Thun

A great evening of vocal music in Thun.
Along with Viva Voce, A'pella Four & Teatro Zuffellato we entertained a mixed crowd at the Schweizer Kunstlerbörse in Thun.

Wonderful to see again old friends and to meet others anew. Viva Voce we have worked with before, and they were on cracking form... also I found as I got home that they are coached by an old friend from Croydon [and ex-Magnet] Colin Griffiths-Brown, who now lives in Germany and is one half of the very successful, Carrington-Brown.

As we have been to Switzerland every year for many, many years now, hoping that our friend and ally Silvan Isenring will continue to help our fulfilling this splendid tradition...

interesting times

Sang at a lovely Wedding in Rowley, Yorkshire; beautiful village, church and couple!
This was a Caledonio-Belgian do....

Talking of Belgians, Steve had the most splendid journey... he drove up, so we could all come home in the car after, and whilst we luxuriated on the train, the electrics failed in his car [in the fast lane], and he ground to a halt.... I won't name the hire car company.
A
V ery
I nteresting
S ubject

HE IS OK - do not fret!

He had to be pushed to hard shoulder by the police and then taken to Milton Keynes to get a new car, and then get to us 200km away....

He arrived at 2.59 for the 3pm service; gloriously the bride was fashionably late so there were no problems.... how late might she have been if there had been even more than the 500 metres between house and church!?

We sang Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart in the service and entertained in the reception twice. Steve impressed the visiting mainland Europeans with his Flemish (they also enjoyed our French), and a good time was had by all.

Back home just after midnight.... perfect... Here's to Belgo-Britannic co-operation!

Lord's day

Excellent photo session for our cricket CD with our v. supportive friend Jonny Knowles, at the 'home' of cricket [apart from Dubai]... Lord's Cricket Ground.
Along with Mr Robin Tyson of EPAM, we swanned [geddit?! * ] around pretending this was a place where we should be...
Media Centre and Pavilion photos were taken in glorious spring sunshine. Might one hope this weather will still be around when the cricket season actually starts?!

Thanks to Clare Skinner & Adam Chadwick of MCC/Lord's who allowed us to do this... wonderful to have the support of such an organisation for our CD.

Images of all four of us must wait until the CD (or at least until advanced publicity for the product)... you'll just have to be patient.

Off to Yorkshire for a Wedding tomorrow...

* cricket 'joke'

Online translation

These online transation services are getting better and better....
Does anyone remember Stanley Unwin? He seems to be writing for German newspapers...

**************

Heilbronner voice of the 21st of March 2011

An insanity trout and four Britons

The London Quartet in the festival of the laughing tones

Of Michaela Adick

Neckarsulm meaning heavy the four Britons move together. What the set gentlemen now need is protection, security, confidence. A human vehicle castle just. "Some neat music" must now in the school of music announced become. , That "Scarborough would not be fairly" no correct music or that Cantabile would not appreciate – The London Quartet the Beatles

Note forest yet now is announced music with Capital characters, with large letter. Franz Schubert. Large groaning. "the trout" want it the audience in the hall sold out with almost 200 visitors serve. A trout with all harassment. Large Luftholen, even larger rustling in the note forest. And what then in that acclaimed happens prelude organization of the festival of the laughing tones, experienced the A-capella-friend not yet. A psycho drama develops with an insanity trout, with which Polanskis "Rosemary’s could have it baby" godfather gestandne. At the latest now becomes clear why Richard Bryan, Countertenor had imagined, the enchanted audience with a "We are British, I' m sorry". Tasteful support, that can yet every Hansel. The London Quartet, that emerged before nearly 30 years at a College in Cambridge, intends better. Through its voices, the voices do not convince are comfortably - separate through Britishness.

They sing higher nonsense there the Lambeth Walk "out of the musical "Me and my Girl ": A Schnipser, and the gentlemen sing the song backwards. Just as sovereign and tone pure. How they move careless on the stage, and nonsense verzapfen. Does someone remember "Life could be a Dream "the Canadian The Crew Cuts from the year 1954, notoriously through the ingenious refrain "Sh boom Sh booming "? The London Quartet with Richard Bryan (Countertenor) the tenor Steve Brooks and Mark Fleming and the foundation member Michael Steffan (baritone), that occasionally of the pianist Chris Hatt proprietor accompanies, digs so what from. Magnificent.

Charlesbourg, QC

I was truly mistaken last blog; we were not performing to seniors at all today [well, not exclusively]; a wonderful audience, of various ages, were with us all the way through our set... a fantastic end to our tour.... a great crowd reminding us of the feel of a mainland European coffee concert...

They came round backstage to empty the dressing rooms of spare chairs to house as many as they could (we were left some to sit on), and then other poor souls were turned away... so a packed house - splendid. We said there was room onstage, but they did not take us up on the offer.

As I sit here at Montréal aeroport, it is safe to say we achieved our flight from Québec City, and soon we will coming home. A good two weeks away... we are back in Canada (Québec) in August...

Night night...

Alma, QC

We remembered the joy of being in La Belle Province, as soon as we were greeted warmly in Alma.
A return visit [we came in 2003 when we were Canadian novices] is always a pleasure.

A splendid theatre, with techs. who know their stuff... and an enthusiastic audience. What more could one wish for...?

The French-language synapses did indeed come to life in time! The audience were delighted to be auditioned by Richard, tho' I think we forgot to tell them at the end that they had passed!

On to Charlesbourg (a part of Québec City), which is very near our hotel.... good that things are close, as after our early afternoon hour-long concert, we rush to the airport for our flight home.
Back to our families, and also to creating the Cricket CD for release in the Summer [tho' lots of people are helping us with this]; as well as continuing the process of honing our Best of British programme for Europe, and creating two new ones for touring in the UK [one of which will be in the Bridewell Theatre, off Fleet Street very early September].

This week a photo session at Lord's [where else?] & a wedding in Yorkshire...

Québec

It feels like we have been travelling all day... ah yes, we have...

We are back in the part of Canada in which we have most often worked... Québec. Already we have performed 100s of times all over the province, and now it is to a return visit to Alma, and then on to Charlesbourg, before we race home overnight Sunday.... in time to be part of Monday's rush hour in London!

We realise people who work all over Canada must have to make these types of all-day journeys much of the time... very draining for us poor folks from tiny countries in Western Europe...

Still raining and snowing.... hoping this will remain calm, and not get ferocious on us.

Now to get the French-speaking synapses firing...

Pinawa, MB

The good people of Pinawa, Manitoba turned out for us!
Deer poo notwithstanding, we were greeted by a lovely reception followed by a lovely reception [far too much to eat and to drink!]... a vocal minority gave support to Mike's Welshness [Welshicity? Cymructitude?]... but were pacified by his rendition of Myfanwy...

It has started snowing, which is a bit of a bind for our journey to the aeroport in the am, but hey ho, these things happen.... a previous guest artist here ended up in a ditch.... THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO US.

Here's to an uneventful journey in the morning...

20 glorious years

It is hard to believe, but I have now been a member of Cantabile - the London Quartet for TWENTY years....

Good day for my work anniversary: April 1st...