Blow to me

A day or two before last week's rehearsal, I finally got round to practising the bit of Sea Drift that I knew I'd never once got right (i.e. the bottom of page 16). So I was quite frustrated when that section was the only bit we didn't do last week. And as a result, I was really hoping we'd start with it this week, as I'd had to practise it again just to ensure it had stuck. But then it occurred to me that there was one downside to rehearsing page 16... which was that we were quite likely to go on to page seventeen, and that page had filled me with increasing rage every time we'd done it. The last entry on that page involves the sopranos coming in on a B flat, and EVERY SINGLE WEEK, for over two months, most of them have come in on a C. I have no idea why this has gone on for so long without them sorting themselves out. I commented to Alison in the car that I felt as if I was this close to just standing up and shouting at them if they did it again. But then we started to wonder what would actually happen if someone actually did that in a rehearsal. We decided that most likely there'd be a brief shocked silence, and then possibly some scattered applause from others who'd been dying to do the same thing. But we weren't sure what would happen next, other than extreme embarrassment :-)

Anyway, of course we did start with page 16. There were widely varying renditions of the alto notes on the bottom line, but after a bit of work the first bar was sorted. I'd found, when I practised it, that the second bar is actually much harder than the first, but it's much harder to hear if that one goes wrong, so maybe everyone was getting it right and it was just me that found it hard. (It's the F sharp. A very unreasonable note to have to sing at that point.) But before we got to the notebashing, we'd read on through page 17, and - sure enough - most of the sops sang a C. Alison turned and grinned at me, but I was very restrained and didn't shout out! (I'd been sitting at the front for the last few rehearsals, having been one of the first to arrive and therefore needing to stake the claim of the 2nds to a few seats on the front row, but when I arrived this week, the 2nd alto seats were occupied by a soprano, a tenor and a bass, sitting there chatting for no apparent reason... so I sat at the back.)

Other than that note, though, the singing was much better this week. We did the a cappella bit, and the 1st sopranos actually managed to stay in tune throughout it for the first time, which made everyone feel extremely optimistic. And even better, we finished the rehearsal with a runthrough of the whole thing, with all the voice parts jumbled up, and they stayed in tune again. (They are all fabulous singers, but they do seem to go flat on every single phrase unless they're reminded not to.) It was a really satisfying end to the rehearsal, and I'm looking forward to the concert (which is next week).

My house sale still isn't sorted, but it's progressing (as is my packing, but that's a bit slower), and the bank seem to have halted the repossession process - although they never actually replied to my letter formally asking them to, which I sent as soon as I had written proof of the sale agreement! Very rude of them, don't you think? I still don't have a moving date, but I expect it to be in the next week or two.

A few links for you. If you use the IMSLP as often as I do, you'll be interested in this New York Times article about it. (I couldn't have done my Secret Spem thing without IMSLP - all the scores came from IMSLP, legally and free of charge.)

Tom Service is unimpressed (as most of us are) at audience members who shout out immediately the piece has ended. And in an unrelated (hopefully!) post, he wonders about the music for the Royal Wedding.

Charlotte Higgins, also in the Guardian, wondered what it would take to create a British orchestra of the stature of the Berlin Philharmonic. She got quite a few replies.

Stephen Hough has another practice tip: this time, how to improve your rhythms.

I last saw my friend Anna Crookes (née Markland) in September, when we were both at a book launch. She'd come straight from a recording session, which she'd thoroughly enjoyed, but she said she'd had to sign a confidentiality agreement and couldn't tell me what she'd been recording, until it was released in March. Well, from what she did say, I think it was this: Striggio's 40-part Mass. (She mentioned that she'd been standing next to the sackbuts, which narrowed it down a bit!) There are reviews in both the Observer and the Guardian.

Here's an exciting idea: three of Manchester's greatest arts institutions are joining forces to put on a musical!

This seems not to have caught the headlines, but Phil Collins has just retired. Turns out his hands are no longer strong enough to play the drums, and that even before that, he had to tape the sticks to his hands! The article doesn't mention why he can no longer sing, though (which I thought he'd done far more than play the drums, in the second half of his career at least). Maybe he just doesn't want to.

I've never heard of this band, but it's always fascinating to hear someone else's reaction to a place you know very well - in this case, BBC Studio 7.

And finally, I already have 7th July in my diary (world premiere of the final Harry Potter film - it's in cinemas on 15th July) but I was thrilled to see we're getting a studio tour opening next year! One day I'll make it to Florida to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (which I'm told is AMAZING), but I'll have to be a lot richer than I am now before trips abroad are an option :-)