Mahler 8 at the Royal Albert Hall October 23rd 2022
The Waynflete Singers joined forces with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus to perform Mahler’s 8th Symphony in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko. The massed choral forces also included the Philharmonia Chorus, the City of London Choir, Tiffin Boys Choir and the Schola Cantorum of of Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School . And a line-up of eight soloists!
Two of our members have written blogposts about the experience:
Mark Wainwright Bass 2 writes:
An unforgettable Mahler 8 journey
Well, one thing is certain: Mahler certainly knew how to make an entrance. And if a couple of blasts from one of the world’s largest organs wasn’t enough, then 400 or so voices singing “Veni” at you must have surely woken the packed Royal Albert Hall up. “We have arrived!”
And arrived after quite an epic journey for many of us from when we signed up to this project in June. Here’s a few of things I learned along the way:
Not to underestimate the sheer effort required to master this demanding piece.
The mad beauty of Mahler’s music.
The warmth of the welcome from the BSC.
The many, many places NOT to sing an ‘S’.
How to sing with fish lips.
How to bring out my inner Māori and sing in full-on Haka mode.
The joy of listening to Vasily, the soloists and the RPO work their magic up close.
And the journey finished with an unforgettable high. There are some pieces of music where unfamiliar audiences can be forgiven for being unsure when it’s all over and they can clap. M8 is not one of them. The final “Hinan” started fortissimo and Vasily demanded a crescendo from there. And that still wasn’t enough for old Mahler. No. He needed another full page of emphatic orchestral underlining. “WE’VE FINISHED!
Caroline Wainwright Soprano 1 writes:
It was so exciting when the idea of collaborating with the BSC once again was first mooted. For me it brought back memories of the Delius Mass of Life performed in the St Paul's fishbowl, and subsequent recording, and a BSC trip to Netanya in Israel, where Neville Creed had the not insignificant task of reigning in the disparate parts of a brand new orchestra made up of newly arrived Jewish musicians to Israel from the post cold war Eastern European bloc. Mobile phones had just come on stream widescale, and rehearsals were peppered with instrumentalists going off stage left right and centre mid rehearsal to take calls that seemingly couldn't be missed. Chaotic times!
It wasn't only the excitement of the collaboration with the BSC, under the spectacular direction and endless sharp humour of Gavin Carr, but the whole "Wayns on Tour" phenomenon. It's just such fun getting on a bus (I don't get out much! ) and going off on an adventure with such a wonderful bunch of people and all the musical memories and shared experiences that this evokes.
The scale of the operation was immense: apparently the RPO looked at 50 venues across London before deciding that Woolwich Works, an ex military parade Hall, was the only option that could accommodate us all.
The thrill of the actual event was incomparable with anything I have ever experienced before. To experience the Royal Albert Hall so full and buzzing after the pandemic was very emotional. The brass up behind us was spine tingling. Vasily knitted everything together so beautifully and creatively, and the ovation at the end was incredible.
A mixture of five and four star reviews from the national broadsheets summed up the general consensus that this was an event like no other.
Immense thanks must go to Veronica Shaw for her tireless hard work, yet cool head, in navigating us all through it as our lynch pin with the BSC, and to former chairman Howard Nattrass for sticking with the dream.