Sunday to Friday - Catching Up With Myself

Mess

Can one burgle oneself?

I realised this morning I wasn't feeling quite right.  I haven't written for a while and my thoughts felt a bit blocked up - I'm back!  The weekend was full on in a good way and Monday was a bit of a rollercoaster.  Sat in my sunny yard yesterday evening in contemplative contentment with Llwyd and a cup of tea, I felt at last I was "getting there".  I often think busyness is a way of avoiding something.  I also felt I had a lot to sort out in my house, my head and my heart before moving on in this transition phase in my life.  I looked at the chaos around me, reflecting the events of the last month and felt I'd scarcely had a moment to just let my thoughts come and go apart from my routine of meditation, Pilates and pool activities.  I started to reenact some of the experiences I'd had.  

That's shoe business

Exploring new looks for wedding fairs, silky (silly?) happy trousers and fishnet pop socks - why not?

I had a great time at the fair organised by Wedding Fayres Yorkshire at the Holiday Inn Garforth.  It was lovely to meet another two members of their like-minded genuine caring team and I was so well looked after.  Nothing was too much trouble and I'm really looking forward to working with them again at some fairs after Summer.  I had some interest from a bride having a church ceremony next year - I do hope she books as I love playing in church.  I got chatting with a lovely guest at the hotel who said he was going to make me famous!  He was over from Australia looking for his long lost brother, and having recently celebrated his 80th birthday and 57 years of marriage, he had some fascinating tales.  His health concerns gave an urgency to his quest, as did his 48 hour deadline for finding his brother before his return down under.  If you're reading this David, do let me know!  I got talking with a mature couple who had been married 55 years and clearly still had that cheeky spark, gorgeous to witness that and it renewed my faith.  I dedicated a new tune I wanted to try out to them.  They were never going to book me and it didn't matter!  It was great to be out playing and sharing my music.

Concierge - "Where've you been?"

My welcoming committee as I got back - she climbs in the car window and makes herself at home.  I would take her with me to work but she gets car sick after 10 minutes

I am becoming something of an iron maiden with my current four hour sleep quota, and Monday morning was no exception ahead of our debut trio performance at Leeds University.  The concert was our flutist Jo's final recital and I was unpleasantly surprised at my gut reaction on seeing two examiners sat behind their desk.  It's been a while since I felt this kind of scrutiny but it soon passed as I remembered I wasn't the one under the microscope.  I felt slightly unsettled all morning and throughout the performance.  It was freezing in there and my hands just refused to warm up.  Due to time constraints we hadn't actually performed the programme in public in its entirety and could scarcely get through it in our last two rehearsals without needing to stop and analyse and tweak, especially in Debussy's monumentally complex Sonata.  Jo's husband David had lovingly and laboriously made an interesting arrangement of the viola part for bassoon and I admit I found it hard to get used to hearing the string element played on another wind instrument.  I'm still digesting the experience and watching the online streaming will help.  Anyway, Jo did herself proud and she seemed pleased and that's the main thing.  It was a tiring and challenging programme and I haven't played chamber music for quite a while.  We have to start somewhere.  We could have played for some concert organisers but we wouldn't even have received travelling expenses.  Chamber music is an indulgent luxury that very sadly doesn't pay the mortgage.  We have another performance in October and I'm looking forward to assessing our project with a different audience in a less formal setting and with the addition of a piece written originally for our instrumental combination.

Thank you

Even more stunning flowers for playing - lucky me!

Peony

My beautifully perfumed gentle giant

After my sculptural jolly on Tuesday, I got to grips with my jungle-like garden and realised with mild horror when I walked into my pungent sweaty shed that I'd forgotten to take the entire contents of my garden to the tip from my last horticultural cull about 10 days ago.  Whoops!  Zooming round my lawn, I took in the annual display of peony show-offs while they brazenly flaunted their unruly pastel peony heads and wafted their delicately alluring perfume.  I really think they're my favourite flowers.  The bees were having their wicked way with my geraniums and I felt slightly holier than thou as I left the blessed dandelions well alone.  After having my tree pruned last year, I felt some excitement as I spotted the promising nubbly nuggets of fruit on high - what tree will it be?  The sense of satisfaction I felt at 8pm when I completed the task I'd set myself as I sat on my back step absorbing the swift screeches brought that sense of peace I was craving.  I love a bit of gardening although getting that job done took me nearer the mounting pile of tedious admin I'd been finding every excuse to avoid.

Bee Friendly

Simple geraniums

Aquafit was AMAZING yesterday afternoon!  I went at the unusual time of 2pm and impatiently joined my pool sisters and brother as we queued with eager anticipation to get in while the other class finished.  There was something about the class yesterday.  I chatted with two ladies, one of whom had recently had her second hip replacement and was pain free, I reckon down to Aquafit.  I wish I could get Mum to overcome her dislike of water.  I've seen women leave their canes along with their towels and shampoo bottles and their bodies take on new life as they're supported by the gentle waves and their joints are anointed.   I vigorously punch kicked the water to the left then the right to the strains of Jamiroquai (this is Holmfirth) and 1-2-3 shook my body down as we revelled in the physical expression.  I was glad I'd been to the loo before diving in as I attempted to sink the float I was ordered to sit on, and cackled along with my poolmates as we exchanged looks of bemused frustration as the floats disobediently popped up.  The reflection of the sun's rays on the water through the obscured glass completed my spiritual sporting experience.  The pleasantly painful stiffness in the lower half of my body and shoulders this morning is an indication that it's a damn fine workout.  My posture is infinitely better and I'm developing a core with my four and a half pack.

As I sit here in my attic I'm feeling reassured that my energy and focus is shifting back to the harp and music again.  I can't wait to uncover my harp and reveal its vibrant wooden beauty once I've addressed this morning's chores and I'm looking forward to my online quest for new dots on the list I've been keeping since the end of last year.  Watch this space...

Goo

Spot the umlaut from my post busyness treat - surely that should read moüsse?  It was intense but I could have taken more intensity

Sweet!

Another moment of weakness

Irresistible

Marketing win, how could I say no?

YSP - Sculptures

Shiota taken from the peaceful gallery

Shiota - Belonging.  Again, and why not?

Penone, above and in the background here.  Perhaps it was a mercy that my phone ran out of battery

YSP - nature

You can take the sheep to water...

A swan with four herons perching, and heron island in the background

Baby heron with its companions.  Jaume Plensa's giant beautiful head is just across the water

Crowd pleasers

YSP-oignant (some words with lots of photos)

Belonging

Chiharu Shiota

Yesterday I was in serious need of a battery recharge so off I headed again to my number one place of choice, Yorkshire Sculpture Park.  As I often do, I made a beeline for the spirituality of the Chapel past the now imperceptible Skyspace obscured by leafy growth.  I've seen the Shiota before and wasn't disappointed this time either.  It is still breathtaking, ponderous and wondrous and heavy in its lightness.  I watched a bit of the video of her bare sleeping body with bloody intravenous support with fascination.  As I walked in, facing me in the interactive pack for young people was a book that stopped me in my tracks.  My Dad used to invent bedtime stories for my sister and I way back when we were little girls based around an imaginary little blue bird.  I swear my Dad is in the Chapel.  In the park.  In January, when I didn't know what to do with myself on the anniversary of his death, where did I go?  I lit a tea light outside, then I carried him with me all the way round on my memorial walk, it was the most fitting way I could find to deal with that uncomfortable day.  He was in the organ pipes too.  Every time I go to the park I take a slightly different route and yesterday was no exception as my senses were deliciously stimulated at seeing familiar sights from a new perspective.  I'd never seen the organ pipes.  I didn't make them sound.  An excuse for my next visit.  I sat several times on my jaunt on benches that were conveniently placed to help me let my thoughts come and go.  It was a thrill to see the herons up close and fearless, like a counsel of grey grandfathers, and what an argumentative cacophonous racket they made!  It was inspiring to see all the different species rub along together in some sort of mysteriously taciturn hierarchic accord.  

Y Deryn Bach Glas

The first thing I saw when I went into the Chapel

It was time for coffee number 3 so I headed back toward the visitor centre and tried not to get distracted by all the alluring enticing pulls.  Boosted by the potent kick from my only drug of choice these days (apart from the occasional sugar hit), I went back out into the sun's embrace to see the recently opened Penone exhibition, A Tree in the Wood.  How appropriate for the park!  As is always the case, no photo ever does the works justice and I was in awe of the spectacle laid out in front of me.  Perhaps fortunately, my phone ran out of juice so I was forced to do the opposite of the person in that old story who missed the Pope passing by as she was so busy taking photos.  I covertly entered the Underground gallery after my external circuit.  Greeted by the keenly discreet young woman who was available to offer just the right amount of information and interaction, I marvelled yet again at the familiar green-eyed potatoes that had ears and even lips, and we both expressed relief that they were periodically refreshed to avoid that stale iodine bin odour.  The smell throughout the gallery is still with me.  It's not just about feeding the visual senses.  I was intoxicated by the addictive heady hit of freshly carved wood from the epically enormous creaking tree that accidentally spanned the split rooms.  Curiosity overcame me as I craned to see a sticky puddle of sanguine sap in the depths of a hollowed out rectangular trunk.  I allowed myself to be momentarily hypnotised by Penone's trance inducing fingerprint pulsating outwards, and intrigued by a wall of aromatic leaves.  I watched some of the silent video about the sculptor, who didn't look how I thought he would from his exotic name.  I thought "hell, I could do that" as I watched him dip his paintbrush into vivid blue and gold pigments in awe of the resulting textures he produced with his hands in the white clay, and thought again.

I wanted to buy the Shiota book from the shop but it was £45.  As I reeled a bit at the price tag (worth every penny for the quality) I remembered my birthday's coming up, and then thought I didn't NEED to have the book, her work was already growing inside me from my visit.  I asked about the poetry reading by Yorkshire poet Simon Armitage tomorrow night and my heart sank a bit as I was told it was sold out.  Of course it was sold out, he's meant to be amazing and I was disappointed to miss that opportunity to witness him reading from his own work.  Maybe he could read every night for a week?  Or a month?

I reluctantly decided to call it a day as my body was screaming at me to rest and although I felt sated for the time being, I could have gone round once more had I not booked Aquafit, and anyway the park closes at 5.  One of the amazing things about this extraordinary place is everything feels so personal in such a vast space.  The exquisite artistic orgy of culture and nature feels like it's put on just for me.  I don't know how they do it!

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

I missed the first organ pipe for some reason

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Six Mourners and the One Alone - Amar Kanwar

Harrogate

Tom Moore giving me his best Stevie Wonder impersonation.  It was a mistake to leave my sunglasses on top of the organ for a few minutes, or was it?

I had a great day in Harrogate yesterday.  The weather was most favourable and I like going to Harrogate - I inevitably see a red kite or twenty punctuating the heavens around Harewood.  Their rufous enormity and forked tail makes their appearance  unmistakeable and their strong Welsh connection means they're a comforting sight for me here in Yorkshire.  As I enjoyed my drive through the lush countryside I had a thought that filled me with dread - I'd forgotten the organ was very flat, probably lower than A336.  If you're a non musician, this just means I have to retune my harp which I keep at A441.  It takes a while for my harp to settle, and again as I tune it upwards after the concert.  The lower pitch makes everything feel and sound a bit depressing and the singers struggle too.  As I got into the church I spotted my mate Tom.  I've worked with him a few times and he's a pretty cool bloke, a bit quirky.  He's the kind of guy I can walk up to and tell him to stop fiddling with his organ.  To my relief, he was making friends with the hired organ, so no tuning issues.  Like me, Tom has specific shoes for negotiating all his pedals.  He's Director of Music at Wakefield Cathedral and we've played Chichester Psalms there before with the same choral conductor, the lovely colourful Andrew Padmore.  As well as being a bit of a whizz kid on the old keys, Tom always wheels out a pretty spectacular short solo that shows off his prowess and last night was no exception.  He wowed us with a quirky piece by Charles Ives in keeping with the American theme of the concert as well as his personality.  Alongside his organ duties Tom is a great educator and he was responsible for training the chorister who featured in the second movement of the Bernstein last night.  I always look forward to this stunning spiritual movement and I wasn't disappointed listening to Charlie last night.  A shy red head, the silence was spectacular as he sang with the purest of voices and our reaction as he humbly and innocently accepted his acknowledgement made him blush!  Gorgeous!  The choir were on top form as was Andrew, and he always makes me chuckle with his selection of themed waistcoats.  Imagine my glee when I spotted harps on the one he wore for the first half of the concert!

The drive home was blissfully quiet and pensive and the golden fiery sunset was a blessing, as was the solitary lapwing bidding me farewell as I took my leave of  Harrogate.  Yesterday felt like a short day and I was lucky to be home by 10 and get a head start on preparation for today and tomorrow's exciting events.  Brides - come and see and hear me and have a chat at the Holiday Inn in Garforth!  I'm looking forward to seeing those lovely blokes Allan and Grant from Wedding Fayres Yorkshire as well as meeting some talented suppliers.  It's great to be busy again and I'm feeling good-tired, and despite two catnaps in my car in my long break yesterday I'm looking forward to some serious chill and duvet time on Wednesday...

The beautiful setting at St Wilfrid's

Maybe the organ Tom was meant to be playing?

The peaceful hall where I did my brief Pilates session - look at the geometric detail in that ceiling

Beautiful roses for playing

Choosing Your Wedding Music

Image courtesy of Sarah Brabbin captured at Huddersfield Town Hall

I really love playing for weddings and it's a privilege to be closely involved in your special day.  Music is such a vital part of any celebration and especially the celebration of a loving partnership.  Over the years I have played at countless weddings and ceremonies and I know first hand the powerful impact the right piece of music can have.  My challenge is finding out which piece of music this is and then adapting it to make it sound great on the harp.  I find that to do this well and to give my own unique spin on a well known piece of music can take a while - from first listening to it to downloading a printed version online which inevitably mostly gets scribbled out as it's a piano arrangement, to making the piece my own.  This means that brides and grooms get their very own version of the piece which has so much significance for them.  This could be the first song you danced together to, or a song that was popular at the time you met.  I recently met a couple at a wedding event who liked my playing and my music and they want a reggae classic for the bride's entrance music.  Intrigued, I asked if they could send me a link to the song to see if I could make it work.  Having listened to it I'm pretty sure I can and I feel quite excited about it.  With great lyrics it's a lovely loving tribute from bride to groom and most importantly I think it will sound gorgeous on the harp!

With thanks to technology and the internet now, most things are possible.  I played for a civil ceremony in March and the bride was due to come and hear her request at a wedding event.  I was disappointed to find out at the last minute that the venue had decided to have a pianist instead without letting me know, which put me in a slightly awkward position with this bride-to-be who had planned to come and hear me play.  I got my thinking cap on and arranged a video call with her.  To my delight and relief she was pleased with the end results!

It's worth bearing in mind that not everything works well on the harp and I'm happy to guide you in your choice of music.

If you're thinking of having live harp music at your wedding, here is what I can offer:

Civil Ceremony - I am ready 30 minutes before your ceremony and I play soothing background music from my repertoire list while guests await your arrival.  One of the key moments musically is your entrance.  It's important to get this one right so have a good think about this. You may have a specific piece of music in mind or you may need some ideas - either way I can help you choose the right piece for the mood you want to portray.  I then play for the signing of the register and the photos, and finally a piece of your choice for your exit together.  Registrars and venue staff are always delighted when you have Iive professional musicians - it takes the pressure off them having to press that button and it ensures the smooth running of your ceremony.

Drinks Reception (1 hour) - After your ceremony I can provide background music for you and your guests as you all enjoy yourselves and have your photos taken.  Please note that due to the unpredictable British weather, I don't play outside.  Some harpists do, I don't.

Wedding Breakfast - having live music can make a world of difference to the atmosphere while you have your meal, and again I can play from my broad selection of tried and tested pieces.

Other options - 

Church Ceremony - I love playing in the sacred and slightly more solemn setting of a church.  I set up well in advance of your ceremony time and I can play while your guests congregate.  A bridal march is appropriate and I have also played other requests in church.  I can play the hymns depending on whether you have an organist - usually they do play the hymns and it goes with the setting and tends to rouse more singing!  I can play suitable background music while you sign the register and have your photos taken.  I can also play your exit music, or again you could have the organist play.  It all comes down to your personal preference.

(I can offer a combination of the above, although I don't do more than 2 elements, so for example Ceremony and Wedding Breakfast is fine but I wouldn't play for your Ceremony, Drinks and Wedding Breakfast - you can have too much of a good thing in my opinion!)

The Money Question!  My fees start from £250.  If you think this sounds like a lot, I hope you'll bear in mind the basic running and development costs of my business - website construction, hosting and updating, publicity photos and promotional materials, transport costs, harp strings, insurance and maintenance, buying sheet music, appropriate clothing and footwear, practice and training time, the dreaded tax bill, the list goes on... These all contribute in providing you with best wedding music experience I can possibly offer.

Of course, the easiest way to find out more about your choice of wedding music is by attending a wedding fayre or event and I do as many of these as I can.  I have lots of wedding standards in the Listen and Watch section on my website and I update these as often as possible.  I also have a Facebook business page - Rhian Evans Harpist - this is where you will find the most up to date information about any wedding fayres and events at which I'm performing.  You can also get in touch by using the link to my Contact page above.   And if you see me looking quite intense and focused as I play at an event, do hang around to have a chat - I occasionally come up for air and I'm much friendlier than I look when I play!

Sunday night

Post Performance Party - ice cream, pistachios, prunes and dark dark chocolate

Siegfried - just a quickie!

Sparks flew this evening at the end of Act 1 as Nothung (Siegfried's sword) was forged - that's the bit when we play.  After an hour and a quarter of uninterrupted music.   There's something about sitting there almost invisibly that brings out some sort of ultra sweary kicking screaming Tourettes in me at the very beginning,  I guess it's just the idea of the length of time.  It passes quickly as I get into the music.  So does almost everything else.  I really loved the performance - the heavy stomping of the giants' music, and I thought the musical pacing at the end of the Act was superb.

Today's other achievements:

Going to the shop for supplies on my way to the car after playing, walking through the booze section and not buying any.  Getting Jersey Royals as a special treat instead.  (Who am I?  I don't recognise myself..!)

Being in touch with my physical urge for movement when I got in and indulging in a 45 minute Pilates session in my attic haven (heaven?)  

It's been just great to have a busy harp week - music is one of my favourite means of anaesthetising.  I'm tired and I need a day off and if I can get through my Monday morning rehearsal, I can chill out a bit.  I'm feeling a bit emotional about tomorrow night, it's a big one for me with Brünnhilde's sumptuous thawing out music.  Aroused by her brother (no comment) Siegfried's kiss, she disencrusts herself from her heroic slumber accompanied by our skyward arabesques.  I hear the twinkling of her eyelids and there's an intense power in six harps playing together oh so quietly.

Final achievement - getting to bed before midnight again.

Powerful words from meditation today

Saturday - Siegfried Acts 1 & 2

This morning began by unveiling my mobile from its grainy bed for the night.  On my drive down to Manchester yesterday a sheep accompanied by its only-slightly wiser friend decided to cross the road in front of my swiftly moving car and it was just a couple of seconds away from an unthinkable fate.  In the process of braking to dodge it whilst only too aware of the vehicle very close to my rear, I spilt some of my freshly brewed coffee.  The sheep lived to safely graze another day.  It was a while after my white knuckle experience before I realised the coffee had spilt on my phone.  Everything works except I have to put it on speaker to take or make calls.  With my lack of technical aptitude, I'm praying I won't need to get a new one.  The thought of syncing and downloading new apps makes me want to cry.  In phoning myself I also had the heart sinking realisation my answer machine doesn't work.  Ha!

Yesterday was a 3 hour patching session for the live recording demanding silence, focus and nerves of steel.  I've become so well acquainted with my nearby microphone on its steely spindly stand due to its presence all week that I don't notice it anymore, and as we began the intense takes I realised we hadn't actually rehearsed it to death.  With the heightened atmosphere I dropped out of 2 small sections - sometimes it's wiser to do this rather than f**k it up for everyone and I think this is one of the reasons Wagner demanded 6 harps.  Despite being a bit of a megalomaniac I'm sure he had a human side too.  I can tell you which bits I'm going to practice first today!  In the shrinking down process I remembered a technique that helped me play as one with my colleagues - to breathe together and visualise almost becoming them.  Quite a lot of body language can help with this.  It's a technique that has worked well for me in the past especially when the beat is organic and musical and stretchy and even more so when I was sitting in the back row, and when I do it well it can be really draining.  I'm going to practice that this morning.  As I was polishing off my sunny apricot in the break, a million miles away in my thoughts, someone asked how my week was going.  I looked up to see it was Sir Mark.  Caught unawares without a script, I annoyingly found myself coming out with the biggest pile of tripe followed by a succinct statement which I think conveyed exactly how my week is going!  As an outsider it's interesting to see the close rapport and trust between orchestra and conductor.  There is no dress rehearsal.  I observed his manner with us all week and he certainly knows how to get me to want to do more than my best.  He shows respect and empathy, and although he (incredibly, under the circumstances) only very occasionally gets impatient, it's all for the music.  I wish I had his seemingly bionic ears!  He quite rightly treats the singers like royalty cajoling them into taking risks with breathtaking results.  His sensitivity and understanding make me wonder if he trained as a singer, or is he just outstandingly good at his job?  It's pretty awe inspiring to work on this level.

I felt a weight lift off me as I saw the distant hills and I love going to work in hustling bustling Manchester and by the same token, I love getting back home to the tranquillity of my rural idyll. This tropical heat suits me fine and I was amused that it was 7-8 degrees cooler in Meltham.  I planned my evening as I drove past beautiful rhododendron walls, abundant laburnum vines and the vibrant hot sunburst of flaming azaleas.  I didn't see many souls at the top on the moors and the dandelion like cotton wool ball wild shrubs are back.  I wanted to practice but was too tired so I opted for a cup of tea in my yard, phone crisis management, getting supper ready, a gentle walk round the block with YT (Llwyd),  a bit of weeding, and regaining some order in my house.  A rare occurrence - I was in bed before midnight.

Coffee flavoured rice anybody?

That Friday Feeling on a Thursday

Although it was officially a day off, yesterday was full on and by the time I'd done all my stuff, I had a window of about an hour and a half for practice.  This is my challenge, to shrink it all down into less time.  As I began I instinctively closed my sheet music and played the first 2 pages slowly from memory just to see what would happen.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was correct, so by going with my gut rather than practice in a certain prescribed way, I was able to save a lot of time and work efficiently without falling into my customary trap of "it's all s**t".  I'm one of those musicians who loves practicing (at one stage I loved it more than I did performing) and would gladly spend all day befriending each note, rolling them around in my fingers and ears.  Unfortunately practice doesn't pay the mortgage, and it doesn't make perfect either, actually.  As I worked through my music, I identified any danger areas, hesitations and issues that had arisen on Tuesday.  Knowing what sort of sound is required (even notes with no "ping" on the last note of the arpeggios - that can be hard when you're playing with gusto) helps narrow things down.  I'm always fascinated with the process between accepting work and the end result.  It often feels to me like that humungous exotic splurge of notes is never going to come together, and I love those final days before a performance and the conciseness they bring.  Personal practice is insular by definition and I like the shift in focus from home work to sectional to the spectacular moment when I'm allowed to join in with all the others.  It feels like a big musical shindig!

Practice shoes.  I left my concert shoes in Manchester and it was chilly yesterday so, hot socks (not sunburn).  I dream of a world where unique footwear is part of the dress code 

After practice I headed to the pool for my exercise fix, and every time I go I jump in further and further towards the deep end - it's the only way I can do it now, none of this tip-toeing down the steps nonsense.  Besides, if I jumped in the shallow end I might do myself an injury!  I usually go on a Tuesday and Thursday but could only fit in Wednesday this week, and it was a different instructor.  She scared me from word go!  I think they have to be quite shouty to be heard above the frantic torso-thrashing splashing and energetic music and it takes me a couple of sessions to get into an instructor's groove so to speak.  I just couldn't get into the rhythm at all, I felt no flow.  The class was full and I was too close to two women who were yakking away all the way through the class - how can they do the moves and talk?!  After 20 minutes I was wishing it was over and I kept looking at the clock.  I'm still glad I went - it's never easy but the long-lasting feel-good factor afterwards is worth the effort AND there was the added bonus of a hot bloke sitting waiting for the next class as I got out...  Hmmm.  I might go again next Wednesday.

Today felt a bit strange in that we were only required for the first half of the morning rehearsal and the same in the afternoon.  This meant that we played around 10 bars in total at the end of Act 1, I could count the notes but I'm not going to, not many in any case.  Feast or famine.  Not a single pedal change.  Not to worry - Wagner more than makes up for it in Act 3.  My back feels much better tonight.  I took 3 seat pads with me to see if I could resolve my chair height issue but it still didn't feel high enough.  Shy bairns get nowt and as I enquired about the possibility of using a piano stool for the performances, those lovely orchestra attendants soon provided me with an unusually spare cello chair which made all the difference.

It was good to have an early finish and I'm enjoying some time catching up at home - I feel a bit tired and in need of a creative feed and as a night owl, as early a night as I can muster.  My spirits were raised when I spotted yours truly in the garden when I got in (WARNING - the following footage contains scenes of a feline nature):

See what I mean about her tail making an umbrella handle shape?  Almost a fortnight after her tests she's looking much better and has filled out thank goodness.  

AND I nailed the online parking!

The only way is up - the architectural contrasts of central Manchester.

"Siegfried!"

"Richard Wagner composed his well known Ring Cycle in blah blah blah"...  Some of you reading that opening sentence might think the Rhian you know and love has been abducted by aliens and replaced by some fake harpist.  I am in no way an authority on the Ring but I'm becoming an authority on me and what makes me tick and I like writing about my experience, and hopefully it's a good enough read for musicians and non-musicians alike.  My use of language in that sentence isn't florid enough either!

Yesterday was my first day of rehearsal for Siegfried.  Excluding time spent travelling , hanging around and eating I worked out I was sitting for over 8 hours yesterday.  I felt like the princess and the pea as I tried in vain to customise my not-quite-high-enough chair with harp covers and clothing.  Still better than a backless music bench.  Today my lower back is a bit painful (shoulders surprisingly ok though) and I was ecstatic when I managed to book myself into Aquafit last night when I got in after my long day.  I can't wait to jump into the chilly water and bounce around like a lunatic, and I get excited as I walk to the pool and smell the irresistible chemical chlorine wafts.  To whoever cancelled - thank you!

It was a long day on slightly too little sleep - I had to get ALL my ironing done on Monday night, not just what I needed, and sort my food for the next few days.  I set off 45 minutes later than the time I'd set myself - I'd left 3.5 hours for a journey that takes an hour on a good day but seeing as I needed to pack what seemed like most of the contents of my home into my car after I'd completed my morning routine, it was just enough time not to be rushing.  After I deposited my harp in the hall and worked out yet another online parking system, I had to move my harp again as the sectional was taking place upstairs.  I still had enough time.  After all that mental psych-up it was the lovely knowledgeable and helpful Jonathan taking the rehearsal and it was a great way to ease into this project, and it was a much appreciated gesture when Sir Mark popped in briefly to greet his section.  After we had put the Wagner harp world to rights, off we trundled with our precious convoy down into the main hall.  We are in a lovely position right at the back and though it feels far away from the conductor, it's an ideal vantage point, towering above the orchestra (in my mind) alongside both sets of timpani and behind our buddies the horns.  There's a lot of those too - Wagner certainly wasn't a minimalist.  Despite the serious nature of rehearsals, it's a relief to break the often intense atmosphere with a dash of humour, and you can guarantee innocently complicit eye contact with at least one of those cheeky horn players as the conductor instructs us to start at everyone's favourite number...  Then lunch.  It was a beautiful day and following a colleague's suggestion I headed for the canal where I found a black metal bench to eat my picnic.  Then time for a coffee in my own travel mug which always garners compliments (it's bright pink of course).   We started Act 3 and assumed our positions for the next few days.  The familiarity of Wagner's sound world in the menacingly creeping and exciting opening bars was comforting as it built to its first thundering climax within the first 3 minutes, and I was more often than not distracted from my to-do list by the amazing auditory feast laid out before my ears.  Wagner just seems to be able to paint the world in his music if that makes sense.  Those music-gasms started again as I heard some quietly spectacular playing that just drew my ear in and I didn't want it to stop.  Those swathes and washes of divine sound.  I'm relieved I still have that passion for orchestral playing!

My thoughts drifted to my last experience of Siegfried and I had flashbacks of how it was in Leeds Town Hall.  If I'm honest it wasn't the best experience for me, mainly due to the position of the harps.  We were on the opposite side of our usual position within the orchestra and stuck right at the back, so it almost felt like we were separate from the rest of the orchestra.  It was like playing blindfolded with earplugs.  No wonder my nerves were frayed after 3 months.  I felt I couldn't trust what my senses were telling me.  Add to that the fact I was on the back row of harps tucked away in the furthest corner (there is a particular name for this position in the music world) and you can imagine my frame of mind and maybe understand why it put me off orchestral playing a bit.  No matter what solution we suggested or tried (monitors, plinths...), we were never going to come up trumps in that venue.

So it's a breath of fresh air to revisit this fabulous piece again and yesterday felt like a healing experience as I felt my confidence grow as I started to play like I play.  Brünnhilde (Brown Hilda or Hilda Brown, either way it doesn't translate well in my mind, and YES, I know it means armoured battle maiden) is amazing!  Like many a Brünnhilde, she's blonde and petite and has quite a pair lungs on her - wow!  As is often the case when I'm working, I'd like to be on the other side of the conductor so I could fully experience the impact of her voice but it's something special, I know that.  As for Sir Mark and the orchestra, I just love the generous spaciousness he gives the music and the loving attention with which he caresses each line and phrase.  It feels very organic and as he is healthily meticulous about every detail, it's a satisfyingly joyous challenge to work with him.  I wish I had his ears.  In the section we are an interesting mix of 4 blondes and 2 redheads - I'm just talking about the colour of our harps there by the way!  Possible token harp section photo coming soon...!  It's a lovely section with a good energy.

With the drowsiness that came at the end of what was our second rehearsal of three, I decided to go for a stroll along the canal (see below).  That's one of the things I love about Manchester - you're never a million miles away from water or some greenery and wildlife if you take a minute to look.  I went back to the empty changing room and nabbed the cosiest armchair, put on my sunglasses and went elsewhere for 10 minutes.  That's all it takes and I'm quite proud I've mastered the art of the power nap in a relatively public place.

Today will be a quiet day practicing, resting and preparing for what I think will be a spectacular performance this weekend...  Get your tickets now!

In the heart of Manchester - my momentary companions on my canal stroll

My heart sank for an instant when I got back to my car.  When I checked, I'd put the make of my vehicle where I should have put the registration...  How many Mazda sixes could there have been on that street yesterday anyway?!?

Bank Holiday Monday!

Yesterday was a good day and she is definitely feeling better!

Bank Holiday Sunday

Yes, I know I said I was going to practice but I've given myself the day off and practice will happen tonight.  Sometimes it's about knowing when to stop so I'm off to admire my irises, chill out and recharge my batteries.  Here's to just being!

First yellow iris.  Lovingly transplanted from my garden in Wales!

Harpist Roles

As a harpist my job can be very solitary and I quite like that.  Much of the time orchestral writing only involves one harp so it's a novelty to work alongside someone else.  As a freelancer I need the flexibility to embrace more than one role as I'm often invited to play as guest principal or second harp and other times as part of a bigger section.  I have to be adaptable enough to embrace each role while maintaining my personality - playing first harp demands great leadership skills, and being a team player as second harp or part of a section is fundamental to the success of any performance.  I like to think I'm good at both.  I have a strong personality so leadership comes naturally, and I like to think I'm easy to get on with and I have a good sense of humour.  I am also flexible when needs be - I don't like being told I'm wrong (who does?!!) but I'm good at taking stuff on board and accepting constructive criticism.  I have a good bulls**t detector too and I have pretty acute instincts when someone is messing with me and when it's their stuff that's being thrown around - that can be harder to deal with.

As I resumed my process of preparation for my harp week next week by posting on social media and listening to the opera I'm going to be performing, I felt a sense of calm fall over me.  I haven't had time to practice or play since last Monday, and as I experienced several music-gasms as I listened to Wagner's inimitable masterpiece, I felt reassured that everything was going to be alright, that I can still play the harp.  Obviously I need to go for it with my practice this weekend but it's manageable. I have performed Siegfried several times, most recently as part of Opera North's epic project 2 summers ago.  If I'm absolutely honest, it was tough to keep inspired for 3 months of performing the same four operas seven times, and the night away in a 5* hotel for my birthday and this life changing laptop as rewards made it all the more worthwhile.  I survived a week in London (well, Greenwich, but the lovely flat we rented was on the 11th floor...  Aaarghhhh!!!!) for goodness sake!  As an outskirts-of-a-village dweller, this was a huge achievement!

As I listened I recalled the many magic moments this music offers so generously.  Erda's earth-shaking urgently sinister menaces and warnings, the rudely robust Siegfried's boisterous playfulness, Brünnhilde's sumptuous loving tribute to naughty Siegfried...  Or is it Wotan?  I sometimes forget!  Anyway, if past performances with the Hallé are anything to go by, I'm in for a treat!

Having been part of many a harp section in the past, you could ask my opinion on what makes a great team!  It starts by knowing my role.  In this section I am harp 5 and I'm very happy with that.  It means there's slightly less pressure than if I was harp 4 (or 1 or 2) which I was last time I played it.  The biggest challenge I find is actually playing together as a tight section - it can be really difficult to hear each other and relying on visual and even auditory aids can be risky, everything is so changeable from sectional to full rehearsal and concert.  The deeper we go into the rehearsal process, the more elements we can add as performance anchors.  Luckily we are only playing it at the Bridgewater Hall - my last experience involved 5 different venues.  So flexibility is very important.  We also get a good amount of rehearsal time, starting with a harp only sectional on Tuesday morning.  This can be intimidating (please be kind Sir Mark!) but ultimately is very helpful in getting us to gel together and become familiar with what all six of us are doing.  Personally it ensures I'm super prepared, ideally to the point of memorising my music - that's what I need to feel on top of things.  This morning I remembered having to sit there for about 25 minutes before our glorious spine-tingling first entry in Act 3, one that is quite fiendishly difficult as it's fast and co-ordination can be an issue when that good old adrenaline kicks in!  Feet darling!

It will be a significant occasion for me.  My first experience of a multiple-harp Wagner opera was Act 3 of Siegfried back in 2006 with the Hallé conducted by Mark Elder.  I have the photo somewhere, will dig it out.  That was one of my "WOW" musical moments soon before I returned to study in Manchester.  I was excited and petrified in equal measures by this amazing experience!  Interestingly the section looked quite similar to next week's.  One special inspirational person and mentor will be sorely missed - her name appears in blue below.  If you can't read it, it says Eira - Eira Lynn Jones!  It was, and always is, fantastic to work with her.  I had a lesson on this music in France with another profoundly influential teacher, Germaine Lorenzini alongside whom I had my first professional orchestral experience playing with the Orchestre National de Lyon.  I'll never forget listening to a recording of the C major arpeggios with her trying to work out how to best approach it.  She said it would all work out when we were with the conductor, just focus on the music!  She was right.  She was always right!  It's been reassuringly nostalgic to rediscover her trademark coloured post-its with their generous and often humorous advice in my music.  I was very lucky with my choice of teachers.

A golden rule in my book of great orchestral playing - never ever EVER mention another harpist in the precious minutes before a performance.  I don't care how mentally strong anyone is.  Whether you're principal harp of the most prestigious orchestra or 9th harp with an amateur group, NOBODY needs yet another harpist in their head just before playing.  Rant over!!!!!

As I write this, I realise it could be completely different from this, my projection of how it has been in the past!

Right, time for some practice...  

My well-thumbed Siegfried part with all my tweaks and modifications.  I SWEAR I wouldn't be able to play it if I was given a clean copy.

That legendary Valkyrie...

That Friday feeling...

As I sit here typing before I head off to Saltaire to teach, I'm not feeling so great.  It's been a very busy week and last night I came down with a sore throat.  It just seemed odd to me to have one at this time year when the weather's been so exceptionally kind and so I looked back over my week.  I cut out bread from my diet and I'm convinced that's a factor.  I also wondered about stopping smoking, 6 months on by now - is my body still detoxing from all those years poisoning it?  I'm about to meditate and that always helps me get in a better frame of mind - I don't like feeling grumpy when I teach.  I don't mind it when I'm on my own, nobody experiences the backlash of my low mood!  Since I started blogging I've noticed the therapeutic and cathartic benefits of using the written/typed word to express myself - GET OUT MY BODY WHATEVER YOU ARE!!!

Evening: during the drive I reviewed my week and having researched my flu-like symptoms, I asked myself what I'd changed.  Since Monday I haven't eaten bread or sugar.  Yesterday late morning I felt a huge dip in mood and energy and slept for almost 3 hours!!!  My glands are right up and it feels like flu but it isn't, it's definitely food related.  I have felt paranoid and depressed and incapable of making my thoughts coherent for any length of time.  I should have been in bed but as the lessons are monthly I would have felt I was letting my students down.  My motivation was selfish - as well as getting paid to do what I love, I really like my students and they cheer me up!  I felt bad but I explained my situation and thankfully they were understanding.  I hadn't realised how dependent I had become on sugar since I stopped drinking.  The worst was straight after lunch, I would immediately crave biscuits after my healthy salad and slice of toast with bits, and I got a bit of biscuit habit.  Biscuits or sugary chocolate with a low cocoa percentage.  In my quest for perfection it became those brick like Italian almond biscotti and last week and the week before it was home baked cake in an attempt to feel virtuous.  On my drive from Scotland I had a few grapes for breakfast, then at Tebay I couldn't resist buying sugary treats and came away with a brownie AND a delightful lemon and blueberry concoction!  And a flat white to wash it all down.  It dawned on me I was falling into the trap my coach had warned me of - replacing one addiction with another!  As I go cold turkey YET AGAIN I'm quite gobsmacked at the hold sugar had over me.  It's far more potent than alcohol and cigarettes, on a level with class A drugs.  Not that I would know.  I'm feeling quite rough tonight and my muscles and joints are sore - do I have to keep doing this to myself?  In so many ways it's easier to kick 2 habits at once and feel twice as bad...  I don't miss the euphoric hit as I remember all too vividly the brain fog and lethargy that followed a binge.  As I head into the bank holiday I know it's going to involve exhausting obsessive research into better dietary habits...  I thought again about that Hugh F W programme I watched and felt a lot of anger at our obsessive consumerism that is basically fuelled by commercialism, all the bottomless sugary drinks for kids and hidden sugars in our food, not to mention those irresistible special offers.  2 for £3?  Yes please!!!  I for one am not falling for it anymore!!!

Back to teaching.  As rather an independent woman I don't like asking for help and I SO wish I could do everything myself!  I always read reviews if I'm going to use someone's services and with this in mind, and since it's good to update reviews on a regular basis, I asked the lovely Libby if she would do the honours, which she did most readily and generously.  I couldn't make head nor tail of the quirky message in her beautiful handmade card this afternoon but now I do - thanks Lib!!!  I think she gets me and my teaching!  She's a die hard devoted harp lover, practices so faithfully and never ever gives up, my kind of student!!!

My beautiful cross stitch red dragon!

Significant choice of brand - let's hope it works

Virtuous new purchase.  Has she drunk out of it?  Not to my knowledge...

A forest of harps in Saltaire

Wholesome breakfast and snacks.  Wish they were all the same jars though, I love a bit of symmetry!

Sound and Noise

My post on Wednesday started with an evocative sound clip and lately I've been very aware of how intensely attuned I am to the sounds and noises around me.  I love this time of year and it's great to spend more time outdoors in my garden and having a quick cup of tea in the sun during breaks is a virtuous vice.  (ASIDE - as I tweak my erudite scrawlings ((tears of laughter faces)) my train of thought was just rudely interrupted by a car alarm going off every 20 seconds outside, not mine I hope!  I went into a trance-like state and just could not focus - does anyone else get this?!!  I'm off to live in a Finca in Spain - anyone coming?  Quiet persons only need apply!!)  The vitamin D is working its magic and I'm off to live in Spain as soon as I can - anyone coming?!!  As I was drinking my morning coffee on my back step Monday morning before my rehearsal I sensed my growing agitation.  My neighbours were in their garden with their choice of radio station blasting, or so it seemed to me.  We clearly don't share the same taste in music - you call that music?!!  I'm aware I need a lot of silence, otherwise my thoughts become overwhelmingly noisy or, the other extreme, worryingly quiet.

This week I have started thinking a lot more about listening to music after the positive effect tuning in again while driving had on me last week.  I listened to that broadcast about syncopation yesterday morning as I did my dishes and the pile of ironing that had stacked up and it was brilliant!  Syncopation was explained so clearly with brilliant musical illustrations anyone can relate to from Mozart to Luther Vandross!  Some of the musical examples were stimulating whilst others jarred.  It made me realise I often take music for granted and when I think about the intricate complexity of creating something that sounds so simple, it blows my mind a bit.  I got a real buzz listening to it.  Hearing is such a powerful sense.  Listen to one of your favourite songs and you can be taken back in time in an instant.

I have been unfortunate in that on one side I have, well, awful neighbours!  I know the bible says to Love Thy Neighbour, but you haven't met mine!  They're so noisy with regular arguing and shouting, they have two of the barkiest dogs ever and the loudest one barks at me incessantly as I get home.  It stresses me out and I hate feeling like I'm being aggressed on my own territory.  As you may know by now, my pet of choice is a cat - there's nowt quieter than a cat.  Or less demanding. independent and low maintenance.

I had a quick chat with my nice neighbours (it's all about balance!) and she said my music sounded great.  That was a really nice thing to say after our trio rehearsal - it's going to be good!  It's great to have feedback like that - I'm always aware of noise pollution and keep my doors and windows closed when I practice so I keep annoyance of others to a minimum.  Do unto others and all that.  I am also my own worst enemy (aren't we all?) - something that would sound good to others is hideously imperfect to my ears!

As we sat in front of the timpani and percussion last Saturday, painful experience meant I had earplugs with me, I don't think my colleague did.  In the concert with the presence of an audience I felt like shouting at her to put her fingers in her ears - our hearing is so precious and it wouldn't matter what the audience thought.  In our position they would have done the same!

As I was getting my music fix doing the dishes this morning I got that tingle when a piece for flute and harp came on.  The more I listened, the more the critical analytical side of my brain kicked in - I like that, don't like the sound there, what was THAT?! - and I knew it was a popular brand of American harp.  At the risk of being controversial, I don't like these harps generally speaking.  I find the sound cold and wooden and a bit brash.  I'm entitled to my opinion, this is my blog!  It got me thinking about the importance of my choice of instrument as an extension of my expressive voice and why I play the harp I play.  I love the warmth of the sound and that he (!) has a wild side.  He has personality, oodles of it!  As I'm quite small I like the physical lightness of it.  It has enough power for orchestral playing and it can be intimate within a chamber music setting.  Being the first thing we perceive, I acknowledged how important sound is to my identity as a harpist and musician.

After this beautiful French work I wrinkled my nose and pulled a face as a composer's name whose work I've played too many times was mentioned...  That's the power of music!

When you do music as a day to day job it can often be difficult to keep inspired.  I remember a time when I had 10 days work in a row and loved every minute of it, another time working 6 days in a week including 2 days with matinees.  That I found hard.  It was the same music and a long show and although the music was great, it was a long sit on an uncomfortable music bench.

My career in music has taken a very different trajectory over the past 12 months.  I have been thinking a lot about how I could help others with my playing, and I would like to explore the therapeutic side of music.  I have recently seen videos posted on social media about dementia and Alzheimer's and how music can be a powerful tool in alleviating the distress these illnesses cause.  Some of my students have problems with their hands and joints and I'm convinced playing an instrument can help maintain both physical and mental flexibility.  I have often thought about the healing aspect of my work and now I feel ready to help others.  Who knows where this new phase will lead?  I certainly don't and I quite like that!

Driving

Diagonal driving

As I set off on my long journey past recent showers of pink snowflakes on Tuesday morning, I remembered not so long ago I used to love long drives before the time of speed cameras and managed motorways when there were fewer reckless drivers and there wasn't the volume of traffic there is now.  Once I got past Lancaster the other day, I started to relax into the freedom of being behind the wheel.  I occasionally switched the radio on and I found a flow of music and things that interested and inspired me on my way up North.  Suddenly I had a stream of thoughts that felt important and in trying to organise them I had to design a mnemonic to keep hold of them.  Don't worry - this part of my brain switches off when traffic gets heavier!  My default station is Radio 3, and highlights included a fabulous version of I Could Have Danced All Night for cello and piano featuring Yo Yo Ma.  I love show music and it's a sheer delight when played at this level.  Then there was a teaser for a future broadcast about syncopation - I'm looking forward to hearing how that will be explained.  There was a piece by Debussy which I thought could work really well for the combination of instruments I'm part of for an imminent chamber music project.  It's reassuring to realise the music never stops for long in my brain.

As I took to the wheel again yesterday morning, I debated whether or not to do my "homework" - am I in the mood?  I'm not sure I feel like working while I'm driving etc etc.  After weighing things up for all of 20 seconds, on went one of the best versions of Symphonie Fantastique in my opinion - Sir Colin Davis at the helm of the LSO.  He had an amazing vision and was enlightened and totally got under the skin of any Berlioz works that he interpreted.  I found myself visualising sitting in the performance tomorrow during the first movement and feeling strong and confident - great practice!  Then, the importance of the right kind of harp sound in the second movement - open and easy, loud but not harsh.  The third movement is the evocative bucolic pastoral, aka the harpists' come down!  Listening to the fourth, I could see Berlioz marching with resigned dignity to his doom.  In the last movement I couldn't stop laughing at the trippy hilarity of the E-flat clarinet.  Needless to say, the CD got more than one airing during my drive!

With all I had to do yesterday, I didn't manage to fit in the hour of practice I had planned for myself, but I feel alright about it as I got a lot of work done in the car.  As a musician, I'm lucky that my office is wherever I go!

Scooootland, aye!

That's to be pronounced in your best Scottish accent by the way.  So here I am in sunny Scotland (yes, really, it was *HOT* yesterday...) and it was the longest day - 19 hours of pure non stop (excluding a couple of power naps) action and some 300 miles driving.  Today my right shoulder feels pretty bad so I can't wait for Aquafit tonight.  As is often the case on these days, I managed one photo, which I'll upload later.  I was working at a dead posh venue for a big company and it was a nice gig.  I even got to say hello to some horses.  Mealtime wasn't great for me as there were about 15 big tables in an area near the main room, and then the bagpipers and military band (who were all amazing) started rehearsing.  It was agonising.  I was hungry, yet I just wanted to be in a darkened room for half an hour.  Needless to say, I locked myself in my car with my sunglasses on for 20 minutes as soon as I'd wolfed down some food.  I'm sure my colleagues think I'm a right weirdo but the performance went well, and my responsibility is to do whatever it takes to achieve that. 

The concert started with the Flying Theme from E.T.  I've played it just a few times but this was a different version I didn't know, as was the edition of the beautiful In Paradisum from Fauré's Requiem so that kept me on my toes.  That's the amazing thing about music - as soon as we started playing, I clicked into that part of me that gets really excited and focused and I could see Elliot on his bike with E.T. snuggled in a blanket in his basket.  Our audience was strong in males and we were the post dinner entertainment.  Their reaction to our playing was half hearted if I'm honest, and I realised they had probably had quite a lot to drink.  We went on to play some great arrangements of a couple of pop anthems, and they sprang to life to the strains of Elbow and even more so when the outstanding Rowetta joined forces with us.  I used to swing my hips to that one when I went clubbing in Manchester all those years ago!

One of the many things I love about being in this part of the world is the wildlife - I spotted so many buzzards and hawks yesterday, as well as a pterodactyl-like heron in full slow-mo flight, and the promise of a red kite or two as I drove past a red kite centre (love it) was almost unbearable!  I have a thing about kites...  An owl was too-whitting outside when I left the venue last night and I excitedly spotted it flying overhead.  Amazing birds.  Then when I got to the hotel some 40 minutes away, I heard another owl there.  Fantastic!  And I saw my first swallow of the year, always an auspicious omen.

Right, a few Pilates stretches before I face the 270 mile drive - are we nearly at Tebay?!?

The single photo from the gig - if you zoom in you can see the name of the prestigious watchmaker, an indication of the nature of the venue

Bare feet weather.  Goodness, my toenails need doing

The best, quietest, most tranquil services ever...

... and even here there's some subtle surreptitious marketing going on.  I didn't buy any of these beauties but I could have spent a fair chunk of my fee in the shop...

How many services do you know that bother to plant tulips in the car park?

I still think this is one of the best shots - the accidental one

Simplicity

Berlioz

And so, my day off became two and I really needed some time out.  I wouldn't call them days off as such and I will be needing some serious chill time very soon.  I find it quite hard to switch the ideas off and when things eventually settle and I hit cruise speed, I'm looking forward to sitting down and reading and just being.  My harp week is going nicely and it was lovely to practice yesterday - it wasn't out of sight, out of mind after all!  I'd even go so far as saying my time away from my harp has reinforced my passion!  I enjoyed getting stuck into one of my favourite musical works, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique which I will be playing in this weekend.  This masterpiece is an obsessive hallucinatory romp from tranquil scenes to nightmarish visions.  At the time he wrote it, Berlioz was infatuated with the love of his life, Harriet Smithson, who he eventually married.  They separated after years of unhappiness - plus ça change...

Young Hector

Every piece presents its challenges and as I started to practice it again for the umpteenth time, I was reminded why it can reduce harpists to jelly - the main difficulty for me is that I have to sit there for 15 minutes or so before playing a part that lasts 5 minutes and is technically demanding and musically fundamental.  It starts with the tantalising anticipation of the first harp arpeggios seemingly emerging from nowhere.  They increase in intensity until that unmistakeable descending scale - sparks should fly!  What follows is deliciously intricate writing that conjures up the glittering effervescence of a ballroom.  By Friday evening my aim is to be away from the harp for an hour, then sit down and play it with ease and comfort and pleasure!  And I'll settle for good enough.

Berlioz was quite a character by the sounds of it - he was an opium fiend as was the trend at the time, and I think that can be heard in the ethereal, dreamlike sound quality of the only movement involving harps.  Yes, that's the other difficulty.  Once our movement "Un Bal" is over, we graceful, elegant harpists have to sit there for the rest of this (fantastique!) piece whilst trying not to analyse what just passed and where, from personal experience, I want to run round the room shrieking and yelping.  That's  adrenaline for you!

Un Bal

As a harpist, my footwork is ridiculously important, and as I mentioned in a previous post, having the right footwear is paramount.  I spotted these beauties below on a recent shopping venture, and I was a bit concerned about playing in them.  I've always shied away from open toes as the pedal could get stuck in there and that should be avoided at all costs, but I tried them yesterday and they are lovely to play in.  Happy feet = happy harpist!

Happy feet

I also got just a few pairs of socks for my shift work...!!

Happy feet 2 - the challenge I faced was not hanging the socks out in pairs