[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]
A while back I wrote a post called Over-rehearsed or under-prepared: which is better? One of the comments got me thinking about things that have gone wrong for me in performance or rehearsal.
Then I thought: I bet people have lots of interesting horror stories from their own experience with choirs.
So here’s your chance! What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened with your choir?
I remember many, many times giving out the wrong starting notes in performance. Sometimes the choir just carried on regardless and sang their parts with the new starting notes. They sang impeccably and consistently producing the strangest harmonies! Other times they would point out before we started that something was wrong (phew!).
Other times we’d somehow get off on the wrong foot and the song would slowly, but inevitably, get worse and worse as it went off the rails both in timing and tuning. I would wince and choir members’ faces would scrunch up and a general air of terror would pervade the choir until I brought things to a halt. Usually we’d set off again and things would turn out fine.
But once – with a particularly rousing Georgian song – we tried three times and it just wasn’t going to work. For the first time ever I abandoned the song (and we never dared tackle it again!).
Now it’s your turn. Do leave a comment and share your horror stories.
Chris Rowbury
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