Happy new year from Solomons' several cities. Presently, we're even more scattered than usual: Jonny's in Zurich, James is in Lille, Peter's upped the ante by heading out to San Diego. And Julian's still in South Norwood. But Diderot praised the 'lucidité du sédentaire', doing the tour of the 'univers sur notre parquet', so yar boo sucks to airmiles. Last weekend we had a very exciting round of phone calls and meetings, on the back of which we're going to have some new dates and programmes to announce in the coming months. Watch this space - and browse the project tabs, quite a few new audio clips have been quietly posted in the last week or so.

We're still basking, forgive us, a "chamber" Messiah was all we dared hope for. Many thanks to the superb team of musicians who created such a memorable occasion on the night - and to our wildly appreciative and generous audience who were heard to whoop, yea so soon as at the end of Part the First, which is unprecedented in our experience. We would also like to thank Dr Ruth Smith and Oliver Soden for their thoroughly entertaining introduction to MESSIAH in the pre-concert talk. Ruth is now a friend of long standing who has consistently provided us with her support and advice; it was good, finally, to get to put her and her deep knowledge on show as part of the Solomon circus. As is our way, we're already consulting over dates for 2012 - watch this space, though perhaps wait until after Christmas... here's wishing all our supporters, friends and musicians a very merry one. 

We can do without the Christmas shop windows for a while yet, but the festive season feels very close to us here at Solomon. A month is not a long time in the world of concert administration, and we’re hard at work making our final preparations for “a chamber Messiah - reduced to the max” at St John's Smith Square on Saturday 10th December. Tickets go on sale at SJSS box office from November 1st – click HERE to go directly to their website. Alternatively, give them a call on
020 7222 1061. Student tickets are priced at just £10.      

Officially, of course, there is no “chamber” Messiah. The idea to perform the piece with just eight singers (all budding young soloists) taking choruses and arias, and with a reduced band (shorn of its woodwinds) of 14 players and without conductor is ours. We’ve been inspired by a number of prominent reduced-forces interpretations of Baroque masterworks which we’ve encountered: Paul McCreesh’s St Matthew Passion with the Gabrieli Consort, John Butt’s Messiah with Dunedin Consort – and in Julian’s case, by the recent experience of performing Bach’s Mass in B Minor one-to-a-part with Sigiswald Kuijken and the European Baroque Academy. What attracts us to these interpretations is their clarity – of the individual parts which emerge distinctly, and of the combinations of the individual parts, which are so much more accurate and clear. It’s not just a mechanical thing; we also think that the reduced forces bring about a performance which is much more personal and communicative. Splendour isn’t compromised either – the majesty of Handel’s vision is maintained in full force, but in sharp, intimate focus.

We’re extremely excited about how our chamber Messiah is going to sound  - we hope that many of you are too and will join us at St John’s Smith Square on December 10th to hear and see it.

Solomon's Knot had a super day out at Aldeburgh on Saturday. At first glance, a programme of German Baroque music doesn't have much to do with Britten's Suffolk seaside home; one passerby, being informed that our concert was a "Buxty" rather than a "Benjy", cycled on. In fact, as we trawled Reed II bookshop the following day, we were reminded of just how much of this repertoire Britten and Pears performed at the Aldeburgh Festival over the years, some of it extremely obscure. We imagine that they, like us, were drawn by the music's harmonic and melodic clarity, and by the vivid, often pungent nature of German Protestant poetry.

Without a doubt, this concert project has been one of the most successful yet. The ensemble vibe throughout the week was as collective as we'd hoped with rehearsals featuring a great amount of input from all points in the ensemble. Individual music-making was characterised by extreme skill and flexibility, but was always sensitive to the need to create an ensemble piece. There was hard work, and there was good friendship.

As ever, it was great to make contact with our audience. We were delighted to welcome some Solomon groupies from Cambridge and flattered by the presence of some noted Aldeburgh concert-going regulars. Was it the most diverse Solomon audience yet? We've certainly not entertained a thriller author or an anarcho-punk band before...

We've already started having meetings about our next concert on December 10th at St John's Smith Square. Watch this space for more details very soon.

Roll up, roll up! Tickets are now on sale for our next performance via the Aldeburgh Music box office. You can phone them on 01728 687 110, or you can buy online by CLICKING HERE. Full details of the programme are on the NEXT CONCERT page.

We've tied the knot! After several weeks of work, we're delighted to see this new website go live. The main advantage for us of this platform over previous incarnations is the ability to edit quickly and conveniently. So keep checking back, and you should find new content to keep you satisfied on a regular basis. Do feel free to give us any feedback via the form on the CONTACT PAGE. Our NEXT PERFORMANCE is fast approaching. It's called "Abendmusik" and it's a sumptuous programme of German Baroque cantatas. Needless to say, we're looking forward to it and we hope to see a good crowd there. And of course, you can browse the rest of the PROJECTS we've got on offer - several of them feature live concert extracts which we'd love you to investigate.

Well, that's it for now. Check back for updates soon...