So I figure it's been long enough since I posted anything...So here is a review of the concert/recital last August.
On August 9, 2008 shortly after one a.m. That's right one in the morning! I get a text from a woman I had never met. Her name is Jennie Ficks. She was traveling with my accompanist, Sean Rogers, for my recital the next afternoon. (Okay, really, later that day.) The text message said. "Sean and I can't find a hotel. Don't know when we'll see you tomorrow." The concert was scheduled for three p.m . We needed to rehearse rehearse before than. (Jennie and I, as I mentioned earlier, had never met and she was going to be playing the French Horn at my recital. Sean and I had worked on the songs Jennie and I would be doing together. And so did Sean and Jennie.) Well, Sean and I also needed to work out a couple of things. Since I moved to Utah two years ago, I always make my out of town recital guests (performers and family) breakfast the morning of the concert. I "texted" Jennie back saying I had room. She called. They were turning around and on the way. Their hotel room was given away as they were late. They had car problems shortly after leaving Boise and finally got back on the road five hours later. There were no hotels available because of some convention in Salt Lake that weekend. They were on the way to Las Vegas.They got lost, so I had to go out and get them. We finally got back to my place just before three. (Twelve hourse to go.)
They slept until about 10:30 or 11. Jennie was still working out her part. There were changes that needed to be made and since horns are "tuned" differently, it had to be transposed. (There's only so much you can do in a moving vehicle at midnight.) Sean and I practiced a little bit. Jennie and Sean practiced a little bit, we ate, I showered and than we had to leave. Jennie and I never got to go through the songs together until it was time to do them during the concert.
But despite all that I thought the program went fairly well. Kennessa Powell Malan the soprano scheduled to join me in Orem fell ill so she was unable to sing.
Ave Maria is a standard piece. I figured it was a song that most people would have heard at least once in their life...(which is pretty much the only reason it was included in the program.)
Stanchen, Stanchen, Stanchen...reminds me of the balconey scene from Romeo and Juilet.
Erlkonig. This song was a lot of fun. I got to be four different people. And do it in German! (Okay so the German wasn't as fun, but you get the idea.) Towards the end, while the Erlking is making his final attempt to "ensnare" the boy, I shouted louder than I expected I would and scared myself. (The line begins, Ich liebe dich...)
The spirituals set was probably the most nerve racking for me as Jennie and I hadn't had time to practice together. Swing Low (the 4th one) sounded different that what I remember doing with Sean at our rehearsals. So there were some interludes where there weren't supposed to be interludes. But oh well. Sean is amazing and filled in the emtpy space. More on that later.
Since Kennessa wasn't able to join us, Sean and I worked out a "medley" of If I Loved You and You'll Never Walk Alone. I thought we had discussed starting at the "aria" section. ("If I loved you, time and again I would try to say...") Well he started at the very beginning with the recitative, ("Kinda scrawny and pale, pickin' at my food...") So that took some quick readjustments. And than I thought we had decided to only do You'll Never Walk Alone ONCE, not doing the customary repeat that most performers do, or even the repeat that I do (basically cutting the repeat in half. The words escape me at the moment. Forgive me.) But Sean did the repeat. I was, not shocked, not confused...I guess perplexed is a good word. I was perplexed at what had just happened. And than I was so disoriented I couldn't think of the words. I was expecting that. And finally Sean realizing that I wasn't coming in did a big, grand ending. Oops.
And finally Soliloquy. this song was a lot of fun. I offended a couple of my friends because I say "hell," "damn," and "bastard." But I mean really. I say worse than that on Facebook. I told my mom that I thought it was kinda funny a couple of my friends were offended and than I got chewed out by my mom. "You coulda changed those words. It's a concert version, not a stage version of the song." Well I didnt' change them in Nampa the following week either.
And finally, the program ended with our traditional "benediction," You Have Nothing to Fear from the journey. Though your way may be burdened with thorns..."
My review of the Nampa performance will be coming later. That should be interesting.
The spirituals set was probably the most nerve racking for me as Jennie and I hadn't had time to practice together. Swing Low (the 4th one) sounded different that what I remember doing with Sean at our rehearsals. So there were some interludes where there weren't supposed to be interludes. But oh well. Sean is amazing and filled in the emtpy space. More on that later.
Since Kennessa wasn't able to join us, Sean and I worked out a "medley" of If I Loved You and You'll Never Walk Alone. I thought we had discussed starting at the "aria" section. ("If I loved you, time and again I would try to say...") Well he started at the very beginning with the recitative, ("Kinda scrawny and pale, pickin' at my food...") So that took some quick readjustments. And than I thought we had decided to only do You'll Never Walk Alone ONCE, not doing the customary repeat that most performers do, or even the repeat that I do (basically cutting the repeat in half. The words escape me at the moment. Forgive me.) But Sean did the repeat. I was, not shocked, not confused...I guess perplexed is a good word. I was perplexed at what had just happened. And than I was so disoriented I couldn't think of the words. I was expecting that. And finally Sean realizing that I wasn't coming in did a big, grand ending. Oops.
And finally Soliloquy. this song was a lot of fun. I offended a couple of my friends because I say "hell," "damn," and "bastard." But I mean really. I say worse than that on Facebook. I told my mom that I thought it was kinda funny a couple of my friends were offended and than I got chewed out by my mom. "You coulda changed those words. It's a concert version, not a stage version of the song." Well I didnt' change them in Nampa the following week either.
And finally, the program ended with our traditional "benediction," You Have Nothing to Fear from the journey. Though your way may be burdened with thorns..."
My review of the Nampa performance will be coming later. That should be interesting.
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