Results tagged “choir” from The Sunday Mail - Jayne's Jaunts

It's not very often that I actually act upon one of my ideas...
This week I have booked some time in a recording studio to collaborate with my mate Colin who is a local music promoter and funk/hip-hop guy.
We are going to create a new hip-hop track, using a sample of 'Dies Irae' from Mozart's Requiem.

I know it sounds totally weird, but I have an idea in my head. It will be interesting to have a bit of experimentation and see what happens :-)

Another one of the traditonal singing engagements that I do at this time of year is to meet up
with the Chapel Choir and sing Christmas carols to the little tots that have come to see Santa at the Elphinstone Hall. This is great fun and we get to load up on mulled wine and mince pies.

Then we all swiftly hop on a bus and it's off to Peterhead prison...

There's nothing quite like going into a maximum security prison filled with sex offenders to make you feel that your lot in life isn't so bad.

The choir has to go through all the normal security checks at the prison and are escorted by the staff, but where the security staff have cosy looking gilets and waterproof jackets, we have bright purple cotton choir gowns which act as windsocks, which makes for fighting with the wind an incredibly challenging and soggy experience.

For me, the weirdest thing about going to the prison is the way that the prisoners bring in their own chairs for the concert and then they kinda stare at you before concert begins. I don't know, is it a defensive manoevre? Do they think that we are judging them? But all of the prisoners lighten up and are as nice as pie once the concert starts. Maybe they are just waiting contently until they get to sing 'Ding dong, merrily on high'.

There are also some precious moments in the christmas carols:

'God rest, ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
For Jesus Christ our saviour was born upon this day.
To save us all from satan's power when we have gone astray...'

OMG, I don't know where to look.
You might as well do a little dance in front of them exclaiming 'you're a baddie!'