Part Two :
Hayley takes a sip of water after Silent Night,
she has scanned the front row and knows there are familiar faces there, you can see the pauses as the faces register.
Next Hayley starts into The Little Drummer Boy,
(The song , not the one on the stage, there seem to be several percussionists on the stage )
By this time all my worries and cares seem to have been lifted from me, Evaporated to the heavens, gone !
she has this effect on many people,
a calm state of enchantment descends on me, I don't think it is just me,
there is a serenity on the faces visible in the first row of people, others get it too.
A sense that all could be well with the world. For this short time all you have to do is listen and enjoy.
I first Heard Hayley sing The Little Drummer Boy right here on this very stage, was that two years ago already ?,
With Paul Byrom, I mentioned it to Hayley after that concert that I loved her version of it...
I think Grant told her he was also very fond of it....
and now look, we have it on her new album Winter Magic, is that cool or what.....?
Hayley leaves the stage after The Little Drummer Boy (But he gets away
)
The orchestra plays A Christmas Fantasy, it gives the audience a chance to breath,
they don't seem to breath while Hayley is singing,They make no sound at all.
It's hard to believe there are so many people sitting silently behind me while Hayley is on the stage.
I like the NCH, the seats are nice, they don't squeak and creak and groan under weight like the seats at some venues.
They are cushioned with light green velour, quite comfortable, every little helps to enhance the experience.
Hayley comes back on stage still in the cobalt blue dress and tells us how she rediscovered Caccini's Ave Maria
when she was asked to clean her room. with the klang of a bell it starts. Hayley makes this look so easy..
we have all heard Hayley sing this at almost every concert we have ever been at,
so it gives me a chance to just watch her elegant delivery of this piece,
There are tiny microphones hanging from the ceiling to pick up ambiance or audience sound
and their shadows play across Hayley's face. The lighting colour is fairly constant, like bright moonlight.
I am grateful nobody decided to use the very strong coloured spotlights directly above Hayley's head.
I don't read the programmes in advance, I don't want to be "waiting" for the next song,
I just want to enjoy "That" moment, that note, that pause, that look on her face, no future , no past,
with just a quiet thank you for the applause the next song starts, One from the new album.
I can see Hayley bracing herself, concentrating.
It is Veni Veni Emmanuel, the first notes thrill me and I shiver,
This is a "BIG" song the phrases are long and Hayley has to breath deeply and quickly between the phrases.
You can see a huge amount of movement in Hayley's shoulders as she breathes, these are big sounds.
This song requires work and effort.
The "Gaude's are particularly thrilling notes,
Hayley moves her head back and forth across the axis of the microphone to get the fades on the Gaude's,
they are big sounds and Hayley delivers them,
they really take effort. As Hayley gets to the last few lines you can see a smile forming on her face.
She has stamped that song with her unique and distinctive tone. That was just four minutes of pure bliss.
I am gobsmacked, this is normally sung by several people, I am well familiar with the Mediaeval Babes version
and Hayley has just delivered the whole thing on her own.
There is a great round of applause,
Hayley smiles a big "Nailed it" smile,
almost inaudibly says "Thank you" and Hayley leaves the stage for a well deserved break.
(I'm sure there are other captions)
but I do have a photographic memory..