Tilford Bach Festival

Of the many musical endeavours I have been involved with recently the Tilford Bach Festival has by far been the most glamorous.The concert had been organized as a joint endeavour with the Theatre of Early Music, one of the ensembles I was involved in Canada and the London Handle and Bach Festival. Most of the musicians and singers I knew from various UK and Canadian gigs, and it was nice to reconnect with them for the weekend.The chosen works were Bach's G minor Mass and Handel's the Choice of Hercules. Both were little known gems and are very rarely performed. When I was told what the pieces were, I went in search of the scores, only to find the the Handel had been out of print for twenty years or so. Thanks to google I was able to find both scores in editions that were free online.

The first rehearsal was held in London and was easy enough to get to, but Tilford is a relatively remote village near Guildford and as there was nowhere big enough for all the musicians to stay, we were all billeted with generous members of the community. I was fortunate enough to stay with five other singers in a converted barn. It was so beautiful, I would have willingly moved in that weekend! One singer and I, who had worked together often in Montreal and is now also living in the UK, spent most of the weekend comparing notes on the different aspects of transposed living. Now that we have reconnected I am hoping she and her husband will come and visit periodically.The large group spend most of our time either rehearsing, performing or warming seats in the pub! The gala concert on the Saturday was followed by a large reception at the Barley Mow where a very relaxed environment was enjoyed by musicians and patrons alike.The Sunday concert was a much more relaxed acapella concert, which did not have as many in attendance but was just as well received.
It is hoped that another joint concert can be arranged for next year, and I would certainly love to do it again!!