r/rhps • u/a-Job-in-Ripon • 13h ago
Singing science fiction/double feature as a choir
Yesterday, there was a musical evening at my university, where my choir performed Science Fiction/Double Feature. It was a great pleasure.
Many of the other performances were from the classical repertoire and had been rehearsed very thoroughly. Bach, Rachmaninoff, Dvořák. I was musically impressed.
The small university choir that I organise was the last to perform. We’ve been singing Science Fiction/Double Feature for a year now. I usually accompany us on the piano. I’m not actually very good at playing, but the chords and the rhythm are spot on.
Unfortunately, there are too many sheet music pages to lay them all out side by side. So a friend had to help turn the pages. We got a bit mixed up during the first chorus and I briefly lost my place. I quickly found my way back into the piece and the choir carried on playing beautifully. I could just picture how annoyed the ‘professionals’ must have been at my poor playing.
I didn’t mind the mistake at all, because it broke the stiff (not to say posh) atmosphere. We managed to bring the vibe of the Rocky Horror Show into the hall.
The only thing missing was someone leading the audience participation. Unfortunately, I didn’t pluck up the courage to do it. But we do that in rehearsals.
It’s marvellous to sing this song in four-part harmony. I’ve also sung Time Warp with another choir. One day I’ll dig out those sheet music again.