Thursday 24 October 2002

Yesterday's rehearsal bodes well for the rest of the week - we've tacked the baroque-d Frank Zappa Echidna's Arf onto the end of the bizarre Geminiani arrangement of Bonny Christy to make a medley of 'inappropriate music' to start the second half.  David G is jet-lagged and bug-bound - by the end of the day he could barely stand up, but you'd never guess from the way he's playing.  I'd hoped that the combination of David and Steve Player in the same room would work well, and sure enough it does, so if you're within travelling distance of Glasgow Biggar or Edinburgh in the next three days, drag yourself and anyone else you can think of along, and prepare to be seriously entertained ... 

This morning I've just got time to look over all the music and come up with a game plan for this afternoon's rehearsal. In preparation for Sunday and Monday's recordings I've already loaded up the car with various heaters that were lying around the cellar, as I have a suspicion that Crichton Church is going to be absolutely freezing.  Even yesterday we were sitting around with coats and scarves on in the breaks, clutching warm cups of tea for comfort.  When the temperature drops below a certain level and damp starts to make its presence felt, you can feel the harpsichord quills (at least those that are made out of feather rather than plastic) soaking it up and gradually becoming less and less inclined to do what you tell them.