We met this great man to discuss his helping us compile a programme of comedy songs so as to tour theatres in the UK....
Wonderful to sit and chat with him; luckily for us, not only is he hilarious, but also has a pretty encyclopaedic memory.... and over the years he wrote for everyone! [Altho' in his modest way, he is at pains to say that he is not the only one, everyone wrote for everyone in the 50s - 90s.... he just gets longevity kudos!]
Now for a title....
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Altafulla
Great evening in Church Square, Altafulla... a perfect acoustic with the stage set up in the corner; our voices bouncing off the walls.
The audience are well used to a great range of music for their Festival as David van Asch has given them lots of treats as Festival Director. Having had a few years off, he is back this year, and the vocal music came back...
A French choir gave a programme of Francis Poulenc and Eric Whitacre last month and much else besides - and then there was us...
Everyone seemed jolly about our speaking to them in Catalan [es mol bé], and the promised storm and wind stayed in Barcelona, and did not bother us during our gig.
The man in charge of Culture from the Town Hall was also happy - which was nice!
...and once more we sold Cricket CDs to an unsuspecting country!
The post-concert refreshments at Faristol [Music stand in Catalan] were very Spanish, and thus splendid...
The audience are well used to a great range of music for their Festival as David van Asch has given them lots of treats as Festival Director. Having had a few years off, he is back this year, and the vocal music came back...
A French choir gave a programme of Francis Poulenc and Eric Whitacre last month and much else besides - and then there was us...
Everyone seemed jolly about our speaking to them in Catalan [es mol bé], and the promised storm and wind stayed in Barcelona, and did not bother us during our gig.
The man in charge of Culture from the Town Hall was also happy - which was nice!
...and once more we sold Cricket CDs to an unsuspecting country!
The post-concert refreshments at Faristol [Music stand in Catalan] were very Spanish, and thus splendid...
Thursday, 25 August 2011
David van Asch
A lovely evening chez van Asch - their home is near Altafulla...
David and Margarita showed us their glorious house, and we ate our fill.... & a wonderful local butcher they must have...
David van Asch is of course a stalwart of The Scholars - thus steeped in vocal ensemble singing... and he has lived in Spain since meeting Margarita in the 1970s.
Our concert tomorrow is in the village square, just by the castle at 10pm... weather permitting...
... lunch on the seafront also beckons...
David and Margarita showed us their glorious house, and we ate our fill.... & a wonderful local butcher they must have...
David van Asch is of course a stalwart of The Scholars - thus steeped in vocal ensemble singing... and he has lived in Spain since meeting Margarita in the 1970s.
Our concert tomorrow is in the village square, just by the castle at 10pm... weather permitting...
... lunch on the seafront also beckons...
Monday, 22 August 2011
Val-d'Or show
Fantastic evening at a fantastic Festival (Festival classique de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue - artistic director: Donald Ferland).
There were speeches galore every evening! Donald spoke of course, but we also heard from Raymond Cloutier, Actor & Director of the Conservatoire of Dramatic Art, Montréál, who is Honorary President of the Festival, as well as Marie St-Germain (President of same) & Jean St-Jules, Director of the Conservatoire of Music in Val-d'Or...
This is all taken very seriously; and it shows -the attention to detail is splendid, and the Festival atmosphere compelling...
We were very well looked after at our hotel - Auberge Harricana - Martin, Marie-Annick and their family were terrific (wonderful children), also Mary Lou ran errands for us tirelessly...
Three evening shows and lots of smaller concerts throughout a busy three days up here in Val-d'Or...
There was firstly Les Boréades, a baroque ensemble who have been doing The Beatles in this style for a few years now... amazing...
Then there was Marie-Josée Lord - a phenomenal Opera singer, accompanied beautifully by violin and piano...
All the evening acts share our Canadian agent - L'Agence Station Bleue - a good weekend for them too!
The audience were brimming over with excitement for all the concerts, and it took us a long time to exit the building... more CDs sold... once more - including selling out of cricket ones! One gets the impression from Cricket Canada's site that the francophones aren't quite so hot on this sport, but who knows in the future.... & I see we have beaten India by an innings again... what larks... [We did get a CD to the great Sachin Tendulkar, I do hope he does not take his non-century frustration out on it!]
And a great new idea... all involved were given a painting to take home (and we all fitted our individual ones in our cases) - created by local artist Lee Lovsin... cool!
...and here we are back at Montréal, awaiting our connection, so as to get home... just in time for a lie down, then Spain at the end of the week...
There were speeches galore every evening! Donald spoke of course, but we also heard from Raymond Cloutier, Actor & Director of the Conservatoire of Dramatic Art, Montréál, who is Honorary President of the Festival, as well as Marie St-Germain (President of same) & Jean St-Jules, Director of the Conservatoire of Music in Val-d'Or...
This is all taken very seriously; and it shows -the attention to detail is splendid, and the Festival atmosphere compelling...
We were very well looked after at our hotel - Auberge Harricana - Martin, Marie-Annick and their family were terrific (wonderful children), also Mary Lou ran errands for us tirelessly...
Three evening shows and lots of smaller concerts throughout a busy three days up here in Val-d'Or...
There was firstly Les Boréades, a baroque ensemble who have been doing The Beatles in this style for a few years now... amazing...
Then there was Marie-Josée Lord - a phenomenal Opera singer, accompanied beautifully by violin and piano...
All the evening acts share our Canadian agent - L'Agence Station Bleue - a good weekend for them too!
The audience were brimming over with excitement for all the concerts, and it took us a long time to exit the building... more CDs sold... once more - including selling out of cricket ones! One gets the impression from Cricket Canada's site that the francophones aren't quite so hot on this sport, but who knows in the future.... & I see we have beaten India by an innings again... what larks... [We did get a CD to the great Sachin Tendulkar, I do hope he does not take his non-century frustration out on it!]
And a great new idea... all involved were given a painting to take home (and we all fitted our individual ones in our cases) - created by local artist Lee Lovsin... cool!
...and here we are back at Montréal, awaiting our connection, so as to get home... just in time for a lie down, then Spain at the end of the week...
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Greenfield Park, QC
Despite its name, the lingua franca here is French...
People dutifully turned out with their own chairs, and filled the space in front of the stage... and to the sides, and a bit behind it too!
Delighted that David, one of High-Shop, another vocal quartet, from Trois-Rivières, turned up too with friends...
An hour-and-a-quarter of fun for all the family - there was dancing from one lady... she seemed especially animated during Foresters Sound the Cheerful Horn by Henry Rowley Bishop, altho' we did perform plenty of genuine pop tunes to dance to...
....and as it was an early start, we were back in Montréal before 10pm.
Marvellous...
People dutifully turned out with their own chairs, and filled the space in front of the stage... and to the sides, and a bit behind it too!
Delighted that David, one of High-Shop, another vocal quartet, from Trois-Rivières, turned up too with friends...
An hour-and-a-quarter of fun for all the family - there was dancing from one lady... she seemed especially animated during Foresters Sound the Cheerful Horn by Henry Rowley Bishop, altho' we did perform plenty of genuine pop tunes to dance to...
....and as it was an early start, we were back in Montréal before 10pm.
Marvellous...
Monday, 15 August 2011
Green Gables - PEI
We arrive in Anne of Green Gables country... on Prince Edward Island.
Richard dutifully read the book on the way here, and our concert was just down the road from Green Gables at Indian River (altho' the book is fiction, it was set around here).
We performed in the same church in 2008, tho' since then the building has been purchased by the Festival and is a permanent concert hall - the audience were fantastically enthusiastic from the off, and once again amazingly purchased a goodly amount of CDs on CRICKET!
Friends of ours, Richard's cousin and his wife - David and Eileen - attended, which was a great blessing, Eileen having had a massive reunion with the PEI end of her family, the day before... Oh and we're just off to lunch with them...
Flights back to Montréal later today...
Richard dutifully read the book on the way here, and our concert was just down the road from Green Gables at Indian River (altho' the book is fiction, it was set around here).
We performed in the same church in 2008, tho' since then the building has been purchased by the Festival and is a permanent concert hall - the audience were fantastically enthusiastic from the off, and once again amazingly purchased a goodly amount of CDs on CRICKET!
Friends of ours, Richard's cousin and his wife - David and Eileen - attended, which was a great blessing, Eileen having had a massive reunion with the PEI end of her family, the day before... Oh and we're just off to lunch with them...
Flights back to Montréal later today...
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Domaine Forget, QC
This double rainbow greeted us as we entered St Irénée, QC for our return trip to Domaine Forget - setting for the Festival & a wonderful place for music courses with the excellent Francoys-Bernier Concert Hall... & views of the St Lawrence river and surrounding beauty...
The audience were also delighted with us, and we with them... as ever, as well as our normal stuff, the Québecois Lionel Daunais' La Toutière went down very well. We also sold some Cricket CDs over here, would you believe it!? It must be because we are now the number one test-playing nation in the world!
A bit early here at Québec aeroport [flight at 6am!]... getting to PEI for our concert tonight...
...more later...
Friday, 12 August 2011
Canada here we come...
Following in William & Kate's footsteps, we are flying out to Québec City tomorrow for concerts in Québec and also Prince Edward Island....
I am sure we will receive as warm a welcome!
I will report back, eh?...
I am sure we will receive as warm a welcome!
I will report back, eh?...
Sunday, 7 August 2011
2nd Taj weekend
Hooray - weather better [apart from a dodgy 15 minutes of rain yesterday]....
... and all went well.
Andy Massey joined us on piano from his usual berth at Lion King on the Friday, and Chris Hatt was back with us Saturday having safely showed his sister the way up the chancel the day before...
...his sister and brother-in-law somehow thought that watching us was a great way to celebrate their second day of married life... how lovely of them...
Talking of pianists, Gerard Kenny, who we had met at the Alan Jay Lerner memorial do a few weeks back, came with his wife Jenny to see us... fantastic; not only great to have him in our midst just because, but also they are such splendid enthusiastic people... a boon to any evening.
So our open-air courtyard evenings at the Taj this summer are done... lots of new West End repertoire learnt and many plugs for our new CD emoted...
We found that the best acoustic was to stand in the balcony bar and sing down into the courtyard; quite Elizabethan, but Chris told us that unmiked we filled the whole place and all surrounding buildings with noise... Let's see what they say when we suggest it next time...
Off to Québec on Thursday...
... and all went well.
Andy Massey joined us on piano from his usual berth at Lion King on the Friday, and Chris Hatt was back with us Saturday having safely showed his sister the way up the chancel the day before...
...his sister and brother-in-law somehow thought that watching us was a great way to celebrate their second day of married life... how lovely of them...
Talking of pianists, Gerard Kenny, who we had met at the Alan Jay Lerner memorial do a few weeks back, came with his wife Jenny to see us... fantastic; not only great to have him in our midst just because, but also they are such splendid enthusiastic people... a boon to any evening.
So our open-air courtyard evenings at the Taj this summer are done... lots of new West End repertoire learnt and many plugs for our new CD emoted...
We found that the best acoustic was to stand in the balcony bar and sing down into the courtyard; quite Elizabethan, but Chris told us that unmiked we filled the whole place and all surrounding buildings with noise... Let's see what they say when we suggest it next time...
Off to Québec on Thursday...
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