Christopher Bell's Top Recommendations for Online Performances
Maestro Christopher Bell, Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus, has provided us with a real treat: some insight into his favorite music performances available online, each surrounding a different theme. Two of them are choral works, and one is a performance by a soloist.
We are so fortunate to learn about these pieces that are so near and dear to our Maestro! Thank you, Christopher, for sharing this music with us!
A personal favourite:
The choir that I formed in 1996 is the National Youth Choir of Scotland. In USA the term Youth Choir is used for a younger choir; in the UK the singers are young adults. In 2014 NYCOS was invited to perform Mozart Requiem at the BBC Proms in London.
A respectable recording:
Some of the most profound and challenging performances I have been involved in over the last 10 years have been with John Eliot Gardiner at the helm. His music making is the highest standard. Once after a performance of Missa Solemnis, I went home and got out all my CDs of Missa, listening to the last two movements of them all - till 4 am. His was the most outstanding for me. Here is his Bach B Minor Mass.
Bach B Minor Mass
Something for your downtime:
I will share with you that whilst I am extremely happy in my current relationship, I have not always been so fortunate. Unlucky in love has been my thought. Of course, one wonders whether it’s worth getting too close to someone, that if it doesn’t work out, is the pain worth it. The Thorn upon the Rose by a favourite Irish singer, Mary Black has the most marvellous line “I’d rather feel the thorn, than to never see the rose”. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
The Thorn Upon The Rose