Oh look, Simon Carrington's a person, too

As I explained at length tonight to the kind elderly couple who engaged me in conversation at the reception of tonight's concert, the King's Singers are my musical idols. They have been since I was old enough to know what music was. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the purple couch in the living room in Massachusetts, looking at the purply-swirly carpet, listening to Michelle off The Beatles Connection and learning the French phonetically with no idea what it was. I learned those Beatles songs, every single one of the ones on that album, as a cappella pieces before I ever heard the originals.

So if I've been drinking down the King's Singers' mastery since before age 5, I've been doing it for over 20 years. Simon has been singing it for over 25. He was a founding member. And he's been conducting choirs (and teaching choral conducting) ever since. It shows.

Hopefully tomorrow's concert will have less in the way of seat-of-the-pants moments. Everyone I talked to at the reception found tonight's concert exceptional. The singers all wish he could stay for more, or come back (I hypothesized that two shows was all we could afford). The chorally/conductorily educated audience members agreed, the specificity and ease of expression bring a whole new dimension to a cappella music. And the program itself which Simon picked, is faultless; everything is interesting, and there's a wide variety.

The reception was at a donor's house and included some lovely Roquefort, which induced some discussion. Those of us who like strong cheese were all for it, including Simon, who has heard that a diet regularly including ewe's cheese contributes to longer life. I'm skeptical, but I suppose it could be a factor. I'd certainly take it as an excuse to eat more cheese.