Monday 13 February 2006

Just about mellowed out enough now to be able to do some serious practice for tomorrow's concert. I tuned the bottom G# on my harpsichord down to F for the first time, and it sounds remarkably convincing. The Moermans original it's copied from is BB-d3 but probably at a low pitch, so if that B was really a short octave G, then there's no reason why the instrument shouldn't sound good going all the way down to F now. Are you following this? 

The Scarlatti is starting to sound a bit psychotic though: I'm sure the 1755 Kirckman tomorrow will straighten me out a bit. It's not an instrument that puts up with bad behaviour.

The weekend's cultural intake included 'Chicken Little' - the first time I've sat in a cinema looking at anything but the screen since Ghostbusters. Watching myself eat an apple, or admiring the exit signs, was more entertaining. But yesterday's thali lunch in Mother India's Cafe more than made up for it. It made the perfect cough medicine too. I'd been up half the night with a tickly throat.

Susie's school choir is singing in a big charity concert on Thursday night, and is well chuffed that we both appear on the same page of the Guardian Guide.