Ain't no stopping us now

Back to Choir: A New Term, A New MD, and New Music! 🎶

After a long summer break, it was wonderful to gather again at the start of term. This season brought us fresh energy with our new MD, Martha Littlehayes, and, of course, a whole batch of new music to explore.

We were a little short on the deeper voices this week, but that didn’t stop us from making a joyful sound. Even better, we welcomed two new members, June and Catherine – a lovely addition to our choir family.

A Playful Warm-Up

Martha kept us on our toes with something different. This time, we tried a round that had us laughing:“If you ever need to give someone a slap, just hit them and say, ‘Mosquito!’”

It certainly broke the ice and got us ready for singing together again.

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now

We kicked off with the 1979 disco anthem by McFadden & Whitehead – a song often seen as a celebration of resilience and joy in the African American community.

When singing “we’re on the move”, Martha reminded us to make it sound casual, almost throwaway. The chorus shifts the words the second time, and we built a powerful crescendo through “Ain’t no stopping us now!”

Walking in the Air

Next came the magical theme from The Snowman by Howard Blake.

The story follows the fleeting adventures of a young boy and a snowman who magically comes to life. Together, they soar through the night sky to the North Pole, with Walking in the Air as the theme for their journey. There, they join a party of snowmen – the boy seemingly the only human guest – before meeting Santa Claus himself. As a parting gift, Santa gives the boy a scarf decorated with snowmen, a magical reminder of his extraordinary adventure.

In our version, basses and tenors sing together, giving the piece a rich, deep sound. We worked on making “air” sound more like “are” for a darker, more mysterious tone. And when echoing “like dreams”, we kept it soft – a shadow behind the main line rather than competing with it.

Diamonds Are Forever

Then it was time for James Bond glamour! The John Barry classic, made famous by Shirley Bassey, started as a whisper and rose in intensity.

A handy tip: raise your eyebrows when hitting the high notes to keep them bright. On the phrase “hurt me”, we swelled dramatically into “me”, adding drama worthy of 007 himself.

Ya Basta

Finally, we travelled to South America with Ya Basta! – a piece that combines the poetry of Antonio Machado with the powerful slogan meaning “enough is enough.”

It’s a song about freedom, choice, and courage, and it gave us a taste of singing in South American Spanish – a first for many of us!

What’s Next?

Four songs in one session was a real treat, and just the beginning. We’ll be exploring them more deeply in the weeks ahead, so don’t forget to check out Dropbox, listen, and familiarise yourself with the parts.

It’s going to be a term full of new music, new experiences, and – best of all – singing together again.