It takes patience to blend.
Patience rewards. The more I choral singing I do, the more I learn about my own voice, and the more beautiful blends I discover with other people. In a big choir, you don't often have a chance to discover this, except perhaps in a solo or semichorus situation. I don't have to sing with someone whose voice is exactly like mine, to achieve a good result. I seem to have a darker tone colour and good breath control which can help to balance someone with brighter tone colour.
With some people (such as Andrew) the blend is immediate and obvious, with others (Ed, Bernard, James) it took a little while but we've worked on it and now achieved something really lovely. Generally I find it harder when singing next to a tenor, but with a bit of work, it's amazing how it can sound (Alistair, Mark). The Lumina concert yesterday went really well - a lot of music and quite tiring - but what I really like about that choir is that with only 10 of us, it's just about all solos or 1 voice per part. Singing next to a soprano or alto is also lovely - I've found great blends with Rachel, Carolyn and Ange... and who knows how many others to discover?
With some people (such as Andrew) the blend is immediate and obvious, with others (Ed, Bernard, James) it took a little while but we've worked on it and now achieved something really lovely. Generally I find it harder when singing next to a tenor, but with a bit of work, it's amazing how it can sound (Alistair, Mark). The Lumina concert yesterday went really well - a lot of music and quite tiring - but what I really like about that choir is that with only 10 of us, it's just about all solos or 1 voice per part. Singing next to a soprano or alto is also lovely - I've found great blends with Rachel, Carolyn and Ange... and who knows how many others to discover?