MUSIC
IN FINE VOICE
ŮË˪¶£ª¶£}ÐШ»¯¯££»Ë¢Ç»µ ËÐǶ£Ð¨Ð»ËÐǶ£Ð¨ğ Joseph Giles ıt}Çòólj𨪵˯¢}µµÇ»¢ ËÜÇ}¯¶Ëµ¯ËğÅ»¶ÇËݨã ШªË}ЪܪÐ㻶Ъ¶ÓËл}ÅÅ}¯
A crisp, cold day in early the sentiment usually felt by boys as they trudge into the Great Hall on a Friday morning, especially when the prospect of assembly is accompanied by those dreaded words ‘hymn practice’. Yet the unenthusiastic mumbling session, customary of occasions such as this, never materialised. As the organ thundered along, there was December. It is as though the weather were an echo of a palpable sense that, for the first time in my experience, the boys were, quite frankly, enjoying this! It would seem that an early wave of Christmas spirit had gripped the Upper School masses as they belted out such festive favourites as Good King Wenceslas or Hark the Herald . It may also be a question of maturity. The idea that music is somewhat inferior to or simply ‘more sad’ than other co-curricular activities seems thankfully to have been dispelled by the time one enters the Upper School. Undoubtedly, the epitome of this new-found wave of enthusiasm came from none other than Chyaro Hylton, who, despite usually singing bass, saw fit to instead give his own rendition of the traditional Christmas
descants in piercing falsetto, to the enjoyment (and somewhat surprise) of peers and teachers alike. Chy is of course one of the most experienced musicians at the College, but many of those present that morning will never think to sing outside of an assembly. I cannot speak for the entire Upper School, but at least some of them must have been enjoying themselves to make that much noise. So where does this charming anecdote lead? Why in an article about singing at Dulwich, choose to focus on an Upper School assembly? So much is achieved year in, year out by the senior musicians at the College. The choirs of the school have in recent years sung at King’s College Cambridge, The Royal Festival Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral among other venues of some distinction. This year will be no different. At the time of writing, The Madrigal Choir is
preparing to sing Mozart’s Great C Minor Mass at Southwark. Yet what intrigues and inspires me more as a singer at Dulwich is the continuing growth and development of the discipline. The Master admitted in a speech recently that, what with the number of experienced choristers who left the school last summer, one could be forgiven for expecting a quieter year on the choral front. Yet of course, as with sport, drama or anything, when you have this many boys at your disposal, someone will always step up to the plate. As a result, the Music Department has proceeded with a programme as ambitious, if not more so, than any other academic year. The tour to the USA was a prospect of great excitement and the subject of a huge amount of preparation. Closer to home, the creation of the Light Blues sees a third close harmony group enter the
127
Made with FlippingBook Online document