Wonderful insight into the practice of one of the most renowned choirs. After 37 years as Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, Sir Stephen Cleobury retired on 30 Sep 2019 and very sadly passed away on 22 Nov 2019. A huge loss to music. Rest in peace, in Sir Stephen Cleobury.
I used to pop into St. Paul's to watch Barry Rose doing choir rehearsals. There was a remarkable atmosphere and you could see that Barry put his stamp of quality on that choir during his stay there. The boys reacted to him in an extraordinary manner and their sense of commitment was palpable to all who heard them. His love for choir singing shone through at every moment. To be honest, very few have achieved his level of dedication to the art. Simply put, he is one of my heroes.
What a wonderful video. Having worked with Barry Rose on several occasions, I can tell you that he is as amazing musician, vocal technician, and hilarious human being. I only I could have also had the same expreiences with Stephen Cleobury, a true living legend in anglican choral music
I wish I could have met Stephen. Too bad I can't fly & boat travel is expensive. I need to raise some money to take a cruise to England & see the graves of Stephen, Sir David, Princess Di, RVW, Handel, & to attend an Evensong Service at King's College Chapel. (Notice that (except for Princess Di) all the departed souls I mentioned were musicians. Music is my life. I was supposed to be a professional organist but I have disabilities that get in the way. So I am an enthusiastic amateur.)
Barry Rose seems like a fine man too, but I am biased toward Stephen, being a King's College Choir aficionado. My second favorite music director is the late Sir David Willcocks, who fortunately lived to a ripe old age (I wish Stephen would have made it to the same age that Sir David did.)
@@claireakaforestgreenorgang9506 Put together a Group of Fellow Enthusiasts with the help of a Travel Agent &/or Tour Guide & Receive a Reduced Group Rate ! Cheers ! 🕊 💝🎍💐🕊
Oops, I forgot to put these multilingual statements in the condolences for Sir Stephen (forgive my brain fog). King's College Choir est 1) maximum chori mundi, 2) mellieur choeur de monde, 3) migliore coro mondiale. No, I am not fluent in foreign languages, but I do love them.
I know! You expect some grand technical explanation, but it turns out it's all simple little tricks. The one that fascinated me most was imaging singing down into something deep when going for the high notes... the opposite of what you might expect. I can sort of imagine that.
Wow, I didn't know there was such a technique (singing into something deep when going for high notes). I guess the reason I didn't know is because I am not as serious about singing as I am about playing the organ. For me, singing is just a hobby. Never wanted to be a pro singer but wanted to be a pro organist.
Breath control is key. I was a treble and was trained to sing a note for even longer than you saw the Kings trebles doing there. Like Stephen said, just 12 beats worth! Unit recently I could still sing a note for about 12 seconds. That ability was developed 40 years ago. A bit like riding a bike once learnt you never really forget how to do it.😮
@EF I invented two cute words that I sing to the musical phrase E-F-E. However, that is my one & only composition, (the song, that is) because I don't want to compete with Stephen or Sir David or RVW or Handel.
Well, they don't sound quite the same, but I would hardly say they are "lost!" I've heard them in different venues and they are consistently excellent. Their rehearsal room has no reverberation at all and they're not lost in there...
Wonderful insight into the practice of one of the most renowned choirs.
After 37 years as Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, Sir Stephen Cleobury retired on 30 Sep 2019 and very sadly passed away on 22 Nov 2019. A huge loss to music. Rest in peace, in Sir Stephen Cleobury.
I used to pop into St. Paul's to watch Barry Rose doing choir rehearsals.
There was a remarkable atmosphere and you could see that Barry put his stamp of quality on that choir during his stay there.
The boys reacted to him in an extraordinary manner and their sense of commitment was palpable to all who heard them.
His love for choir singing shone through at every moment.
To be honest, very few have achieved his level of dedication to the art.
Simply put, he is one of my heroes.
That's exactly how I feel about Stephen & Sir David.
What a fascinating look into the vocal techniques used by some of the world's best choirs! Barry Rose and Stephen Cleobury are living legends.
What a wonderful video. Having worked with Barry Rose on several occasions, I can tell you that he is as amazing musician, vocal technician, and hilarious human being. I only I could have also had the same expreiences with Stephen Cleobury, a true living legend in anglican choral music
I wish I could have met Stephen. Too bad I can't fly & boat travel is expensive. I need to raise some money to take a cruise to England & see the graves of Stephen, Sir David, Princess Di, RVW, Handel, & to attend an Evensong Service at King's College Chapel. (Notice that (except for Princess Di) all the departed souls I mentioned were musicians. Music is my life. I was supposed to be a professional organist but I have disabilities that get in the way. So I am an enthusiastic amateur.)
Barry Rose seems like a fine man too, but I am biased toward Stephen, being a King's College Choir aficionado. My second favorite music director is the late Sir David Willcocks, who fortunately lived to a ripe old age (I wish Stephen would have made it to the same age that Sir David did.)
@@claireakaforestgreenorgang9506
Put together a Group of Fellow Enthusiasts with the help of a Travel Agent &/or Tour Guide & Receive a Reduced Group Rate !
Cheers ! 🕊 💝🎍💐🕊
He was a legend
The modern chest tone from Mr Cleobery's boys, I think. Mr Rose kept the old head tone at Guildford. So much easier to produce the high notes-
Very interesting indeed.
4:58 Good grief, would you listen to that ECHO!!!!!
Amazing resonance!
Barry Rose is a legendary trainer of boys choirs, I wonder what he's up to now
Oops, I forgot to put these multilingual statements in the condolences for Sir Stephen (forgive my brain fog). King's College Choir est 1) maximum chori mundi, 2) mellieur choeur de monde, 3) migliore coro mondiale. No, I am not fluent in foreign languages, but I do love them.
I know! You expect some grand technical explanation, but it turns out it's all simple little tricks. The one that fascinated me most was imaging singing down into something deep when going for the high notes... the opposite of what you might expect. I can sort of imagine that.
Wow, I didn't know there was such a technique (singing into something deep when going for high notes). I guess the reason I didn't know is because I am not as serious about singing as I am about playing the organ. For me, singing is just a hobby. Never wanted to be a pro singer but wanted to be a pro organist.
Breath control is key. I was a treble and was trained to sing a note for even longer than you saw the Kings trebles doing there. Like Stephen said, just 12 beats worth! Unit recently I could still sing a note for about 12 seconds. That ability was developed 40 years ago. A bit like riding a bike once learnt you never really forget how to do it.😮
:-) That's what I thought too when I heard it.
@EF I invented two cute words that I sing to the musical phrase E-F-E. However, that is my one & only composition, (the song, that is) because I don't want to compete with Stephen or Sir David or RVW or Handel.
King's is spoiled by their echo. That seemed a bit lost without it when I heard them in a normal concert hall.
Well, they don't sound quite the same, but I would hardly say they are "lost!" I've heard them in different venues and they are consistently excellent. Their rehearsal room has no reverberation at all and they're not lost in there...
The simple arpeggio at 4:32 is already a wow.
Color me ignorant, but I had forgotten that Nov. 22 was St. Cecilia's feast day. Except for birthdays, I am not good with remembering dates.
Did you enjoy it? Which choir was that (St Albans, Guildford... or another one??)
Barry Rose could tell him a thing or two!