Mary Reid

There is no mistaking what the men are thinking about when they sing "Oh, oh, oh".  Then the girl's voice rises to the highest notes in a pure When Harry met Sally moment.

Orff's Carmina Burana is a celebration of spring and the joys of youth - food, drink and love, but mainly the latter.  It is sung in a curious mixture of cod Latin and old German, but that isn't a problem as all the meaning is carried in the bawdy and, at times, very funny music.  From the drinking song to the sweetest songs of seduction, we know just what is going on. And it opens and ends with the famous 'O fortuna' which has been used in so many adverts.

But there is nothing here that matches the raw explicitness of many pop songs, so I do find it odd that some people are unhappy about singing it.  Most choirs, like Kingston Choral Society which I belong to, use churches for their concerts, and that has challenged some sensitivities. But I don't belong to that brand of Christianity that labels the pleasures of life as sinful. They have been given for us to enjoy - responsibly, of course (but then I would say that, wouldn't I)

OK, so this was all a puff for our performance on Saturday 8th April at 7.30pm in Kingston Parish Church.  You can book tickets online on the Council website.

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