Intro
So, music is really pretty much what I’m all about. I have worked as a professional musician (albeit part-time so that I can afford a bit of a lifestyle – see “wine”), and I spend a large proportion of my time either performing music, listening to music, or hanging around various “establishments” with musicians. Musicians are particularly good at hanging around particular types of establishment, mainly those that serve copious quantities of, hopefully, cheap alcohol into the small hours of the morning. We also require an unwritten code that suggests that we avoid discussing some of the more alcohol induced happenings on these occasions.
Christ Church Cathedral
From 2006-2008 I worked as a baritone Lay Vicar Choral (posh title I know) at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. This choir is unique among the Cathedral choirs in Ireland and the UK in that it is a fully professional adult choir; there are no boy trebles, with the choir being made up of approximate 8 female sops, a countertenor, 3 female altos, 5 tenors, and 3 baritones (low basses being increasingly hard to come by these days). The choir is an interesting mix of nationalities, mainly Irish and English, but also with the odd American and even a Scandinavian! Repertoire covers everything from the 15th Century until the present day, and the nature of the choir allows a much wider and more complex repertoire to be covered than in many Cathedrals with boy choristers. The main Cathedral choir sings alongside the Cathedral Girls’ Choir, who sing services once a week with the Lay Vicars, and who join with the Cathedral Choir for special events.
Depping
Like many choral musicians, I spend a lot of time singing for other choirs. In other lines of work this might be called “moon-lighting”, but for a singer it is standard practice. Someone in another choir needs to miss a commitment for some reason, so someone else is required. Before moving to Dublin from Oxford, I was very involved in the London depping circuit; my particular favourite places to deputise are All Saint’s, Margaret Street, London, and also St Mary’s, Bourne Street. These are both very High Church communities with excellent choirs. In Dublin I regularly deputised at St Patrick’s Cathedral, and when time permits I take on other commitments. Having moved back to the UK to take on a full time “real-world” job, I do much less of this type of work these days, but enjoy the chances when I have time to take them.
Solo Work
I have undertaken solo roles in a number of operas with a touring company in Oxfordshire called “Opera Anywhere”, including Lord Dunmow in Lennox Berkeley’s The Dinner Engagement and Marco in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.
Oratorio performances have included Handel’s Messiah in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin, and Christ Church Southgate, London; Stainer’s Crucifixion, Brahms’ Requiem; a concert performance of Verdi’s Aida, and other works.
A particular speciality is the performance of German Lieder, and in recent years I have given a number of recitals with Tristan Russcher (piano) in Christ Church Cathedral, and in Witney (Oxfordshire) of Lieder by Schumann, Schubert and Wolff. Most recently I performed Schubert’s epic cycle Winterreise in Christ Church Cathedral.
Typesetting
Another musical passion is consort performance
of Renaissance music (and pre-Renaissance music). This often involves typesetting or editing the works. I use Sibelius to produce these new editions for performance. I also am often asked to typeset modern works and new commissions by the composers or commissioning bodies. If you are a composer and wish to have you work professionally typeset using Sibelius, then please contact me (paulmthomas @ googlemail dot com).
Links
www.stpatrickscathedral.ie
www.cccdub.ie
www.gradualia.co.uk
www.sibelius.com
