Child choristers embody the spirit of Christmas. And it's a busy time some young singers tell Christina O'Rourke
Christmas truly does come early for Dublin's young choristers, with rehearsals already well under way and recitals beginning this week.
"Performing Carols at Christmas time gives you a great feeling," says Róisín Kiberd (13) of Piccolo Lasso, the boys and girls choir of Dublin Choral Foundation. "We have either a rehearsal or a recital on nearly every day coming up to Christmas, but all the hard work pays off," she smiles, "the atmosphere is wonderful."
"It's the best part of Christmas," adds Piccolo Lasso's head choir girl, Valerie McGrane (14). "We really feel part of the Christmas spirit when we sing in St Stephen's Green shopping centre. There's a lot of people you know walking around and the tourists even take photographs." The recording of the choir's recently launched Christmas CD, Angel Tidings, was "great fun", she says.
The highlight of the festive season for Piccolo Lasso is the annual December performance in the National Concert Hall. "It's the main focus of the year," says the choir's director Ite O'Donovan. "The magic of Christmas is truly heard when the younger voices of Piccolo Lasso are heard joining in with the adult choir."
Piccolo Lasso performs at Adam and Eve's Franciscan Church, Merchants Quay on Christmas morning. "It's different to everyone else's Christmas morning," says the head choir girl.
Celebrating 100 years at the Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, the Palestrina Choir is also busy, preparing for a "special Christmas".
"The boys are very excited about the series of Christmas performances coming up," says Blánaid Murphy, looking forward to her first Christmas as the Palestrina Choir director. "They really enjoy singing Away in a Manger and In Dulci Jublio," she says. There are 24 boys aged eight to 14 in the Palestrina Choir, accompanied by 12 men.
As well as engulfing themselves in the Christmas spirit, Murphy says that there is a real sense of team spirit among the boy choristers. "They're a great bunch of boys and a lot of them remain life-long friends. Each one of them rises to the occasion very well," she says.
Next week, The Palestrina Choir will perform at the National Concert Hall and at the Rotunda Carol Service as well as its scheduled services at the Pro-Cathedral. Christmas with the Palestrina Choir is now available on CD.
Although St Patrick's Cathedral Choir does not perform Christmas Carols until the last Sunday before Christmas, rehearsals have begun.
"The younger members of the choir get very excited and really enjoy the festive spirit," says the master of the choristers at St Patrick's Cathedral, Peter Barley. Half of the 20 members of the Choir are boys, aged 10 to 13.
"The young choristers are very dedicated. They are practising seven to eight hours per week, which involves early morning practice before school, five days per week," he says.
The first Sunday after Christmas is also always a "big day" for the choristers of St Patrick's Cathedral.
"We perform all the Christmas music from Handel's Messiah. This is a big part of the Christmas programme," says Barley, and adds: "You could say it's not over for us until we've done the Messiah."
