Canterbury Cathedral, 27th October 2006

[postscript]

grant said:

postscript said:

The sacristy would see the logical place--where the choir enters to chsnge.

Peter S

Hi Peter

Am I missing something or are you suggesting this as a place to eat?

Not sure the choir would be too amused

Grant

'

No Grant! My comment was in response to a suggestion as to where Richard would best locate Hayley a year or two ahead of the performace as there was no stage door at a church!

Peter S.

[george]

Hi All

Looking forward to meeting with you all again tomorrow night.
The "Leicester Four" are only three on this occasion as Denise is working and unable to get the time off.
We need to arrive early to queue for the best unreserved seats, hopefully by six at the latest.

See you there!

George

[grant]

Hi George and everyone going to Canterbury tomorrow (that includes you to Hayley!)

I'm all packed with my alarm set and ready to go - for two pins I'd set off now but my last train to London left a few minutes ago!

Looking forward to a great evening :je with all you guys and gals

Grant

[roger]

Hi everyone,

I don't have to set off quite so early as I don't have quite so far to go as most of you. Dave and I hope to be in Canterbury by about 6 o'clock.

Hope everyone has a good journey and I look forward to seeing you there.

Roger

[Joe]

Hi all,

Have a safe journey to all and..... enjoy yourselves!

Tim J...have a safe flight! God Bless.

Best regards,
Joe

[Richard]

Thanks for the message Joe!

Just over 11 hours to go! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I'll be on my way later this morning!

Best Wishes,

Richard

[Richard]

This post has been moved from 'NZ Hayley News', as it is mainly about Canterbury in England.

postscript said:

Hi Grant.

Everyone will probably be relieved to hear this is a short reply! I have already done a longer one but for some reason that browser window froze and i was unable to copy and paste even.

Simply, I have no idea of timing but either fourish or fivish (my ticket is unreserved and I may need to be at the great doors at least by six (okay) or may be as soon as five (less happy!)) to eat at one of Tony's suggestions, which I have copied and pasted into Word to print out with the map of my hotel location.

My intention is to hit my hotel early pm to settle in freshen up and then walk around Canterbury.

The other point I was saying was, don't panic or rush your pics. Preservation critical TAKE YOUR TIME I'm astill fumbling with my half-way stage. I also have to catch up on my Kiri evening which i think will inerest people. Sureness of touch NOT speed of delivery for us guys at the moment--we're not Daves, Stuarts
or Steves!!! Well, I'm not!

See you there.

Peter S.

[Martin]

Come on Richard - don't keep us in suspense! How was the Canterbury experience?

Regards
Martin

[Richard]

Hello Martin and everybody!

As expected, there was a very good turnout from HWI to see Hayley's concert in Canterbury Cathedral. I spent the afternoon exploring the Cathedral, so I was able to say a quick hello to Hayley when she arrived at 3pm. A few minutes later Grant appeared, followed closely by Tim who had flown all the way from Pennsylvania specially for the concert. We sat quietly and listened while Hayley rehearsed with her musicians, pianist Al Gurr and violinist Fiona Swadling. She was clearly in very good voice.

We then went our separate ways for a while, and met up again outside the Cathedral at about 5:45, where we were joined by Peter, Steve and Stuart, Elizabeth with her friends Emily and Michelle from Canada, and George. While we were waiting, Steve Abbott introduced us to Joseph McManners and his mum, who live in Canterbury. I think he was looking for a pair of spare tickets for them, because the concert was a sell-out. Roger and Dave arrived soon after the doors opened at 7pm, so we met them inside.

After a short greeting and a prayer, Fiona and Al took up their positions on stage, then Hayley appeared to very warm applause from the audience of 2,200. She was wearing a gorgeous black dress with sparkling diamonds, and she looked stunning. She opened with Caccini's 'Ave Maria', which sounded better than ever in the magnificent setting of the Cathedral. She followed this with a beautiful version of 'Scarborough Fair', and finished her first short set with 'The Water Is Wide'.

There was rather too much echo in the sound, which made it very difficult to understand what Hayley was saying between the songs. This became even more pronounced when she introduced her special guest, operatic tenor Alfie Boe. He sang three arias, but all I can tell you about them is that the second one was from Puccini's 'Gianni Schicchi'.

Hayley then returned and sang, very appropriately, 'Prayer'. She followed with 'Both Sides Now' and concluded the first half with 'I Say Grace', and it was the first time I had heard her sing this song live. In spite of the sound problems, Hayley's singing was magnificent!

The engineers made some adjustments during the interval, and the sound was clearly much better when Alfie Boe opened the second half with two more arias. He certainly has a fine voice with a very wide range, so at times he could almost pass for a baritone. He certainly made a very good impression with the audience.

Hayley returned to sing 'The Mists Of Islay' and 'Bridal Ballad', and she really hit the high notes in both songs. Then Alfie Boe joined her and they sang a beautiful duet of Schubert's 'Ave Maria'. Hayley then gave us 'May It Be', 'In Trutina' and the Maori lullaby 'Hine E Hine'. Finally she sang 'Pokarekare Ana' as an encore, to end another world-class performance.

We stayed behind after the show, when we met up with Drew, Tony and Anne. We had to wait for a while while Hayley went to a small reception, but eventually she returned and we all had a lovely chat with her, and many photographs were taken. It was a very enjoyable evening, so I must thank Hayley, Alfie, Fiona, Al and all the members of HWI for making it yet another truly memorable experience.

Best Wishes,

Richard

[Jeff]

Don't rush him. He was out late last night ! Probably still in bed ! Having said that, I'm a bit surprised nobody has posted anything yet. Usually there's a race on to see who can get the first review out ! (I'm never first because I don't get home until at least 3am, or not at all if I'd gone to Canterbury !) We will just have to be patient. I'm sure some excellent pics are on the way, courtesy of Stuart and Steve, even if they were in the 8th row ! Hope you all had a great time !

Jeff.

[graemek]

Thanks Richard,
Sounds like it was very worthwhile.

What did the technicians actually do for sound boosting?
Or has the Cath. got it's own equipment?

Graemek

[Andrew]

Hi Richard,

Many thanks for your Concert Review from Canterbury Cathedral! Excellent work! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif Wow- you were quick off the mark... Did you go to bed at all last night? Get the coffee on now...

I can't wait to see the photographs/ video from Steve & Stuart!

Regards,

Andrew

[Richard]

Hello Graeme and Andrew!

Thanks for your kind comments. I believe there were problems with the connections from the amplifier to the loudspeakers that were placed throughout the nave, and the high roof of the Cathedral didn't help. The sound was certainly much better after the interval.

I forgot to mention that Steve Abbott introduced us to Joseph McManners and his mum, so I'm going to edit it into my review. I only had four hours sleep last night, but I've just had a strong coffee!

I'm sure there will be plenty of photographs from Steve and Stuart, so watch this space! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Richard

[Martin]

Richard
Many thanks for the review, you all seemed to have a great time and I too look forward to seeing the photos. Did Hayley comment on the new album?
Regards
Martin

[Richard]

Hello Martin!

Talking to Hayley after the concert, it seems that she has a good idea of the songs she wants to record, and the final album tracklisting will be picked from these. All will be revealed in due course.

Best Wishes,

Richard