Little Pixies, in Tutus!
Or what romps through the head of Ed as he leads another choir practice from the depths of his terrible cold! Little pixes danced mockingly through my head, as we tried to sing 'Sumer Is Icumen In' but instead sounded like the mice in bagpuss, cleaning a broken ship in a bottle.
Madrigals over, we tackled Sloop John B, which was great fun, and is perfect to add to our repertoire.
What we all did for love was a bit flat, until Ed helped us spice it up, using the Bryan Husband™ method, placing a 'person' in mind, that you are singing to or about. So I stared at the cross on the curtains and felt a bit silly, but the second time we sang it, Ed was very happy, and we had put so much real feeling into the song that we drove away the cheeky pixies in tutus (that always go too far). So that's the answer DFS, make like a soloist, everytime! Well, maybe apart from madrigals, which always sound a bit bonkers!
Have a lovely half term, keep singing, and don't forget my Mam is coming down from Lancashire on the 9th June, Pub meeting on the 14th June and Preston garden party concert on the 18th. No madrigals will be sung. Love You! XXX
19 May 2011
And there was pie...
Poor old Ed wore a radio mic tonight, and wasn't singing at all, as he had the worst man-cold EVER and we had to hear about it repeatedly in between songs. Adrian had a special request for choir, but he made poor croaky Ed ask, and so a willing and generous contingency are going to the church on Saturday to see Adrian's mum wedded (and will sing beautifully). Take some pictures, for the blog, folks!
A bit of a relaxed practice tonight, what with Ed running at half mast, or some other better metaphor, and some choices at the end of songs from our recent back list. Which is always fun, finding out how much we have forgotten!
It wasn't a very tasty pie though, but one composed of the colours of polo-shirts requested thus far. Not enough yellow and orange, it would seem. See you next week, DFS, for the last practice before half term. Cat XXX
Poor old Ed wore a radio mic tonight, and wasn't singing at all, as he had the worst man-cold EVER and we had to hear about it repeatedly in between songs. Adrian had a special request for choir, but he made poor croaky Ed ask, and so a willing and generous contingency are going to the church on Saturday to see Adrian's mum wedded (and will sing beautifully). Take some pictures, for the blog, folks!
A bit of a relaxed practice tonight, what with Ed running at half mast, or some other better metaphor, and some choices at the end of songs from our recent back list. Which is always fun, finding out how much we have forgotten!
It wasn't a very tasty pie though, but one composed of the colours of polo-shirts requested thus far. Not enough yellow and orange, it would seem. See you next week, DFS, for the last practice before half term. Cat XXX
A Fish Supper with Ed and Elton - gig review! (and blatant plug)
Yesterday I had a really enjoyable night out, Talking, giggling, dancing and eating fish and chips, down in the hall at Wey Valley School...It was probably the tail end of my 40th Birthday celebrations, but what a lovely ending it was too!
The school hall has a really good stage, and at just the right moment Ed's son Jack tugged on the curtains to reveal Mr Hintze in his signature red jacket and straw hat. All held their breath at the curtains momentarily paused, then squeaked the rest of the way open. Ed played the grand piano, alongside his trusty TYROS3, perched on top,and did what he always does so well, entertained his varied audience with top performing and a smattering of tasteful jokes ...Ed chose real audience pleasers from his HUGE repertoire of Elton songs and the atmosphere was brilliant.
Then the awesome school dinner lady brought out chip-suppers for all, you could have a sausage or a veggie burger, if you wanted, and some tartare sauce was dug out for the birthday girl too. With lights up, there was an opportunity to chat with friends and family, and some thing nice and comforting to soak up the rosé drank by members of Dorset for Singing.
In the second half, fuelled with fishies and encouraged by Ed's lovely wife Jenny, the dancing began, as Ed appeared on stage in Gold Lamé and rocked the school hall. I simply cant say enough how impressed I am with the size of Mr Hinze's repertoire, although his enthusiasm for playing got the better of him when his G-string snapped, mid song! After that he let it hang out so it wouldn't make funny noises.
Ed thanked his supporters, and us for being fab fans, and we knew he really meant it. And we really were happy we came, especially some of us! The last encore was an Elton track, to dance to, and so we did! And I got my poster signed at half time, too!
The school hall has a really good stage, and at just the right moment Ed's son Jack tugged on the curtains to reveal Mr Hintze in his signature red jacket and straw hat. All held their breath at the curtains momentarily paused, then squeaked the rest of the way open. Ed played the grand piano, alongside his trusty TYROS3, perched on top,and did what he always does so well, entertained his varied audience with top performing and a smattering of tasteful jokes ...Ed chose real audience pleasers from his HUGE repertoire of Elton songs and the atmosphere was brilliant.
Then the awesome school dinner lady brought out chip-suppers for all, you could have a sausage or a veggie burger, if you wanted, and some tartare sauce was dug out for the birthday girl too. With lights up, there was an opportunity to chat with friends and family, and some thing nice and comforting to soak up the rosé drank by members of Dorset for Singing.
In the second half, fuelled with fishies and encouraged by Ed's lovely wife Jenny, the dancing began, as Ed appeared on stage in Gold Lamé and rocked the school hall. I simply cant say enough how impressed I am with the size of Mr Hinze's repertoire, although his enthusiasm for playing got the better of him when his G-string snapped, mid song! After that he let it hang out so it wouldn't make funny noises.
Ed thanked his supporters, and us for being fab fans, and we knew he really meant it. And we really were happy we came, especially some of us! The last encore was an Elton track, to dance to, and so we did! And I got my poster signed at half time, too!
12 May 2011
Breezes will blow endlessly...
To being with the hall was all set up wrongly, and in addition there was Michael selling polo-shirts off the stage, Dave fiddling with speakers and mics, and me giving out ARTWEY art-trail maps again. Our Warm up was also a sound check, as it was time to record our Choir Anthem competition entry, and then there was an especially nice warm up song, just to celebrate 40 years of me getting on peoples nerves a lot! Have to say, having heard it a few times now of course, that’s the best Happy Birthday chorus EVER so thank you all! Unlike some parties I have been to, Ed will always start it in a sensible key!
And then it was time to try a couple of takes, and Ed very carefully explained that there must be absolute silence for a few seconds before and after the actual song, as EVERY sound we made would be captured and sent off for the judges to frown at! Suddenly, there was a loud ‘parp’ sound from the direction of the stage and we had to wait for all the giggles to subside before trying to play/sing! Ed said it was just a chair. Of course it was.
We sang a few of our recent new songs, including the one about love, chosen by Adrian, and my choice – Heart, Alone ... I used to have big hair like those babes! A few things The Cat was asked tonight were, ‘these tops, are they compulsory, was there a vote?’, ‘aren’t we on the harmony side?’ and finally, ‘will you tell Ed it sounds like a dirge?’! Big hugs everyone, well done for making a good recording in two takes, and sorry you missed it Fulvia XXX
To being with the hall was all set up wrongly, and in addition there was Michael selling polo-shirts off the stage, Dave fiddling with speakers and mics, and me giving out ARTWEY art-trail maps again. Our Warm up was also a sound check, as it was time to record our Choir Anthem competition entry, and then there was an especially nice warm up song, just to celebrate 40 years of me getting on peoples nerves a lot! Have to say, having heard it a few times now of course, that’s the best Happy Birthday chorus EVER so thank you all! Unlike some parties I have been to, Ed will always start it in a sensible key!
And then it was time to try a couple of takes, and Ed very carefully explained that there must be absolute silence for a few seconds before and after the actual song, as EVERY sound we made would be captured and sent off for the judges to frown at! Suddenly, there was a loud ‘parp’ sound from the direction of the stage and we had to wait for all the giggles to subside before trying to play/sing! Ed said it was just a chair. Of course it was.
We sang a few of our recent new songs, including the one about love, chosen by Adrian, and my choice – Heart, Alone ... I used to have big hair like those babes! A few things The Cat was asked tonight were, ‘these tops, are they compulsory, was there a vote?’, ‘aren’t we on the harmony side?’ and finally, ‘will you tell Ed it sounds like a dirge?’! Big hugs everyone, well done for making a good recording in two takes, and sorry you missed it Fulvia XXX
5 May 2011
Alone!
A colourful evening was had, ignoring Jenny's language of course - I was referring to the options for polo shirts, and the impromptu trying on session at the end. But which green did you prefer? Wishy-washy; or the colour of healthy grass? Michael set up his lap top as the overhead screen didn't show them off very well!
Everyone whipped out their diaries as Jenny read out details of our three next events, including a return to Preston rectory garden party. We are going to look very nice if our new polo shirts arrive in time. There is a lot of interest in purple!
So How do I get you alone? A blast from the past has been firmly stuck in my head since last night, I just the right age to have enjoyed this song very much when it was fresh, watching the video with a young boyfriend and playing on my 'personal stereo'. How old am I? I will tell you next week, and I hope to see lots of you with your chips on the 14th May, too!
A colourful evening was had, ignoring Jenny's language of course - I was referring to the options for polo shirts, and the impromptu trying on session at the end. But which green did you prefer? Wishy-washy; or the colour of healthy grass? Michael set up his lap top as the overhead screen didn't show them off very well!
Everyone whipped out their diaries as Jenny read out details of our three next events, including a return to Preston rectory garden party. We are going to look very nice if our new polo shirts arrive in time. There is a lot of interest in purple!
So How do I get you alone? A blast from the past has been firmly stuck in my head since last night, I just the right age to have enjoyed this song very much when it was fresh, watching the video with a young boyfriend and playing on my 'personal stereo'. How old am I? I will tell you next week, and I hope to see lots of you with your chips on the 14th May, too!
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