I had to conduct a full orchestra on one occasion at St. Paul's, and at the rehearsal the brass sounded like nothing earthly; while the horns, in particular, provided a series of agonizing aural stabs. At the following day's performance I could only get through the piece by automatically following the first violins and totally ignoring the blatant chaos produced by the orchestra. Nor was my anxiety relieved when during a choral rehearsal at the R.A.M. the male voices treated me to similar, though somewhat less painful, effects. The phenomenon lasted for several weeks; in time, however, my hearing was gradually restored to its normal condition. << less