A December night at the Royal Albert Hall. Conductor Brian Kay coaxes from the English Festival Orchestra the familiar sounds, full of promise, of the opening to Messiah… then ‘Comfort Ye’ and ‘Ev’ry Valley’ from the solo tenor. Finally, massed banks of altos herald the arrival of the 2,500-strong chorus with ‘And the glory of the Lord’. And you can’t help breaking into a broad smile. As Kay observes, ‘That wall of sound knocks me off my perch every single time.’
This year sees the 50th anniversary of the launch (although not under this name) of The Really Big Chorus (TRBC), celebrated with events throughout 2024. There have been TRBC renderings of other choral favourites in the Albert Hall or on summer forays abroad, but the winter Messiahs (always chorally unrehearsed) are still the heart and soul of the choir’s activities.
Broadcaster and columnist Libby Purves has been contributing her alto to TRBC Albert Hall s for many
