticed to something indoors as the weather outside was so cold. And we soon warmed up because singing always helps there as well.  

We had ample time to rehearse today in the room in the basement, which the people at the Victoria Baths made available for us. We had a good long warm-up session and even though we were here to perform we still learnt something new. We must sing from the front of our faces, not in our throats.

We visited some old favourites: Deep River, I Think it’s Going to Rain Today, Imagine, Soul Wind, Wonderful World, Memories, Kiss the Girl, Blue Sky, and newer but now firmed up The Long and Winding Road and Longer. One we’ve known for a while, but still find tricky - Let’s Do It – was fun to do today. Once it becomes fun you know you’re winning.

Did I imagine it or was our actual performance better this time? Did we tell the story? Did we look the part? I was aware of us pulling together even more than normal.

The audience was great and no doubt that helped. They clapped really loudly. It’s nice to be appreciated when you’re actually enjoying yourself.  

We did of course again sample the excellent cake in the friendly tea room. Once more the pretty windows let in a charming light even though it was such a dull day.

Thank you Victoria Baths, for having us