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Why are you called The King’s Singers? |
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| The original members met whilst studying at King’s College Cambridge where they were choral scholars. Soon after graduating they started working as a group and needed a name…. |
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So are all the current members students at King’s College? |
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How many King’s Singers have there been? |
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| Since 1968 there have been 20 – the original 6 and 14 replacements, each joining as somebody else leaves. These replacements have been one at a time, with the exception of Nigel and Philip who joined together, because Simon and Alastair left together. |
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Do you have deputies/stand-ins? |
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So what happens when one (or more) of you is sick? |
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| We carry on! It is not a pleasant feeling to be on stage when you are not at your best, but (curiously) we have done some of our best shows when someone needs ‘carrying’ on stage. The group awareness is heightened at times like these. |
| There isn’t one! We are a healthy democracy – everyone has an equal say in what happens in our work. We do have individual responsibilities however. |
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How do you become one of The King’s Singer? |
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Vacant positions are not advertised in the normal way for fear of a deluge of applications! Instead, when a member decides to leave, we draw up a list of singers we would like to approach, having taken lots of advice. Copies of The King’s Singers pieces are then sent out to the candidates along with recordings to aid the learning process. Prepared solo pieces are not required – the audition is all about making the same sounds as the people around you and displaying flexibility. The candidate steps into the shoes of the outgoing member - in effect joining the group for the duration of the audition, and is the subject of intense pressure as he is tested and asked to sing in many different ways. It is also important to work out what a person is like socially – with seven months of the year on the road it is very important we can all get on! Eventually, after a number of auditions, the group makes its choice. The new member-elect then has a few months to learn repertoire and, if possible, travel with the group and rehearse with them, before he takes up his post.
We are often asked whether we have auditioned non-British candidates. We have! However, every successful candidate (so far!) has been British. This has a lot to do with our concerns over blending, and the way vowels are shaped. The way Americans or Germans speak, for example, makes blending with 5 other Brits very difficult. Also, the training and discipline provided by growing up as boy choristers has proved to be instrumental in maintaining the speed at which we have to work. Sight-reading has to be taken for granted.
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How many concerts do you give a year? |
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| Our seasons contain around 120 concerts, and we spend about 7 months away from home in bursts ranging from a day to three weeks. We also record at least one album a year, make radio and TV programmes, and teach groups and choirs. Yes, it is a full-time job! |
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How often do you rehearse? |
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| Not all that much when we are at home, as we give our voices a rest. This ‘downtime’ can be usefully spent on individual study and part-learning, although we do get together for singing days from time to time. On the road we rehearse for 2 hours before every concert – usually making sure that the evening's repertoire is ready before moving on to pieces for future concerts, projects and recordings. |
| Once we get together and start working on a piece, outsiders are always amazed at how little singing seems to take place, and how long we spend working on, say, a single phrase in detail. We find that working on a small section of a piece can help the interpretation of the work as a whole in terms of finding a 'sound picture'. This detail means that we can solve many issues specific to a piece - tone, colour, blend and tuning, for example. Rehearsing in this way means that once a piece enters the repertoire it stays in an ever-ready state so it can be performed at subsequent concerts with little or no rehearsal. |
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Do you have a favourite musical genre as a group? |
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| Not really, but as individuals we all have musical genres in which we feel most comfortable and like to perform. It is this individual preference that helps keep the group's artistic life developing. We find comfort knowing that in a certain style one or more of us will have expertise to call on, and those of us who might not know as much can learn from the knowledge and passion of the others. Life in The King’s Singers is always about learning new things, and drawing from the vast experience of its members who give so much to the group. |
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How do you choose your repertoire for concerts? |
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| First we find out what type of venue we are singing in (concert hall, church, outside etc). Then whether the concert is part of a series and, if so, who else is performing; whether that series has a particular theme; what the venue's acoustics are like; whether the presenter envisages a serious, mixed or light programme; and, finally, if the presenter has any particular requests. In addition we consult our programme books which list all the group's concerts over the years, because we never perform the same programme when we return to a venue. Armed with this information, and with some provisional ideas, we all meet and formulate the finished, tailor-made product. Over the group's long history we have realised that what works in one place does not necessarily work elsewhere. Although the group's standard programme formula remains remarkably similar, we are always trying to make adjustments to keep things fresh, not least for the six singers standing on the stage every night. |
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How can I get your arrangements for my choir/group to sing? |
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| The King's Singers arrangements that are available are published by Hal Leonard Corporation in the US and are available from our website and at DJ Records. Under the terms of our contract with Hal Leonard we are unable to release unpublished arrangements. So if it is not listed in the Hal Leonard Catalogue, on our website or DJ Records' website, then we're sorry but you cannot get hold of it. |
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If I can't find what I want on these websites is it available somewhere else? |
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Is it possible to get hold of old KS albums? |
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There are around 100 albums from The King's Singers, some of which are sadly no longer available. We sell the popular recent albums on our website, but you will find older stuff at the DJ Records and Archiv Music websites. Private sellers sometimes put albums onto eBay or other related sites.
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I love that old Wolf Trapp video but have lost it/it’s been stolen/my mother-in-law ate it. Can I find it anywhere? |
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| The short answer is, regrettably, no. The original recording was made by WETV in Washington DC, so if your copy is on its last legs take good care of it. You could always see if you get anywhere by asking WETV direct…. |
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Is the Weather Report recorded by the King’s Singers? |
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| The King's Singers were not responsible for the 'Weather Forecast' (or the Highway code). Both were sung by the Mastersingers - four masters at Abingdon School, a group that very slightly pre-dated the King’s Singers. Their 1966 recording certainly sounds like it could be the King’s Singers, and has that peculiarly English style of singing and humour, but it is not the King’s Singers! We have, of course, sung many anglican chants to lyrics written for special occasions (‘Some Enchanted Wavelengths’, for example) and will no doubt do it again. |
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How do the top two voices sing that high? |
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| The voice makeup of The King’s Singers is highly distinctive, having a bass, two baritones, a tenor, and two countertenors. The countertenors sing as falsettists, using the upper register of our voices, a kind of head voice. Falsettists arose from two main areas of need: the church, where women were banned from taking part in services, thus necessitating a male alto line; and in opera where men were needed to sing the roles previously assigned to the castrati. It is very common for eyebrows to be raised at concerts by first timers at KS shows when the two countertenors get going. It is one of the reasons why the group has such a special sound, and allows us to explore repertoire meant originally for mixed voices. |
| Easily up to a soprano F. There is the occasional higher note in pieces such as Poulenc's "Un soir de neige", but sometimes he opts for the lower octave! |
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How low can Stephen sing? |
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| To a low C, and even to a low B flat with a prevailing wind… |
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What about everyone else? |
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What advice can you give me/my group/choir about performing in general? |
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| Whatever you do, do it for the sake of your group. There is no room for vocal ego in the best choral ensembles! If you are an American choir the chances are that your amazing stage discipline will make you look a little stiff, so loosen up, be natural. Also remember that when you perform you should sing to the audience, not to your conductor. |
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