Getting ready for the St. John Passion

I coached yesterday with Peter, and am starting to get really excited about the upcoming St. John Passion.

My, what incredible music! The three arias for bass are each very different, and present unique challenges... there are such intricate twists and unexpected turns in the music, I feel that this is one of the most difficult pieces I've ever learned. At the same time it is so satisfying to examine this music, to try to uncover its secrets, its beauty and depth of feeling, and to try to find how to perform it intelligently, with passion and joy. I feel very lucky!

I am also lucky to have the expert assistance of Peter, who is fantastic at pulling out every bit of musicality that I have, helping me fix pronunciation errors, and letting the music come more to life... I try to explain to non-singers what a good coach does, but through technical things that help one sound like a native speaker of a language, and indicating style, they help one sing more easily, with less effort, from one's own true feeling.

Today it is beautifully sunny, 16 degrees, so I think I will go out on the back porch with my score, have a cigar, listen to the recording of my coaching, and try to cement into place the work we did yesterday. I coach again tomorrow, and then the first rehearsal is on Saturday morning, and then I still have more than a week to continue polishing things before the concert on April 2nd.

Malcolm has been away with his class for a week at the chateau in the Ardennes, and he has been very lucky to have beautiful weather. No letters from him yet but perhaps we'll get something tomorrow... Duncan has been enjoying very much being an only child, but he does miss his older brother, and Malcolm was quite tender with him before he left. I wonder how long this brotherly chaleur will last when Malcolm returns? I'm betting three, maybe four minutes!