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One of the most common rehearsal mistakes conductors make has nothing to do with technique, repertoire or musicianship. It is talking for too long. Most conductors begin rehearsing because they love music. Unfortunately, many eventually begin rehearsing as though the choir has arrived to attend a lecture. This happens gradually.

From that moment onward, the final cadence becomes psychologically contaminated. Nobody is thinking about blend anymore. Half the altos are now wondering who did it.

Good conductors understand that rehearsal time should feel slightly uncomfortable. Difficult transitions need to be isolated. Awkward page turns need repetition.

Spend enough years in rehearsal rooms and you begin to realise something extraordinary: no matter where the choir is based, the same characters somehow keep appearing. There should probably be a formal scientific study conducted into this at some stage. Because whether the choir rehearses in a Dublin parish hall,

There is something slightly miraculous about a choir rehearsal when you stop and think about it for too long.

The piece endures because it understands something fundamental about ensemble singing: energy communicates faster than complexity.