The Big Issue - UK (2020-11-30)

FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 45

Ring out

the bells

inneedofa littleinspiration,takeinVOCES8’sminiseriesLiveFromLondon

Christmas,whichopenson December 1.�ebrilliant acappella group will

performaselection of tinsel-clad tunes(voces8.foundation).

AWAYINAMANGER

Severalcathedralsarelive-streamingcarolservicesthisyear,including

Ely (December 24 ;elycathedral.org/music), whichalsobroadcastsits

Christmastreelightsswitchon (December 6 ).Canterbury Cathedralwill

shareitscarolservicesonline(canterbury-cathedral.org) aswillSalisbury

(salisburycathedral.org.uk/live).�ereareseveralmajorseasonalevents

heldincathedralsthisyear. John RutterconductstheRoyalPhilharmonic

OrchestrainAChristmasCelebrationonline(December 10),filmedin

St AlbansCathedral.Ticketscost £10 (rpo.co.uk).�econcert willbe

broadcastin fullvia ClassicFM at 8 pm on December 1 8 .In Oxford’s

Christ ChurchCathedral,theOxfordBachSoloistsarejoined by Roderick

Williamsand Christopher Purves,aswellasJoannaLumley, Stephen Fry

and others,who deliver festivereadings(December 11). (� e concert is free

toviewviamacmillan.org.uk/followthestars.)

SWEETTREAT

�eSugarPlum Fairy, Clara and thePrinceareChristmascultural

lynchpins,and Birmingham RoyalBallet’sspecially adapted production

of�eNutcrackerwillrun at theBirmingham Repertory �eatrefrom

December 1 4 - 22 .(Ticketsstart from £ 2 0,visitbirmingham-rep.co.uk).

London’sRoyalBallet willalso performtheTchaikovskyclassic

(December 11–January3; ticketsonsaleDecember 1 fromroh.org.uk).If

you’renot ableto attendin person, Opus Arte has a Blu-ray of � e Royal

Ballet’sclassicproduction.

DOITYOURSELF

Retailer RimmersMusichasrevealed thatinstrumentsaleshavedoubled

during thepandemic,despitestoresbeingclosed.�ere’snever been a

better timeto brushup on forgotteninterests,particularly musicmaking.

You don’t need tospend much,either: an ocarina–asmallvessel�lute–is

a good placetostart (Ocarina Workshop’sZero-to-Hero book and four-hole

instrument costs £1 9. 8 0;ocarina.co.uk).

@claireiswriting

CULTURE

|

MUSIC

Photo: Geo�f Pugh/Shutterstock

T

hevideocallisunforgiving– the

backgroundtothesceneappearsinhigh

definition.“Er, areyouin thecaravan?”I

ask my parentstentatively, preparing to

givetheseboomersalectureon theimportanceof

observingcurrentlockdownrestrictions.“Yes,we’re

onholiday,”smilesmy mother. �en,sensing the

impendingspeech,quickly adds.“On thedriveway.”

�eGuardianrecently ran a pieceonhow weareall

becoming moreeccentricin 202 0,finding mentaland

physicalstimulation previously attained from our

usualenvironmentsin o��beat behaviour–unusual

mannerisms,unconventionalinterests–andcamping

tripsin thegarden.Anecdotalevidencesupportsthis:

a friend recentlysent a photo of asumptuousmealhe

hadcookedforhimself,servedwithcandelabraand

dickiebow, toenjoy whilehewatched a Glyndebourne

operaonline.

Christmasloomslargein themusicalcalendar and

there’sno getting away from thefact that thisyear will

bedi�ferent.But,withalittleimagination and kooky

thinking,it’spossibleto recreatesomeof themagic.

Oneof themorepositiveaspectsof thecurrentcrisis

istheswi�t adoption of technology byinstitutions

thathaven’t traditionallyembraced optionssuchas

digitalstreaming.�isistheyear thathasbrought

world-classliverecitalsfrom thelikesof WigmoreHall

and Huddersfield ContemporaryMusicFestivalto our

living rooms.It’senabled virtualgatheringstoevents

that weneverimagined wewould view from our own

homes.(Not allpleasant–alongsidetheconcertsI also

attended my first virtualfuneral.)

So grab a mulled wineand a mincepieandenjoy

thesefestivefavourites from the sofa – snowman

sweateroptional.

CHRISTMASCOUNTDOWN

Decemberisusually a busy timefor freelance

musicians,butinlieu of theusualgigs,one

enterprising grouphascreated an onlinemusical

adventcalendar, featuring video performancesof

classicmelodiesand quirky arrangements.�e

calendarcosts£ 24. 99 (musicaladvent.com).Record

labelNaxoshasreleased a freeapp for advent,o�fering

25 completetrackstocount down untilthebig day.

Eachwindow revealsa di�ferent pieceof music,

including Handel’sMessiahand Mozart’sSleighRide.

Search‘MusicalAdvent Calendar’ in the App Store.

HITTHEHIGHNOTES

Whiletraditionalcarolling andsinging togetherin

personisnot possiblejust now, wecanstillenjoy

a virtualsingalong.LondonSymphony Orchestra

presentsa festive–and free–concert (December 13),

with participation encouraged (lso.co.uk). And if you’re

Raisingtheroof

Itmightlookabitdi�ferent

thisyearbutEly’scarols will

still sound magical

Hasthepandemicputpaidtothe

traditionsofa classicalChristmas?

Notif youknowwhereto look,

saysClaire Jackson

COVID CHRISTMAS