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Post by comet on Dec 21, 2009 20:05:33 GMT
I am with you all in spirit tonight.
Hayley's last concert of the decade.
Quite a momentous occasion.
so sorry for those of you who were prevented from traveling by the weather.
( I understand your loss)
I wish you all safe journeys home for Christmas,
Especially Hayley who has yet to travel half way round the planet to get home for Christmas....
Safe journey home and Go raibh míle maith agat (Thank you in Irish or "May you have a thousand kindnesses" )
Best wishes to you all from Dublin
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Post by artcorner on Dec 21, 2009 22:33:33 GMT
I'll leave it to the others to post a proper review but I'll say that it was an awesome show, including a little sing-song!
However I did seem to be surrounded by avid Lee Mead fans!
Nonetheless I had a great time and managed to make it there and back without slipping over (:
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Post by sandchimp1 on Dec 22, 2009 1:16:25 GMT
Absolutely inspirational performance.
I even shed a small tear at one point in the show!
And it was amazing to get to speak to Hayley afterwards. Even if my little gift for her was a bit pathetic and I was sooo nervous I could hardly say my name.
But she really is as lovely and friendly as she looks on stage!
nick
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Post by postscript on Dec 22, 2009 1:27:07 GMT
Hello, Sandchimp 1. We probably encountered one another without realising it. Welcome. You have been Hayley-wowed. A very common phenomenon. Explore here and you will be amazed how many perfectly normal people have become completely speechless in her presence or speaking complete nonsense. It takes a few encounters to be able to hold a rational conversation with her. It's not her fault, its just the awe in which we regard her. It was only in Exeter and Liverpool that I believe I managed to talk with her like an ordinary human being for the first time (oh, and tonight when we talked about my boots!).
Peter S.
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Post by postscript on Dec 22, 2009 2:20:25 GMT
I said to someone tonight that this report needed only one word. "Superb". Another one word would do, "Hayley". While Hayley is a believer in simplicity herself, or perhaps more accurately she believes in effectiveness and her effectiveness is usually achieved in simple ways, such a simple report inevitably undervalues her.
I mentioned in previous reports (Liverpool in particular) that the beauty of a Hayley concert is that everyone rises to match her standards. "Cohesiveness" is another good word to describe this night (already last night)! The whole evening was one solid tour de force of superb artistry throughout.
I said in my Liverpool report that in working with the high calibre of other artists the collective whole builds exponentially (or words to that effect). I think we are seeing increasingly the influence of Tim Evans as an arranger. There has always been an arranging talent within her grouping but I think I am perceiving a new influence which I am assuming is Tim's. I do not discount a singular arranging talent within Raven but I think that tends to be in relation to themselves rather than in any influence directly on Hayley.
The Barbican is a concert hall I love--once I have got there, until then I hate anything being there! I still haven't got to it or from it without getting lost at least once in transit! Steve and I debated if the woodwork design was pure design or was an example of form--a design meeting requirements for acoustical resonance. The stage was simply but well laid out and the stage was well filled.
The addition of a double bass added some depth to the strings but Raven are so superb in their delivery that arguably it wasn't essential BUT, that subtle addition did have an effect. Tim's influence again?
Percussion was another addition which helped add body. On a cost basis, the Batbican venue justified it unquestionably, for other venues, perhaps not BUT one sensed she did not need an orchestra. Is this another Tim influence? If so, it provides her with a real body of sound and a wider range of subtlety in arrangement options. It is also a cheap way of gaining an overall small orchestral effect.
Looking at how Hayley might develop and where does she go from here, I think the Barbican provided us with insights into fascinating future possibilities.
Oh, perhaps I should mention the weather, especially since my boots may well appear in photos, I was right to wear them, that is why I am writing now and not after breakfast!
While London seemed to be melding and hopefully ensuring Hayley's flight will not be delayed, outside London the temperature was the usual two or three degrees colder if not six or seven. I had left Berkhamsted station with the length of 8 carriages cleared of snow on all relevant platforms. I returned to see no sign of clearance what ever, two inches of snow having settled since. Likewise my journey home, trudging through impossible conditions, grateful I had my boots!
Consequently I arrived home in need of a couple of Ryvita biscuits, overly daubed with New Zealand butter and mature English cheddar cheese and... yes! A Canada dry with a double snort of The Famous Grouse. I don't normally drink a blend, preferring single malts but they 'do' for colds and things so I made do, not that I have a cold or anything but I had preferred a long drink, hence the Canada Dry. And so to bed. Good night!
Happy Christmas everyone.
Peter S.
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:49:44 GMT
Hi all, What a wonderful last concert in 2009, just before Christmas. Many thanks for the reports so far. As usual for a London concert I'm sure there will be another in-depth reports so I restrict myself to the song list Away In a Manger (Capital Children's Choir) What Child Is This (Capital Children's Choir) Veni Veni Emmanuel The Little Drummer Boy The Christmas Song Corpus Christi Carol Raven Ave Maria (Caccini) The Little Road to Bethlehem When The Stars Go Blue (with Lee Mead) Coventry Carol (with Capital Children's Choir) Do You Hear What I Hear (with Capital Children's Choir) INTERVAL Raven River I Know You By Heart O Holy Night A Winter's Tale (Lee Mead) Anthem From Chess (Lee Mead) Sleigh Ride (partly with Lee Mead) Peace Shall Come Love Came Down At Christmas Encores: O Come All Ye Faithful (leading the singing of the auditorium) Silent Night and a few pictures: First half: 'When the Stars Go Blue'  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:50:34 GMT
Second half: Sleigh Bells  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:52:47 GMT
Peace Shall Come  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:55:04 GMT
First encore - Hayley leading the auditorium in singing of 'O Come All Ye Faithful'  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:55:34 GMT
accompanied by Raven,  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:56:09 GMT
Andy  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:56:45 GMT
and Tim  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:57:22 GMT
as well as James Turner at the percussion. Sorry, but I missed the name of the lady at the double bass.  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:58:09 GMT
And last but not least the signing session  |
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Post by Karsten on Dec 22, 2009 7:58:51 GMT
 I had the impression that all on stage enjoyed the evening and so the auditorium, too. Thanks to Hayley and all on and behind the stage as well as the to the staff of the Barbican. More perhaps later, I'm just on my way back to Germany. By now a Merry Christmas to all. Cheers, Karsten |
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