The Singing Estate about the Blackbird Leys Estate Choir

[HarpsichordCarrier]

did anyone just see this? I thought it was fab and it made me cry... especially the 97 year old woman auditioning to improve her self confidence

Yes - I watched it. Sort of HearSay with opera

Didn't watch it but knew you would!
Blackbird Leys full of university staff these days I hear....

it was good apart from the rubbish Channel Five commentary.
Kept referring to a woman in her 30s who worked in the supermarket as a "shop girl"
and all that fake "oh they've only got tem weeks so there's no time to LOSE!!!!" crapola.
But hearing people sing like that was touching.
Am going to steal a couple of the tenors for my choir

I enjoyed it too, although I agree with your remarks re: the crappy/patronising documentary style. The 97 year old woman was so sweet! Also loved Eric, the 73 yr old man who got in.

I'm sure I've seen the woman with all the tattoos on trisha

really wanted to watch this and then completely forgot it was on. gutted I missed it :( do you know if they are repeating it at all during the week?

hey HC I keep missing everything (on TV and mumsnet) because am out nearly every night at the moment. (ooh get me)

played the Verdi Requiem last night with 2 great amateur choirs with lots of good tenors. A miracle! It was great

am going to try to see this programme anyway, don't know how though!

anyone watch the last episode of this? I sobbed nd sobbed at the end.
BUT surely they could have played the full version of the two things they performed? I mean, it would have only taken 7 minutes or something, instead we got thirty seconds of heavily editted footage

bump in case....

Wish I'd seen this -not quite sure how I missed it or this thread about it?

I used to work in Oxford and Blackbird Leys was one of the areas I visited a lot.

am just watching the one from 2 weeks ago that I taped and haven't had time to watch!

Just seen this - Ivor setterfield conducts the choir I sing with,,,,,we all cried at the last episode

what's he like as a regular conductor? he seems a lot more patient that some I've worked with..

He's brilliant. Ours is a on-audition choir (I sing in it becasue you don't HAVE to turn up every week so those of us who read music well do wing it a b it on fewer rehearsals) and he gets a really very good sound out of a ramshackle collection of amateurs.

Non-audition I meant.....

wish I could find a choir like that - all the ones round here are either
a) terribly high-powered, high-effort and slightly up their own arse (signed permission slip needed to miss more than 2 rehearsals, member setting up a trust fund 'from their inheritance' to revive neglected works etc etc)
b) elite chamber groups that I haven't a chance in hell of getting into or
c) parish choral societies consisting entirely of elderly ladies and no men

am currently going with a) and keeping my cynic's hat on...

come and joinour choir mrs B
where are you then?

this is where I discover harpsi and I are actually in the same choir and she is one of the prissy sopranoes who looks down nose when I sneak in late...

am in Oxon but not prepared to travel to London (know some mad fools who do...)

so am I Mrs B, so am I (in Oxon that is.....)

email me pls harpsichordcarrier at hotmail dot com....

have done... IE crashed though so let me know if it hasn't made it

haha
we're not

but she did unknowingly come to hear us sing last year