Wonderful evening in the excellent Thalian Hall, Wilmington; thanks to our old friend Stephen Barefoot for inviting us, and for everyone who looked after us so well.
Now excitingly on to Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright Brothers perfected their flying machines... hopefully we will have time to look around the museum etc.
But first... in search of a decent espresso...
Friday, 25 March 2011
Thursday, 24 March 2011
The Southern States
So we survived Richmond VA... [Mike passed on greetings from Richmond-upon-Thames]; and our excerpts from Way Out West were greeted with suitable enthusiasm.
Now at the seaside in Wilmington NC... and the rainstorm of last night is gone and we are bathed in Spring sunshine.
A digression; whilst posting something at Fedex, we were served by a Persian Sitar player, who travels the world playing [when he is not at Fedex near Richmond]... he escaped Iran 10 years ago, and now has a very different life in the US... amazing the people we meet on our travels...
Now at the seaside in Wilmington NC... and the rainstorm of last night is gone and we are bathed in Spring sunshine.
A digression; whilst posting something at Fedex, we were served by a Persian Sitar player, who travels the world playing [when he is not at Fedex near Richmond]... he escaped Iran 10 years ago, and now has a very different life in the US... amazing the people we meet on our travels...
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Bonny Bonn, then across pond
As ever, we had a wonderful welcome in Endenich at Haus der Springmaus...
And despite 8 visits in recent years, managed to sing some songs that had not been heard before...
A splendid rounding off to our three-day German adventure... and a delight to see our friends, The Weerts Sisters from Holland, and Ingeborg, one of our faithful Bonn fans.
An evening of friends old and new...
Happy thoughts keeping the spirits up through the long minutes sitting about at Toronto aeroport.... [where we are now]; another good thought is our doing somehow [minus piano!] On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine.... we have to really, we are performing in Richmond VA tomorrow... Somehow Steve and I got cast as the fat and the thin one [Laurel and Hardy, or Dick und Doof in Germany!] - don't know how that happened... but you should see our dance!
Altogether now.... 'On a mountain in Virginia, stands a lonesome pine, some pine...'
And despite 8 visits in recent years, managed to sing some songs that had not been heard before...
A splendid rounding off to our three-day German adventure... and a delight to see our friends, The Weerts Sisters from Holland, and Ingeborg, one of our faithful Bonn fans.
An evening of friends old and new...
Happy thoughts keeping the spirits up through the long minutes sitting about at Toronto aeroport.... [where we are now]; another good thought is our doing somehow [minus piano!] On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine.... we have to really, we are performing in Richmond VA tomorrow... Somehow Steve and I got cast as the fat and the thin one [Laurel and Hardy, or Dick und Doof in Germany!] - don't know how that happened... but you should see our dance!
Altogether now.... 'On a mountain in Virginia, stands a lonesome pine, some pine...'
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Best of British
Three shows in Germany...
...with new show, Best of British.... Monty Python meets James Bond!
Neckarsulm - that's Neckar-sulm, not Neckars-ulm (thanks audience for pointing that out!) - firstly, and tonight back to our 'spiritual German home', Haus der Springmaus, Bonn.
Mr Chris Hatt joined us on piano for the first show.
...and a quick night of harmony at The Capitol, Mannheim inbetween, where we shared a bill with ALL4MUSIC & Die Steegmüllers, a family of singers.
After our individual sets, we all sang together at the end of the evening, the Il Divo/Céline Dion song, I believe in you.... A harmonious ending to an evening of great harmony!
We also sang Happy Birthday to my wife from the stage - she was delighted that 500 Mannheimers also wished her well & sang so loudly!
Looking forward to singing to our Bonn audience, and being amongst friends.
Our pianist for tonight will be Sam Hogarth... who happens to work in Cologne; how very convenient!
On Tuesday - v early am - we fly to the USA and Canada for two weeks...
...with new show, Best of British.... Monty Python meets James Bond!
Neckarsulm - that's Neckar-sulm, not Neckars-ulm (thanks audience for pointing that out!) - firstly, and tonight back to our 'spiritual German home', Haus der Springmaus, Bonn.
Mr Chris Hatt joined us on piano for the first show.
...and a quick night of harmony at The Capitol, Mannheim inbetween, where we shared a bill with ALL4MUSIC & Die Steegmüllers, a family of singers.
After our individual sets, we all sang together at the end of the evening, the Il Divo/Céline Dion song, I believe in you.... A harmonious ending to an evening of great harmony!
We also sang Happy Birthday to my wife from the stage - she was delighted that 500 Mannheimers also wished her well & sang so loudly!
Looking forward to singing to our Bonn audience, and being amongst friends.
Our pianist for tonight will be Sam Hogarth... who happens to work in Cologne; how very convenient!
On Tuesday - v early am - we fly to the USA and Canada for two weeks...
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Paris
The concert at the Musée d'Orsay went splendidly.... Malcolm Martineau was naturally a joy to work with, and audience were fully appreciative. They enjoyed our French intros, and laughed a lot.
We were delighted to have concocted a programme which involved so many artists and poets caught up in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Also pleased to make MM play Flash, Bang, Wallop from David Heneker's Half a Sixpence for the first time! [Also, thanks to our friend Hubert Drac for providing some French translation for this song, so it was not relentlessly cockney... As we were on at lunchtime we were pleased Hubert could see the gig, as otherwise he is playing in Henry IV - le bien aimé in Théatre des Mathurins.]
Good to have a Tommy Steele number nestling amongst, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Longfellow, Lord Tennyson, Sullivan [with and without Gilbert], William Morris, Vaughan-Williams, Elgar, Robert Pearsall, Hildegard of Bingen, Haydn, Shakespeare & William Byrd.
At Malcolm's suggestion we also included a superb Joyce Grenfell song [with music from her great collaborator, Richard Addinsell] which mentions all the Pre-Raphaelites, Oh Mr Du Maurier.
We ended the programme with Photograph by Antonio Carlos Jobim.
There was a fabulous typo on the programme... right up there with the excellent Hilliard example:
David James:- Counter tenor
Rogers Covey:- Crump tenor
We provided the items for the programme piece first followed by creators; the French having decided to change this order, it came out thus:
...
William Byrd - Agnus Dei from The Mass for Four Voices
Harold Edwin Darke - In the Bleak Midwinter
Maud Michael William Balfe - Come into the Garden
...
Herr Balfe must be revolving in his grave.... or do the people at the Musée know more than we do about his tastes!?
We were delighted to have concocted a programme which involved so many artists and poets caught up in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Also pleased to make MM play Flash, Bang, Wallop from David Heneker's Half a Sixpence for the first time! [Also, thanks to our friend Hubert Drac for providing some French translation for this song, so it was not relentlessly cockney... As we were on at lunchtime we were pleased Hubert could see the gig, as otherwise he is playing in Henry IV - le bien aimé in Théatre des Mathurins.]
Good to have a Tommy Steele number nestling amongst, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Longfellow, Lord Tennyson, Sullivan [with and without Gilbert], William Morris, Vaughan-Williams, Elgar, Robert Pearsall, Hildegard of Bingen, Haydn, Shakespeare & William Byrd.
At Malcolm's suggestion we also included a superb Joyce Grenfell song [with music from her great collaborator, Richard Addinsell] which mentions all the Pre-Raphaelites, Oh Mr Du Maurier.
We ended the programme with Photograph by Antonio Carlos Jobim.
There was a fabulous typo on the programme... right up there with the excellent Hilliard example:
David James:- Counter tenor
Rogers Covey:- Crump tenor
We provided the items for the programme piece first followed by creators; the French having decided to change this order, it came out thus:
...
William Byrd - Agnus Dei from The Mass for Four Voices
Harold Edwin Darke - In the Bleak Midwinter
Maud Michael William Balfe - Come into the Garden
...
Herr Balfe must be revolving in his grave.... or do the people at the Musée know more than we do about his tastes!?
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Monday, 7 March 2011
rehearsing at Musée d'Orsay
A joy to rehearse the day before a concert in the venue. [It is a lunchtime tomorrow (12.30)].
...and to be accompanied by that Rolls Royce of pianists, Malcolm Martineau.
Then to be finished by 6pm, and have Paris arrayed gastronomically before us... how lovely.
I will wait till tomorrow pm to take full advantage of the viticulture, but for now well feasted, and ready for tomorrow's exertions!
A celebration of the Pre-Raphaelites and their musical times....
...and to be accompanied by that Rolls Royce of pianists, Malcolm Martineau.
Then to be finished by 6pm, and have Paris arrayed gastronomically before us... how lovely.
I will wait till tomorrow pm to take full advantage of the viticulture, but for now well feasted, and ready for tomorrow's exertions!
A celebration of the Pre-Raphaelites and their musical times....
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