Mind... the gap

There were lots of extra-long gaps during Thursday's St Paul's gig. This was due to Mark Elder allowing the amazing echoes to continue uninterrupted until they died down. The sound really had to be heard to be believed - in the gap after the trumpety section, I found myself crying in delight!

All sorts of minor things went wrong on the day - many of them didn't affect me, as I'd gone down on the train the previous day (it only cost £12.50!) and was staying with a friend. So I didn't have to wake up in the middle of the night to make it to the coach, and I wasn't an hour late for the rehearsal like most of the choir (and orchestra) who were delayed by a big accident on the motorway. (So many people were affected that Mark delayed the rehearsal until they arrived.) And I was able to spend the gap between rehearsal and concert having some food and going to visit St Pancras (you should all go if you get the chance - it's fantastic! Very Narnia-like!) rather than being stuck on a coach that got lost between St Paul's and the Barbican.

(I also went to see the crack in the floor at Tate Modern in the morning, but it's very underwhelming. Don't go out of your way. But I was very excited to be able to use my Oyster card when travelling round. I ordered it when I went down for the Cup Final but it didn't arrive in time. But I used it for the past three days - it saved a HUGE amount of time, plus it's cheaper! If you ever go to London and you haven't got one, I recommend you investigate.)

Mark's usual soloist curse struck again, and this time it was the soprano who'd had to pull out. But she was replaced by Amanda Roocroft, which was an impressive coup (even I've heard of her!) She was great, too, although she did miss out my favourite note in the whole piece (the ppp top Bb). Hopefully by tonight she'll have had time to practise it - she wouldn't have had much notice by Thursday, and it's not exactly an easy note to sing. We loved what she did in the rehearsal when she did the scale rising to the top C though - she kind of marched on the spot as she went up to it, and as she hit it she flung her arm out in a triumphant gesture. Disappointingly she didn't do that in the performance! All the soloists were great, though. Mikhail Petrenko is still my favourite :-)

Oh, and also, she wore a gorgeous green and red dress. And the St Paul's choristers who were scattered through the choir wore their usual uniform of black cassocks with wide red sashes. Choir members (particularly the ladies) will realise the significance of these two facts - I will say no more here.

The trumpets were definitely the things that will stay in my memory longest. They were authentic period instruments borrowed from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and they sounded AMAZING. When they were practising while we waited for the coaches to arrive, it was great. Turned out they were in the Whispering Gallery for the echo bit, and they came down to the side of the stage for the loud bit. Can't wait to hear them again tonight, but the sound they made in St Paul's will stay with me for a while.

That weird instrument that was playing the tuba part is a cimbasso, by the way. (No, I didn't know either - I lookd it up!) Lots more info in the Cimbasso Page.

I'm sure there was more I meant to write, but I've forgotten it - it'll come back to me after tonight, I assume. (Feature in the MEN if you're interested.) Must go out now though.