I don’t audition. Your readers will probably be surprised by the English way of coping with these things. I’ve never auditioned because I find in audition people sound terribly good and they are out to impress, and I’m duly very impressed. I can’t really tell. I run a slightly more sophisticated system. Suppose one of my regular singers can’t sing in a concert (and they are not obliged to sing because they are not contracted; it’s entirely up to them if they accept my invitation). Sometimes that singer might be ill or have another job. Because I have two voices on each part, I ask the singer who will be performing who they would like to sing with. Thereby in a way, I pass the responsibility from me to them.

So democracy does work at times?

We do run a sort of democratic system—at least it’s democratic when I want it to be. It works quite well because over the years we’ve built up a really good deputy list. We only are 10 singers most of the time, and we have at least another 10, if not 20, lined up. It’s not a problem anymore. I do try out new singers sometimes on my own whim, so I take the risk then. There are so many good singers here, that’s the thing.

It says a lot about the group’s listening skills.

Some of my singers have sung together for over 20 years. The basses and three of the sopranos have been together at least that long. If they are not listening, they are doing the wrong job. When a newcomer does come in or an experienced deputy, the pattern is so well set that it’s clear how we work. The recordings are telling them what the ideal sound should be, so they are not in much doubt of what is wanted of them. If they don’t then produce it, they never sing with us again.

What about a large operatic-size voice with lots of vibrato but extraordinary tonal quality. Could that voice work in the group?

No, I doubt it. It would depend on the nature of the vibrato and also how loud the voice is. Massive singing is not appropriate. They have to blend with someone else, I don’t use soloists. My singers are hardly ever required to sing solo. It’s a discipline, a personal and vocal discipline because you have to fit in. It’s teamwork. After all, the polyphony itself suggests that-—it’s a sort of democratic form of music. All of the parts are equal in the polyphonic web and it’s appropriate for some to stand out at certain times but not to stand out all the time. In imitation, the standard technique of the period, if a voice comes in and phrases in one way, then it’s appropriate for subsequent voices to do the same. They wouldn’t be able to do that if they hadn’t listened to the way the first person did it.

What do you think of the movement to present sacred music in a liturgical context, with chant propers and the like?