CHORAL CUISINE

A CHOIR’S UNUSUAL LOCKDOWN PROJECT

Sue Silcock of Cheltenham Bach Choir tells us how it came about. Why a cookery book? The Cheltenham Bach Choir is much more than merely a group of singers. It is a community of people who enjoy being together to share the experience of creating wonderful choral music. The community and friendship goes far beyond rehearsals and performances at concerts though, to friends, supporters, fellow musicians, our sister choir in Germany, the Göttingen Stadtkantorei, and many others.

So when the pandemic came along and put paid to normal choir rehearsals and concerts, we wanted to create something lasting to celebrate our CBC community, something that all of us could contribute to. Why not a cookbook? We asked all choir members, as well as friends and associates of the choir, to contribute a favourite recipe. And, given that we are a choir, how about a choral theme to link everything together? Thus ‘Choral Cuisine’, a unique recipe book taking you through a full musical programme of delicious dishes from the Preludes to the final Encore, was born.

Now all we needed to do was to make it happen. A small project team of choir members was formed, including professional designer and talented artist, Kate Smith (herself an alto with CBC), who has designed and created the whole book. Kate also painted all the beautiful original watercolour illustrations which run throughout. Work began in June 2020 and after many hours of team Zoom editorial and proofreading meetings and sampling recipes, the book arrived in time for Christmas.

‘Choral Cuisine’ is a real show-stopper. Containing over 65 recipes, contributed by members and associates of the choir and drawn from different parts of the globe, including Russia, France, Spain, Singapore and Hungary, there is something for everyone to enjoy. We were delighted that Cotswold Life, in their December 2020 issue, contained an interview with designer and artist Kate Smith.

Please visit the choir’s website www.cheltbachchoir.com for more details and to check whether copies are still available.