It's been a while since I posted because I've been very busy. Michelle and I have also picked up on the local lingo. I noticed I referred to a tv host as a tv presenter this morning. Wow.
Drove up to London on Wed. evening for a run through with Siva who is the producer for the recording. A good run through, but I was never in great voice - at all this week. Anyway - Das Lied needs drama and high notes, not so much gentle subtlety, at least for the tenor.
We stayed with a great couple in Cardiff named Jamie and Anna. Great people. Good tea and toast in the morning and help around the city. Anna plays for the WNO (like Suzanne) and Jamie is a freelance pianist. Their flat is on Cathedral Rd near the heart of Cardiff. We also spent a lot of time with Ken and Suzanne. They have two adorable kids and are also hosting contractors who continue to work on the upstairs guest room. Suzanne kept feeding us. She's a great cook.
Thursday we headed off to Stratford. We spent the night there and I went off to morning rehearsal while Michelle saw the sights. Mahler is challenging at any time, but at 10 AM can be particularly difficult. We ran through two of the final pieces, then later, pressed for time, only got one run through of Trinklied. A couple of hours of break in the late afternoon and then back to Shipston with Michelle in tow for the concert at 7:30.
Met Emma, the contralto I sang with. Great, deep, earthy voice and we spent quite a bit of our two days with her and her husband Andy who plays the lute and other period guitars.
The concert went well. Better than rehearsal. The recording will use that as a foundation and patch around it. We had a delightful after concert eats and drinks with a couple who live in Stratford, John and Mary Jane. They live in a 16th century original. You can always tell you are in a 16th or 17th century building because you are always in danger of cracking your head on a lintel or ceiling beam.
But no drinking, because recording started again the next morning. Luckily I didn't have to sing until 12. Did some work (not great) on Trinklied, broke for food at 1. I didn't eat though, and chose rather to listen to some of the takes and the concert recording. Then we worked on the second half of Trinklied, which I think went much better. Then on to the two shorter pieces and I was done by 2:10 (woot!).
I had a couple custard filled donuts for lunch then we all broke for dinner. Nothing was available for the time we had, so since I was done I hit an Indian place on my own. Finally some brit curry. The samosas were good, the pacoras not bad. The curry was very good, the naan - meh - not bad but undercooked.
Since I had no ride between Stratford and Shipston I just hung out, listening to Emma sing her way through her three songs. Well, actually after dinner, it was just the one: der Abschied. But let's be honest it is as long as the rest of the work put together and really tricky for the orchestra and a challenging sing for the contralto: lots of high, sustained, piano singing. It took about 2 1/2 hours and then we all had a well deserved pint.
Then it was good byes. A great thanks to Ken and his leadership from the podium and his passion, Siva for her diligence, support and encouragement as well as Gary the sound engineer for the recording and hats off to Orchestra of the Swan for top notch playing on a very difficult and exposed work. Finally cheers to my colleague Emma and her great work on a truly epic piece of music.
A restless night and now on the train to London - well three trains: Stratford to Leamington Spa to Reading to London. I have to say the British rail system suffers badly in comparison to its continental counterparts. We had a much better time of things in France and Germany. The trains here are much more crowded (why won't they add just another car? A couple trains were standing room only for more than an hour.) and not as timely.
Well, now it's a day in London seeing the sights, Harry Potter at the Leicester (had to reserve seats for that one). Tomorrow an epic bus ride to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. Then tomorrow back home.
No trouble getting to London, but hotel room not ready --grrrr. Tried to book our seats on the flight - something has changed? Now I have to call Canada or US or something to see what is up. They couldn't just tell us I guess. I hope it isn't serious.
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