A choral masterpiece, a virus, and an app

In “Favorite Work – carus music edition” a member of the Carus team, editor or colleague introduces one of their favorite works in carus music, the choir app. The contribution for April 2020 comes from Mirjam James and Elizabeth Robinson.

An invitation to sing in Bach’s Mass in B minor with City Chamber Choir in London was, of course, irresistible. I had sung and played the flute in it as a student, and for any choral singer it is probably in their ‘top ten’ works, with plenty of fantastic numbers for the chorus to sing. Rehearsals began in February. Another of the sopranos, Mirjam James and I soon discovered we both had a connection to Carus Verlag – Mirjam as an editor, and I as a translator. For Mirjam, the performance was meant to be a family affair: preparations with her husband and son singing the ‘Christe eleison’ were in full swing.

For our weekly rehearsals, Mirjam and I both downloaded the Mass in carus music, the choir-app, in order to practice those challenging passages at home. Unless you’re a good keyboard player, and adept at accompanying yourself while you practice your part, this is a great way to tackle the work. It’s also at baroque pitch. carus music, the choir app, is a clever device, because it’s two things in one. Firstly, within the app you get a complete recording of the work (here it’s the prize-winning 2015 recording with the Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann). Then, you have the option to play back with the ‘coach’ singling out your own vocal part emphasized. It’s intuitive to use, and you can also slow down the ‘coach’ function, and pause, and repeat those tricky bars and intervals time and again.

So, with rehearsals now postponed for the foreseeable future and concert life becalmed, we’ll be able to use the time well to practice at home. The recorded choir now doubles up as the illusion of our real choir, in our heads we are just as good as the Gächinger Kantorei… Our favorite movements? That’s a tricky one. Perhaps the ‘Et in terra pax’ section in the Gloria, where the the two flutes enter, interweaving with each other, or the thrilling tutti opening of the Sanctus. But you can be sure that when the concert does finally take place (by then Mirjam and I will know it by heart) and the opening Kyrie begins, there may well not be a dry eye in the house. And let’s hope her treble son remains in good voice to be able to join us next year.