Post by postscript on Dec 17, 2007 19:51:48 GMT
Hi folks.
As this is likely to wander wildly I have placed this under 'Off Topic'. If the Mods want to lend it more eminence, that is their privilege. It may of course go no further than this one post!
My 'inspiration' for this thread derives from a freak circumstance which has been quite invigorating. I think many have expressed feelings similar to those I always experienced at the end of a play run. A sense of feeling flat, down, perhaps actually depressed after Hayley. A conviviality of that particular group of people who came together for that one play suddenly disbands never to meet as that group again.
In my participating theatrical days this quickly evaporated as I was launched into the next production fairly quickly--I was involved with perhaps three to six plays a year in various capacities off and on stage.
As with no other concert or artiste I always experience this 'down' at the end of a Hayley concert, except for those special times when she can give of her time. At Bath this was especially so with Jill there, there was such a 'party' atmosphere that the 'down' was kept at bay. These sorts of meets help to let one down more gently than a straight walk out of the theatre.
This time Christmas is looming and I have not yet bought any presents! Particularly the theatrical mood persisted into Sunday as I had a second concert to attend and Christmas is offsetting things.
This Sunday concert was a close-knit affair, some forty family, guests and friends so the event was moved from my brother-in-law's living room to the Girl Guide hut for space as we were also provided with a meal. This was the sort of event to which the Westenra family must be well acquainted? In our case we did not have a Hayley but we did have Chris Garrick (his mother married my brother-in-law after my sister died) and his long time friend David Ponsford: Chris (described by John Dankworth as "He could easily emerge as one of the great jazz violinists of all time") and David Ponsford (described by Musical Opinion as "A kaleidoscope of musical sound which combines virtuoso brilliance with scholarship") are rarely together as they each have very full lives in different arenas.
Perhaps it is the nature of jazz (Chris) and chamber music (Dave) that neither crave to fill the Albert Hall yet their playing is so phenomenal that were they to play 'mainstream' music that hall they could assuredly fill alone.
I mention their web sites as there is a wealth of technical information available for those who want to push their interest in music a little bit further.
It was from Chris's web site that I learned that our elsewhere discussed amazement at Fiona's dexterity when she de-threaded her bow was actually nothing to do with the vigor of her bowing but the lack of expertise with which it had been re-threaded.
I am not a liker of jazz but, rather as I have said that Hayley could sing the telephoner directory and I would be happy to hear her, so with people in such mastery of their instruments I can listen to music not of my first choice, just to sit and be amazed at the dexterity of their fingering.
Interestingly, Dave does not cite the piano as an instrument he can play on his web site and doubtless it is because he is such a renowned harpsichordist that he has such mastery of the piano as the harpsichord is so much more demanding.
It was chatting with him over dinner that re-awoke my observation of the Hayley concert where Ian Tilley had called in a piano tuner during the interval. I had assumed the harpsichordist needed to be something of his own tuner but 'no', they don't go out of tune that easily and Dave was amazed that Ian had a tuner on call for the piano. This begs the question that the tuner was on hand at rehearsal time to check before performance but must have been asked to stay because Ian wasn't happy, or Ian had him called in during rehearsal specifically,
I am now realising that I am spoiled and I am somewhat concerned. When you have a concert where the 'support' is almost as good as Hayley, how do you follow Hayley without more Hayley?
In my case I was lucky to follow Hayley with two auperb instrumentalists at a private family get-together and perhaps gained a parallel experience to the Westenra family life? What do others do?
Peter S.
As this is likely to wander wildly I have placed this under 'Off Topic'. If the Mods want to lend it more eminence, that is their privilege. It may of course go no further than this one post!
My 'inspiration' for this thread derives from a freak circumstance which has been quite invigorating. I think many have expressed feelings similar to those I always experienced at the end of a play run. A sense of feeling flat, down, perhaps actually depressed after Hayley. A conviviality of that particular group of people who came together for that one play suddenly disbands never to meet as that group again.
In my participating theatrical days this quickly evaporated as I was launched into the next production fairly quickly--I was involved with perhaps three to six plays a year in various capacities off and on stage.
As with no other concert or artiste I always experience this 'down' at the end of a Hayley concert, except for those special times when she can give of her time. At Bath this was especially so with Jill there, there was such a 'party' atmosphere that the 'down' was kept at bay. These sorts of meets help to let one down more gently than a straight walk out of the theatre.
This time Christmas is looming and I have not yet bought any presents! Particularly the theatrical mood persisted into Sunday as I had a second concert to attend and Christmas is offsetting things.
This Sunday concert was a close-knit affair, some forty family, guests and friends so the event was moved from my brother-in-law's living room to the Girl Guide hut for space as we were also provided with a meal. This was the sort of event to which the Westenra family must be well acquainted? In our case we did not have a Hayley but we did have Chris Garrick (his mother married my brother-in-law after my sister died) and his long time friend David Ponsford: Chris (described by John Dankworth as "He could easily emerge as one of the great jazz violinists of all time") and David Ponsford (described by Musical Opinion as "A kaleidoscope of musical sound which combines virtuoso brilliance with scholarship") are rarely together as they each have very full lives in different arenas.
Perhaps it is the nature of jazz (Chris) and chamber music (Dave) that neither crave to fill the Albert Hall yet their playing is so phenomenal that were they to play 'mainstream' music that hall they could assuredly fill alone.
I mention their web sites as there is a wealth of technical information available for those who want to push their interest in music a little bit further.
It was from Chris's web site that I learned that our elsewhere discussed amazement at Fiona's dexterity when she de-threaded her bow was actually nothing to do with the vigor of her bowing but the lack of expertise with which it had been re-threaded.
I am not a liker of jazz but, rather as I have said that Hayley could sing the telephoner directory and I would be happy to hear her, so with people in such mastery of their instruments I can listen to music not of my first choice, just to sit and be amazed at the dexterity of their fingering.
Interestingly, Dave does not cite the piano as an instrument he can play on his web site and doubtless it is because he is such a renowned harpsichordist that he has such mastery of the piano as the harpsichord is so much more demanding.
It was chatting with him over dinner that re-awoke my observation of the Hayley concert where Ian Tilley had called in a piano tuner during the interval. I had assumed the harpsichordist needed to be something of his own tuner but 'no', they don't go out of tune that easily and Dave was amazed that Ian had a tuner on call for the piano. This begs the question that the tuner was on hand at rehearsal time to check before performance but must have been asked to stay because Ian wasn't happy, or Ian had him called in during rehearsal specifically,
I am now realising that I am spoiled and I am somewhat concerned. When you have a concert where the 'support' is almost as good as Hayley, how do you follow Hayley without more Hayley?
In my case I was lucky to follow Hayley with two auperb instrumentalists at a private family get-together and perhaps gained a parallel experience to the Westenra family life? What do others do?
Peter S.