Murder on the High C's

Today

At choir we are performing the Kodaly Missa Brevis. "how are your top C's, Julia?" asked the music director. Well, for the first rehearsal of term, a bit wobbly, to be honest. Nothing that a bit of practice won't sort out.

In My Day

When I sang with The Byrdian Society and the St Matthew's Choir, back in 1965 or so, I was routinely assigned the top line. I didn't have any training, but it seemed that I could open my mouth and out would come the high notes.

For most of the choir repertoire a top b flat is about the maximum, but there is one famous piece that goes further.

Our music director, Colin, was rather prone to putting on under-advertised and over-ambitious concerts, mostly, although not always, involving polyphony. On one occasion, combining the forces of both groups (giving us about fifteen singers), he put on a concert which included the famous Allegri Miserere. I think we had an audience of about fifteen.

There are two choirs for this ideally; singing alternating verses. In every other verse there is the famous top C. There I was, expected to deliver it solo. And deliver it I did. In fact, the main problem was controlling my descent to the lower notes as I had no proper breath control training, so that the final top G was often quite wobbly from lack of breath!

A friend of mine, with whom I sang in those days, commented recently that he still thinks of me whenever he hears the work, which is sweet.

What I have discovered as I get older it that what comes naturally at eighteen, requires a lot more training and technique at sixty-six. But it's getting better, with a choir member describing my efforts this week at "ethereal". And no wobbling, either.