Tag Archives: Canterbury

Day 148 – February 25th – A bit of civilisation

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Only a half day of work today, as we headed into Canterbury in the morning for a bit of shopping and free time. I took the opportunity to finally get my hair cut, and feel much tidier with my newly-restored bob! I spent some time wandering round Waterstones and the market, and took the rare opportunity to find some coffee! Living out in the country certainly makes me appreciate these little pleasures.

In the afternoon, though, it was back to practice. I’m pretty happy with how the Copland is sounding, and feel that my score study yesterday is quite effective. There’s one run that’s really annoying me – precisely because it shouldn’t be hard – which will get some more attention tomorrow. Mostly, though, I need to work on good intonation in my top register, where I still play sharper than the piano. Rather than just running through the movement tomorrow, I need to pick out passages for careful, productive practice so that I really get the most out of Friday.

The other focus today was preparing the final studies of Moyse’s 25 Melodic Studies, which I’d like to finish off on Monday. There are five left, along with the final two variations of no. 20. These variations are particularly tricky – triple tonguing but with the change of note offset within the beat. I can get through a bar or two of each, but then fall apart, and need to keep doing a bit every fifteen minutes or so for the next few days.

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 24 – October 24th – Canterbury

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Trevor being a great tour guide.

Trevor being a great tour guide.

This morning we had a group excursion to Canterbury to visit the cathedral, do a bit of shopping and re-acquaint ourselves with a bit of civilisation. The cathedral is stunning, a great sprawling building that just seems to keep going and going. As with most large English churches, the ‘choir’ cuts the interior in half, and so it’s hard to appreciate the sheer size when walking around inside. However, the space behind the choir was enormous, as was the crypt underneath, and we spent a good two hours looking round. Trevor proved to be a good guide, telling us bits and pieces of history mixed in with stories of his musical work with the cathedral and choir.

Afterwards, we were let loose for a while to amuse ourselves. I took the opportunity to buy some jeans (the two pairs that traveled round Europe with

me are starting to look a little sad) and heels (so that I’m not going to see the London Symphony Orchestra next week wearing hiking boots!), and to wander longingly round the food department of M&S.

Back to practice in the afternoon. I was rather tired today after a couple of late nights, and it was really interesting to see what did and didn’t go well considering that:

– First hour, playing tunes, Taffanel and Gaubert No. 4 and Reichert No. 2 was good in terms of memory, though my lips didn’t feel terribly responsive.

View of the cathedral from a little back-street.

View of the cathedral from a little back-street.

– Second hour, playing the advanced technical exercises on page 12 of Trevor’s Practice Book 6 was great – I playing A, B, C and D at crotchet = 112, and just about survived Q! Other exercises that followed were ok.

Then my Grandma rang for a chat, which was a lovely surprise!

– Third hour, playing scales, was rather hit-and-miss. At the tempos I outlined on Wednesday, some went really well (arpeggios felt fantastic) and some were awful. My lips were not at all happy with high notes.

– Fourth hour, working on Andersen Op. 15 No. 4 was a bit of a fight against fatigue. I had a really clear idea of what I wanted to do musically, and so spent a lot of the time playing everything really slowly, with beautifully clear staccatos and (hopefully) good dynamic relationships between all the notes despite horrendous leaps!

I also took the time this afternoon to read an article by Alex Ross on the opening night of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer at the Met, and it’s definitely worth a look. I’m totally for this opera being performed – it’s really important to engage with relevant material through such a powerful medium. It would seem that some people want opera to stay firmly in the realm of fantasy, but I don’t understand why. As with theatre and film, music and opera that gets people talking and thinking is exactly what we need.

Now time for an early night!