It's been another eventful fortnight of not enough practise, not enough sleep and....a puncture for my ill-fated car! Due to computer issues I've not been able to upload my latest practise schedule 'marks out of ten' but I promise to give you a full report at the end of THIS week (not long now!) when I'll be heading off to Holland for some lessons with the wonderful Erika Waardenburg!
The first important thing to report is a brilliant lesson I had with Di Xiao (Didi), a wonderful musician who I met at one of my concerts last year. I am so blessed that Didi came to hear me, with her husband Adrian, and introduced herself to me afterwards. I thought she was lovely (which she is!!) but had no idea of her immense talent and world-class status until I checked out her website, ordered her debut CD and then played it from start to finish, without being able to switch it off for a second. Of course, she's also incredible live in concert, but I was particularly impressed that even on a CD recording her charisma, immaculate phrasing and crystal clear tone shone out with such vibrance, when so often a recording is a poor substitute for the real thing.
To cut a long story short, Didi agreed to give me a lesson and it was a total inspiration. After hearing me play Tommy's 'Shades of Grief' only once, and it being absolutely new to her, Didi got an instant impression of the shape of the work, pointing out structural markers and phrasing that I had missed after two years of studying the piece. Particularly valuable to me was Didi's advice on staying physically still at a very transfixing moment of the piece - very high on the harp an eerie but beautiful version of the lament sounds - a sort of lullaby with slightly sinister harmonies. I had been overcomplicating a simple, melodic line (typical of me, I'm ashamed to say) and Didi showed me I could express it more plainly and clearly to the audience through a simple delivery, with no physical gestures or making it over-emotional when Tommy's music alone was so perfect and beautiful. Didi politely and subtly suggested (she could never be overtly critical!!) that I was doing the musical equivalent of putting make-up on a baby's face; not enhancing, but in fact spoiling the delicate features.
I went away from my lesson with a real skip in my step and hundreds of new ideas for the music and with renewed enthusiasm for the recording session with Tommy that happened a few days ago at Eastcote studios in West London. Here's a photo of Tommy and I next to my harp and studio owner Phil's fabulous vintage ribbon mic!
Other news fresh in.....
Caught my boyfriend completely of his own accord nailing my woodblocks together for the Crown of Ariadne. Thank you, Alex, amazingly intuitive of you to know that I needed that doing ;)
Poorly harp! Has my harp aquired the cordine strain of chicken pox? Or have I been marking the strings ready for whizzing up and down with the metal bit of a lovely Camac tuning key (having hacked the sensible rubber coating off it with a stanley knife!) to create the 'rocket' effect in Crown of Ariadne?
Like staring down the barrel of a gun. Ironically, how I still feel when I open the score....
Here's the afore-mentioned stripped Camac tuning key!
Sadly, I've spent too long already on the faulty PC and must go and chain myself to the harp for a few more minutes before tonight's steady flow of students begins.
Bye for now!
Ellie
Fab blog Ellie...I could've sent you a naked Camac key though! Do you want a spare? The thought of you risking your fingers with a stanley knife is going to keep me awake at night xxx
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