What a Messiaen

There's nothing quite like a nice piece of music from scratch. Handel's Messiah in an afternoon, with the performance in the evening - brilliant fun. Not always a performance of the highest quality, but still worth listening to and a joyous time. Or likewise Stainer's Crucifixion. I know Hnaef regards it as a bad example of the sort of music that came out of the "Common" scene, but still - a bit of light practice and any choir with moderate voices can make a go of it.

So I was enthusiastic when they approached me for today's "Berlioz from Scratch". But to be honest, the Requiem in a Day was a bit of a disaster. The brass bands in particular - very badly-timed. Maybe we'll go for a performance of some nice Taizé next time.