ASC

aka Actual Singing Content.

basilique sainte marie-madeleine de vézelay

Or choral content to be precise.

But don't anyone ever tell you it's easier than solo work. Because it's not. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not in a million years.  You need an extra kind of confidence. It's not enough to know you can sing the music by yourself, you need to know that you can sing it with other people, be able to blend with other voices, not be put off by the others in your section, or be so scared that you're not pulling your weight, or are sounding crap, that you end up forgetting how your technique works. You almost need to be arrogant about it all.  It intrigues and confounds me!

But what better music to be intrigued and confounded by than the wonders that are the Requiem, and Mass in c minor, by WA Mozart, with Arsys Bourgogne, and the Camerata Salzburg.  Om nom nom!  (I auditioned last year - my first as mezzo/alto, so I was doubly pleased to take part!)

But enough of such inane twaddle - I know you really want to know about where we sang, not why, what, or how we sang!  ('Cos really, after the initial - ooh pretty music, and ooh - cool orchestra, the rest is all hard work, sweat, and tears!)

Arriving at Vézelay in Burgundy in 36c heat at 9pm wasn't my idea of fun, I have to admit, but after making a tour of the village, fell in love.  Not with the hills. No. (The small town is built on the summit of a hill.  The rehearsal venue and the basilica was at the top, my hotel was at the bottom.  Big hill.  Much sweat.)  But oh. Pretty. PRETTY!

Ruins.

Ancient buildings.

Picture-postcard views.

And then there was the Romanesque Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Absolutely stuffed to the gunwhales (or, should I say up to the pillars) with fabulous stone carving...

 feel free to click on the pictures for enlargments

The interior is lovely and light, with some nice stone striping on the arches.

And there was one example of stained glass.  (I had taken many more of the same window, but only discovered once I had arrived home that the reason none really came out was because the lens was rather needing cleaned!)

An exhausting 10 days, but totally worth it to be able to marvel over a lovely and ancient small town, and take part in some fabulous music-making.

Now, Where Was I...?

... the last time you heard from me was yonks ago.  Between then and now Things Have Been Happening.

Oh yes.  Things.  

But before I bore you with exactly what Things, we'll take a commercial break.

Abbaye de Villelongue, Longuedoc, France

Come and visit the beautifully kept ruins of the Abbaye of Villelongue.  Resting at the foot of the Montagne Noir (Black Mountain) in the Languedoc Roussillon region of Southern France, this ancient abbey of Villelongue is one of the few cistercian abbeys left in Europe.

You may even happen across a concert of English Baroque music in the beautifully restored Refectory...

And welcome back...

Things indeed.  Things like moving to Holland.  Such a little statement for such a huge undertaking.  Details of finding said flat, deposit, removals (movers, for you non-UK'ers) firm and pick-up and delivery by said firm shall be spared, worry not, but I shall divulge some more pleasant happenings which include covering up the repulsive peach and red earth walls in the living room with a nice clean white and cheery sunshine yellow (although I have to admit that separated as they are in the hall and the bedroom, they aren't horrific at all), purchasing my very own fridge-freezer (and discovering a plethora of fabby second-hand shops into the bargain) and the compulsory visit to IKEA for things I didn't really need, but had to have, anyway.  

I shall only add that I don't intend to stray from this new flat for a Very Long Time.  (It's very nice, though, so I don't think I'll mind too much...)

Things.  Yes,  Other Things like singing in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with The Orchestra of the 18th Century.  Rameau, no less.   With a live radio broadcast thrown into the mix!  Oh.  And if that wasn't nerve-racking enough, I was covering one of 2 roles of one singer who developed some mystery throat infection one day before the concert.  But, OH, how enjoyable!  I mean - Rameau, Concertgebouw, Orchestra of the C18th?  And all over my birthday week.  SWEET!  (Apart from Ill Singer, but one mustn't look a silver lining in the... erm, stitching...)

Things like travelling back off to France for concerts with Le Petit Ensemble in the Abbaye de Villelongue, and with Ensemble Jacques Moderne in the Loire region.  (I find it moderately amusing that I decide to relocate back to Holland, only to get asked for a Summer's-worth of music in France - the exact inverse happened when I moved from Holland to France in 2003!)  

But that's all we have time (and patience) for this post...  Do join us again for the second and last episode of Now, Where Was I: Dutch Things 

:: cue cheesy music and cut to commercial ::

Hidden Chateaux of the Loire

The Chateau de la Chatonnierre lies near Azay-Le-Rideau in the Loire Valley.  Nestled in twelve gardens dedicated to Science, Intelligence, Elegance and Silence, amongst others, this Renaissance chateau also plays host to a Summer music festival, where you may find an international cast of singers and musicians.  

Within a stone's throw of this garden delight, you will find the grand manor house of Les Douves, which was built on the remains of the Chateau of Onzain.  Surrounded by its own moat and gardens, the house, which is privately owned, is home to exhibitions and small music festivals the year 'round.

This post was brought to you by The God Thor, his Thunder Bolts and Lighting Sticks, Lack of Sleep, and Much Coffee

V is for...

Versailles

 

tourists, lots of tourists.  oh, and a palace, too

Now, the first thing to be said about the marvellous Château de Versailles is that you'll be amongst thousands of tourists.  They're everywhere...  You'll be lucky if you can get a photo of the façade or the gardens without a couple of hundred folk obscuring the details.  You'll be lucky if you can find a sandwich for love OR money after the hour of 2pm.  You'll be lucky if you get to spend more than a couple of minutes in any room in the palace without being swept away in the current of the crowd. 

But you'll also be lucky to go there and see all the wonders in person!  Truly! 

My sis and I were awestruck with everything!  The size of the place, the richness, the history, the grandeur...  Even though I had been there before (I sang solo in the Chapel Royale with Les Arts Florissants, doncha know!) somehow visiting as a tourist made everything so much grander!

DS and I decided to 'do' the gardens first... and it was just as well we did...

the bassin de latone and grand canal

We spent 5 hours.  FIVE WHOLE HOURS in the gardens alone.  I had monstrous sunburn to account for that.  Even though there were plenty clouds in the sky, it was a 35-ish degree type of day so when the sun came out to play, he played hardcore.

 

the palace from the baths of apollo

Even with 5 hours of tramping around the groves, basins, fountains and avenues, I reckon we barely covered half of what there was to see in the gardens and I have to admit finding it hard to take photos of gardens of such a massive scale!  Also, me being me, I took more photos of the beautiful sculptures than the anything else!  We did make it as far as the Trianons - the Grand and the Petit and both were delightful to behold!

 

loggia of the grand trianon

petit trianon

Then, after tramping back a couple of miles, it was time for the interior of the palace, itself...  And it's totally breathtaking!  The French kings certainly stamped their majesty on the architecture and decoration everywhere, from the stunning Hall of Mirrors (which was being renovated while we were there);

la galerie des glaces

to the Chapelle Royale (which we could only view from the Royal gallery on the 1st floor and the door on the ground floor, so please excuse blurry photos - we were amongst many folk all jostling for a peep!);

you can kind of get an idea of the grandeur...

the organ by cliquot

through the royal apartments;

the ceiling of one of the state bedrooms

to the grand apartments:

impressive door in the hercules salon

It was a tad on the tricky side trying to get photos, but the few I have give me such excellent reminders of a terrific day out that made any jostling and cramming totally worthwhile!!