The Renaissance Singers’ Musical Tour of the City of London looked almost like a TVEMF event, there were so many members there. My midnight typing of the Concerts List this time was much encouraged by having met a member there who told me that he got all his information about concerts and musical activities from Tamesis. It really was a most enjoyable event (reviewed later in this issue) and I was pleased to be told by Alistair Dixon, who is a member of the choir, that there are plenty more churches in the city for a repeat event. And then of course there is Oxford, Cambridge etc. An additional bonus was that one or two of the churches looked as if they would be good places to hold a TVEMF event

There will be another opportunity to combine music with wonderful architecture between 25^th and 27^th October when the London International Exhibition of Early Music will be held at the new home of Trinity College of Music, the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. We have decided to have a Forum stand this year.

A couple of administrative matters -

I hope you all have a good summer and will enjoy your summer schools so much that you will be inspired to send a report to Tamesis. The next edition will appear in September.

The TVEMF Oriana will have happened by the time you read this, so a report will appear in the next issue. Our next event is a one-to-a-part Renaissance day on the 31st August in Burnham. I'm glad to say that after a decline in numbers over recent years, the last such workshop was quite well attended and successful. We could do with a few more singers prepared to have a go at one-to-a-part music, but can offer instrumental doubling for the less confident. The only way you ever get better at singing or playing in small-scale ensembles is to do it more, so don't be shy!

There is a similar SWEMF event in Redhill on the 21st September so you might like to try that if you live to the south of our region (or even if you don't).

We arrived at St Bartholomews at 4.30 on Saturday afternoon, expecting to find a small group of enthusiasts ready to participate in an unusual programme spread across different venues in the City. It was surprising, and pleasing, to find this large church completely full, with people queuing to buy tickets, and a shortage of chairs!

The five different churches provided the perfect setting for a related short musical programme. In each case the programme was extended by a introduction to the history and architecture of the building, by Anthony Bucknall, a member of the Singers. He knew these churches well, and shared his enthusiasms with us, in an informed and amusing way.

So we heard Taverner in St Bartholomews, Byrd in St Martin, Ludgate, Tallis and Weelkes in St Brides, Dowland in St Andrew by the Wardrobe, and Gibbons, Purcell, and Blow in St Benet. With careful positioning in each venue, the Singers sounded wonderful, particularly resonant and clear, the acoustics enhanced in each case by stunning architecture, and a large appreciative "congregation".

Edward Wickham and the singers are to be congratulated on such an ambitious and accomplished programme, notwithstanding the added responsibilities of marshalling the large and slightly unwieldy audience through the streets of London late on a Saturday afternoon! We loved it, and will be coming back for more.

PS. I neglected to mention that great old song about the instrument that Fanny Brice made famous in the Thirties: Vunce in a Viol.
[Footnote from Mark's response to my request for permission to pass the puns on to you: You may have to explain to your British colleagues that Fanny Brice was a great star of Yiddish-American theater. Barbra Streisand's "Funny Girl" is the story of her life.]