tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13306937720525532392024-03-13T02:17:09.991+00:00The London QuartetThe London Quartethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537004573331145028noreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-77481793326752950502019-10-11T11:32:00.000+01:002019-10-11T11:47:31.979+01:00NLC London & Bergen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Two excellent gigs in the last few weeks.<br />
We were invited by a friend of ours, Rupert Preston-Bell, to perform in the National Liberal Club - it was born with political affiliation (started by Gladstone), but is now for the liberal-inclined rather than the political! - and a fine time we had too.<br />
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A great early evening concert, allowing people to get home or eat out after - a very convivial evening was had by all. We had a splendid audience in the David Lloyd-George Room & enjoyed it all tremendously.<br />
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Then last weekend, we had a terrific trip to Bergen - our first outing to Norway.<br />
We were part of the Festival of Song run by the Bergen Opera, and shared a concert firstly with the wonderful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janie_Dee">Janie Dee</a> - even singing and dancing <i>He's a Tramp</i> with her - what a privilege; accompanied brilliantly by Stephen Higgins at the piano.<br />
...and also in the Nachspiel after this show (this is a bonus gig event after), we sang with the brilliant Edvard Grieg Kor - singing together Richard Rodney Bennett's F<i>anfare.</i><br />
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It was an excellent trip - fantastic to work with Janie - such a star! - & also to work with teh Edvard Grieg Kor - a glorious 8-part ensemble, who sang a great Jonathan Rathbone arrangement of <i>Yesterday</i> quite beautifully, led by their MD & old friend, Paul Robinson.<br />
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A marvellous trip to Norway was topped off by a boat-trip around the fjords on a fabulously sunny day, piloted by another old friend (and manager of EGK) Simon Kirkbride.<br />
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Glory<br />
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And tonight we are back Live at Zédel - at the Crazy Coqs in central London - with Chris Hatt (fresh from the #Hamilton pit) and once more singing He's a Tramp with the excellent young Mhairi Angus.<br />
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Exciting times... more London dates at Zédel, the Pheasantry & The London Library and more...markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-11064573067582984302019-08-20T12:45:00.000+01:002019-08-20T12:45:41.854+01:00Holt delightsA marvellous evening in Holt, Norfolk on a beautiful sunny day.<br />
Very hot in our suits!<br />
Unusually all members of the group had their family with them - what larks!<br />
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The splendid Holt Festival invited us back in year 11 - we performed in year 1 - and we sang in the Parish Church of St Andrew the Apostle, Holt.<br />
A wonderful acoustic in which to sing, and our classical repertoire shone in there - Bach, Byrd, Henry VIII, & Anon all sounded splendid.<br />
The jazzier stuff also worked well. We sang <i>Yeh, yeh</i> - presaging the arrival on the last night of the festival of the great Georgie Fame, as well as The Singers Unlimited version of <i>My Romance</i>, Billy Joel's<i> Lullabye </i>and <i>Anthem</i> from Chess.<br />
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Our old friend Tony Britten had invited us the first year, and he was there again to introduce us; tho' other splendid people now run the Festival. We were treated wonderfully.<br />
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A heavenly summer day in Norfolk, followed by an evening in the pub - what glories!<br />
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Lots to look forward to:<br />
A rash of London gigs in the Autumn (National Liberal Club - 10th Sept., Live at Zédel and The Pheasantry - both twice), as well as a return to Bayreuth and our debut in Norway (Bergen) as guests of the Edvard Grieg Kor...markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-16942674152945012742019-04-02T18:21:00.000+01:002019-04-02T18:21:11.307+01:00FEB in DE in March, then LondonMarvellous times in this most interesting of times...<br />
Three great concerts in Germany, discussing... Full English Brexit!<br />
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Wilhelmshafen, Friztlar and Wangen im Allgau (a mere 1333km all told!).<br />
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The good people of Fritzlar were splendid enough to provide this for us - as we know no contractual arrangement between UK & Europe is possible without a backstop - great that ours was so close, just over the road from the venue!<br />
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All three were a great success, and fully emotionally charged - we were of course keen to say that whatever stance anyone in the UK takes over the 'B' word, no-one wants us to be anything but friends - we definitely felt the love in the room.</div>
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We were of course treated wonderfully by all three venues as ever - great food and splendid comforts.</div>
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This was our sixth visit to Wangen - we first came in 1999 - what a great joy - wonderful to see Maria and Alfred once more - still in charge!</div>
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All in all a lovely trip around Germany on the eve of Brexit (tho' here we are still in limbo!)</div>
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We chased home for a small intimate function at The Garrick Club - very good to be inside these hallowed walls - glorious - great to support those who keep <i>The Theatre</i> alive and kicking in the UK.</div>
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We even sang a piece with words by Garrick himself (music by Thomas Arne) - The Beer-drinking Briton - a huge privilege.</div>
<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-26418472841382970592019-02-22T15:09:00.001+00:002019-02-22T15:17:20.913+00:00The last two monthsTwo months hence, all this seems far away!<br />
We had a second lovely evening this year at The glorious London Library in St James' Sq. - singing at a fundraiser at the behest of our old friend Tim Rice, surrounded by a wonderful collection of writers.<br />
On this December eve., we were joined by Rick Wakeman, doing amazing things on a keyboard whilst standing up!<br />
Marvellous readings from Sinead Cusack & Robert Powell - a starry evening it was!<br />
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Then it was back to Belgium - Oosterzele & Nieuwpoort, for seasonal fun with the splendid Chris Hatt joining us on piano, having taken a couple of days off running <i><b>Hamilton</b></i> in the West End - we are honoured!<br />
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A little later, we performed in Sint Willibrorduskerk, Heusden in two beautiful evenings of christmas loveliness joined by Exsultate choir, an orchestra & Bruno Sprengers conducting.<br />
Great to have a chance to work with larger forces; expanding our arrangements to fill the church with joy.<br />
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Thanks to Bruno and all the other musicians - we had an excellent three days just before Christmas. We were homeward bound on Christmas Eve - via lovely Belgian beer on The Grand Place down in Brussels.<br />
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Just after we were with more showbiz royalty, Gaby Roslin on Radio London; she invited us on her show to discuss our gigs at The Pheasantry, Chelsea, once more with Chris Hatt.<br />
As ever, a great experience, with friends old and new.<br />
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Looking forward to seeing you all again soon,<br />
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Mark, Mike, Chris & Billymarkcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-69270882362444171572018-12-04T15:21:00.002+00:002018-12-05T18:32:13.174+00:00Thames Concert - Christmas startsA lovely evening in Surbiton, as part of the Thames Concerts series, a long-established SW London musical tradition (nearly 60 years young!)<br />
In the delightful surroundings of St Andrew's Church, we sang our first Christmas concert of the season, accompanied by Ben Costello on the piano, and Mike Pratt on bass guitar.<br />
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...and here we are (rehearsing)!<br />
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A great acoustic in which to share our music too... variety as ever... from Gaudete! to White Christmas & Greensleeves (What Child is this?) to Let it Snow; with a few non-Christmas diversions such as The Beatles, Billy Joel & German-speaking yodellers... it was all there!</div>
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Great to give Christopher Steel's <i>Our Joyful'st Feast</i> another airing, as these three songs deserve to be more well-known.</div>
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Mike and Ben supported us splendidly and the evening was a great success.</div>
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Thank you, Ben for the invitation - it was a huge joy.</div>
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Lovely to have Carol Jones and a great many of her friends in the audience, helping make it such a festive occasion; as well as the ever-supportive Carole Sterckx watching, and selling our stuff.</div>
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Christmas continues for us with a central London cabaret spot - invitees only, I am afraid - from thence to Belgium for concerts with Chris Hatt at the piano, and then just before the day on the 22nd & 23rd in Heusden-Zolder with choir and orchestra... hoorah!</div>
<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-69881377826704971552018-11-06T17:12:00.000+00:002018-11-14T14:02:04.217+00:00Touring GermanyFour contrasting dates in Germany kept us busy last week.<br />
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We are now being joined rather more regularly on the topline by Billy Purefoy, which is a splendid idea... (his biog. is on the website, should you wish to know (a bit) more...<br />
...my spellcheck wishes to rename him Billy putrefy, but I digress... (not a nice thought!)<br />
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First stop was at Burgwedel for a Full English Brexit - we were treated splendidly (as we were for the whole tour... great food every time!)<br />
We are very grateful to Maggie and Julian Forsyth for helping us make our wordy FEB show more helpful to a German-speaking audience.<br />
Including a great new song about the amount of English words in German, which the people loved... a lot!<br />
A wonderful audience forgave our discussing Brexit, and even laughed and applauded (at apt moments).<br />
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Then it was a Madrigal to McCartney concert in Oldendorf, where we sang in a beautiful church, and were attended on by a wonderfully attentive group of people... we were lucky that they wanted their first ever concert to go very well... and we were spoilt!<br />
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We were even chalked up outside the church...<br />
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We gave the world première of our arrangement for four voices of Et Misericordiam from Bach's Magnificat - marvellous alto & tenor duet - Bill and Chris obliged, Mike sang the bass... and I did everything else!<br />
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In our hotel, we found proof of the enduring link between singers and (p)faffing about (geddit!?)<br />
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Then it was on to Frankfurt-Höchst, and back to Brexit... Our fourth visit here - they must be gluttons for punishment!<br />
Old friends Carole & Birgit were also in attendance, splendidly & did a very good job of selling our CDs and music-books! Great to have them both with us.<br />
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Here we are relaxing after the gig, or is it, after relaxing after the gig...?<br />
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For the last night at Biberach - another FEB show - we were joined by pianist, Ben Costello - he accompanied us in some Christmas concerts in Belgium last year & we are doing another Christmas concert with him this year on December 1st, as part of <a href="http://www.thamesconcerts.com/">Thames Concerts</a>... a festival which Ben is the Artistic Director (do come along, if you're near London!)<br />
Lovely to have Ben with us again.<br />
Lovely also for the hotel bar to be open 24 hours... marvellous... German beer (and for some wine) was enjoyed immensely<br />
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We had a little snow on way back to the airport... not any problem, but this sight at alarm-clock time did feel a little concerning....!<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-17771836193659293922018-05-03T16:37:00.001+01:002018-05-03T16:46:06.371+01:00Zédel joysWonderful evening in Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zédel...<br />
Full English Brexit had another outing and an enthusiastic crowd joined in the fun.<br />
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A delightful venue for those who do not know, and such a splendour in which to perform - Art Deco all over the show!<br />
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We were joined by old friend, Bill Purefoy on the topline...I say old friend, in fact, he was in the group 1992-3... so a wee comeback after just a quarter of a century. Fabulous to have him back, still huge fun and of course with a beautiful voice... hoorah.<br />
...and also we had Chris Hatt on the piano - having taken a night off from MD-ing <i>Hamilton</i>; lovely to see him again after a while (as he has been a busy busy boy!) & to have him accompany us with such brilliance.<br />
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Many old fiends in the audience, which obvs. was lovely; special mention to two people... my old friend Colin Warnock, who came to hear us sing one of his songs (<i>She's Gone</i> - with lyrics by Martin Tyrrell, mostly rewritten as <i>They've Gone</i>); and Lotti Viola, who came all the way from Vienna... now there's dedication!<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-21458463762346156912018-04-13T11:54:00.000+01:002018-04-13T17:48:54.204+01:00Central London gigFull English Brexit! ...comes to 'Live at Zédel'... 7PM on Thursday 26th April.<br />
<a href="https://www.brasseriezedel.com/live-at-zedel/cantabile-the-london-quartet-full-english-brexit?date=125906730">Tickets here</a><br />
Come on, you know you want to!<br />
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We had a great evening at The Abbey Theatre, Nuneaton in February, and look forward to further sharing our Full English Brexit with more of our compatriots.<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-33560483915338749522018-01-19T13:47:00.001+00:002018-01-19T13:48:24.829+00:00Full English Brexit !People of Nuneaton (and surrounding areas) - Abbey Theatre, Friday 2nd February at 7.30...<br />
Come and have fun!<br />
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Having started in the Pheasantry, Chelsea just before New Year, we gave three try-out performances in Belgium of Full English Brexit...<br />
...and delighted to say that the shows went down very well.<br />
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We started with a 2PM show at Deurne, then two evening performances in Boechout and Herent.<br />
At all three we were returning to venues we've been to before and it was great to be back.<br />
For these shows we played the piano ourselves.... well Mike and Chris played most (and I - Mark - did a bit)... which was a very interesting experience... and people were very complimentary about it all; certainly it is very good for the brain to do the show in such a way!<br />
So with music about Agincourt (written in 1415), Beer-drinking Britons, and the History of the European Referendum; and by Beethoven, Walton, Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Neil Sedaka, Paul Simon and Stephen Sondheim (as well as some by ourselves), we explored Brexit in a musical manner...<br />
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We ended with our song... <i>Sorry</i>... and then Dudley Moore's <i>Goodbye-ee</i> - tho' very much hoping this is not a finality!<br />
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We did meet some old friends at these concerts, who were also reassuringly positive... hooray... we look forward to carrying on this journey around Europe later in the year.<br />
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do... but we'll keep travelling around Europe and singing all about it!<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-5641064262160689802018-01-09T21:18:00.001+00:002018-01-09T23:37:21.974+00:00Belgian Christmas and Full English Brexit begins...It's been a while... forgive us!<br />
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Lots of lovely Belgian joy before Christmas<br />
Tervuren was the first...and it was glorious!<br />
We played tenor 1 tag for these gigs before Christmas - Chris sings in York Minster & was told he really had to attend his two Nine Lessons and Carols services... (he did have to satisfy the 1000s of people who turn up to these); thus we had the opportunity to bring Steve Trowell out of retirement (he left in 2001!)...<br />
So Chris did Tervuren and the next gig... Aalst, Steve joined for Koksijde & Hamont-Achel, then Chris came back out for Oud-Turnhout.<br />
Those guys did a lot of travelling...<br />
For most of these gigs we were joined as ever by our excellent sound and lights man, Koen Dilliën... he makes it all look and sound so splendid... Thank you!<br />
We also had a new pianist for the shows... as Chris Hatt is rather busy London-premiering, Hamilton - very exciting (he says he can get us some tickets in 2021 !). New piano friend Ben Costello joined us for these gigs... what a good chap he is... watch it Chris H., you may be stuck in the Victoria Palace Theatre for the rest of your life!!<br />
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After it was all done - with Ben C...(and lovely Belgian beer)<br />
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For those who do not know, we have been joined for the greater part of 2017 by our old friend (and founder of the group!), Richard Bryan... he filled in at short notice (and stayed!) when Sarah-Ann got her awful sickness bug during her pregnancy... all good now (and Olivia exists - hooray!); but that is why we are back to an all-male ensemble... watch this space for future developments - tho' rumours of Richard's pregnancy are really exaggerated.<br />
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With Steve T & Richard (& Ben!)<br />
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All the Belgian experiences were splendid, we have got rather used to this sweet Christmassy time we have in Belgium each year... even if it was difficult to even see the sea through the mist at the seaside at Koksijde... my wife's presents were, as ever, mostly bought in BE.<br />
Food was good - and indeed Belgian beer... Achel beer was fine and dandy<br />
Here is the church with it's shadow against the low-sitting cloud after our gig in Hamont-Achel (and a 1999-2000 reunion!)<br />
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Then Christmas came...and went; and it was time for a quick sojourn at the Pheasntry, Chelsea, for Pizza and singing... for these gigs we were joined by jazz pianist Simon Wallace, as we gave our Full English Brexit a first run-out to the unsuspecting people of Pizza-land.<br />
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Everyone was lovely and we had a great time... and people even laughed in the right places, and said that they enjoyed it... whatever next!?<br />
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Another pleasure was that some people from Schwerin in N.Germany came over especially to London for a post Christmas trip, so as to catch us at the Pheasantry, and the fireworks on the 31st... how splendid...<br />
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So a busy and excellent December was done; as was 2017...<br />
On into 2018 with FULL ENGLISH BREXIT... in Deurne, Boechout, Herent in Belgum this very week... AND not forgetting Nuneaton (<a href="https://www.abbeytheatre.co.uk/whats-on/">Abbey Theatre</a> - 2nd February...7:30PM)<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-21086427549872267882017-12-10T17:53:00.001+00:002017-12-10T17:59:11.252+00:00German touretteA return visit to the splendid small town in Germany, Pirmasens...<br />
Once again bringing Christmas cheer to people in the new Arts Centre there.<br />
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Three nights there... and lovely it was. We were looked after splendidly - hotel, food on tap etc - & people were very kind, even when we mentioned Brexit (tho' some sniggered!)<br />
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Delightful to be joined on the last night by German agent Peter Martin Jacob & his husband, Sasha...<br />
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Here is the Town Hall Advent calendar - a glorious European tradition:-<br />
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In the bottom left-hand corner you can also see the top of the wonderful crepe stall, which served me the excellent After-Eight Crepe (hyphen is their addition) - glory!<br />
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Then it was north to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamminkeln">Hamminkeln</a> for a concert in a church - with such a fantastic acoustic... marvellous it was... A lovely Festive atmosphere, with two great friends, Carole & Birgit in the audience, along with newer friend Stefan.<br />
Organisation terrific and attentive.<br />
Hotel was also terrific, tho' we had to leave it very early - getting up at 6.25AM... probably normal to many of you, but pretty dawn-ish for me!<br />
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Now we prepare for our Christmas concerts in Belgium... home on Christmas Eve!markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-24016634771153892542017-11-10T18:51:00.003+00:002017-11-10T18:56:14.970+00:00Send for Mr PlimA delightful lunchtime in the company of Maggie Forsyth with Julian Forsyth and fellow members of the cast of <i>An American in Paris</i> at the Soho Theatre, watching a performance of <i>Send for Mr Plim!</i>, a comic cabaret opera from 1932 by <a href="http://mischaspoliansky.com/">Mischa Spoliansky</a>, adapted into English by Julian Forsyth and Steve Edis. (German original: <i>Rufen Sie Herrn Plim!</i>)<br />
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We were in good company, as Barry Humphries (an expert in Weimar era music & cabaret), Jane Asher, Bill Patterson & Spoliansky's two grandsons were there too! Sadly their Mum, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/spoli-mills-38270.html">Spoli</a>, has died since the last production, but she was there in spirit, of course.<br />
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We, TLQ, played the management of the Wertheim's (the Berlin shop where this piece is set) in the production at Battersea Arts Centre in 1999; and it was wonderful to hear the score again.<br />
Julian & Steve have added a prologue of Spoliansky music, with pithy, brilliant lyrics exploring the alarming atmosphere of Germany in the early 1930s.<br />
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The cast rehearsed all this in their spare time (of which there is not much when you are playing in a long show 8 performances a week!); and they were fantastic of course, looking and sounding ace. Very much a workshop performance, but utterly compelling.<br />
Let's hope this is the first of very many performances & it goes on to huge success.<br />
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Wonderful to see our old friends, The Forsyths & Spoli's sons.<br />
A lovely way to spend a London lunchtime.markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-72376907301309104222017-09-06T19:39:00.002+01:002017-09-06T19:39:36.685+01:00August sunshineTwo delightful days in the August sunshine (tho' with a small modicum of rain...)<br />
Firstly a shared gig in Dresden with the lovely <a href="http://soundcloud.com/medlz">Medlz</a>, and another German band <a href="http://hoerbaend.de/aktuell">HörBänd</a>...<br />
As ever the concert was a splendid celebration of <i>a cappella</i> from three different standpoints.<br />
We touched on Brexit and were given the usual mixture of laughter, confusion and hilarity!<br />
A full crowd in the theatre had an excellent evening of music, culminating in an all-three-group rendition of.... (oh yes)... <i>Stand By Me </i>!<br />
Wonderful.<br />
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Here we all are, after it was done!<br />
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A possible lovely morning appreciating the wonders of Dresden was somewhat marred by torrential rain - but as we watch the terrible storms in the US & Caribbean, perhaps I should let that pass...</div>
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Then it was off to sunny England (near Luton) to celebrate the birthday of a very long-standing supporter of the group, Carol Jones... she first saw us in the late 1980s, and we sang for the assembled throng many songs old and new from all the years she has come to see us... one of her favourites <i>Anthem </i>from<i> Chess </i>& of course (it had to be)... Neil Sedaka's<i> Oh Carol</i> !</div>
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A lovely afternoon in the English sunshine with friends - what more could one ask...</div>
<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-87589819528397879102017-08-11T18:36:00.001+01:002017-08-11T18:38:44.742+01:00Estonian adventureWe had a lovely trip to Estonia; sadly for three of us, our bags did not trouble the hotel with their presence! (Mike was the lucky one!)<br />
The place was beautiful, <a href="http://www.kuressaare.ee/uus/english/">Kuressaare</a>, capital of the island <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saaremaa">Saaremaa</a> about 4.5 hours from the Estonian capital, Tallinn.<br />
...and it had a splendid castle with a moat too!<br />
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...and a windmill, as you do!<br />
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We performed in a beautiful church (Chris has put some photos of it up on Facebook): </div>
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St Laurence Church - Laurentiuse kirik. It had an excellent acoustic and was therefore a joy to rehearse and perform in.</div>
We did find some clothes in which to perform, courtesy of the shop, <i>Saaremaa Kaubamaja</i> - not sure they had ever had people attempting to buy the same clothes before!<br />
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We had a delightful evening, our usual breadth from King Henry VIII to Billy Joel & The Beatles, and William Byrd, through Offenbach to Richard Rodney Bennett. A very enthusiastic and happy audience greeted us...<br />
..and we were well looked after by Festival director, Andres Paas, driver Kalvi Pöld, and especially by Maret Naagel, who did much for us, including liaising with the airport about our missing bags, telling us where to get stuff! & helping us know more about Estonian words.<br />
Because, we did try some language out on the poor unsuspecting public. As ever, Mike was in Dictionary Corner, but we all had a go... including singing a folk song in Estonian to end the evening... and marvellously, they got what we said and seemed delighted by it!<br />
...and altho' mostly Estonian (this is very much an Estonian's holiday place), there were also Germans and French, and indeed a couple from just north of Birmingham, naturally!<br />
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Home now, and awaiting the delights of sharing the stage with Medlz in Dresden on the 25th... hooray!<br />
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...and for those who are interested; our pear tree has such a splendid crop, that I have preserved some for use later in the year... yummy!<br />
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(If this sort of thing does <i><b>not</b></i> indeed interest you, I apologise; normal service will be resumed next blog...)<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-50280868308398469192017-07-06T15:04:00.000+01:002017-07-06T15:06:29.465+01:00Save Kensal Rise Library !A delightful summer evening in West London...<br />
At short notice, only Mike & Mark could be there, but joined by our agent Robin Tyson and his friend Patrick Craig, we provided some musical elements to an evening of poetry and drama.<br />
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It was all about <a href="http://www.savekensalriselibrary.org/">saving Kensal Rise Library</a> - do go and have a look - and we were surrounded by many splendid performers and writers...<br />
Just to reel the names off...<br />
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Tamsin Greig and Richard Leaf (Mr. & Mrs.); Haydn Gwynne, Lucy Cohu, Paterson Joseph, Ron Cook (Brilliantly Parker in the <i>Thunderbirds</i> film - my son loved that one!), Stephanie Schonfield, Ben Miles and Emily Raymond (another Mr. & Mrs.), Tim Lott, a young poet called Roxy, Gideon Coe (from BBC Radio 6) & Deb.... All marvellous of course...<br />
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Here's Mike and me with Tamsin Greig (with the side of Ben Miles head):<br />
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As the theme was Summer and Happiness, we sang two of our cricket songs! The Rules of Cricket (pastiche!) & The Ins and Outs of Cricket - Tea Towel... both went down terribly well...<br />
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Then to round off the evening we sang Sullivan's <i>The Long Day Closes</i>, in memoriam of local poet Heathcote Williams who has recently died.<br />
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Brilliant to hear these performers at such close quarters and indeed to be joined by Patrick and Robin... hoorah!<br />
I hope they can get & keep the Library flourishing.markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-87636228085593608662017-05-25T13:50:00.003+01:002017-05-25T13:50:36.911+01:00Return to WolfsburgA very quick return to Wolfsburg...<br />
After having had a splendid time with Viva Voce and Acoustic Instinct in February this very year, we returned to do a full show of our own last weekend.<br />
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And people came too! A lovely audience enjoyed our music and comedy... and we even gave them help with the rules of Cricket, with our Ins and Outs of Cricket (Tea-towel special!)<br />
As ever a wide range of musics were on show, from Henry VIII to Billy Joel, and from French Renaissance dance (Belle qui tiens....Thoinot Arbeau) to the Can-can (Orpheus in the Underground)...<br />
All was accepted and cherished by a large crowd, and we were looked after well by everyone at the theatre...<br />
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Here is a view of the Planetarium from the theatre, which lies atop a hill (with alabaster giraffe in the distance):-<br />
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markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-58798404084994807952017-05-09T18:12:00.000+01:002017-05-09T18:12:15.160+01:00Lovely Spring day at Champs HillA beautiful spring day followed by a lovely evening at Champs Hill... in aid of <a href="https://www.dreambuilding.org.uk/">Dreambuilding</a>.<br />
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One of the many statues in the gorgeous Champs Hill garden, with colour all around.</div>
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I had a walk around the garden with the house dog, who found his rubber chicken in this particular flower bed; his search is about to begin below.</div>
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Walking around here put us in a good mood for our evening; the tickets had sold very quickly for the event... a lovely meal in the concert hall-cum-art gallery (& recording studio!); an auction... with auctioneer, Charles Collingwood... and then us to end the evening!</div>
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All terrific... great to see Charles Collingwood (Brian Aldridge in BBC Radio 4's The Archers, btw) & indeed his wife Judy Bennett (Shula in BBC Radio 4's The Archers, btw)... he splendidly shepherded the auction to collecting many thousands for the charity... a very successful evening for the new building for a local hospice.<br />
We had previously met them both at our Cricket 'Rhyme and Season' evenings, as organised by the late-lamented David Rayvern Allen, at Lord's, Hambledon and elsewhere, where Charles, a keen cricketer himself always read/acted hilariously!<br />
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As ever, the Champs Hill room was a delight in which to sing, and the audience enjoyed music from Henry VIII to Elton John, via The Mills Brothers and Laurel & Hardy!<br />
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Chris Hatt was once again with us at the piano, so all five of us had a splendid time... Sarah-Ann was especially impressed with a bucket of sausages as big as her head!<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-6322110449536499902017-04-04T18:16:00.001+01:002017-04-04T18:16:25.443+01:00Wemmel (Belgium) delights...A lovely evening in the suburbs of Brussels...<br />
Wemmel, where we had previously performed in late 2014, invited us once more to <i>de zandloper</i> (the hourglass) & we had a splendid time...<br />
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Splendid Eurostar (not at dawn!) and joined by Chris Hatt it was a quick jaunt to the north of Brussels.<br />
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The theatre has a new restaurant so we were even more blessed gastronomically than usual.<br />
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Wonderful again to have Koen on sound and lights, creating splendid atmospheres for us to dwell within...<br />
Good to get our Beatles medley set on a train another outing after a a couple of years - all, indeed, you need is love!<br />
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Dear Belgium, we will keep coming back!markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-47094416362158309722017-03-24T17:16:00.002+00:002017-03-24T17:16:29.562+00:00We went to a Wonderful Party...To the glorious <a href="http://www.claridges.co.uk/">Claridges</a> for the birthday of forever young (oh yes!) Lady Lita Young...<br />
The Lady herself, Lord David Young and a large group of their friends celebrated this amidst the beauty and splendour of one of London's most adored Hotels.<br />
They appreciated our <i>Scarborough Fair </i>(accompanied by Chris Hatt - hoorah) and our <i>Lambeth Walk</i> (both forwards and backwards!); but the main event was a concoction of the wonderful writer and old BBC hand, Simon Brett... excellent to work with him again. He created a potted written history of the birthday girl using lots of different songs, entitled <i>The Lita Suite:- a</i>gain with Chris at the piano, it lasted nearly 20 minutes! It was a great joy to be able to set such wit, and delightfully the audience enjoyed it immensely, and got all the in-jokes, of course...<br />
A wonderful evening in central London.<br />
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More sombre thoughts had occurred as I walked through London on my way there, as the Trafalgar Square vigil was being prepared for, and a few streets were still closed around parliament... but of course, we persevered, and there was not a hint at cancelling the party.<br />
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Sunset over st James Park (with a small bit of policeness, still...)<br />
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Off to Wemmel (very near to Brussels) on Wednesday... hoorah for Eurostar!markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-10976611194313150312017-03-22T18:27:00.001+00:002017-03-22T18:31:24.958+00:00Festival evening in BarnesA lovely evening in Barnes (SW London, for those who need prompting) in a shared-bill concert in aid of excellent local charity <a href="http://www.fishhelp.org.uk/">FiSH</a><br />
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The theme of the evening was Thyme & Plaice... lots of food-related songs and pieces.<br />
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We were joined by the splendid baritone <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Suart">Richard Suart</a>, with pianist Bryan Evans - both performing exquisitely, music by Coward, Lehrer, Flanders & Swann and an excellent drinking song by Ravel (<i>Chanson à boire</i>)... and also by the great Barnes Concert band, who played lots of music from films and shows... including Mary Poppins, Peanut Vendor, Chicken Run & Baa Baa Black Sheep. The band are guided by musical supremo, Alan Goodall...<br />
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We sang Oranges & Lemons, The Java Jive, Scarborough Fair (joined to our great joy by Bryan on piano), That Cat is High and the Tiger Ragu (well, just <i>Rag</i>, actually!)<br />
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Delighted to have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneka_Rice">Anneka Rice</a> in the audience (she is also someone who works with FiSH)<br />
...and also to have our friend Carole join us - less travelling necessary than usual to a gig of ours!<br />
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We all joined together at the end, band, and singers, (conducted by Alan), to perform the Beatles' <i>Honey Pie</i>... a delightful end to a super evening; planned and created by our friend (dancer, choreographer, director of stage works and of FiSH) Jenny Hughes, along with her splendid team.<br />
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Writing this whilst listening to the details of the Westminster terrorist attack... Ghastly business; glad I chose not to go by there this PM. Thoughts, of course, run to those bereaved & affected:- hoping that this does not affect our posh gig in central London tomorrow...markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-27112994454126149602017-03-14T16:36:00.000+00:002017-03-14T16:50:01.809+00:00German adventures continueOur second round of Stimmflut 2017 concerts, shared with Viva Voce and Acoustic Instinct were equally splendid...<br />
We started in Emden in the far north-west (just by Holland); lots of Dutch-looking language around the place:<br />
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It was already good, but we honed our all-three-group version of <i>Stand by Me </i> to perfection over the nine concerts of the tour... glorious it was!</div>
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...and we even did another three-group version of <i>Sh-boom</i> at the merchandise table.. hooray!</div>
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Viva Voce, who have organised these Stimmflut tours for a number of years, have built up an excellent following... it was great to bask in their glory, with enthusiastic and happy audiences.</div>
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In this port, there was a small area with an aversion to anchorage!</div>
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This blog has more photos than usual, but I have to say I was very amused at this one... of all the children's book characters on which to base your hairdresser, this one seems most ironic!</div>
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Then it was on to two nights in Lingen (Emsland) - with a beautiful old town square...</div>
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A lovely thing I saw here, was that they commemorated the Jewish citizens who were taken from the town to the camps in WWII - clearly a dark memory, but good that it is remembered for generations to come: below are a couple of these I found - they are on the ground outside the places these people lived.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheycpeQP5NgsZcaaA8UZjeyIJJrcfP7ACycQ_QJagvHzW_zkbZcqBf8JZxjJzB9bnSy4Iri_sYgpNuwJhb2QAScBv-2PxHaeaz_OgdU5wtWWJSFmk3Ju8UgS1fkNj1KtBqEyeY4AXJJ62s/s1600/20170311_130832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheycpeQP5NgsZcaaA8UZjeyIJJrcfP7ACycQ_QJagvHzW_zkbZcqBf8JZxjJzB9bnSy4Iri_sYgpNuwJhb2QAScBv-2PxHaeaz_OgdU5wtWWJSFmk3Ju8UgS1fkNj1KtBqEyeY4AXJJ62s/s320/20170311_130832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...and a great shop sign for this Stimmflut tour...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J5nK5wC-kIofNk_2Jez5YFCc5i1v4pHv-QGZGPqaA-8_BrhPq585I-0ywEDnv9L-DZ40bC3jAmUtw06VC_CqTjgN-TgP318KSb_0KvMiTKYPXp_tQaHHdsP4olKlSRa533N3UwmuBXjW/s1600/20170311_131217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J5nK5wC-kIofNk_2Jez5YFCc5i1v4pHv-QGZGPqaA-8_BrhPq585I-0ywEDnv9L-DZ40bC3jAmUtw06VC_CqTjgN-TgP318KSb_0KvMiTKYPXp_tQaHHdsP4olKlSRa533N3UwmuBXjW/s320/20170311_131217.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(...so do women, of course!)</div>
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Then all the way down to Neunkirchen (quite near Luxembourg from where we flew home); a new venue for the guys, but no less enthusiastic... we had first been to this place in 1999... so great to be back so soon!</div>
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Here is a view out of my Hotel am Zoo, you can see the seal pool amidst the trees!</div>
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Thank you Heiko, Basti, Jörg, David & Mate (VV guys) & Paul and Julian (AI guys) - we had a wonderful 9 concerts with you, and enjoyed it all tremendously!</div>
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-30956565763136595602017-03-07T17:17:00.001+00:002017-03-07T17:21:53.951+00:00DE & BE & DE again....<span style="font-family: inherit;">More adventures in Germany and Belgium...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The last of our first round of Stimmflut 2017 gigs was at Wolfsburg; having stayed off for ages it was raining there, so we got a rather bleak view of the <a href="http://www.e-architect.co.uk/hamburg/phaeno-centre-wolfsburg">Zaha Hadid Phaeno building</a>... but we did see it!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last of our first five of these was as splendid as the others... and in a theatre which we will re-visit on 20th May - so do come along and see us on our own!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But as ever, we did love our shared gigs with Viva Voce and Acoustic Instinct...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here we are celebrating after the show (Paul from AI seems to have become a giant! Jörg from VV looks on...)</span><br />
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We have four more in our second round of Stimmflut gigs starting this Thursday... in Emden, Lingen/Ems (twice) & Neunkirchen... bit more driving on this tour! </div>
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So on to Belgium after Wolfsburg, we had two concerts in Lommel (1st time) and Heusden-Zolder (for the 3rd time).</div>
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Both theatres run very efficiently & well and we were treated splendidly (food, as ever, a glory)... and we had Koen Dilliën being splendid on lights and sound... brilliant to have him with us again.</div>
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...and the wonderful Chris Hatt playing piano with us - what splendours... especially riotous <i>Route 66</i> solos each night!</div>
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Both audiences were responsive and enjoyed our music, both serious and comedic.</div>
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Great to see our lovely Dutch friends Gertie, Gabby and Jolein on Sunday afternoon, and share a meal with them after, whilst listening to some splendid Belgian jazz...</div>
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In H-Z, it was good to see our poster given prominence in the gents loo... not sure if it was in ladies as well...</div>
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-6776325331249124402017-02-19T23:08:00.000+00:002017-02-19T23:08:49.819+00:00Harmony Tour of N.GermanyFive concerts on a tour of the beautiful north of Germany...<br />
Sharing the stage, as part of <i>Stimmflut 2017, </i>with <a href="http://www.viva-voce.de/">Viva Voce</a> & <a href="http://www.acousticinstinct.de/">Acoustic Instinct</a>...<br />
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Both other groups wonderful and splendid in their own ways... Viva Voce, 5-part & Acoustic Instinct 2-part (beatboxing, but not only!) We all joined together at the end and sang <i>Stand by Me</i>... marvellous.<br />
The audiences have basked in a feast of vocal music; we enjoyed ourselves immensely - as this is the 10th year of the Stimmflut tour, Viva Voce who created this series, have developed wonderfully knowledgeable & enthusiastic crowds!<br />
They loved all that we did - from 16th-century French music (Thoinot Arbeau's <i>Belle qui tiens...</i>) to <i>Tiger Rag </i>and<i> Strangers in the Night... </i>and finishing off with the German tongue-twister, <i>wenn ich vergnügt bin muss ich singen.</i><br />
Wonderful to watch and listen to the other two groups, Acoustic Instinct's dynamism, rhythm & fun; & Viva Voce's melifluous beauty & harmony (& fun too!)<br />
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We performed in Buchholz, Stade, & Wolfenbüttel (two nights...); tomorrow we complete this part of the tour in Wolfsburg - the only one of the places we have been to before (in 1999).<br />
(More coming in March)...<br />
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There was a street in Stade which suggests (making sure you use German pronunciation) that there may have been a campaign to use more than 140 characters in communications, even many years ago...<br />
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Beautiful places indeed...<br />
Stade (an old Hanseatic League port & once ruled by the Swedes and then the Danes)<br />
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Wolfenbüttel<br />
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Corny joke (another):-<br />
Do you think they have any of the below in red?<br />
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<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-15809689850237060572017-02-16T14:42:00.001+00:002017-02-16T16:45:47.089+00:00Dinner for 4 in places beginning with 'B'So two performances of <i style="font-weight: bold;">Dinner for 4</i>... in Baden Baden and Brackenheim...<br />
Delightful both.<br />
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The audience sat at tables and enjoyed food and wine as we gave them Dinner for 4... and a great time was had by all.<br />
For Baden Baden, we were in a hotel in the splendour of Rastatt, complete with red Baroque castle (our desires are widely known!)<br />
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As to Brackenheim...<br />
We had not visited this venue since the year 2000 - well, Mike and Mark had! - such joy in inviting us back so soon! The guestbook from that year with photos made us feel a wee bit worn! (Mike was reminded of his accident with a basin which flooded the hotel... they were amazingly pleased to see us return!)<br />
But a full to the rafters house was full of joy and acclaim<br />
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A meal for the entire administration of the concert club after the concert was not only excellent to digest, but most convivial and happy!<br />
Thank you to all who helped our evening be so terrific - Joachim, Martin, Christina et al....<br />
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Oh and a small thing I noticed in Brackenheim:<br />
The bus stop outside the church was clear that anyone wishing the 666 route had to carry on with their journey...<br />
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Now we are back in Germany for five concerts shared with Viva Voce... more details anon!</div>
<br />markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1330693772052553239.post-88965019972814842442017-02-07T19:50:00.003+00:002017-02-07T19:50:50.947+00:00German joys... more to comeTo <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCdenscheid">Lüdenscheid</a> for an a cappella nacht; sharing the stage with two other splendid vocal groups...<br />
<a href="http://www.thejunctionofficial.com/">The Junction</a> from the Netherlands<br />
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<a href="http://www.bliss.ch/">Bliss </a>from Switzerland<br />
We had previously shared a gig in the summer sunshine at Friedrichshafen, but it was a winter wonder this time.<br />
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Glorious, as often in Germany, to have Bettina looking after us - thank you... Our German agent, Peter Martin Jacob is slumming it in Los Angeles!<br />
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We had an excellent time in front of a very enthusiastic audience - they did especially enjoy our instructions as to how to make a cup of tea, but all was great!<br />
We must give many thanks for Mike who so gloriously did our sound and lights, he was very kindly lent to us by The Junction... hooray!<br />
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Great to hear the other two groups of course... a feast for the audience of 120 minutes of a cappella...<br />
As the final act of the night, we sang all together Bobby McFerrin's <i>Don't Worry, Be Happy</i> - and marvellous it was!<br />
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And here is the view from my hotel window... a little bit of Wald for you!<br />
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We have lots more German splendour for the next two months... look on our site, but this week on Thursday and Saturday, we're in Baden Baden & Brackenheim doing <i>Dinner for 4</i>; then on to Buchholz, Stade, Wolfenbüttel & Wolfsburg for some more shared gigs...<br />
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Ausgezeichnet!markcanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05548712575280901692noreply@blogger.com0