When we set off for the station it was more like time to swim. Such was the storm that we'd never seen our lane so flooded. The swimming would come later, as it happened, but meanwhile there was a journey to London - thankfully dry by the time we arrived - and our first musical appointment of the weekend. Even if you're not interested in the free lunchtime concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields, it's well worth making for their award-winning crypt cafe. A gourmet salad apiece followed by a vibrant fruit tart - surely at least three of our 5-a-day - and we just had time to take in the crowds and soaring temperatures of Trafalgar Square before heading back into the relative cool of the church.
We were in time for an open rehearsal of Genesis Sixteen, the young artists' scheme for ensemble singers, and this gave some fascinating insights before the main event. I was taken back to singing Josquin on my holiday in Assisi last year, as his Gaude Virgo was used to demonstrate the difference between 'simply' singing the correct notes and shaping phrases more musically by employing, let's say, a freer relationship with bar lines. Clearly these stars of the future found it more challenging to show us the 'wrong' way! The performance itself was an hour of harmonic pleasure, and I made a mental note to seek out the rest of Pizzetti's Requiem, after hearing the tantalising first movement.
A bit more culture followed with a trip to the Matisse Cut-outs exhibition at Tate Modern. The South Bank was heaving so we were really ready for our refreshing swim once we got to our accommodation - student residences at Imperial College, with access to the sports facilities included. The main attraction is its proximity to the Royal Albert Hall, meaning a two-minute stroll around the corner for the best music festival in the world! The main purpose of the visit this weekend was for me to review a concert the following day, with the luxury of sit-down press tickets, but this evening we joined the Promenaders' queue and paid our £5 each (cash only!) to stand in the arena and listen to the China Philharmonic Orchestra in quite a varied programme - quite handy when you're promming as it gives you the chance to fidget a bit or even sit on the floor for a while between pieces. Britain's Alison Balsom gave the premiere of a trumpet work by Chinese composer Qigang Chen, which seemed technically fiendish and also not the easiest thing to listen to, but the highlight of the evening was young Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang's sensitive interpretation of Liszt.
The aching legs weren't just down to the swimming, but definitely a couple of fivers well spent.
We were in time for an open rehearsal of Genesis Sixteen, the young artists' scheme for ensemble singers, and this gave some fascinating insights before the main event. I was taken back to singing Josquin on my holiday in Assisi last year, as his Gaude Virgo was used to demonstrate the difference between 'simply' singing the correct notes and shaping phrases more musically by employing, let's say, a freer relationship with bar lines. Clearly these stars of the future found it more challenging to show us the 'wrong' way! The performance itself was an hour of harmonic pleasure, and I made a mental note to seek out the rest of Pizzetti's Requiem, after hearing the tantalising first movement.
A bit more culture followed with a trip to the Matisse Cut-outs exhibition at Tate Modern. The South Bank was heaving so we were really ready for our refreshing swim once we got to our accommodation - student residences at Imperial College, with access to the sports facilities included. The main attraction is its proximity to the Royal Albert Hall, meaning a two-minute stroll around the corner for the best music festival in the world! The main purpose of the visit this weekend was for me to review a concert the following day, with the luxury of sit-down press tickets, but this evening we joined the Promenaders' queue and paid our £5 each (cash only!) to stand in the arena and listen to the China Philharmonic Orchestra in quite a varied programme - quite handy when you're promming as it gives you the chance to fidget a bit or even sit on the floor for a while between pieces. Britain's Alison Balsom gave the premiere of a trumpet work by Chinese composer Qigang Chen, which seemed technically fiendish and also not the easiest thing to listen to, but the highlight of the evening was young Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang's sensitive interpretation of Liszt.
The aching legs weren't just down to the swimming, but definitely a couple of fivers well spent.
