I haven’t sung in an honest-to-goodness chorus since my high school days, with experience like what Kizarvexius described. In those days it was Bass I/II, depending.
Now I sing in a university a cappella group, still bass but tenor when needed. When I quit that I’ll probably focus more energy on the violin playing, but I also played piano in my heydey. I even accompanied the HS chorus on several occasions.
I’ve sung with a number of amature and semi-professional choirs over the years. My vocal range is ideal for “The People that Walked in Darkness” from Handel’s Messiah, which I’ve done a couple of times. I’ve also done most of the major standards, including the B-Minor Mass, Bethoven’s Ninth, the Mozart Requiem, the Carmina Burana. etc.
SAT here, (Range: C below Middle C up to the A an octave and a half above Middle C) what’re we going to sing first and where do you want me? I like the suggestions so far - Carmina Burana is always fun, as is Beethoven’s Ninth. Mozart’s Requiem is good, as are Verdi’s, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, and I believe John Rutter’s done one as well that’s really spiffy. Oh, and of course Handel.
Baritenor, in that I’m a baritone who occasionally gets drafted to support the tenor section when needed.
I’ve done everything from doo wop to one-on-a-part early music to Russian music choirs to the “cast of thousands” variety of choral music, but currently devote an enormous amount of my free time to the BBC Symphony Chorus. Best damn large choir in the world.
w00t! Iolanthe is my favorite G&S, at least some days (other days, it’s Yeomen of the Guard).
I’m an alto – Alto II if the choir is divided beyond SATB. I probably could sing tenor, but have never been required to, and anyway I’m perfectly happy in the alto section. Haven’t done any choral singing in a few years – the last one I was in was the University of Chicago Chorus (the last piece I performed in was Kodaly’s Te Deum, which rocks). I miss it, though, so I need to find a new choir to sing in…
My choir right now is rehearsing Palestrina’s Misa Brevis and Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. Yum.
I’lll sing pretty much anything - will happily try out 20th/21st century art music without prejudice, and I love late Rennaissance - Baroque. I get a bit iffy round the 19th century as some of it tends to get overly melodramatic, but i can deal with it.
Actually one of my favourite choral moments was pure melodrama. We had just done Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and on our way back from our annual dinner many of us were on the same ferry crossing Sydney harbour. It’s about midnight, we’re out on dark water with city lights in the distance, and there is a massive thunderstorm. And we’re rather, errr, cheerful. So we burst out into the “Baal we cry to thee” chorus. Brilliant.
Female tenor, but I’ll sing alto if required. I haven’t done any choral stuff since I graduated college, and I really miss it. Can we do O Magnum Mysterium?
I sang in Ceremony of Carols about ten years ago – I loved it, except for “In Freezing Winter Night” (because the alto part is no fun ;)). Alas, my family was not of like opinion, and I got a lot of ribbing about it. I suppose Britten isn’t to all people’s tastes, but still!
BTW, great story.
We don’t have enough people to do Tallis’ Spem in alium, do we?
Absolutely! Where are your cojones, young man? At least I have an excuse for not having any.
I wasn’t planning on being inebriated, but then I’m perfectly capable of doing that sort of thing stone-cold sober. (I once walked through Milan in the middle of the night singiing the Bach Magnificat at the top of my lungs with one very hot Italian guy named Sergio. We had an absolute blast.) After all, I live 4,000 miles away, so what are the chances that I’ll ever set foot in that pub again?
Eva Luna, you aren’t by any weird chance an ex-pat Australian, former AICSA chorster are you? You seem to have the mindset… and hmm, Milan, 4000 miles from home, but you are in Britain?
I’ll cheerfully join you in the inappropriate public singing.