The King's Singers

01 / 07 / 2010

Philip

Today has been rather tiring, as we flew down from Seoul to Pohang, did a rehearsal and concert and then drove 2 hours to our hotel ready for tomorrow, a rare two-concert day. There were ten of us in the bus - the 6 of us, our driver, our sound engineer (for the pop second halves we're doing here)and two girls from the office. It's one thing singing in the big cities here in the Far East but when you come to somewhere like here, Pusan down on the southern coast of Korea, you really do feel like you're halfway round the world. We're also halfway through the tour now and so far it's been very successful, lots of enthusiastic people. It's past one in the morning now so time to get some rest before another long day tomorrow.

02 / 07 / 2010

Chris

Today we are performing two concerts in Korea before heading off to Japan for the penultimate leg of our Asia tour. Once we've completed today's concerts we will have done over half our performances and can reflect on some great work whilst looking forward to a few more rest days in Japan - where we hope to enjoy the local culture and renew old acquaintances. This week in particular has been great fun as we've been trying out a new second half idea, using some backing tracks and entertaining the crowds to songs from our new album, Swimming over London. It's been so much fun! Although predictably there have been a few logistical issues, everything has been solved and we've gained such huge feelings of satisfaction through doing something new and exciting, and yet maintaining the same close harmony feel that is so important to what we do. We may yet roll out this idea in other countries.....

This time last year I was personally in a very different situation. At 4am on 2 July 2009, my darling wife went into labour (2 weeks late!) and 16 hours later our daughter Isabella was born. The year has flown by and although I'm not with her today on her first birthday we are celebrating with friends when I get home. Below are two pictures - one on the day Isabella was born and one taken just before I left home for this trip. I miss Stephanie and Bella terribly when I'm on the road but their constant support and love mean I'm a lucky chap: an amazing family and a great job!

Happy Birthday Bella!

03 / 07 / 2010

Stephen

Konichiwa! Heading off to Japan today after a great few days in Korea. We rounded the short tour of the country with a wonderful meal last night as we sweated it out at an outdoor Korean BBQ restaurant, watching Brazil lose to Holland. Far too much garlic and hot chilies for our delicate western constitutions and I must admit that the after glow (to put it mildly) was totally self induced. Was nice to be singing "Magic Castle" (a popular Korean pop song) to the Korean public again and to hear them joining in so enthusiastically.

The next few days should be interesting as a visit to Japan is always full of surprises. We don't sing this evening, which is probably a good thing after giving two concerts yesterday which were two hours travelling time apart. The schedule is not as hectic over the next week and I am looking forward to some time to explore Japan - take in a few temples, several bowls of steaming Udon and the odd helping or seven of green tea ice cream - yum yum. Japan is famous for sushi and sudoku. Mattene! Stephen-san

04 / 07 / 2010

David

Today we have sung our first Japanese concert of the trip. We are in the city of Toyotashi, about one hour’s drive from Nagoya. When I think about concerts in Japan two things come to mind - elegant modern concert halls, and the alarming prospect of Japanese language announcements. Here in Toyotashi both of these aspects were realised. Toyota City Concert Hall is a lovely space in which to perform, with a fine looking organ and excellent acoustics. It sits on the tenth floor of one of the city’s civic buildings, which may seem unusual, but it does give wonderful views of the surrounding hills from the lobby. We managed to get through our Japanese announcements without too much panic. This is the trickiest language we attempt (with the exception of Chris’s greeting at the start of each concert, we spoke English in Taiwan, China & Korea), but the audience really appreciates the effort. I always wonder how much they actually understand, but they did laugh at the jokes. We are indebted to Mio Collett, our wonderful tour manager here in Japan, for guiding us towards the correct pronunciation.

Tomorrow we head off to Tokyo on the Nozomi 116, one of Japan’s incredible ‘bullet’ trains. I think we will pass Mount Fuji on the way, which is worth seeing. Often the mountain seems to hover in mid-air above the surrounding countryside. At last we have seen some sunshine today, after nearly two weeks of overcast skies and rain, so I am hoping for a good view.

06 / 07 / 2010

Tim

We arrived in Tokyo Shinagawa yesterday to clear(ish) skies and more humid temperatures. I must say that I actually don't mind the humidity at all, in fact, I would go as far to say that I enjoy it! After we reached the hotel, we had yet another quick turn around - this time we needed to jump in taxis to the Inter FM radio station for a live interview/sing. It went well and the radio staff seemed to enjoy our version of Nat King Cole's 'Straighten Up and Fly Right' from our new album Swimming Over London. After this it was a race back to the hotel, as Stephen and I had an interview for a classical music magazine in the lobby of the hotel. A few of us enjoyed a lovely meal in the evening at the local steak house - I've never seen Chris' face look so happy as when we drove up the road towards the hotel and passed a non-Japanese restaurant!! After eating our own body weight in red meat, we headed for the compulsory Starbucks stop and then off to bed.

Before I go, I must share with you a picture taken from a curry house which some of us visited in Toyota City. This is without doubt the biggest nan bread that I have ever seen/eaten - please bear in mind that this plate is a LARGE dinner plate! Needless to say, I finished it without any trouble at all.................

07 / 07 / 2010

Paul

I'm writing this blog on Monday afternoon - just in case I don't get online on Wednesday! We're here in Tokyo right now, and I'm really enjoying an afternoon off: I've sorted out a pile of laundry, written a couple of letters, and once I've written this I shall don my kit and go outside for a hot and sticky run - its 32 degrees celsius outside! (I really know how to have a good time don't I?!) One thing I haven't enjoyed about being in either Korea or Japan is that my 'Blackberry' mobile phone doesn't work here - in one respect this could be good - I'm not checking my emails every 5 seconds, but otherwise its a bit of a pain. I simply had not realized just how reliant I have become on being able to speak to Helena whenever I felt like it, and losing that option for a few days has been quite tough.

Nevertheless, I'm enjoying today, 'regrouping' as some would call it. I like being in Japan for many reasons: the food (delicious and very good for you) and the clean streets, which are immaculate. That's where I'll be in a few minutes! One other thing which doesn't happen to me in any other part of the world - I feel quite tall in Japan! (Not that I have a problem with my stature, of course!!) Thanks to everybody who continue read our blogs, we all appreciate your feedback and kind thoughts whilst we're a long way from home.

Footnote on Wednesday: Well, how time flies ..... here we are after a pleasant afternoon's travel by train, in Fukui. I've just been for another hot hot run - about 12 km this time. Time for a quick shower, and out for something to eat. A night off tonight, so I'm going to 'stay in' and watch a film on my computer - 'Quantum of Solace', I think. Bye for now!

08 / 07 / 2010

Philip

It is you might say, and to coin a topical football metaphor, a tour of two halves. From the whirlwind that was Taipei, China Korea - 10 concerts in 12 days, we are now in Japan, and soon to be in Malysia, with only 5 concerts in 10 days. I thought the time would go really slowly here but for me it is moving along. I'm keeping busy with arranging and programme planning, and finding the right food to eat can use up quite a bit of time too! We have been treated extremely well here, as always in Japan, and are being well chaperoned by our tour agency Harrison Parrott's representative Mio Collett who though Japanese, speaks excellent English largely owing to the fact that she lives in Crystal Palace! (I recognise with affection the South London slant which is applied to some of the words she says, being a Crawley boy myself). Having implied that this leg of the tour is more relaxed , I now have not quite enough time to get ready to leave for our concert - bye!

09 / 07 / 2010

Chris

Today we are travelling via three trains and a bus to Yatsugatake, a National Park resort in Japan where we perform our fourth and final concert before heading to Malaysia on Sunday. I'm looking forward to being up in the mountains and forests - although this must be about my sixth time in Japan I've never really been out of the cities apart from one very sweaty hike from Kyoto to the ancient capital, but that was about 11 years ago and I can't remember much about it! I may even go for a run outside. Paul runs all the time but being in his 40s he needs to - I prefer to do the occasional bi-monthly sprint and then leave things well alone. Apart from anything else I find it impossible to get my heart-rate over about 120bmp, so cardio exercise gets a bit dull as I never feel as though I'm working anything! When my metabolism crashes in a year or so I'm sure I'll put on huge amounts of weight and then eat my words.

Yesterday I had an interesting experience. Along with David, Paul and Phil I've suffered a mysterious hearing loss over the past week, owing to the build-up of fluid in my ears. I entrusted myself to a nice Japanese lady at the Fukui Beauty Parlour in order that she could stick Hopi candles in my ears in an attempt to draw out the fluid. It worked, and was considerably less painful than what poor Paul had to go through in Beijing, by all accounts. So I was happy to hear again, but not satisfied with the success of her candles, the Japanese lady decided to treat the "western visitor" to a local specialist service. "How kind!" I thought, until I saw her pulling on long black rubber gloves, attaching wires to those gloves which ran from what looked suspiciously like some kind of electrical generator, and then proceed to massage my face and neck with what felt like 300 volts of electricity. I'm sure it did me some good, but I still have metal fillings in two of my teeth and they succeeded in conducting the electrical current straight into the nerves of those teeth. Ouch. Thankfully she then let me go and I can still hear, so I suppose it was worth going.

Thank you to everyone who sent such kind messages wishing Bella a happy birthday - I'm trying to reply to you all.....

11 / 07 / 2010

Stephen

Dear fellow travelers on life's rich and varied highway. Good morning from Narita Airport!

I am a day late write these few words of greeting and for those of you who sat by their computers waiting in eager anticipation of a posting - apologies to you. Well, not much had really happened here in the last days. Eaten some very interesting food in the last week, the names of which I have not a clue (even in English) and met some wonderful people who were mainly Japanese. What a great country Japan is. What a fantastic nation. Nihon-ga Daiski! (very much indeed) I think it is one of the countries where I would be more than happy to live, immersing myself in their culture and tradition, as well as their Tempura Udon...mm. Learned a few new words in the last days and managed to convince the locals into thinking I might actually speak the language more than I do. Nothing more unnerving than speaking a few words of Japanese to then have a whole barrage of the language thrown back at you. I humbly bowed and smile as sweetly as I could.

Today we are flying to Malaysia and to a new culture and a whole world of palette pleasing adventures, a new level of humidity and, ooh, a concert too! I have just spent my last 700 Yen next door here at the airport gift shop. My purchase, a small but beautifully decorated set of pencils in an equally small and exquisite box complete with eraser. How pleasing they are! These are now patiently waiting to take pride of place on my office desk come the Autumn. Mattene Japan. Thanks for all the years of  Udon, the Ramen, the Sushi, Soba, Unagi and Tempura, Hotcha and Dieta Pepur-shi. Mattene... Sayonara!! Stephen

12 / 07 / 2010

David

We are now on the last leg of our Far East trip, having arrived in Kuala Lumpur. We have had a wonderful week in Japan, ending with our stay in Yatsugatake. Yesterday, the day of the concert, the sun shone, and very early in the morning it was, so I was told, clear enough to catch a glimpse of Fuji-san (Mount Fuji). By the time I got up (7.45am), the haze had built up, and the mountain had disappeared from view. As a result I have not managed to see Fuji-san at all on this trip, thanks to the weather. I was hoping by now to have a wonderful photo to put in my blog, but that was not to be.

After checking in for our flight to Maylasia we said farewell to Mio Collett, who has looked after us in Japan. It has been a pleasure travelling with her, and she has looked after us extremely well, as have all our tour guides on this trip – Denny in Taiwan, Ying Li and Xue Wei in China and Chaehwan Oh in Korea. We get so used to looking after ourselves on tour, but when even the simplest instructions are written in what is to us a baffling script, it is great to have someone along to tell you where to go, and what to do next.

Tonight (Sunday) we have an evening off in KL, and Stephen is keen to lead an expedition to the night market, where we can try a few Malaysian delicacies, and make some bargain purchases. Tomorrow (Monday) we give our last concert of the trip in the Philharmonic Hall in Kuala Lumpur’s most famous landmark, the Petronas Towers. This hall was built in 1998, and was Malaysia’s first purpose built concert hall. We sang there at the end of the inaugural season in 1999, and I am looking forward to our return visit very much.

13 / 07 / 2010

Tim

Well, I can't believe our tour of Asia is coming to a close now. We have just one more concert left and what a place for our final show - The Petronas Towers! It is simply a breathtaking sight - the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were the world's tallest building from 1998 to 2004 but their height was surpassed by Taipei 101, which we also caught a glimpse of on our first stop on this tour over 3 weeks ago. How time flies!!

It has been a splendid trip so far and I have loved every minute of it. The people, the food and the culture - all definitely worth coming back for. A huge thank you to all of our agents, promoters and staff from MNA, Mast Media, Harrison Parrott, Dewan Petronas Filharmonik and not forgetting our General Manager Claire Long and her Administrator Carolyn Soucy back in the UK, who work tirelessly to make sure that everything goes to plan when we are away.

I leave you with some of my favourite pictures from the tour:

A very specific sign in one of the toilets near Tokyo

Proof that the high humidity had just got too much for Stephen to bear

and the awe-inspiring sight of The Petronas Towers

14 / 07 / 2010

Paul

Well, nearly home!! I'm writing this in the lounge at Amsterdam airport having just got off a 12-hour flight. I did manage some sleep, though I do feel a bit bleary-eyed! It's been a great tour, but I can't wait to see Helena, my boys and Wiz. I'll have a few hours on my own at home, before everybody arrives home from work and school. Just enough time to become human again! I'll leave you with a dramatic shot of the 'Petronas Towers' which dominate the Kuala Lumpur skyline, and which will stay in my memory for a long time to come. I'm looking forward to going back to this magnificent, friendly city.

19 / 07 / 2010

David

There has been a short hiatus on our blogs over the last few days, as we all enjoy a few days of relaxation at home after our long trip to the Far East. For me the period between tours has been very enjoyable, but not especially relaxing. I have been involved with this year’s Southern Cathedrals Festival, which Sarah has directed this year in Chichester Cathedral. This is an annual meeting of three of Southern England’s Cathedrals – Winchester, where I sang for many years, Salisbury, where Philip was a lay vicar until he joined the KS, and Chichester, where Al (Hume) and Tony (Holt) sang before King’s Singers commitments forced them to quit their other jobs. All went very well, although early on Thursday morning (St Swithun’s Day) a gale came through and blew all three marquees down.

I am now trying to get myself packed for our weeklong trip to Austria and Germany. We visit two lovely towns in Austria – St Georgen im Attergau, which sits near Austria’s largest lake, Attersee, and the Carinthian town of Millstatt. In Germany we sing in the Bavarian town of Weissenburg before returning to the wonderful “Kulturstadt” of Weimar. We end up further north with a concert in Doberlug, in the region of Brandenburg.

21 / 07 / 2010

Tim

So after a short stay back in the UK we find ourselves on tour in Austria and Germany. We sang in the delightful Pfarrkirche last night in St. Georgen, Austria, as part of the Attergauer Kultur Sommer Festival. The crowds seemed to thoroughly enjoy our programme of Schütz madrigals and motets, especially Malcolm Williamson's The Musicians of Bremen, which usually gets a laugh or two!!

Anyway, I'm just about to jump in the hire car for a couple of hours to drive David and Stephen to Millstatt so I better dash!

I leave you with a photo taken of my sister, Nicola, celebrating her 33rd birthday last week at The Langham Hotel in London. I took her for afternoon tea - I thought that having champagne, sandwiches, muffins and a cream tea was the only way to get through the jet lag as this was the day we returned from our Asia tour!!

21 / 07 / 2010

Paul

Ah, summer in Europe ...... long hot evenings, a quaint hotel in a small Austrian or German town, a packed church with an audience, almost all of whom are enjoying a summer break - this is a typical KS summer tour in this part of the world, and today we find ourselves in Austria, about to leave St. Georgen for Millstatt. It is also a huge change from our lives 'on the road' during the last few weeks in the Far East, during which we travelled between large cities on bullet trains or by plane.

One of the other characteristics of summer concerts here in Europe is the temperature. Having just returned from a series of shows in modern, air-conditioned halls, we find ourselves in beautiful, historic churches, packed to the rafters with people, and where, under the lights 'on stage' the temperature can become pretty uncomfortable, especially when wearing a suit! Looking around, I see the beads of sweat on the foreheads of my 'glowing' colleagues - that's putting it politely of course, as I feel myself getting hotter and hotter, and being one of those KS that really feels the heat, I end the concert rather embarrassingly, a soggy mess! Could it be that I'm looking forward to colder weather?' Below is a photo of the 'Pfarrkirche' in St. Georgen, the venue for last night's rather hot concert!

22 / 07 / 2010

Philip

We are in such a beautiful place - Millstatt in Austria. Our hotel is by a lake and I'm sitting on my balcony gone midnight with the lake in front, the silhouettes of mountains behind and "a billion stars all around" (quote from an Eagles song, anyone know which one?). Tomorrow we travel to Germany and are joined by Jonathan our new bass, so he can rehearse with us, attend concerts and get a feel for the touring life. Would that it were all like tonight, enjoying this fabulous view!

23 / 07 / 2010

Chris

I think I shall name this summer "the summer of hot KS tours." Asia is always warm when we tour there, and the last few weeks were no exception, but Europe? Quite often hovering between gloomy and damp. Not this week, though. We've seen temperatures of up to 35 degrees on our travels through the beautiful mountains of Austria and Germany, especially yesterday as we drove up from Carinthia in southern Austria all the way up to Bayern in southern Germany. On the way we pass through some pretty long tunnels and like to play the KS tunnel game - each person in the car guesses by how many degrees the temperature will rise (in winter) or fall (in summer) inside the tunnel. The longer the tunnel, the greater the change. You're right, it probably is as boring as it sounds, but on a 5-hour journey it does help, especially if the alternative is listening to one of your colleagues telling you a story you've already heard a hundred times over the past few years.

Actually, that's not a bad idea: stories, please. We need a way to while away the hours in cars, and we all know pretty much everything there is to know about each other, so we need made-up stories to make our lives sound more exciting. You know, the time one of us wrestled a bear to save a stranded baby in the woods, that sort of thing.

Tomorrow we sing an incredible programme of church music in Weimar, including Thomas Tallis' wonderful setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Since I was a choral scholar I have loved these pieces deeply - they are perhaps the height of English Renaissance composition - and singing them one to a part with the KS is something I always look forward to.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God. Gets me every time.

24 / 07 / 2010

Stephen

The hot, humid, dare I say more than unpleasant weather, has finally broken here in southern Germany. Last night's concert was a rather sticky affair but after much rain and the odd smattering of donner und blizten, temperatures are at a comfortable level.

Today we travel to Weimar in the old East Germany where tonight we sing in a church. My successor, Johnny Howard is traveling with us for these three concerts and spending the rehearsal time singing with the group and trying out the many pieces he has been committing to memory. It is one of the rather rare moments in the group's life where suddenly there are 7 King's Singers on tour, which in a strange sort of way is rather nice.

Tomorrow is the final concert of this trip - we shall give a concert in Doberlug which is near Berlin. We then have a few days at home in which I will commence frantic house packing manoeuvres as we move house in just over two weeks!

Germany is famous for beating England in the World Cup. 
Bis Bald Stephen

26 / 07 / 2010

David

It has been lovely over the weekend to perform some wonderful English Renaissance church music in our concerts in Weimar and Doberlug. Included in the programme were Tallis’s two settings of words from the Book of Lamentations of Jeremiah, both written later in his life during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Along with Spem in Alium, these two sets of Lamentations are considered to be amongst the greatest compositions by this long-lived and prolific composer. The Lamentations have long been a part of KS repertoire. They featured in the group’s debut concert in May 1968, and were recorded by the group in 1995 as part of a disc of music by Tallis and his pupil, William Byrd. I have performed them many, many times, but I always look forward to singing them. They were not written to be performed as a single piece, so we sang Byrd’s fabulous Civitas sancti tui (featured on 1605 Treason and Discord) in between, which, like the Lamentations, is an Old Testament lament for the downfall of Jerusalem. I love the variety of repertoire that the group sings, but I have to admit that I do have a particular soft-spot for early English music.

I am now back at home after an early flight home from Germany. I am looking forward to four relaxing days before the last concerts of the season. We still have a few miles to cover, which will take us from Kendal to Budleigh Salterton to Lahti to Warsaw and finally to Tewkesbury.

Below: 
Tim in Doberlug Klosterkirche surrounded by Deutschlandfunk microphones.

27 / 07 / 2010

Tim

We are now at home for a few days before we embark on a long drive to Kendal and Budleigh Salterton on Friday/Saturday. It is always nice to perform at UK venues and to English audiences. I fondly remember how much of a shock I got when I did my first tour of America. As a freelance singer in London, I was accustomed to the shimmer of polite applause between each piece, so you can imagine my utter shock when thousands of Americans were simply going hysterical - sometimes before our songs had even finished!

It was great to spend some time with our new bass, Johnny, in Germany last week. We had some very productive rehearsal time with him and he is going to fit into the job perfectly. The weeks/months leading up to starting your life as a King's Singer are truly a roller coaster of emotions as it is such a life style change for everybody involved. Nothing can really prepare you for spending so much time away from home and the constant stream of music learning that each singer must do. Thankfully, we all have a very supportive network of family and friends, which allows us to enjoy this fantastic job to the full.

I leave you with a picture taken from our hotel in Millstatt - stunning scenery. Not a bad setting for breakfast!!

28 / 07 / 2010

Paul

I am really happy to be home today. Its Edward's 10th birthday, and we're enjoying a lovely day at home. The phone is 'red hot' with birthday wishes, and we're expecting a steady stream of friends to visit. Honestly, days like today are the happiest and best I could ever imagine - surrounded by the people I love, at home on a beautiful summer's day. Hope you don't mind the short blog, but I'm going to cook bacon on the barbecue now as a special birthday treat!

31 / 07 / 2010

Stephen

What a lovely day it is in Devon today! After a 5 hour drive back down to the South last night after our evening in Kendal - a lovely concert in a lovely place to a church full of more than lovely folk - I have just got up after a long lie in (having arrived home at 3.30am!) and now am looking forward to tonight's concert. The main reason for this is that IT IS IN DEVON and very close to where I live!! Tonight we sing in Budleigh Salterton which is a beautiful little town on the south Devon coast. It has a very well supported festival and it is a pleasure to be closing the festival tonight with our singing. I was there last Tuesday for a smashing lunchtime concert with a girls singing group called ISCA Voices - a group of 9 young ladies who were once all choristers at Exeter Cathedral. I sat for a lovely hour or so and enjoyed a varied programme presented by these enthusiastic young voices. (I also sat there a proud Dad as my daughter Molly sings in this group).

Tomorrow we travel to Finland - almost time to catch our breath - for our last short trip of the season. We are due to move house in just over a week and at present are surrounded by many boxes and more due to join them. Devon is famous of Cream Teas and for being home to one of the closest possible concerts I have ever done... Till soon Stephen