In this so called “romantic month of St Valentine’s” we thought we’d take a look at love – not the amorous kind usually associated with the name of this 3rd century Roman saint however, but rather our passion and love for choral music, singing in the London Philharmonic Choir and why and what we love to sing!
Although inspired by St Valentine the day itself, February 14th, didn’t became associated with romantic love until the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring. Both of these things have also of course inspired music and singing so, from then onwards, the two have often become intertwined with love songs and romance (not to mention more earthy kinds of love in some madrigals!). Small romantic gifts began to be exchanged in the 17th and 18th centuries and cards and love notes became popular in the 19th century.
Today of course Valentine’s Day has largely become a commercial money spinner around popular romance rather than love. Romance is all very well of course, and who doesn’t like the idea of that, but beyond these amorous ideals you could do worse than have a loving relationship with choral singing!
Singing, especially with others, is a wonderful thing to do and the endorphins it releases along with the health benefits it can provide often make us feel elated and happy. It also makes us feel closer to each other and research has shown that choral singing makes stronger and more lasting social bonds between people than any other group activity; no wonder we love it! There’s an increasing amount of evidence to show that singing releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine – the “happy” chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel good about yourself. Scientists believe that’s one of the reasons why people report being on a high during choir sessions and continuing to feel positive, uplifted and motivated afterwards.
Well, that’s certainly our experience of singing together, so we can comfortably endorse what these scientists are saying and as three of our “happy and motivated” LPC members share here.
Chris Stuart – tenor and MD of a management training company, who began singing at school
“I absolutely love choral singing – I love the feeling of joy when it goes well; choral music really taps in to that inner ‘je ne sais quoi’ for me and when it goes well there’s absolutely nothing like it. There was a long gap after singing at school and it wasn’t until after my father passed away when I was in my twenties that I found a real passion for singing as I realised it touched my soul more than anything else ever could. I love singing so much that I actually sing in four choirs at the moment, two of them with my partner, but the others don’t come close to singing in the LPC.
When you sing at a really high level, as we do, it’s really fantastic – you come in after a tough day and you come out buzzing even though you’ve just ‘worked’ for another 2 hours. I also think singing is mindful; you can’t be thinking about what’s going on at work or home while you’re singing so it just instantly lifts your mood. When it comes to repertoire to be honest I love singing almost everything, even the really tricky stuff like Ligeti because you gain so much confidence when you manage to learn it in the end. If I had to choose a favourite genre I would say I love Requiems the most as they seem to touch some inner part of me; singing Mahler’s Second Symphony just gave me goosebumps and other pieces bring a real joy.
Outside of the singing itself I love the social aspect of choir. I enjoy the company of people who love music and singing and I’ve made great friends in the LPC. I love to go to the pub after rehearsals and to chat – its a really good way to meet people who share your passion, so you can have a good social life as well as enjoying the singing. I really, really recommend it.”
Janey Maxwell – soprano voice rep, early years music teacher and PhD music student
“I simply can’t imagine life without music and singing; it’s a vital part of who I am and what I do and I absolutely love it. I teach music to young children and after completing a Masters degree in Musicology in 2010 and another in Early Years Music recently, I’m now competing a PhD in voice health which is a vital part of singing and teaching well. This is something I found out in a very painful way during Covid when I lost my voice for some time. It made me feel as if I had lost my identity as my whole life is really about singing.
I got into singing because that’s how my parents met and I joined their choir, Bromley Philharmonic, when I was 13 and have been singing there on and off ever since. The first thing I sang in an adult choir was Bach’s St Matthew Passion and it was then I first thought that large choral singing was wonderful. After a few years I lost that feeling a bit until I came to my trial session at the LPC – in the warm up session I could feel the hairs on my neck go up with the beautiful sound I found myself in the middle of.
I had long held ambitions to sing in a big choir such as ours and now this dream was coming true. Not only that but I had also longed to sing at the Royal Albert Hall and to sing in a Prom so I couldn’t believe it when I discovered that my first concert with the LPC was going to be Verdi’s Requiem at the Proms. It was absolutely amazing as it ticked all the boxes; it was spine tingling and I absolutely loved it. I’m also a big Vaughan Williams fan and another of my spine tingling pieces is his fabulous Sea Symphony which I’m hoping to be singing in the not too distant future!
Besides the singing, I love the community of the choir and my absolutely favourite part of that is everyone breathing together and working as a team. I love the team aspect which is also why I love being a voice rep so much because it’s trying to gel the team; for me, singing together is a team sport. There’s an amazing sense of oneness when you are all breathing together and of course with the rhythm of the music our hearts also start to beat at the same time which is transformational.
Just to bring a little romance into this, as it is a Valentine’s blog after all, I met my husband Ian singing and now we both sing in the LPC. I can’t imagine being married to someone who isn’t as passionate about singing as I am and you won’t be surprised when I tell you that we spent our wedding day singing together in Winchester Cathedral – it was absolutely wonderful.”
Ian Maxwell – alto, railway signal engineer and Janey’s husband!
“I’ve been singing all my life from the age of 6 and I’ve never stopped, I just love it. I began singing in a church choir, in fact I still sing in a church choir, and for me that’s one of the big parts of singing that I really love – but the big choruses we sing in the LPC is another very special area. Singing in a choir is so important to me that by the end of my school days I chose my university (Warwick) based on what the music department was like, even though I was doing engineering! After university I just joined every choir I could.
I think one of the reasons I love singing is because I love working with people, I love the idea of creating music together with other people. Also I’m a bit dyslexic, so maybe for me music is where I can really shine because I’m more comfortable with that than some other things that happen in life – it really helps me a lot I think.
When it comes to choral repertoire, I love Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem – it’s a real treasure and a massive challenge. It has masses of emotion and when you get to the end you feel gosh, wow; it really takes you through the whole gamut of feelings and it’s a tremendous piece of music. We did the Vivaldi Gloria recently which I love. It was cool, it was fun and a bit of a romp really, so that was jolly. Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast is another favourite; I love it because we sing almost all the time – I’m in a choir to sing so the more of that I can do the better.
I love the LPC because it’s fun and challenging. We’ve recently been singing the John Adams’ piece On the Transmigration of Souls which is mentally tough and requires a lot of focus and thinking. I love that because I want to get on and be challenged.
My wife Janey is also in the choir so that’s handy! We met singing in a church choir in Norwich Cathedral so it’s a good way to meet people too and I couldn’t imagine being married to someone who wasn’t a choral singer, it’s vital for me. The LPC really is a great experience, it’s like nothing else, you’re right in the middle of a fantastic choral sound and part of something really amazing – it’s definitely worth having a go at being part of us.”
Come and sing with us
If you would like to be “part of us” and join the London Philharmonic Choir then check out details on how to join, eligibility, the audition process etc. on our website here. We’d love to meet you!
