The Thirteen performs Philip Stopford's "Lully Lulla Lullay"

The Thirteen
Matthew Robertson, Artistic Director
www.TheThirteenChoir.org
To donate, visit www.TheThirteenChoir.org/donate

[@philipstopford]

Well that’s very lovely 😀 I just posted this on my Facebook page 😀

[@lisakoehler1857]

Can't get a better rating than that! Thank you, Philp! I am so honored to serve on The Thirteen's Board. Your compositions are magical.

[@countrybearnyc]

THANK YOU FOR THIS TEMPO ! imho people rush through this most beautiful piece and don't allow room for the Eternal Breath! this is just glorious.

[@Alan2Bordeaux]

Devastating. Bravo.

[@otolith5]

the most beautiful piece ever written

[@TheMusicalboxer]

My favourite rendition of this stunningly beautiful work. Thank you.

[@heidia.3581]

Best version.

[@jamesbarclay9265]

This is superior in sonics to any other version I've heard. Such emotion and humanity. Such soul. Thank you so much. I hope you do more and more. In fact, I hope you make quality recording of this genre.

[@TheThirteen]

Hi James, thank you for the kind words. We do have a recording of this piece, part of our holiday album "Snow on Snow" available for purchase here: www.thethirteenchoir.org/recordings

[@JayR-uy8gl]

I agree this is quite good, but check out Voces8 recording. Pretty awesome.

[@raphaeldesiecle-lindup4008]

Heavenly...

[@brad42948]

This is a piece that definitely benefits from a slower tempo, though this is about the limit with the meter.

[@paulmarshall6736]

Try the Polish choir Mus Arietes

[@JoelByrd1]

Beautiful. Curious conducting style, though, where it seems like he conducts ahead of the beat. At some points it seems like he's almost a full beat ahead - that would throw me off.

[@nikohoijarvi7041]

Perhaps the audio is not synced correctly with the video?

[@jrthiker9908]

This frequently happens in larger spaces like cathedrals and concert halls. Very common with orchestras as people coordinate amongst themselves and adjust to the space and the distance from the conductor. For them to be exactly with his tactus they'd have to actually sing ahead of the beat. You can see he allows them room and waits for them to catch up in spots. Part of the issue also is that the singers all take a microsecond to get to their formant or full resonance, then they feel that spot in time as the beginning of the beat. One of the common things opera and choral conductors have to deal with. If you listen to Italian singers, they sing on the beat, but most American singers have been allowed to sag slightly behind. Sorry to get technical and geeky, but these are things conductors have to deal with :)

[@JoelByrd1]

@@jrthiker9908 Great explanation - thank you! I have sung in choirs, including multi-choir productions where the choirs are quite a distance from each other, and yes now I remember sound delay and timing being a challenge, so that makes sense.

[@jrthiker9908]

@@JoelByrd1 No problem, I'm an opera conductor and I think most people don't realize exactly the sorts of sound issues we have to deal with. If you think singing in a choir is tough, try being upstage of the orchestra and conductor by 20-40 feet, hearing them sometimes almost a second after the conductor's beat (remember sound travels more slowly than light) and having to deal with that while acting, moving around, remembering 3+ hours of music in a foreign language LOL. Even with stage/pit monitors, opera singers can't really hear the orchestra that well onstage...surprising isn't it, considering how loud opera usually is! When I work with young singers, the first thing you have to teach them is how to coordinate the eye/brain/breath to find the orchestra beat, and it usually means singing ahead of what you see the conductor do. If you sing with what your ears are telling you, you'll be way behind the orchestra. I tell singers use your ears only to hear pitch/harmony, use your eyes for the rhythm. This is why opera singers used to make the big bucks LOL.