Category Archives: Wye the flute?

Day 39 – November 8th – Bonfire

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Today was an odd one, probably because it’s got to the point where I need a bit of time off from flute practice. My morning sessions went well enough: at the end of two weeks, the Moyse finger exercises are sitting more or less comfortably at crotchet = 122, but I am still having trouble memorising Reichert No. 2 and 4 in all the keys. It doesn’t help that I still seem to get nervous about playing the exercises from memory in class, so feel like I need to find a way of pushing myself further in my practice sessions in order to make it seem easy in front of Trevor. I’ve been doing Taffanel & Gaubert No. 4 with the metronome at quite high speeds to try and achieve this.

By the afternoon, though, I was really ready for a break. I made some suggestions of a board game to Roya and Chin Ting, but neither were interested, so I took myself off on a walk down a road I hadn’t explored yet. It took me out East past several farms and many autumnal fields. It was blustery, and has got to that stage of English autumn where everything is perpetually damp. Other than a pig with very long, fluffy ears and a fields of skittish sheep, I didn’t meet a soul. It was a good walk though, there’s something delicious about the feeling of not knowing where I am, of almost being lost and not knowing what I’ll find.

In the evening, we all went to join the village bonfire night in a nearby field. The wind whipped the bonfire into great plumes of smoke and flames, showering the field with embers. Back in Australia, the whole thing would have screamed bushfire hazard, but here everything is way too soggy for any problems. I was actually rather impressed the bonfire stayed alight! The firework display was great, quite a bit bigger than I’d expected in a little village.

Being a family event, though, all was done by 7:30, and I was back in time for the Dr Who finale. Hopefully inspiration is flowing again by tomorrow.

The Turn of the Screw – Glyndeboure Tour

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November 7th, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

It cannot be doubted that Benjamin Britten is a very English composer, and his choice of Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw the subject for an opera in many ways confirms this. Very little concrete action actually takes place in James’s tale – most of the time is spent in the head of the governess as she grapples with the reality of what she may or may not be seeing. In the end, the book prompts us to question whether the children were actually haunted by ghosts or whether the governess herself was just going off the rails in her seclusion.

I was surprised, then, to find that the characters of Peter Quint (Anthony Gregory) and Miss Jessel (Miranda Keys) to be incredibly present in Britten’s operatic adaption. One is never quite sure whether they’re working together or whether the malevolent presence of one draws the other along as well, but their on-stage characters are quite compelling. Peter Quint, in particular, is portrayed  as an evil woodland spirit as he sings of being:

“all things strange and bold,
The riderless horse Snorting,
stamping on the hard sea sand…”

Gregory’s performance was easily the stand-out in a fantastic cast, with a strong, flexible voice complemented by a striking stage presence. His and Miss Jessel gradual encroach on the peace of Bly was highlighted by the twisted form of a large dead tree, initially suspended above the stage, then coming to rest in the background in the second act. Though the governess (Natalya Romaniw) and Mrs Grose (Anne Mason) don’t interact with this prop, the ghosts twist and turn around it, suggesting an other-worldliness to the otherwise sparse scenery.

I wasn’t quite prepared for the necessity of casting Miles (Thomas Delago-Little) and particularly Flora (Louise Moseley) somewhat older than the age suggested, and found Moseley’s childlike playing with her doll somewhat unconvincing considering that she was almost as tall as Mrs Grose! However, both were excellent actors, taking effortless command of the stage and capturing the carefree of innocent play beautifully. Moseley’s voice is rich and sure, and I hope she continues to shine on the stage! Delago-Little dealt with the challenging part of Miles incredibly well, and despite some erring on high notes was suitably eerie in his trance-like renditions of the Malo song.

Mason’s portrayal of Mrs Grose was a strong one that seemed at odds with some of the characters more unsure lines. However, her interaction with Romaniw constantly carried the narrative forwards, and supported by the expressive chamber orchestra under the direction of Leo McFall, deftly captured the gradually mounting hysteria. Though her voice was sometimes a little lost in the bigger ensemble, Romaniw is a compelling actress, and was particularly stunning in the schoolroom scene confronting both Miss Jessel and her own fears.

Day 38 – November 7th – The Turn of the Screw

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Only a short post tonight, as I’ve just got back from seeing Britten’s the Turn of the Screw at the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury, and am more than ready for bed! I’ll post a proper review tomorrow, but enjoyed the performance immensely, both for the singers and the production as a whole. The experience, my first live performance of a Britten opera, also makes me keen to read more on the composer himself.

In other news, I have rather a deluge of studies to get my fingers round this weekend, and having broached the subject of the 2015 Australian a Flute Competition with Trevor this afternoon, am keen to show my mettle in class on Monday!

Day 37 – November 6th – Jack Frost

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Mist of dawn,
And up winding hedgerows,
‘cross hill and field,
Down the garden path,
Jack Frost danced.

How,
In such a whimsy, merry flight,
To coat each grass blade,
Nettle,
Earthy ridge,
With a dust of sparkling white?

I, racing morning sun,
Try to squeeze heavy boots
‘tween glistening spires,
Yet my footfall only quickens
A miniature spring.

The child of five takes my hand,
Wide-eyed with carefree wisdom.
“Jack Frost,” says she, “will return –
Come now, for in such a chilly morn
We must play at dragons.”

 

As for the rest of my day, class was mostly positive. Trevor’s only comment on my Scherzo from Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn) was that the quality of my double tonguing needed some work. Everything else – tempo, dynamics, breathing, phrasing – all seems good, which was heartening.

Similarly, the slow sections of my Damase met with general approval, though I wasn’t terribly confident with the faster passages. Despite managing everything quite well during my practice sessions, I’m generally struggling to play fast passage-work on class if it’s relatively new. I’m not sure that it’s nerves so much as a lack of confidence in my abilities after such short practice periods, and it’s definitely something I need to work on.

I had another tune this week, Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, and while I am generally improving with the exercise Trevor made a very interesting comment. I had proposed Ulpirra, a little piece by Australian composer Ross Edwards, as a potential solo in our Christmas concert, and got up to play it directly after Salut d’Amour. Trevor noted that my performance of the two pieces was hugely different – Ulpirra had so much life, expression and (by contrast) a full tone with more varied dynamics. His conclusion was that I play expressively when I really love the music, but don’t understand ‘normal’ tunes because I’m so fixed on contemporary music. I rather disagree with the whole of that statement – I don’t just love contemporary music, and am much more open-minded that he seems to be giving me credit for! However, it is a reminder that I can’t let any reservations I do have about certain pieces get in the way of my performance – I have to play with a full commitment to every note.

Day 36 – November 5th – Whiling away the wet weather

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I meant to call this post ‘Remember, remember…’ as tonight is Guy Fawkes night and I have some lovely memories of going to see the bonfire and fireworks from when I was little. However, today has been soggy and wet, and the local bonfire night isn’t happening until the weekend. Instead, I want to use this post to mull on a slightly different topic – how to fill my time here through the winter so that I can be the musician I want to be at the end of it.

Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, I woke up early, but then decided it was probably not the best idea to get drenched going for a run. So I started practising early (my flatmates were both awake thought!), and as a result got five hours of flute practice done by 3:30pm. I kept a hopeful lookout for some better weather, but the best was an uninspiring light drizzle. I felt itchy, in need of things to do that would keep me excited – I’ve never been one for watching lots of TV shows and so that was out as an option for the afternoon.

I ended up filling my time with a few things, some more productive than others. I baked chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies, improvising a little since we’d run out of eggs, which both great fun and warming. The result was moderately successful, it turns out that substituting greek yogurt for the eggs results in a nice gooey texture, but isn’t quite as good at binding everything together. Looks like I’ll offering everyone a fork when we eat them tomorrow!

Chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies. Look and taste good, but somewhat lacking in structural integrity!

Chocolate, date and hazelnut brownies. Look and taste good, but somewhat lacking in structural integrity!

I’ve also achieved my daily goal on Duolingo, where I’m trying to learn German, and have almost finished reading Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw in preparation for out trip to see Benjamin Britten’s opera this Friday. While baking, I listened to an episode of the radio series National Contemporary Landscapes, which I did some work on at 3MBS just before leaving Australia but haven’t yet had a chance to tune into. I listened to a CD of Robert Dick’s flute music as part of my extra work for Trevor as well, and plan on doing some reading for my project later this evening.

One of the things at the forefront of my mind with this course is that it could be the last period of being a student that I have for some time. Of course, I’d like to do a PhD eventually, but who knows what the work/study balance will be when that comes round. I want to emerge from this course not only as an expressive, technically competent flute player, but also as a savvy, skilled, opinionated and thinking musician who can hold my own and create exciting opportunities in a competitive and demanding field. I’d like to be the flautist that other musicians want to work with, not only for being a good player, but also because I’m engaged, individual and can bring other skills to the table. I’d also like to continue to combine performance with arts work in a broader sense, be that through writing, radio, concert organisation or indeed something else.

Trevor’s course is very much geared to getting an orchestral job, and while many of the musical skills are essentially the same, I know that to make the best use of my time here I need to have my own professional development projects on the go as well. I suppose my conclusion is that there is plenty to do to fill my time, rather too much in fact! I just need to pace myself, decide what is really important to me and keep my long-term goals in mind. I definitely don’t want to waste my time here watching TV shows online (as a few are), but do need to give myself down time as well, whatever form that takes.