Tune at noon

On the second Tuesday of each month, October-May, Troy Savings Bank and Music Hall lays on a free lunchtime concert: Music at Noon.  This being the second Tuesday in December, I went along to hear the Helderberg Madrigal Singers. 

I have had a soft spot for madrigal singers ever since a friend told me that someone she knew had signed up to join a college madrigal group thinking it was a dance troupe in the style of '70s Top of the Pops icons, Pan's People.  She though it was pronounced Mad Wriggle.

The only mad wriggling going on today was by a group of quite young children sitting to my right - and actually they sat pretty nicely through a whole hour of ancient music.  The singing was very pure and beautiful, enhanced by the Music Hall's famously excellent accoustics.

The singers stuck firmly to the pre-Classics - the most modern song was an 18th Century Shaker hymn.  When it came to the encore I did wonder if they were suddenly going to break out and sing an a capella version of Jingle Bell Rock - they even had a triangle at the ready... But no, they went for a rousing rendition of Gaudete instead.

I'd driven over to Troy in light snow.  By the time I came out of the theatre everything had a coating of white.  It hasn't really lasted, but it was pretty while it did.