CHARTER CHOIR OF HOMERTON COLLEGE Dr Daniel Trocmé-Latter, Director of Music
26 ANNUAL REVIEW COLLEGE LIFE
W
here to start a report on music, in a year when musicians’ lives have been turned upside down? I count myself extremely fortunate to be in a stable job, one which – even if it has involved almost nothing in the way of live music-making since March – has still meant I can work. The sounds of Fauré’s Requiem from St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Charter Choir’s new Christmas recording, Till all the place with music ring, had barely finished resonating in our ears when we heard about the emergence of some mysterious new virus; the weeks passed and the first cases in different corners of the world were confirmed. In late February and in March, as we headed towards the end of Lent term, most of us in Cambridge still had no idea about the significance or the lasting impact of this coronavirus.
For the Charter Choir, there was no sign of slowing down: on Saturday 7 March the Choir’s ranks swelled to double their usual size as we welcomed c.25 alumni to sing a special Evensong in celebration of the College’s – and thereby also the Choir’s – 10-year Royal Charter anniversary. With those present spanning the whole of the past decade, including some dating back to the foundation year itself, the air was filled with exuberance and celebration, our glasses with wine. The augmented choir also sang at the Charter Dinner itself, to an audience of Fellows of the College and their esteemed guests. The next day, the number of confirmed cases in the UK was reported 273, with three confirmed deaths; 10 days later, the very idea of ever holding such an event as the Charter Dinner seemed implausible; two weeks later, the whole country was in lockdown. Institutions shut their doors; choirs, orchestras, and all other sorts of musical groups and solo performers were silenced.
Choral alumni joined the Charter Choir for an anniversary Evensong
