Ludwig van Beethoven,
whose music we are performing
in Tallinn.

SING BEETHOVEN IN THE BALTICS 

10–14 (or 15/16) October 2026

DETAILS FOR SINGERS

Sing Beethoven in the Baltics takes TRBC singers to Tallinn to sing in the Estonian Concert Hall. This is the city’s premier performance venue, and a marvellous art nouveau building with all facilities. Our all-Beethoven programme will be directed by Gavin Carr and is sure to be a winner. We also have excellent accommodation and rehearsal space within easy walking distance. More information will be uploaded nearer the time, including details of dress (which will need to be formal).

Scores to bring
Please bring your own vocal scores and learn the music in advance to the best of your ability (the Choral Fantasia will be sung in German). Both works are published by Novello and these are recommended. They publish only one edition of the Fantasia; the New Novello edition of the Mass in C (ed. Pilkington, 2002) supersedes the old, but you can use an old edition if you have one. You will, however, need to write in the bar numbers: each new movement starts again at bar 1. Other publishers also offer these works, but you may have to add bar numbers to these also.

If you have no local music shop, try Blackwell’s: email printed.music@blackwell.co.uk or telephone 01865 333582 and ask to speak to the knowledgeable Peter McMullin. If you email, remember not to include your credit-card details as email is not a secure format.

Learning the music
With limited rehearsal time in Tallinn, we rely on singers to learn their parts thoroughly before setting out. Conductor Gavin Carr has provided some helpful hints in our Chorus Notes, which you can download here (opens in a new window/tab). If you don’t read music easily, rehearsal material, which emphasises your individual vocal line, is available from various sources on the Internet, some of it free. We recommend the ChoraLine recordings, specifically created to help choral singers memorise their vocal lines and practise at home. They can be purchased from Presto Music: www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/publishers/2325–choraline.

Here also are some thoughts from Gavin Carr on the Mass in C: ‘One of my favourite masses, I often feel this work is underrated in the composer’s output. Despite fairly vociferous objections to Beethoven’s innovations in this piece by Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy (who commissioned it in 1807 expressly to continue the traditions established so memorably by Haydn in his last six masses for the family), from our perspective now it seems quite distinctly Haydn-esque in so many ways. Perhaps this is one reason why it doesn’t sit quite so easily in our minds as a major part of the Beethoven oeuvre, but it does contain some of his loveliest music. There are so many things that delight, and it only gets better as it moves on: the swinging Osannas; one of the best of all settings of the Benedictus; and a wonderfully dramatic Agnus Dei, with a typically Beethovian transition to an uplifting Dona nobis pacem. The return to the very opening music of the Kyrie in the final moments of the Mass should be something very moving – an emotional ‘homecoming’ for us all. This is a wonderful programme with a lot of uplifting music – I can’t wait to enjoy it all with you!’

Our musicians
Gavin Carr will be directing the music in Tallinn, including Beethoven’s Egmont Overture which opens the concert. Maria Marchant, well known to anyone who has enjoyed one of our choral cruises, will be the soloist in the Choral Fantasia and will also accompany our rehearsals. Our vocal soloists are an established local team, and orchestral accompaniment for the concert will be provided by the professional players of the Nordiclight Orchestra.

More links for Sing Beethoven in the Baltics:  Summary  –  How to book