Apologies to Handel

I found myself at the National Portrait Gallery on Monday, and went to see Handel. I hadn't noticed before quite how elegant his fingers are - nothing like the fat piggy fingers, described as being too big to fit on the keys of the keyboard. I did feel the need to apologise to him though, due to some rather severe cuts made in a performance of Jephtha that the Band had given. These were totally out of our control and most were understandable and necessitated by making a 3 hour piece into a 2 hour piece. BUT...The Angel Symphony? That was too much!

Handel's Jephtha

How dark, O Lord, are Thy decrees,
All hid from mortal sight...

Preparing for Jephtha this coming week. What a privilege to play this amazing piece of music.

On Tour

We're at Repton in Derbyshire en route for Ilkley. After a great day of rehearsals and a lovely meal at Nicki's, we woke to snow. Lost for words...Let's hope we can all get up to Yorkshire. The sunglasses we packed seem somewhat superfluous.

Anyway, British comments about the weather aside, its been a great few days so far and a real privilege to make music together again. At times like this I am reminded of how wonderful my job is, and how much I need Handel (and Bach) in my life!

Handel in the Spring

It's been glorious weather for Band rehearsals; what could be better than a bit of Handel interspersed with coffee and a spot of sunbathing. Longer days have meant The Band has the luxury of re-visiting lots of repertoire, and making a few new friends (pieces, that is, rather than people in this instance). This is all in preparation for a concert in Ilkley on April 4th, and also for an exciting project at Cossington in the summer. All fueled by fantastic home-cooking, thanks to Carolyn!