NOEL! NOEL!
Image: Guest soloist Maximilian Riebl
Entering its 15th year in what has become a Brandenburg festive tradition NOEL! NOEL! returns but this time it’s a Celtic-inspired Christmas.
“It’s a really different program [this year], traditional in that there are still traditional carols and things that people are going to really recognise, but there’s also music that’s really different,” explains Spencer Darby who is a part of the Brandenburg choir.
Rehearsal is a big part of being in a choir especially when you have to learn songs in different languages.
“It’s a fairly short rehearsal period, but it’s really intensive, in terms of man hours it’s actually not a huge amount but it’s about a week of really intensive rehearsal. It requires a lot of independence and hard work from the individuals involved,” adds Darby.
Indeed it will be required in abundance when Gaelic or Welsh verses need to be sung.
“We do different interpretations of well known traditional music like Gaelic and Welsh verses of a well known carol like Silent Night,” explains Darby.
So how does one describe a Celtic Christmas?
“It’s vibrant; it feels real; it’s more down to earth and real to me. It feels like you’re part of a community that belongs to the music, it’s very human” Darby says. (AH)
Dec 14 & 18, City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, $30-106, brandenburg.com.au
BY ANDREW HODGSON
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