Bach to one's roots.
So this concert I've been talking about recently, and anticipating with glee, finally happened. The Bach St Matthew Passion is 3 hours long, even at brisk Baroque tempi. But it felt like about 30 shatteringly intense, searingly direct minutes. Charles Daniels must be one of the best, if not the best, Evangelists in the world; complete command of the fearsomely high tessitura, verbal intelligence to burn, and absolute conviction in his message. Every note, every word, different in emphasis, and so honest.
You couldn't have predicted that Robin Blaze had got off a plane about an hour before the afternoon run-through, and needed toothpicks to keep his eyes open. Awesome, as always - not a dry eye in the house after Erbarme dich1 - and one of the nicest people in the music business. I think we may end up going to the cricket for an afternoon, his busy schedule permitting. We seem to share a sense of humour. Danger. Altos ahead.
Peter Harvey up to usual creamy form as Christ. However, despite the fact that I'm an avowed Blaze and Daniels fanboy, the highlight was Christopher Purves' Komm, suesses Kreuz. An operatic bass, in hugely powerful form earlier, producing controlled singing of masterly inwardness that never went above mezzo-piano. And backed by a truly stunning viol player.
And mostlyacat, jacquic, segh, miss_next, Thea and Mum came - and all seemed to enjoy it. Jacqui had an especially long and traumatic journey to get there - all 200 yards of it... Must go back to that steak place we had dinner at. Yum.
Quick chat with nice people, then dropped Thea off at the station and went home to flop.
Today I helped Jacqui weed her garden, saw off some ivy and got spiked in the thumb by the SPIKY TREE OF EVIL. midnightmelody was also there, and it was lovely to see her too. At least there is much less SPIKY TREE OF EVIL now - and a large heap of ivy in the middle of Jacqui's garden. Then there was watching of nuggly documentaries on BBC2 about gibbons and mongooses, and then Evensong.
And so to bed. I have tomorrow off as well-deserved flop time. Couple of gigs coming up; have been asked to help out a recorder consort in early June, and may well be doing the Allegri Miserere and Bach BWV172 (Erschallet, ihr Lieder) in May.
1: The soul weeping for what has been done to Christ. Here sung by Andreas Scholl, the only man who exceeds Blaze at this repertoire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WLedpz9a40
You couldn't have predicted that Robin Blaze had got off a plane about an hour before the afternoon run-through, and needed toothpicks to keep his eyes open. Awesome, as always - not a dry eye in the house after Erbarme dich1 - and one of the nicest people in the music business. I think we may end up going to the cricket for an afternoon, his busy schedule permitting. We seem to share a sense of humour. Danger. Altos ahead.
Peter Harvey up to usual creamy form as Christ. However, despite the fact that I'm an avowed Blaze and Daniels fanboy, the highlight was Christopher Purves' Komm, suesses Kreuz. An operatic bass, in hugely powerful form earlier, producing controlled singing of masterly inwardness that never went above mezzo-piano. And backed by a truly stunning viol player.
And mostlyacat, jacquic, segh, miss_next, Thea and Mum came - and all seemed to enjoy it. Jacqui had an especially long and traumatic journey to get there - all 200 yards of it... Must go back to that steak place we had dinner at. Yum.
Quick chat with nice people, then dropped Thea off at the station and went home to flop.
Today I helped Jacqui weed her garden, saw off some ivy and got spiked in the thumb by the SPIKY TREE OF EVIL. midnightmelody was also there, and it was lovely to see her too. At least there is much less SPIKY TREE OF EVIL now - and a large heap of ivy in the middle of Jacqui's garden. Then there was watching of nuggly documentaries on BBC2 about gibbons and mongooses, and then Evensong.
And so to bed. I have tomorrow off as well-deserved flop time. Couple of gigs coming up; have been asked to help out a recorder consort in early June, and may well be doing the Allegri Miserere and Bach BWV172 (Erschallet, ihr Lieder) in May.
1: The soul weeping for what has been done to Christ. Here sung by Andreas Scholl, the only man who exceeds Blaze at this repertoire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WLedpz9a40