A Night at the Opera

Arthur, Juls and I had a fantastic time a couple of weeks ago when we went to see and hear Ed perform with the Birmingham Opera Company in their latest amazing production! The piece, directed by Graham Vick, was by Modest Mussorsky and was given the title 'Khovanskygate: A National Inquiry'.

It all took place in the 'Freedom Tent' in Cannonhill Park in Birmingham and was quite an experience! The audience were guided and moved around by opera members during the performance, making us feel that we, too, were part of the action and, very fortunately, we were almost always near Ed, partly out of sheer luck and partly by design!

Ed's first guise  -  as a revolutionary.

 I was especially pleased to be very close to Ed during his solo  -  he had told me roughly the pattern of where he would be placed for his solo part as 'Golitsyn's messenger' and then, asked by Juls, one of the company kindly told me exactly where Ed would be, so I was right by the platform Ed was on at this time! His voice rang out so well - he was ever so good!

As 'Golitsyn's messenger''.

 

 

A couple of shots of Ed in his policeman's role.

This is Ed in the final scene of the opera  -  a rather terrifying one in which lots of the characters  -  the 'believers' and this included Ed  -  committed mass suicide. To show this, the cast actually put plastic bags over their heads  -  a risky business, being an opera singer!

I'll look forward to seeing more of Ed in opera and  more of Birmingham Opera Company's fascinating productions!

Hospital exhibition and painting

My solo exhibition in Oriel Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor was set up at the beginning of this month and, as a former Art Therapist who believes in the therapeutic value of art, it is a great pleasure for me to have my work available for patients, visitors and staff alike.

The gallery is situated in the main entrance foyer of the hospital and, as with the Cloisters Gallery by the refectory in St Davids Cathedral, these spaces are open to members of the public, including while exhibitions are being hung.

 

A view across the foyer -  people coming to and fro had lessened considerably by the time this photo was taken approaching mid morning.

 Hanging an exhibition alongside members of the public changes the dynamic of the empty gallery space and of the relationship between exhibitor and spectator. Early morning in the hospital is a busy time and many people were coming and going as the exhibitor before us, jeweller Karen Williams, took down her work and we started to unpack mine. It was a pleasure to meet Karen and then, as we began to get my work in place, passers-by took a moment or two to look on with interest. In the cathedral, whole conversations had taken place while pieces were being hung but the nature of visitors to the hospital environment reduced these interactions to smiles and a few words.

Another difference between this and my cathedral exhibition was that, this time, Arthur and I were not alone in hanging the work but turned out to have the assistance of not one but two people!  I had put forward my proposal for the hospital exhibition through Gwynedd Arts Forum and we met up with Gwawr Wyn Roberts, Forum Community Arts Development Officer, when we arrived at the hospital. Shortly afterwards, we were joined by a member of the hospital's technical staff who had come to help hang the exhibition and, with Gwawr also lending a hand, everything was achieved surprisingly quickly despite the fact that the display area included five boards and two cabinets, so many thanks to both!

An early visitor  -  finishing touches were being put to the exhibition and it was already attracting attention! I have also now been contacted by visitors who have said how much they enjoyed the exhibition  -  this is much appreciated!

 

 

 

Self by another of the display boards with my piece, 'Light and Shadow on the Mountain, Moel Offrwm'.

 

 

Two views of the main cabinet.

 

 

This is a detail of the smaller of the cabinets. It was quite difficult to photograph this cabinet because of all the reflections on the glass doors but I thought that myself captured in the mirror tiles whilst taking the photo was rather amusing! The little concertina book was made particularly with this cabinet in mind and the mirror tiles placed under and behind the book worked really well in allowing all aspects to be seen by spectators.

 

Finally, I had a very enjoyable day yesterday in my studio painting in acrylics on a linen canvas. I love my stitching but I also love painting, writing music, writing poetry . . . in short, I enjoy many aspects of the creative process!

 

Now I need to go to do some admin  -  this needs to be done, too!

 

 

 

 

Cloisters Exhibition, St Davids Cathedral

Time has gone so quickly lately! It is a few weeks now since we returned from St Davids and my Cloisters Exhibition. It was really good to show there again -  also good in that I sold my 'Towards the Light' abstract as well as several prints and cards. We stayed in 'Ysgubor', a lovely disabled-friendly cottage at Tretio where we had stayed during my 2012 exhibition. It was a pleasure to talk to Rob and Honey again, who run the cottages on their farm and we had another greeting from the little hen who had also come to say ‘hello’ in 2012! Honey welcomed us with a delicious sponge cake - despite my intolerances, I couldn't resist having just a little bit! - and also six beautiful fresh eggs. We’ll hope to return for a third time!

Below is a link to their Facebook page where Rob and Honey have posted lots of pictures and many snippets of info about the cottages, the area etc. They have even included a couple of shots of my exhibition!

tretio cottages facebook page

A few pictures of the exhibition.

 

 

 

 

The following show images of my 'Silent Polyphonies' installation. I was able to exhibit it with the sound this time, in which I read my poem to a piano accompaniment which I also play, then finish with a short sung cadence. As with 'The Invitation', the sound loops round, with a short interval between tracks, to accompany the visual images of panel and 'falling' book. At one point, a spectator who had also been listening while she was in the refectory, came over to me to say how much she had enjoyed the music and how relaxed it had made her feel!

 

Arthur and panel during set-up, looking toward the refectory.

A closer view of panel with side 'a' and also some wall pieces.

Looking away from the refectory this time and also showing the beautiful 'shelf' the book had to rest on! I love the stones of the cathedral wall and I thought that the pattern formed by some of the exposed stonework was an ideal place for the pages of the 'falling book'.

A little visitor was on the stones and it seemed so appropriate to have it there  -  sadly, no longer alive but still very beautiful!

The other side of the exhibition with sunlight spilling in through the tall, clear windows and just catching a couple of the pieces. The sun arrived in the gallery in the afternoon but was not a problem as it only shone on the work for a short time and it was so lovely to have the warm, bright light come streaming in.

The picture in the upper left is 'Towards the Light' which sold during the exhibition.

 

 

'Vigil' - the recording!

 

Just wanted to say what a fantastic day I had at the recording for 'Vigil's' music in St Chad's Cathedral on Saturday 15th! I found it very moving to hear a piece of music which I had written, along with Ed, performed by professional musicians.

I have a lifelong love of music and have, on various occasions, started to study or perform it. Unfortunately, circumstances arose which meant that I had to turn again to other things and the music had to wait. When my illness hit and I had to give up the musical studies I was undertaking at the time and which I was so enjoying, Ed was just a small child and I had no idea that, one day, we would work together on the melodies which have haunted me for so long and I am so thrilled by the results!

Pictured below are Ed, Penelope and the Beorma Ensemble at the recording session in St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham

Reading from left to right, the singers are:-

		Penelope Appleyard		soprano solo
		Richard West		baritone
		Richard Paterson		bass
		Alex Aldren		first tenor
		Lewis Jones		basso profundo (oktavist)
		David Wynne		bass
		Andrew Fellowes		basso profundo (oktavist)
		Oliver Martin-Smith		second tenor
		Ed Harrisson		tenor solo and director

The Beorma is a flexible group and these particular singers were gathered together in view of the piece to be performed. I was interested in having the sound as of Russian Orthodox music, as I felt would this suit the style and ethos of the work, so the body of the choir are the seven male singers, with Penelope Appleyard taking on the part of solo soprano and Ed as solo tenor and also director.

 Within the piece, Ed and Penny sing a short duet, as I feel this reflects the situation whereby a man and woman together keep vigil for a lost or sick child, the age of any such child irrelevant to the process of grieving or loss involved. One verse is also given for the main body of the choir to sing and within this, they reach a powerful and swelling crescendo.

The singers in action I am very grateful to St Chad's Cathedral for giving us permission to record in their beautiful building, which was chosen for its excellent acoustics and qualities of its reverberation. The location worked very well, the only drawback being traffic noise from the nearby road network which, now and again, became a little intrusive! However, with today's technology, audio producers Ben Bass and David Armstrong have worked the magic of removing the traffic hum from the track, to leave the sound of the singers' voices clearly heard

Ed with David (on left) and Ben (on right), Beorma members in background

 

I am really delighted with how the sound has worked out and have so enjoyed working with Ed, coming to the rehearsal and recording in the cathedral and then being present at the final editing session afterwards. All of this has been a new experience for me, including seeing how professional singers approach their work.

There are other pieces of music which I have in the pipeline and Ed and I are discussing how we might bring these to fruition. It has, therefore, been very useful for me to have been present while the singers worked so that I can bear this in mind when considering phrasing and harmony in another piece of music. As well as this, working with Ed is, of course, invaluable because of his knowledge and experience of writing music and of the character of melodies and what is required in a piece of choral music. I am very grateful to the Arts Council of Wales for giving me the award of funding and thereby the opportunity to develop this exciting new avenue within my work.

Below, a few more pictures taken on the day of the recording session.

Early in rehearsal

Lewis and Ed

 Ed singing and conducting

Self with Penelope, the Beorma and Ed

The music is an important part of 'Vigil' but, as the complete installation will not be realised for some time, I am at present looking into possibilities of releasing the sound ahead of the final work  -  watch this space!

 

'Vigil' (the music)

I am now working with Ed on my project 'Vigil' and it's such a pleasure! The impetus for this new work was thinking about how Christ, in his suffering during the watching in the Garden of Gethsemane, reaches out to all those today who keep vigil in various ways, awaiting news of loved ones missing from home or serving in the Armed Forces abroad, or who watch by the bedside of a suffering relative or friend.
Arts Council Wales have awarded me funding to develop the musical element of the planned installation and professional singers will perform something I have written for the first time! This is my melody which Ed has harmonised in the style of the Russian Orthodox. The full installation is planned to include textile hangings, mirrors, music and accompanying book.

This Saturday, all being well, we are due to record the piece in St Chad's Cathedral and I'm ever so excited! To have the award of the funding is such an endorsement of my work and such an encouragement for me and it's great working with Ed  -  I'm so grateful!

More info about the installation and about Ed and his music can be seen on my website.

Hopefully, next time I return, a recording will exist!

Snowy interlude

We have had so much rain lately, though we have not suffered nearly as much as some have, that it was lovely to look out the other day and see the mountain slopes garmented in snow. I have been captivated since childhood by the sheer beauty of snow, how it transforms surfaces wherever it falls, how light sparkles and gleams on it, the muffled quiet of sounds in its muted atmosphere and the colours of shadows on its pristine surface.

I can never resist sketching and stitching it, so now include a fragment in progress, one of the nature-based pieces I am working on at present. I like to work on different pieces concurrently and, as at present, often run more figurative and abstract works alongside one another. This stitched piece photographed has become even 'snowier' as it has evolved and I am also working on a new installation 'Vigil', involving abstract pieces and music  -  more about this in my next blog, coming very soon!

Poetically speaking

When I looked out on Sunday morning, the hillside seemed mournfully quiet, sad in sunless colours. I lit a candle to bring a little warmth and light into the room and wrote down a few words. Today, I looked again at those words and set them down like this :-

                         Silent slopes sit,
                                                   dark with a
                         grey foreboding,
                                              sunless,
                           still,
                                      waiting for the next
                                storm to
                                                unleash its
                                  f       r       
                                       y
                          u 

                           sodden ground
                                                     plays in
                                           no dancing shadows    -


                          quiet tension of
                                                     the                     space
                                                              between      -

                           invasions of water
                                                               p  o  u   r         in

                                                                       p a t  h    s
                            multiplied by  days and
                                                                     nights    of
                                      dr e n  ch  ing
                                                                  un  -  cea  -  sing
                                                           r  a  I   n

                             a  n  gry     BLASTS   of   

                                                                       W i N D  s

                             s h ak  e         homes

                                                                    cr   ack   trunks
                                                     like twigs   -

                               fragile beauty    to  ss ed   aside
                                                                                  and mourned;


                                 we seem    trapped,
                                                                   not in a Narnian wonderLand
                                        white with ice and snow    but 

                            peer toward remembered  hillsides
                                                  l o s t   in veil  after   veil   of
                                                                           unending     w e t ne ss;
                                                                              
                               until today;
                                                       now   fresh snow  g lea  ms
                                      on  slopes       in
                                                    sudden      br  u  sh  -  stroke
                                                                                                 of
                                                                      pale sun    - 

     brief     in- ter-lude    of  calm      -

                        then  clouds    s  l in  g      icy     pellets

                                                         hail   against    windows,

                                        a      r u s h    of     wind    in
                                                                              the colder air;


                                           we wait for what
                                                                              may come.