It's that time of year again...

The pleasures of spring are available to everyone and cost nothing wrote George Orwell according to my desk calendar today. I found the line in a 1946 article which begins with a rather wonderful description of the habits of the post-hibernation sex-starved toad - ... All he knows, at least if he is a male toad, is that he wants to get his arms round something, and if you offer him a stick, or even your finger, he will cling to it with surprising strength and take a long time to discover that it is not a female toad. Frequently one comes upon shapeless masses of ten or twenty toads rolling over and over in the water, one clinging to another without distinction of sex.

...Is it wicked to take a pleasure in spring and other seasonal changes? To put it more precisely, is it politically reprehensible, while we are all groaning, or at any rate ought to be groaning, under the shackles of the capitalist system, to point out that life is frequently more worth living because of a blackbird's song, a yellow elm tree in October, or some other natural phenomenon which does not cost money and does not have what the editors of left-wing newspapers call a class angle?

... At any rate, spring is here, even in London N. 1, and they can't stop you enjoying it. This is a satisfying reflection. How many a time have I stood watching the toads mating, or a pair of hares having a boxing match in the young corn, and thought of all the important persons who would stop me enjoying this if they could. But luckily they can't. So long as you are not actually ill, hungry, frightened or immured in a prison or a holiday camp, spring is still spring. The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.

Well when spring comes to Cork it brings with it not just the lovely song of the blackbirds, or indeed the slap of puddle on fresh-laundered trousers as you wait to cross the road, but also the glorious sound of the human voices piled high together in love of music. Yes, thanks to the Cork International Choral Festival, while I may not have even one golden-eyed toad to roll in the mud with I do have four and a half thousand other voices alongside who I can express my happiness at the lengthening days and burgeoning nature.

Here's my pick of the festival... and a few side orders...

Tuesday 29th
8.00 pm The Pavilion I wish there was more Eastern music on offer in Cork, and now when there is I'm bloody rehearsing. Tina Sani got a great preview in last week's Irish Times (see preview online here http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0420/1224245016373.html ) and with all profits going to the Yasin Foundation, (Pakistan-Ireland Women’s Educational Foundation) http://yasinfoundation.ie/ this concert should be €20 well spent twice over.

Wednesday 29th April
8pm City Hall For spectacular bombast and excitement check out the opening concert Sadly the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir had to cancel their trip to Cork to perform alongside the Harlow Chorus with Cork Symphony Orchestra for the opening concert of this year's Choral Festival. Unfazed, conductor of the orchestra (and member of the Internationally-acclaimed RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet) Keith Pascoe set about putting together an impressive choir. As a proud member of this 'emergency' chorus I can report that we are in fine fettle and ready for the big gig tomorrow - hope you can make it. Despite having a fair amount of choral experience I can safely say I have never sung more exciting words than Walt Whitman's - powerful images of thundering steamers, billowing sails, busy ports, storms and vast expanses of ocean ... and Ralph Vaughan Williams' hugely expressive music really brings it alive.

Thursday 30th
11am City Library Brigham Young University Singers from the USA are a hot tip and FREE

1pm Cork School of Music Chamber Choir Gallerie from Finland also have a very good rep FREE
6pm Glucksman Gallery Nidaros Cathedral Girls Choir from Norway have also been tipped to me. FREE

8pm City Hall For some 'easy'-listening of the highest quality Finland's Club for Five are the should be very entertaining using a range of hip vocal techniques to cover popular styles of music.

Friday 1st May
2pm Tory Top Library, Ballyphehane (Which my mate Paul says is a lovely library altogether and he means it) are hosting Slovenia's Ptuj Male Voice Choir who should be really good. FREE

5.40am Shandon Bells (Yes, that's precisely the crack of dawn folks) Last year's dawn chorus in the iconic St Anne's in Shandon was a huge success - this year Cathal O'Baoill and the Gothenburg Youth Choir will perform for the Shandon Sunrise from the bell tower to reward early risers with a very special moment. Gather at 5.40am outside the church! FREE

7.30pm St Fin Barre's Cathedral Our own National Chamber Choir under the direction of world-famous Paul Hillier have put together a tantalising programme entitled From the Sublime to the Ridiculous. Great choir and will be lovely.

8pm Firkin Crane, Shandon The Farmer's Daughter is a rockabilly musical and should be quite a hoot. It's written by the oh-so-cleverly named choir (now I think about it!) Mná Mná. The blurb says "Bailenagee is getting ready for the 'Farmer of the Year' competition... but is Bailenagee ready for the farmer's daughter? Love knows no boundries in this tongue-in-cheek musical about a girl dressing up as a man and winning the cash-prize... and the girl!" Directed by the lovely Evelyn Quinlan.

8pm Triskel Pierre Bensusan is a sublimely good guitarist with a large and dedicated following. Almost too beautiful. http://www.pierrebensusan.com/

10.30pm North Cathedral The first tickets I booked this year were for Germany's Singer Pur. No doubt they will, like Amacord last year in the same slot, astound with a programme of early and contemporary music and some of the finest chamber singing on the planet.

Saturday May 2nd

3pm & 8pm City Hall The centrepiece of the festival, the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition is highly competitive and very exciting, fans of the nail-biting excitement of TV talent shows can get a real live fix at City Hall! And, more importantly see a big number of really good choirs.

6pm Honan Chapel UCC We've been working hard all year and now Cork Chamber Choir are really looking forward to putting on our biggest concert yet. We've some of the best musicians around to accompany us for Vivaldi's much-loved Gloria RV. 589, and we will also sing a capella, performing Dvorak's luscious 4 Folk Songs. We did the concert in Rosscarbery on Saturday where it went down very well and are excited that we have a great little concert in store for you this week. We made a bit of a balls up by scheduling the concert during an effing Munster match, therefore cutting our potential audience by about 75% it seems so if you're not a rugby fan PLEASE come and support us and make all those hungover Sunday morning rehearsals worthwhile. Tickets are €10/€7

Tuesday May 5th
5pm Honan Chapel,UCC Italy's I Madrigalisti di Perugia who will perform a selection of Italian madrigals I suspect they will be very good indeed. FREE

That's the lot for now...