Flower Festival - St Mary's, Weston Colville

I gave my most formal performance yet on the harp as part of a recital with Whiteacre Clarinets.The setting was St. Mary's Church in the little village of Weston Colville somewhere near Newmarket. The church has a flower festival each year when the beautiful 14th century church is decked out with floral arrangements of all sizes and colours combinations.

Floral display to compliment the stained glass window

Whiteacre Clarinets have given a concert on the last evening of the festival for a number of years and as one of their members was otherwise engaged this year (on holiday) I was asked to play alongside Phyllis, Amelia and Martin. The acoustics of the church were ideal for the quartet and our rehearsal allowed us to relax and enjoy the sound. The harp looked quite at home in it's setting surrounded by flowers although when I had a practise I was suprised at how quiet it sounded. Having prepared my programme in a small, carpeted music room I found my sound in the church suddenly felt very small. I was wary of plucking too firmly as this does lead to more slips because it feels different to how I usually play.

The harp with one of the larger floral arrangements

The first half was all clarinet quartet and the audience enjoyed a varied programme of madrigals, Krommer, Scarlatti and Johann Strauss. During the interval we chatted to some of the audience and were offered tea and cake. Phyllis said she'd wait until afterwards so I reluctantly avoided the chocolate cake as well. We began the second half with a short Bach movement and a Rossini theme and variations then I stood up to announce my item. A few younger members had spotted the harp discretely positioned in the corner during the first half so I talked a little about the Grade-1-a-thon and modestly mentioned how myself and Amelia had both gained distinctions in our grade 1 exams. I performed the two Dunhill pieces Swaying Branches and The Old Windmill as these are my favourites and probably the most suitable of my pieces as recital repertoire. I then did When Bagpipes Play which is the one I have decided to do for grade 2. There were one or two small slips but no memory slips, unlike in the rehearsal where I got lost completely in one piece! I often let my mind wander when playing the clarinet but keep enough concentration to play. It is a form of complacency which does occasionally catch me out. I can do this when practising the harp and had been worried this might happen in performance but during the performance I realised I was in my own little zone, completely focussed on the task, with none of those nagging voices getting in the way. It was a very clam feeling! The quartet finished with some jazzy pieces arranged by Martin and after being thanked, presented with a posy of sweet peas, and more audience chat we got to eat some cake! A lovely gig in a lovely setting and another addition to my harp C.V!