Perfect harmony
CORK International Choral Festival is preparing to host one of the world’s most successful vocal groups, The King’s Singers, during the event in May. Formed in 1968, the Grammy award-winning British sextet are in constant demand. They receive hours of airplay each day and are currently top of the New Zealand charts for the third week in a row after a recent tour there.
Proudly bearing an Irish name, with ancestry in Cork, counter-tenor David Hurley is the longest-serving member of the current ensemble. He joined in 1990, three years before the last two original members, Simon Carrington and Alistair Hume, left after some 25 years. “They were a marvellous influence,” Hurley says. “It’s credit to them that the group has continued. When you look at its history, it’s surprising how few members there have been.
“We function as a set of individuals who work as part of a team. One of us takes care of finances, another liaises with the office, one is in charge of our vast library and others deal with programme preparation. Our newest member, Christopher, is busy learning a huge amount of repertoire. But when we’re on stage we are all equal.”
Programme preparation is Hurley’s field. “Those of us who prepare a programme don’t decide on it. We present ideas to the group who then develop it — the decisions are a co-operation. Two of us are in our 40s, one in his 30s and three are in their 20s, so you have differing tastes, but given the eclectic nature of our approach that’s useful.”
The same is true of rehearsals. “We don’t have one single person running rehearsals. I have a particular interest in Renaissance music so I tend to be more vocal when we’re rehearsing that music, while others lean on other aspects. When people sit in on our rehearsals they are always staggered by how much talking we do — it’s about 80% talk and 20% singing.”
The King’s Singers were part of Hurley’s world from an early age. “I grew up in a house where records were played a lot. There was a battle between Bach downstairs and pop in my sister’s room,” he laughs. “My parents had the King’s Singers’ first album and when I was in secondary school they came to give a subscription concert which I went to, I was absolutely astounded. I never thought for one moment that I might one day be joining them.
“They sang Paul Patterson’s Time Piece,” Hurley remembers. One of the group’s most popular and iconic works, it was written for them in 1972. “It was avant garde yet extremely funny. Until then I didn’t know that modern music could be something you could enjoy, that had an entertainment factor.”
Before he joined the King’s Singers, Hurley sang in many contexts, specialising in early music. “I realised my happiest moments were singing in an ensemble. The opportunity to sing with the group in an audition was such a pleasure. I think it’s the same for anyone who auditions, people really enjoy it. Suddenly it’s not a battle to be the loudest, it’s such a supportive environment.”
It would be hard to overestimate the impact the King’s Singers have had on choral music. Their published a capella arrangements are sung the world over. The group have been fortunate to include talented arrangers, and also work with a number of arrangers from outside. “A lot of arrangements would come from planning albums when there are gaps to fill. We also get sent a lot of suggestions and we do listen and pay attention. The important thing is we view them as a sort of starting point.”
It’s very rare that an arrangement is performed in the original way. “It is wonderful that this music is available for people to sing. We are just six men so we cannot make the same sound as a large choir but we try hard to make sure all the notes from our arrangements are in the published piece. We would say to all groups to make our arrangements their own.
“It’s a wonderful thing to hear a piece you know and love done by someone else. Years ago in Shanghai a group had waited unsuccessfully for hours in the hope of getting returned tickets for a sold-out concert. As we came out the stage door afterwards they were outside and sang one of our own arrangements to us. It was the most humbling experience.”
* An Evening with the King’s Singers, 8pm , Thursday, May 3, Cork Opera House www.corkchoral.ie
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
