Tag Archives: Camberwell Scare

A Fright Night / Dead Day Choir

Day of the Dead
This weekend we’re singing at our first two gigs of the autumn term. And due to our amazing organisational skills, your choir leaders – and Carmel (so you know who to blame) – decided that to get an authentic performance on Sunday’s Day of the Dead celebrations we should have our annual silent film night the night before. Obviously this involves an after party in the crypt ’till late which should ensure that we all look and feel suitably dead for the next day. Or later on the same day in most cases if you think about it.

Still – it’s going to be an amazing weekend! Our silent film night on Saturday 31st is in it’s 3rd year and with the help of the Friends of St Giles’ Church and Camberwell Free Film Festival this year is going to be epic. Tickets are available on the door of the church for the film. And if you want to buy tickets for both the film and a ‘speakeasy’ theme night downstairs in the crypt afterwards, head on over to wegottickets.com where you can buy combined tickets for both events. The film starts at 7pm – and choir we’re warming up at 6pm in St Giles’ – see Calendar for more details.

Piccadilly Poster

Then on Sunday 1st November we’re heading over to Hackney for Día de Muertos. It’s being held at the RichMix Cinema, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA and we’re on at 3pm.

Day of the Dead is a tradition spanning back thousands of years, where Mexicans honour their dead and celebrate life. And as well as all the celebrations it’s a chance to celebrate loved ones that have passed away. There’s a fully traditional altar, live music, arts & crafts and probably the most deliciously crafted Mexican food on this side of the pond! Check out the Facebook page here.

What a weekend – please join us if you can!

A Fright night at the movies!

The scariest night of the year is fast approaching…and when you’ve finished trick or treating, come over to St Giles’ Church in Camberwell and enjoy a classic silent film with live music – where sadly everyone will hear you scream – as it echoes around the church!

Foggy
‘Trick or Treat?’

We’re showing ‘The Lodger: A Tale of the London Fog’ at 7pm on Friday 31st of October. The choir is going to sing along with creepy piano music in-between the songs. It’s a sort of concert and film screening all at once – but sadly the church pews don’t have any cushions to hide behind so we’re laying on a bar to dull your senses instead!

It’s one of Alfred Hitchcock’s first films as director and is set in the London of the roaring 1920’s. At night, lurking in the fog, a serial killer known as “The Avenger” is on the loose. When a mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, suspicions begin to arise…

Despite all this, families are very welcome! It’s rated PG and probably the scariest aspect of the evening will be going to the loo as the toilets at St Giles’ are downstairs in the crypt… But it should be a fab night and just to make it that bit more atmospheric – feel free to come in costumes or period 1920’s dress. Tickets are £5 and £3 available on the door.

And if you’re hungry for more music and thrills after all this, why not head down to the crypt bar for live jazz? Funky band ‘Paragon’ will be down there playing music from their new album ‘Cerca’. Have a listen for yourself here. The crypt is open till witching hour and you can get joint tickets for the film and jazz (from 9.30pm) at wegottickets.com.

Already 2 Rehearsals in…!

Time passes so quickly! And embarrassingly it’s been ages since we put some news on this website. Our Facebook page won the battle in terms of Christmas updates, but it’s not as if things haven’t been going on!

‘Camberwell Scare’ at the start of November last year must have been one of our most successful concerts ever – who would have thought a 1923 horror film and a live performance from a community choir would work? But it did – and it was so popular we might have to do it again this year! Our Christmas Concert was loads of fun too with a record audience turnout. ‘Carols ’round Camberwell’ was a bit damp, what with a thunderstorm starting just as we set out to sing! But we raised nearly £200 in 45 minutes towards the Philippines Typhoon appeal which meant it was well worth soggy clothes (and music).

Image
Michael Gove’s favourite

But now to 2014 – and you can be sure that our music choices will remain eclectic as ever! But throughout the year, there will be some songs popping up commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Great War, 1914-18.

Music has probably played a role in warfare since the start of war itself – drums and trumpets always seem to feature highly when it comes to biblical battles (as the city of Jericho found out); flutes and fifes in the American Civil War (and closer to home in Northern Ireland); and of course marching army bands (watch the first 30 seconds of any ‘Blackadder goes forth’ episode!)

World War 1 got underway in the era of gramophones and perhaps more than ever, music on the home front and music on the front lines were connected like never before – often with some ‘edited’ lyrics by soldiers! A great example is the song ‘They didn’t believe me’ from ‘The girl from Utah’ by Jerome Kern and Herbert Reynolds. Arriving in Britain from the US in 1914, it became an ironic take on the allegedly ‘easy’ life of the trenches in the early part of the war. It was featured under another title ‘We’ll never tell them’ at the end of ‘Oh what a lovely war’, which is a bit of a hot topic for MP Michael Gove at the moment! We will be rehearsing this song at the next rehearsal with Ashley.

Anyway – even two rehearsals in – it’s never too late in the term to come and join us! And if you’ve visited us before, why not make a New Year’s Resolution to make music a part of your life in 2014?