OBITUARY : Hamish Nicol

Hamish Nicol claimed a world altitude singing record on return from his last walking tour in Nepal, writes Dr R. D. Morgan Williams [further to the obituary by Stephen Venables, 11 July]. He had been practising the tenor part of Bruckner's F minor Mass at a height of 13,002ft, and said he had never heard of its having been done before and nobody was ever likely to do it again. Fourteen thousand had proved impossible, because there wasn't enough oxygen about. This had happened because going on the walking tour caused him to miss enough rehearsals of the Stratford Choral Society's preparations to disqualify him from taking part in the concert. To avoid that, he arranged to take along a specially prepared instructional tape; this enabled him, with the aid of a tape player, to rehearse his part whilst walking.

He then sang successfully in the concert on the evening of his return to Stratford.