This week has felt a little like an after-shock, which I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t realise how much an emotional impact postponing the wedding would have on me, combined with the unrest in society and also the fear that I have for the future of the performing arts industry, and how theatres will survive in a world constricted by social distancing.
But once again I found solace directly from all your support here on my blog and across my social media platforms. I feel secure knowing that people’s love for music and their need to be entertained is prevailing. Thank you all for this.
Endless Pleasure – Handel
Deh Vieni Non Tardar – Mozart
Batti, Batti O Bel Masetto – Mozart
Piangero la Sorte Mia – Handel
Neghittosi Or Voi Che Fate – Handel
This week, George and I performed a selection of Handel and Mozart arias from our balcony for a variety of reasons. It was rejuvenating for me to reconnect with characters and arias that I’ve rested from my repertoire and see how much they have matured since I last performed them. The choice of program also took a little bit of pressure off myself, in the sense that I knew I would feel comfortable with this repertoire whilst allowing myself some time to reflect. However, I want to say a huge thanks to George for pulling it out the bag, as some of the Handel is devilishly hard to play in such a short time scale. I think he did brilliantly. In hindsight, it was also fun to see that there is nothing quite like an 18th century vengeance Aria to express the frustrations that surround us at this time.
I took real enjoyment from watching the Royal Opera House present it’s first live event since lockdown on Saturday. It gave me a sense of calm and hope for the future. Showing how we as an industry, and an art form can continue to adapt and strive to share and make music with those who miss having it in their lives.
With that positive feeling in mind, I feel that I’ve expressed my grief and angst through my performances and I am ready to re-emerge for whatever unknown adventure the future holds for me and for George.
What are you missing the most during these lockdowns? and what is bringing you comfort whilst you wait for normal life to resume?
Good Luck everybody! Live long and prosper!
As always, I enjoyed your latests Balcony Concert. It’s admirable you and George put all the effort into this. Respect!
So sorry to read about your emotional impact concerning your postponed wedding. But I’m sure the future of you and George looks very bright!
Thank you Herman, some of these songs I’ve sung with other pianists and just forgot George has to learn them from scratch , whoops. Actually it’s been a good discipline, we both work every morning so it’s a good ticking clock to ensure we practice these and other songs we’re working on.
Fingers crossed.
Best wishes
Charlotte
It was a wonderful concert. I do hope that some solution for performance presents itself soon – people do need live music and performers need a livelihood! Glad the Royal Opera House has ind a way to make a live event happen. Have a great week!
You have a great week too Trent, I think the fear of the audiences will delay things and the arts rely on subsidies too so everyone is going to be holding out a begging bowl to a limited finite amount of money. But we will have to be inventive and find a way.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Fabulous again 🙂
Thank you for tuning in again Thomas and leaving your lovely message. 🙋🏼♀️
Best wishes
Charlotte
Yes you sang beautifully, yes George made superb interpretations. Bravo to both of you.
Happy to know that you are going to start this new week in great shape, and with a smile my friend.
Me, you know, I told myself that I was on an island, with different rules, and that I had chosen this trip to work, also do different things, take time. Perhaps the experience of age which makes you see things from a different angle. But I understand that each one lived it in a different way and I find that normal, each one has its personal sensitivity!
I wish you the best, as well as George!
I don’t like it when I’m feeling moody and down. I kicked myself up the bottom today. I will hopefully feel more like singing again this week. I’m on an island 🌴 it’s sunny with shade …. 😃
Best wishes
Charlotte
Although feeling moody and down is unpleasant, you can use these feelings not only in your songs but in feeling empathy towards the millions of people who feel this way every day. We are all connected in our suffering.
I’m usually the one everyone comes to for a pick up chat, someone to always look on the bright side, I’m usually pretty good at seeing silver linings and it is so important to have empathy especially in our artistic world.
Hope you’re safe and well,
Best wishes
Charlotte
Your island is sunny with shade, but every time you sing you give birth to a giant rainbow!
Thanks Pascal, I’m also glad you enjoyed the concert and it streamed easily this week! Hurrah!!
It’s always refreshing to hit a new week with fighting force. I shall imagine my rainbow 🌈.
I liked your comparison to a trip on an island, perhaps sailing under weather conditions that aren’t familiar. Thank you for sharing your wisdom – I hope to soak it in and grow stronger thanks to your advice?
Bellissimo! Such a fabulous treat for everyone! Best wishes always!
mille grazie Holly, bless you x 😘
Best wishes
Charlotte
Grazie! x😘
I don’t think anything will be exactly the same after the pandemic but, as we all love a night out to be entertained with good music and fabulous performances, I believe the entertainment industry will get back on its feet. Stay positive and focused as you normally do and in a blink of an eye your big day will be here and you and George will be married. Now….. What I’m missing most is… my hairdresser! 😩 looking a bit wild now😳 loved the concert again it was fabulous, stay safe both of you. 🥰😘😘
Thanks Gill, glad you enjoyed the songs did you recognise a couple of these. About the hair, I know did you notice mine I even asked George to give it a trim, he refused! I cut his and used a razor a couple of weeks ago it was nerve wracking.
Best wishes to you and Terry,
Charlotte x
I miss getting out of the house more. My backyard is starting to get boring.
The Theater will always survive – not to worry!
I miss getting out and about too, the pavements are so narrow around here you can’t walk and keep the distances and the roads are still quite busy with more cyclists than ever. Everyone has been put off using the tube because they say that’s where most of the virus spread occurred but I’ll still be glad when we can get out and about again, but every sniffle and cough have an added worry for people now don’t they?
Let’s hope so GP the clocks ticking, strange times, I hope there is a place for me on those re-opening stages, every year there are a new large group of singers graduating, then there are the experienced singers with agents doing the bookings for them and they’re already getting bookings for 2021. I’ve been very reliant on small and regional opera companies and they’re going to need help but all the bigger theatres do too I’m trying not to worry too much what will be will be.
Best wishes
Charlotte
It would be interesting to research how many pandemics and world catastrophes have occurred since some of the operas you perform were written – yet they go on. They have survived everything this Earth has thrown at them. I stand by my statement – the Theater will survive.
What a good point! Very true! World Wars, the Cold War, the Great Depression – we can do this 👍🏻
There will always be a demand for you and George’s talent, Charlotte. Keep your instramant tuned and all will be well. I miss getting a hair cut. I’m starting to resemble a crazy old man.
I hope so John, we’ve just had events and more bookings cancelled and ones at the end of the year are getting into jeopardy and maybe won’t go ahead.
I get most of my work through open audition and friends are telling me they think we’re going to be out of action for a year, some singers are getting bookings carried over to next year which is good for them and must be a relief but that’s less work to apply for. I’m working hard and my singing professor has been a gem, I’ve also had some online masterclasses which have been very enjoyable keeping my voice in shape, keep your fingers crossed for us.
Haha on the haircut, I did Georges hair I asked him to trim mine he just walked off and said “no way”.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Smart man that George.
I don’t think I’ve noticed how much George’s emotion match your own during a performance without either of you looking at each other. It’s like two people telling the same Story and exactly the same time, which is difficult to do when the Story is full of twists and turns. It must be a necessary aspect to creating a great performance, but how is that developed? Over time, I suppose. When the tempo slows down or the pacing speeds up and an abrupt change in tone (emotion) the Performers have to be in Sync. Otherwise, you run into awkward moments.
Also, I wonder if you both are exhausted, maybe simply emotionally, but physically as well after performing for ..20 minutes? Yet, you seemed fine with the entire process.
As for the health of the Industry, once this is pandemic clears up you couldn’t pay people to stay home. That’s not how human beings are wired. Which is why we have Sporting Events, Concerts, Films, picnics even. Sure, we’ve all learned how to slow down and appreciate the little things even more. But after a while, it becomes: This is ridiculous. Someone please let me out. Anyone?
Of course, we love our homes. (No one wants to Sleep in an Amphitheatre). It’s more about Balance. Sometimes, we stay home to watch a movie. Sometimes, we want to go to the Movies. Because no matter how big they make TVs for us, they’re not bigger than the movie screen at the theater.
The positive aspect of the Balcony performance is neighbors who may not have considered attending an Opera will think: When I get outta here, I’m going to see them on Stage. With all the Lights, the grand piano, the elaborate attire, the autographs. You can’t beat the experience.
Exactly Eric thank you, you’re a good friend and I appreciate your thoughts here and your time so I’ve taken a while to answer your questions in detail.
These balcony concerts have been a bit of a liberation for me, with six years conservatoire training there isn’t time to just create a program for fun and enjoyment for such a wide and varied audience from babies through all the ages and nationalities. You have to meet exam criteria and structure.
George and I in our collaborative duo mainly concentrate on classical repertoire with lots of German lied, Russian, Scottish and French songs. I’ve been able to reprise repertoire I haven’t sung since I was in High School, I’ve had to be inventive with songs I’ve been asked to sing such as Let It Go from Frozen because it’s a different voice type to me so I had to transpose it up a key. I’ve sung songs that I enjoyed from my childhood and mixed in classical songs and opera and as you say I’ve been able to share the opera music we love so much. It’s nice to see people being so open minded about what we chose to sing it’s very refreshing.
We usually do 45 minute concerts, George performs a couple of piano pieces in a longer concert of say one hour to give me a sit down rest and chance for a drink of water and I usually talk more to introduce the songs and tell a little about the story or the composer to give him a finger stretch or six hehe. It’s too tiring to project my talking voice over the balcony space to the people in the far distance blocks they can hear my singing voice and the piano though. It takes a lot of energy especially on a concert of arias like this one this week but the audience tops us up with energy throughout.
I’ve also had to get over myself when I make a slip we’re such perfectionists it’s hard to put up work that when listening back it isn’t perfect, if you understand what I mean, but it’s a live performance we’re doing with not enough rehearsal especially with new songs I’ve picked up for the first time that week or old songs I’ve not sung at all for ten years. You can’t see on our videos but there is a little girl who lives above us who dances along beautifully and a little girl in the courtyard, Mums rock their babies with the music, it’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing.
George is really missing his grand pianos, I swear much more of this keyboard and he’ll sell the settee and hire in a baby grand! It’s great singing with your partner but it’s hard taking critique from them! Lol.
Best wishes
Charlotte x
Rock me, Amadeus! What fun. 🙂
Thanks Annette, We love a bit of Mozart 🤟 tricky music though! I’d been concentrating all week for a language exam then discovered it had been cancelled so my English vowels were all over the place lol.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I can imagine you took a really hard hit emotionally having to postpone your wedding in the middle of so much chaos and uncertainty. I’m optimistic that performing arts will recover, but it will take some time. I really admire you and George for staying positive, keeping on top of your form with your weekly concerts, and sharing your wonderful music with the rest of the world. You two are doing your part to making a sad world a better place., and give us hope for a better future during these troubled times.
You performed another wonderful concert. Are those your lemon and bay trees next to you in the video?
Thank you for your lovely warm words Timothy it gives us a boost. It’s felt a really weird week, I found it difficult to motivate myself to practice more than two hours each day.
George was looking forward to visiting all his family this weekend as was I. Today was to have been our Romanian church blessing and reception dinner and party, his Mum had worked so hard with his family to organise all of that I feel sad about that, but most of all we miss seeing family and friends and hugs with them.
Yes our new trees we received as gifts off our neighbours and family last weekend. George is the green fingered one of the two of us and he’s getting quite a collection of plants now!
Best wishes
Charlotte x
I’m sad for George’s mom. It must be really hard for her after all that work and anticipation. I’m really thankful that you two got an apartment together before everything got locked down. That would have been a disaster if you two had been separated by this mess.
We spent six months in a loft sharing a house with six others, and one of the neighbours didn’t like me to practice in the house! So that would have been tough. It’s been great to spend so much time together we’re pleased with our little home. As you say thankful for that. X
Even better you got out on your own than being locked down with six other people. That could be a real nightmare.
Charlotte you and George make a wonderful song duos!!!!
You make a great team….Love to you and George!!
Thank you so much Darlene, George worked so hard this week especially trying to motivate me, I got in a proper downbeat mid-week. We’re ok now, started planning what we’d like to do on Friday so that’s a good start – sometimes we only do this on a Tuesday!
Love to you
Charlotte x
I miss my family. I miss the hugs and kisses of my grand kids. I miss not being able to celebrate their achievements that continue even in this darkness. I miss telling my sons and daughter-in-laws how proud I am of them and their families.
Like you I wonder what will happen to show business when things clear up. I really think that a vaccine will be found and such things as social distancing will disappear. We had a similar problem in the polio pandemic and the vaccine erased it.
Stay safe
That’s exactly what we miss Don, exactly! Family Hugs, kisses, positivity the works! FaceTime is good but it’s not a substitute.
I’m going with your positive vaccine idea 💡 clinging on to any hope right now, I just hope the world is friendly enough to share it all out fairly!
You stay safe and well too x
Best wishes
Charlotte
A wonderful performance once again.
You both picked yourselves up, after having to postpone the wedding.
Your both amazing and work so hard to make people happy with your music.
Good luck with everything you do.you will succeed and have a beautiful wedding. Sending lots of love 😘😘
You’re up late! Hope you’ve both had a nice day today, glad you liked the songs, did you remember any of them? The balcony concerts are so important at the moment to us it’s our last remaining outlet to share our love of music with people, it gives our practice together purpose and helps us to build on our duo which previously we’ve never had enough time to do. Although when he turns into Mr Piano Coach … it’s easier to take that off my piano coaches 😂.
Lots of love back at you both,
Charlotte xx
Beautiful lineup! Love these pieces. Im sure postponing the wedding was tough…. I hope you find some more peace this week 💗
Thank you Katy 😊. Yeah I feel sad for George’s parents today, we should have been in Romania today having a church blessing and reception for all of George’s family, it seems like ages since we’ve seen our parents. I’m looking forward to a new week. I hope you have a good week too.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Back to your comfort zone, for songs of choice. I feel for you and the postponed wedding. You are by his side and that is all that really matters at the end of the day. The arts is to popular to go away you will be back on stage soon. Thanks to you and George for keep the spirits up. Listening to this take your mind away from all the unnecessary aggro going on around the world. May I be permitted to give you a socially acceptable hug? 🤗 well done on another great concert in difficult times. 👏👏👏👏
Hugs back to you too 🤗. I’m happy you enjoyed this concert it was a musical comfort hug for us and it reminds me to practice them more.
All my best wishes
Charlotte
Ahh thanks Charlotte.
“it was also fun to see that there is nothing quite like an 18th century vengeance Aria to express the frustrations that surround us at this time.”
Excellently visceral insight also amplified through your and George’s musical performance!
Wonderful question about what people are missing in advance of things getting back to normal.
What am I missing before everything gets back to normal? Nothing. Not one thing. In fact quite the contrary 2 weeks before it all started I ended a 5-year radio silence from writing and blogging and reading Tarot and Astrology. Underwent 3+ intense years of Brainspotting Parts Therapy for my missing creativity and imagination, the died-on-the-vine quality of that being relatively SOP common for trauma. I opened up, spent upwards of 600 hours over the next 10 weeks in the morning, evenings, and weekends finishing the gestation of my ImaginAction book, and birthed it at 1:21a May 2nd.
I don’t feel like there will be a getting bacK to normal. My whole life, all of my experiences, especially the mistakes which I consider OFLs — Opportunities For Learning — brought me right here to where I am now. If even a molecule of the pain and joy and otherwise of any of them was MIA, I wouldn’t be here now.
I now office from home with a VPN to the server, write and do readings in the mornings, evenings, and on weekends… am booked solid with backlog, and firmly feel that a fluid fluency of seamless segues that I turned INTO when this all went down made for adaptation. To put it in musical terms, by turning into the issues, I viscerally did not waste trouble, utilized it to inform and source workability with no reverse gear, and transposed my life into a fertile and verdant Key of Now. 🙂
Thank you for the question. I feel for all who have troubles, have lost loved ones, though, Soveriegn in my life fully, possibly for the 1st time fully… I have experienced more healthy joy and gratitude and sadness and the whole range across all of the emotional octaves… and… I have my life back. And, it’s nothing like it was before, has most of the same characters, though I feel a clarity of my own voice in word and image that I struggled towards previously. Now? Now, I simply speak, and it’s ME as only I can be.
Thank you for your question. I don’t know that I’ve responded this personally thoughtfully until now and at one other time.
Moving forward, With the normal adapting of the world before, though now with an enhanced and reinforced and strengthened thoughtfulness in the moment at intense new levels congruent with the times.
And, if this all wouldn’t have happened, I most likely wouldn’t have encountered you two. And, I now consider that that would have been quite a crying shame. Now, the go-to-the-symphony-or-opera chair to bask and resonate and immerse in the ablution of symphony and opera, I have my Saturday/Sunday Services of Balcony Performances ritual.
I have to blame you and George for bringing joy to the world. And, please don’t apologize. Maybe you couldn’t help it. ;). Pleas don’t lose that.
Are you guys going to do an mp3 or downloadable wave file as an anthology of your balcony performances for sale? Let me know if you do, because I’ll buy it ti home it right by Moonlight Sonata with Beethoven and Rob Halford and Queensryche who are INeighbs with Trent Reznor, Phantogram, Aejandro Aranda, Metric, Silversun Pickups, and Meg Ryan. Mozart and Handel eLive across the street INeighb-I gotta Jung, Nietzche, Wm Blake, Wm James, Jose Plecznik, and Schwaller de Lubicz not for hi politics but for The Temple In/Of Man works.
Please say you two will have the concerts for sale as an anthology as well. 🙂
Was the ImaginAction birth time a planned birth or completely random, if random was it auspicious on the charts. I like that it improved your thoughtfulness, I have enjoyed the extra thinking time I must admit, I’m usually rushing from one task to another.
Thank you for the super compliment about our concerts, it makes us happy that you enjoy them. We haven’t recorded anything for a few years so it would be a lovely album to record and an anthology would be a nice project. We’ll try to get the sound quality good enough from our at home recordings we’re experimenting at the moment.
Thanks again Jordan for your thoughtful comment.
Best wishes
Charlotte
You’re welcome, Charlotte. My pleasure.
It’s cool you ask about ImaginAction’s Birth time. Previous to ImaginAction I always Astro Charted release dates and the like for the auspicious portion to set theming out at the best time possible for those 1st steps.
With ImaginAction, though, it simply was what it was. Rather than a freanzied deadline and hundreds of hours tuning and tailoring and formatting and etc etc from around 2 weeks prior to March 19th when our shutdown over here occurred… I simply worked mornings, evenings, and weekends slowly and patiently and methodically rather than my normal frenzied hopped up in the rpms deadline mode. I felt to make the gestation and birth calm and natural. So, I come along to Friday night late on May 1st… and… It’s done. Completely done and in finished form. My eyes light up and I get this huge smile. “Time to birth? I ask myself. “Hmmmmm, I have not even ONCE with ImaginAction looked at Astro Charts… (shaking head happily perplexed) at ALL.” That’s super odd for me. For me looking at a Chart is like checking the weather to see whether I send my baby out with a coat, an umbrella, or to bask in the sun with a friend.
So, the smile got even bigger and I just started laughing. No, no ultrasound so to speak. I just hopped on my Void of Course Moon table, checked, and the moon would be direct just before midnight, “I’ll give the moon half an hour or so to stretch and wake up into being direct, and 121, that’s a cool number. 122? 132? 111? Nah, that cramping the moon in to close. 121 it is. So, I uploaded the file to WordPress, crafted the blog, scheduled it for 1:21a 5/2/2020… and went to bed. It got to be a live birthlike some animals have and make its way entirely on its own with any helicoptering from me.”
Thank you for asking. I appreciate the opportunity to share the process portion of the creation story. 🙂
Moira’s Blessings to you, (Internal sense of time, Saturn/Chronos wife)
Jordan
ANd, to be a bit more concise and directly address the auspicious or no of it. After I scheduled the “natural childbirth” at 1:21a, I caught myself wondering about ImaginAction’s Natal Chart. I caught myself, reached to the feeling respectfully, and nodded “No, don’t touch it. It is now about to be itself. After it’s born, I pull its Natal Chart.” Also, then on the next morning, it was born. I couldn’t unbirth it by reverting to Drafts, and I wouldn’t have given myself the opportunity over fussing through dialing the ephemeris here and ther to get it just so. Like any of us, we ARE. Our Chart comes from when we were born, and you know that after — even of course that I planned it. I basically planned it with the sense and feel of Moira, Chronos/Saturn’s wife. Whereas he rules chronological time, she embraces the internal sens of time and timing, what resonates as and feels natural.
🙂
Let me know how the above speaks to your wonderful question set.
I like cool numbers Jordan my birthday was 11.11. – my wedding was to be 06.06. turns out it best not to plan these things to numbers and times hehe. I hope your birthdate turns out an auspicious moon.
Best not fuss I agree, leave it to the fates.
Best wishes
Charlotte
11.11 birthday. That’s cool, Charlotte, and 06.06 for your wedding as well.
Well, leave it to the Fates, though square up one’s shoulders and…uh hem… “nudge” them a certain way. 🙂 I resonate with planning to numbers, too, and then when they always move, I more often than not then hit the healthy target of the range of the orb of influence around that bullseye of a planned time — rather than just throwing dice or darts at the wall so to speak. I don’t know why, though darts may be better than dice. I throw the darts, they stick to the board. I throw the dice… always just bounce off the wall to the floor. Maybe I should return them. 🙂
Thanks for the birthdate sentiment for it to turn out to be an auspicious omen. Much appreciated.
Oops. 06.06 not 60.06.
This was a treat for us, Charlotte and we were able to watch it all through together without technical or other interruption. I loved the Mozart most (who wouldn’t) and I have a soft spot for the Piangero la mia sorta, and the Ariodante aria was definitely very satisfying. I was going to comment that the Handel highlight for us was George’s playing and I see that you have mentioned how hard it was. It looked fiendish and he did it brilliantly, it is lovely that the camera shows us the keyboard… I have just rewatched online and the keyboard is invisible, yet I have this clear memory of George’s hands flying over the it!
You might like to know that a few weeks back, when Edwin and I were feeling rather low, we watched two of your concerts back to back and felt much restored and more positive. I can believe how hard last week has been – you should be on your honeymoon now – and the future for people in the music world is opaque to say the least. You have not wasted this time and and you have spread joy and will continue to do so in whatever future we are all entering.
So happy our little WiFi booster seemed to solve the problem, fingers crossed it continues. We loved to read that our concerts restored you both to positivity what more could we want. The Ariodante aria with strings added is just fabulous and one of my new arias but George did magnificently.
You can usually see George’s hands we hadn’t quite got the camera angle right we’re using a new stand instead of taping the backup camera to the plant pot stand 😂. George is getting a little stir crazy without a decent piano but he’s doing lots of practice on the keyboard and at least he can wear earphones with that when playing late into the evening.
All our best wishes
Charlotte and George
You will survive, Charlotte – and more importantly your music will live on through the ages.
Nothing stops the music!
Thank you Sheila, you’ve just made me think of the ABBA song Thank You For the Music I love that song. Your little granddaughter is just gorgeous I loved singing for this age group in BambinO you’d be surprised how attentive the babies were for over thirty minutes. So open minded and curious at that age.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Very impressive. What a treat for your neighbours. Bravo.
And don’t worry too much. performing arts will survive. Sooner than later.
All the best.
Brian
Thank you for watching Brian and your kind message. Yes, I agree with you I’ve no doubt the performing arts will survive its whether all performing artists will survive in the industry, lots of performing artists make up their income with hospitality jobs between contracts and those jobs have disappeared too. There are lots of established artists finding avenues to work with the large organisations and working online and in small physical distanced presentations or teaching – we all need to start getting inventive and finding income streams especially when furlough and Seiss programs end.
My best wishes
Charlotte
Creativity is one avenue. The main problem I guess, is that many artists already struggled between “gigs” (as Americans would say) So now it is a matter of survival for weeks, months…
My very best wishes to you and your husband (to be). You will find a way.
Brian
Wonderful selections, wonderfully performed. Made my hair stand up, Charlotte. Great work once again, George,
Most of all, I miss writing workshops and meetings with friends. I try to focus on my writing. I just finished a manuscript begun in 2009. I have three more books planned, currently 0%, 90% and 60% complete.
Thank you very much 😊. I miss family and friends and hugs too. My motivation is back this week and I’ve had a good week. Well done on getting so much done and keeping on with your book creating targets.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Glad things are getting back to normal for you all.
We saw friends this week for the first time, outside, physically distanced sort of semi-normal or is this going to be the new normal! Thanks for dropping in.
My best wishes
Charlotte
Wonderful, wonderful concert Charlotte and George.
One of the things I love about your singing Charlotte is that I can hear every word. That’s so rare! It’s one of the things I admire about Katherine Jenkins and another Welsh person, Alyd Jones; despite hearing it many, many times Did You Hear My Lady brings goose bumps every time.
I hadn’t realised that Handel could be fiendishly difficult for a pianist. However, when I first heard the opening of The Harmonious Blacksmith I bought the score but soon gave up on the variations.
I can understand George’s frustration with the Yamaha, but my piano playing is far from good enough to find the electric keyboard a limitation.
I once had a Beckstein grand but couldn’t do justice to it.
I SOOOOO enjoyed this concert, which is certainly aiding my recovery.
Love Roger xxx
Happy you enjoyed this concert Roger, clarity and diction are constant tasks for me to improve. I saw Katherine Jenkins live with Darcy Bussell in ‘Viva La Diva’ years ago one of my most favourite memories. The Yamaha has been a great digital piano it’s absolutely fine for me and my piano practise but George got spoilt at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with all their grand pianos and the fabulous pianos at the RCM. We had ‘sponsor a key’ as a wedding gift suggestion and we were going to use the funds raised to put a deposit on an upright piano with silent function for when he is playing late into the evening.
I’m so pleased to read we helped to aid your recovery and I hope you’re soon fit and well.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I certainly isn’t clear that you have to work on diction Charlotte; it’s so good!
What a great experience seeing Katherine Jenkins and Darcy Bussell together. I’m never quite sure whether I prefer opera or ballet; probably both equally.
I didn’t realise you could get an acoustic piano which you can silence. I acquired an electric piano because I could silence so not to subject anyone to my terrible playing.
Sponsor a key: what a great idea!
I’m missing going on my swim/walks 🙁 Hopefully soon I will be able to recommence them. What is getting me through is my love for my family, David and our dog Riley, he gets me up of a morning for our daily walk. 🙂 xx
I bet you’re missing them Christine! All that super weather we had too it would have been perfect for your swims – sigh 🙁! Thank goodness we were allowed out for walks some Countries I believe didn’t allow that other than for food.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’ve been glad of my walks with Riley, but look forward to my adventures soon xx
Another thoroughly enjoyable concert, Charlotte and George! Thank you once again for the beautiful music!
Life here has not changed much in terms of what goes on here on our farm. That and the cats keep us plenty busy! Nature waits for no one, and that never changes. We are transitioning from the cooler, wetter spring into the hotter and drier summer weather now. Cherries are almost ripe, soon to be followed by blueberries. Our new strawberry plants have actually produced some good fruit in their first year. I planted two varieties this spring, both everbearing strawberries called “Eversweet”, and “Charlotte”. The name selection was not intentional, but I do think of you when I tend the strawberry patch. 🙂
https://www.gurneys.com/product/charlotte
Thank you, Lavinia, I’m happy you enjoyed the concert and I’m delighted there is a strawberry with my name I hope they grow well for you, we buy salad potatoes called Charlotte it makes me smile. My Dad loves cherry pie as long as the cherries are sweet.
Best wishes
Charlotte
“But once again I found solace directly from all your support here on my blog and across my social media platforms. I feel secure knowing that people’s love for music and their need to be entertained is prevailing. Thank you all for this.”
That says everything I need to say 🙂
Magnificent! What a treat! Thank you both for posting this wonderful concert. 🙂
Thank you for listening 💛 I hope you have a super week.
Best wishes
Charlotte