CULTURE CLUB
Sing Your Praises IN UNISON CHOIRMASTER GARETH MALONE WILL BE HARMONISING THE CITY OVER THE SAME SONGBOOK THIS MONTH – MIRIAM BALANESCU FINDS OUT MORE
On the stigma around men singing, he continues: “Attitudes to masculinity are very complicated across the board. One of the knock-on effects of that is that it makes young boys and men feel anxious about doing anything that isn’t part of the dogma of what it is to be manly. What’s so good about singing when you are in all-male company is it’s very bonding, for men who maybe don’t open up much. That’s why football crowds do it – they might not be brilliant speaking about their emotions at home, but they get it out through those songs.” Having worked with choirs up and down the country, Gareth says the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber is the jewel in his choral crown. “I had a lot of energy in my twenties,” the musician explains. “But you get better at
Gareth recalls. “I think genre is something that happens after. It’s almost like a post- match analysis.” Gareth is no stranger to merry wassailing, having landed number one at Christmas with the Military Wives in 2011. “We’ll be dusting off the Christmas numbers,” says Gareth. “It’s the one time of the year you’re permitted to be just wallowing in yourself. We’re ritualistic animals, aren’t we? We like to celebrate in particular ways. We like familiarity. This is not a tour where people are going to come and hear brand-new commissions and contemporary classical works. It will be familiar, friendly, cosy and fun.” After all, what matters most is enjoying yourself, rather than worrying about the result. “Singing is one of those innate human skills,” says Gareth. “I think we all like to sing, we all remember a time when we
hile singing may seem an innocent pastime, the hobby was effectively banned during
the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only does congregating help the virus spread, but singing itself was claimed by scientists to aid transmission. Where choirs did continue, they resumed online. And for many forced to disband due to a lack of resources, the sound of silence has settled. Gareth Malone OBE has spent almost two decades bringing choral music to communities less likely to be exposed to it, from schoolchildren in underprivileged areas to prison inmates. The pandemic made the sense of meaning behind his work feel rawer. “It’s definitely strengthened my conviction that music is a fantastic tool for bringing people together,” says Gareth. “But it did make me realise the thing that I love is being in a room of people. I love an audience.” Bringing music to the masses, the conductor is now on tour around the UK with a band, four singers and a choir local to each area. In Cambridge, that’s Kathryn Rowland’s Sing! Choirs. “It roots it in the place,” says Gareth. “We’re on stage for two hours and when the local choir comes on, it’s a celebratory party atmosphere!” The idea of the show is to unite the audience in song, even coming up with their own compositions collaboratively on the spot. “I don’t plan – because it’s more fun that way,” claims Gareth. He has carefully compiled a setlist of singles sure to lure even the greatest cynics into song. “I grew up listening to Vivaldi and The Beatles with my parents, and there was never a separation. It was in the days when you had a record collection, so you would listen to random bits of music,”
knowing the right thing to say – and at equal management. In my case, maybe 40% is about the music and then much is about the psychology of the people that are involved,
sang. Culturally, in this country, there have been times where it’s become professionalised. My parents’ generation have a memory of being auditioned at school and then either accepted or rejected, which has a quite divisive effect. That way of thinking is a bit old-fashioned now.”
keeping them happy and challenged. I’ve
got far better at managing that.”
Sing-Along-A-Gareth is at Cambridge Corn Exchange on 8 December
8 Dec
When the local choir comes on, it’s a party atmosphere!
PLAYING FAVOURITES Gareth’s musical selections will be familiar to many, as the nation’s choirmaster pushes the power of song
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK DECEMBER 2022 39
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