I recently returned to London after nine months of sabbatical research leave in Florence. (Yes, someone has to do it.) It was a wonderful opportunity to explore a different culture, but it was also great to be back – as the first rehearsal of Vivamus’s new singing year reminded me.

Finding local singing opportunities

My Florence sojourn underlined the importance of regular singing to me, for the music, musical participation, and the social interaction with like-minded people. As time passed during my first term there, I was increasingly missing singing in general and Vivamus in general, not helped by continuing to read the WhatsApp chats about upcoming concerts and ever-important post-rehearsal chats about how to get into St Clement Danes (where Vivamus rehearses) and what the post-rehearsal pub was that week.

The solution arose by chance. My Italian class teacher mentioned that she sang in a choir, told me a bit about it, and encouraged me to come along to rehearsals and try it out. Reader, I did!

My first rehearsal with the Coro Desiderio da Settignano was uplifting. I returned home on a high, and I knew I had to return and get a weekly ‘fix’. The music was great: straight into J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in D major – an exciting piece of music albeit a good challenge to my sightreading – and the conductor and fellow singers, including the tenors around me, were very welcoming. Over the succeeding weeks, I also got to improve my Italian a bit too, not least of (bar) numbers.

The benefits of choir – wherever you are

The mental boosts from singing and the friendly welcoming company were like those I experience with Vivamus. Other cross-national similarities included the varied repertoire, e.g., I also rehearsed the 1773 Dixit Dominus by Marianna Martines, and Laudata Sii, a piece for the choir commissioned by the friars of Santa Croce to celebrate St Francis of Assisi and the 800th anniversary of his Cantico della Creature (with music composed by the choir’s accompanist). Like Vivamus, the Coro sings away from home, e.g., invited to San Gimignano (a concert I missed, unfortunately) and next year there will be a trip to Germany.

Some differences: the Coro Desiderio has around twice as many singers as Vivamus, and their average age is rather older. Perhaps relatedly, there were more voice part sectional rehearsals during rehearsals; learning was slower. I never did work out how the Coro financed itself: their concerts are ‘free’ (donations were solicited at concerts but proceeds went to local charities), and subscriptions are not especially high. And there was less post-rehearsal imbibing in local hostelries, probably reflecting the fact that most members drove to rehearsals. Most of these were in the delightful community-run Casa del Popolo in Settignano (a beautiful hillside suburb of Florence) and the remainder in a plain secondary school hall – neither quite the same as St Clement-Danes.

Takeaways: if you are ever as lucky as I was to be able to live abroad for a while, join a choir. It’s a great way to meet people and learn new perspectives about your host country, and I say that even though I still have only rudimentary Italian. And, of course, you get the music and singing as well.

My Florence adventure is over but, luckily, I have my weekly Vivamus ‘fix’ again.

If you’d like a ‘fix’ too, please see our upcoming concerts.

Post written by Stephen Jenkins.