What did you sing in the school choir ?

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: Silver Slug
Date: 18 May 07 - 08:56 AM

Spanish Ladies, "We will rant and we'll roar, like true British sailors! Something by Britten, all in Latin, Benedictus, Qui Venit are the only words I remember, and I've probably miss-spelt them as well. We had a brilliant music teacher by the name of Riddell. His best composition highlighted various school 'characters,' ending with a verse which alluded to an affair between the sports master and sports mistress. They both turned a bright red and left the school hall rather hurriedly! Happy days!

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 May 07 - 09:04 AM

Christus Vincit
Do, A Deer
Old Woman (Do you want to marry me?)
In Old Judea
A variety of Christmas, Easter and other religious songs.
Long Live the Pope (Yes, Joe, we sang it loud and clear)
Bring Flowers of the Fairest
Salvet Mater
At The Cross (Her Station Keeping)
Lots of Broadway tunes but folk was discouraged - all those dead mothers and babies, I think.

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: GUEST,Mark Addison
Date: 18 May 07 - 12:49 PM

Burns' "My Love's an Arbutus" as an audition for the school choir. Was told I couldn't sing, and hence became a bass guitarist in later life! Now I write lyrics for people who can sing. (This is actually a beautiful song, but was so clinically presented it passed me by until later, enlightened life)

Also had to sing "Floreat Bostona", the school song. The school Latin teacher later said that even he was unable to fully translate it!

Music lessons were held in the sports pavilion, whereas the school "music room" was used for other purposes altogether.

Dear Old Boston Grammar! (Boston UK)

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: MMario
Date: 18 May 07 - 01:06 PM

I loved to sing - but when I went to try out for the school chorus - the first thing the teacher said was (while waving arms about in different directions)

Sopranos that way
Altos that way
Tenors over there
Baritones by that wall
and Basses over there.

If you don't know what you are, leave.

so I left.

But since my siblings had me convinced I couldn't(shouldn't) sing -- I didn't sing except in mass groups for a couple decades after that.

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 18 May 07 - 01:24 PM

So Mark A you had a 'Floreat Bostonia'...we had a 'Floreat Totnesia'.....as our school song.....is it just a grammar school thing or are others prone to latin singing also.

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: GUEST,Mark Addison
Date: 18 May 07 - 03:01 PM

"Floreat Fen Street" or whatever doesn't have the same ring about it does it?

(Don't reply that I sound elitist...I'm writing ironically here! This grammar school boy runs a window cleaning business and plays bass with Byards Leap)

I remember...

Floreat Bostona, Floreat Priores, Ne qui secunda sit laborandum

Chorus:
Laborandum, Laborandum..ad infinitum

Translations gladly received.

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: Moses
Date: 18 May 07 - 03:02 PM

'The Ash Grove' is the only non-hymn I can remember singing in our primary school choir, run by dear Mr Horsfield. He made sure not only that the members of his choir stood upright, didn't fidget and didn't pick their noses but that all his class members knew by the end of the first term with him how to spell 'difficulty' and 'necessary', two words he said were most often spelled wrongly.

He would almost invariably play 'The Dam Busters' theme or some other rousing tune after morning assembly. And we always had morning assembly at which we all sang two hymns.

What chance to the kids have to sing now? No music at the one or two assemblies they have each week.(Primary schools may be different but I work at a secondary school and hardly ever hear children's voices raised in song). Almost no one goes to church. The best most of them can hope for is a quick blast on the karaoke at a friend's birthday party. And the sad thing is they don't know what they're missing.

We really were lucky.

Subject: RE: What did you sing in the school choir ?
From: Betsy
Date: 18 May 07 - 03:51 PM

Panis Angelicus in the choir.

In the classroom Sally Gardens is the earliest I can remember, "Oh Soldier Soldier won't you marry me ....." ,and another - "With her one eye in the pot and the other up the chimney with a bow wow wow ....",(loved that one).
Then,when the radio was used to do music lessons ( supposedly ) many many of Britains school kids were hooked up to the same BBC radio lesson)we were forced to sing a rubbish song called Marianina, which went, "Marianina , Marianina, come, oh come and turn us into foam". Jeez, what a bit of brainwashing at an early age can do !!!! - remembering shite like that.