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Day 91 – December 30th – Frayed tempers?

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I’m not sure whether it’s the cold or that everyone’s been around each other a bit too long, but things are starting to feel a bit uncomfortable here and there. I was the only one in my dairy that practised today, and for myself was feeling energised and excited to be back into it after the Christmas break. I’m not sure what’s up with the other two, though do wonder whether they might be struggling a bit with the winter weather. Trevor was certainly in a bad mood this evening, giving a stern talk about signing books out properly (one that he wants has gone walk-abouts), and then declaring that he didn’t want to walk and would just drop us home. Decidedly odd.

After a chilly shopping trip this morning, I had quite a productive day. My new goal is really getting to grips with mental practice, as I think it’s the key to improving my memory and confidence for all the technical exercises. The plan is that for every hour of practice that I do with the flute, I now do 15 minutes of slow mental practice – visualising myself playing through a passage or exercise. It’s quite tiring, especially since I haven’t been in the habit of doing it regularly. For now, it’s very slow, but I hope that with a couple of weeks it will really help me to get things going a bit faster and more easily. I managed three lots focused mental practice, but by later in the afternoon was loosing concentration.

On January 11th we have a piccolo masterclass with Patricia Morris, and so today I also started work on some studies and excerpts for that. Trevor has suggested a couple of the Moyse 24 Melodic Studies, a study from Patricia Morris’s book, and a few excerpts from the Piccolo Practice Book. I’ve chosen some good studies, but am still deciding which excerpts to do.

Day 74 – December 13th – A day in London

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Just got back from a lovely day out in London, where the theme was not masterclasses or concerts but seeing the city and having a day off. I had a wonderful time catching up with friends – one of whom I hadn’t seen in about eight years -, getting a bit of Christmas shopping done, and having some chill time at the National Gallery. While I should perhaps have done a little more on the Christmas shopping front (remember our normal weekly civilisation is Tesco), it was great to just have some time away from the isolation of Elmsted/Hastingleigh and our tiny group here.

We left Hastingleigh bright and early at 8am, and the coach arrived in London at 10. I spent an hour or so wandering round the National Gallery, and finding myself particularly drawn to all the Dutch masters; Rembrant, Rubens etc. I love the detail with which they render landscapes and yet the intimacy with which they focus on the internal as well as the external when it comes to painting portraits. It felt almost strange at first to be going round a gallery – I did it so much during my European trip over the summer but have not been in one since the Musée de Cluny in Paris back in mid-September. By then, I could spend hours drifting from piece to piece, totally oblivious of the time and totally focused on the art. I would try to pick one work to sit and copy, picking out ever-increasing detail and marveling as the work grew richer before my eyes. I do think it’s a state of mind. Today I was drawn to the works, but too fidgety to loose myself totally.

I met Cara in the gallery cafe, and we caught up on years of news over coffee and cakes. Then we went off to do some Christmas shopping, though seemed to spend a little more time enjoying all the little shops in Seven Dials than sorting out gifts! Cara has become a Londoner, and knows the ins and outs of where to go for what. She’s still so bubbly, and I feel like we could have gone on talking for hours!

My one touristy photo or the day! Me, Peter and the afternoon sun on Big Ben.

My one touristy photo or the day! Me, Peter and the afternoon sun on Big Ben.

Then I met Peter, and Aussie composer who’s studying in London. We walked and talked, winding our way through the Christmas market outside the Royal Festival Hall (with a cup of mulled wine of course!), along the river and up to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Then back up to Soho for a (very) late lunch at a little Japanese place where the thick, gingery savoury pancakes were cooked on the table in front of us. We talked music, student living and the reality of being torn between home in Australia and the buzz of Europe.

The coach home wound through central London, taking in all the bright Christmas lights of Oxford and Regent streets. I wasn’t really a tourist today – I still haven’t seen St Paul’s or the Tower of London, or even gone inside Westminster Abbey! Friends, conversation and laughter were much more important, and I’m feeling wonderfully refreshed despite the chilly temperatures back here in Elmsted.

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!