Music to my ears

Anna Lapwood Organist and conductor

My listening tends to go in weekly cycles with my radio show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. The Sarabande from Caroline Shaw’s Partita is a recent obsession, and the recording by Roomful of Teeth is extraordinary. I’m always surprised by how the piece, which features indigenous throat singing and overtones, changes my perception of choral performance while it still strikes me as beautiful. I keep listening to it over and over again.

Ian Bostridge goes into a trance-like state and brings everyone with him

I recently heard Ian. I’ve heard his recordings many times, but to hear the cycle live was completely bonkers. He goes into an almost trance-like state and brings everyone in the audience with him. At the end he stayed perfectly still and held us for three minutes of silence; no one dared applaud. I went backstage and spoke to him afterwards, and he told me that he doesn’t remember anything about what he did in the performance. It just happens.