Russian rehearsal

I took several photos last night of the concert in Holy Trinity Church Dunoon in which Voskresenije sang sacred and folk music from Russia, but I've chosen this one of a moment which only a few of us shared as the choir sit and go over the music for the evening as they get used to the particular acoustics of the building.

Before this, the conductor had driven the choir's minibus from the north of England, arriving in Dunoon not long after 3pm. They drank gallons of tea, ate the sandwiches and cakes provided by a few stars in the congregation, and had dozed in my sitting-room (the septuagenarian basso profundo) or bopped to music on his headphones (the twenty-something baritone). Then off in the moonlight up the hill to the church, a rehearsal, a change of clothes in the Tower (they found this rather fun) and a quick visit to the portal (this was less fun).

The concert was great; the church was full; the proceeds good enough to make both church and choir happy. I have been organising this for over a decade now. It still feels worth it.

But I was sorry for Voskresenije (it means "Resurrection") as they piled into the bus in this morning's pouring rain and set off to drive, via the diverted Rest and Be Thankful road, to Alness.

They're tough.