Our first outing since COVID-19 struck and prevented us gathering to rehearse, at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Wells, on September the 18th, was an emotive occasion. The programme had been voted on by choir members from material which we had been able to access in a Zoom moderated home karaoke fashion. In addition, our conductor commissioned a work by Ian Assersohn to mark and celebrate the return of some degree of new normality.
We opened the concert with the world premiere of Ian’s composition, aptly named ‘After’. Much of the music chosen felt as if it captured some of the depth of feeling felt during Lock-down – we sang of the desolation of Jerusalem, and a prayer for forgiveness. The concert moved us and the audience through some very rich musical scenery, culminating in the second performance of ‘After’. There were many moist eyes and lumps in the throat. For this writer at least, it must go down in memory as an extremely moving occasion, and one not easily forgotten.
By kind permission of the composer, a live recording of that second performance of ‘After’, written by Ian Assersohn and sung by the Swan Singers, can be found at his web site: