Mmmm, choir weekend.

I know, I know - I need new pictures... but aren't we a nice-looking choir???

Sidney Choir started back on Friday and MAN, we came back to a ridiculous amount of music. I think we picked up 25 pieces on Friday… looking forward to more and more and more as the term picks up! We’re doing a lot of cool work this term, including a piece for our Dubai tour written by a member of the choir! It’s beautiful.

It’s been so nice to hang out with everyone again. On Friday night, a lot of us went to the choir pub for drinks and a nice chat. (I didn’t do much drinking, though. I unfortunately bought a pint of the most horrendous tasting beer ever. I couldn’t even drink 1/5 of it!) It was a really great night. For some reason, conversation centered on cheese jokes. Then we played Scrabble. I love choir pub – 10% discount and free baskets of chips! (French fries.) Last night, I went to dinner with Liz, another soprano, during the break. I had really missed talking with her! Cambridge is a much more cheerful place when it’s filled to the brim with students again. :)

I’ve got four more hours of Sidney rehearsals today, and then two on Monday evening. After that, the regular Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Sunday schedule picks up. The first evensong is this Friday! (Followed by the first formal hall of the term – joy!)

My first lecture of term is on Wednesday. Just to fill everyone in, this is what I’ll be working on this term:

Wagner’s Ring Cycle (definitely looking forward to this most of all)

Spirituality and Pop Music (taught by an American! Whee!)

Notation (Part II)

Dissertation (yyaaayyyy…)

Finishing up Britten (only one more supervision on this though!)

Today is Move-In day for the rest of the college. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again, although I have really enjoyed being able to leave all my stuff in the shower and prancing to the bathroom in the middle of the night without bothering to put on trousers*.

Love you all,

Hannah

* – Normally I’d say pants, but here, pants means underwear. I’ve put my foot in my mouth SO MANY TIMES with that little cultural discongruity, so I’ve vowed to coach myself out of it!

CHOIR CHOIR CHOIR!!!!!

About to head to Sidney Choir rehearsal for the first time in what feels like entirely too long of a time! Very excited to see everyone and sing with them again. The rep for this term looks amaazzzinngg!

But mostly I’m just looking forward to catching up with these wonderful, wonderful people:

Sidney Sussex College Choir in Austria, December 2011

Love to you all,

Hannah

Good old American accents…

When I was in Missouri All-State Choir way back in 2009, (which feels like forever ago!) we sang this great American classic: Wyndham. It’s been stuck in my head for the better part of the day…

Our version was a product of 19th century New England shape note singing, which you can read about here. Basically, think of a bunch of your average Joe’s getting together in a big empty room to blow off some steam by singing their favorite hymns as loud as they possibly can. 

Honestly, sounds like my kind of stress release!

Anyway, our director for All-State told us to really dig into our thick American accents for this song. And we did – with gusto! The result, combined with all the forced marching, is a bit affected, I think… but damn if it doesn’t sound good to hear a bunch of high school American voices getting really into some good choral music.

I think my English choir director would have an aneurysm if I made him listen to this because it sounds SSSOOOOOOO American! (The vowels are super “bright”.)

Anyway, listen to the first two minutes of this video for an overwhelming sound experience, inspite of poor recording quality. I suggest turning up the volume all the way and dancing around your bedroom. At least, that’s what I did! :) A lot of you will recognize it, as it is a fairly popular Protestant hymn.

Here are the words – I particularly adore the last verse:

Broad is the road that leads to death,
And thousands walk together there;
But wisdom shows a narrower path,
With here and there a traveler.

“Deny thyself, and take thy cross,”
Is the Redeemer’s great command;
Nature must count her gold but dross,
If she would gain this heav’nly land.

The fearful soul that tires and faints,
And walks the ways of God no more,
Is but esteemed almost a saint,
And makes his own destruction sure.

Lord, let not all my hopes be vain
Create my heart entirely new;
Which hypocrites could ne’er attain,
Which false apostates never knew.

(The rest of the video is “Come Sweet Death” by Bach and it’s kind of a downer, but enjoyable if you can ignore the sloppy consonants and out-of-tune final chords…)

- Hannah

Accurate.

Of all the fantastic British cultural stereotypes that are completely and utterly true, my favorite (favourite) has to be this universal, unshakeable obsession with tea. And by tea, I mean the English breakfast variety.

While I don’t dislike tea and sometimes I really DO fancy a hot cuppa, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to muster up the constant and unwavering enthusiasm my English peers have for the stuff.

Tea is pushed on guests rather insistently. Recently, I was asked if I’d like a cup of tea, and though I politely declined, I somehow wound up with a mug of hot PG Tips in my hands two minutes later.

It really is very, very charming.

 

 

How to Conquer Fear

A few minutes ago, I was google searching motivational quotes to find a little gobbit to motivate me to finish work on an essay that I started a long time ago.

(In hindsight, time may have been better spent actually working on the essay, but I digress…)

Anyway, as I shuffled through websites laden with pithy quotes, I recalled a saying that I have on this decorative ceramic tile in my room back home that goes something like,

“Imagine what you could accomplish if you weren’t afraid to try.”

I like that, and it’s an important thought for me to remember, whether I’m hemming and hawing over notation assignments, mapping essay plans, or clicking through grad school websites. (Or when I’m chastising myself for not doing those things when I know I should be…)

Recently, I’ve often felt overwhelmed with a fear of failure. I know that isn’t a cheery feeling to share… Unfortunately, it’s also a hard one to shake.

While it’s January 8th, not December 31st, I feel compelled to make a resolution to think positive (but not prideful) thoughts about my goals – both professional and personal. (And a side-along resolution to have solid, well-established, practical, but ambitious goals.)

I simply don’t have time for negativity – about myself or anything (or anyone) else. Pip pip!

I took this picture to show Haley that I was wearing the Christmas gift* she got me, but you can just barely see it!  So instead I’m using it to demonstrate I am still alive. (And as pasty as ever, despite previous hopes of being sun-kissed by Spain…)

Love to you all,

Hannah

* - It’s a really sweet, delicate necklace. The design is the morse code dots and dashes for “friend.” Aww, how sweet. Anyway, the website of the artist is here. Subtle and simple. Completely my style. :)

Casa Mila

Casa Mila is the largest apartment complex that Antonio Gaudi designed. It was commissioned by a Barcelona businessman and was built between 1906-1910.

There are no straight lines in the building. Gaudi achieved this through a creative use of pillars, arches, and steel.

The tour included a visit to the apartment’s inner courtyard, its famed rooftop terrace, and a walk-through of a full apartment, which was decorated as it would have been in Gaudi’s time! Amazing!

Outside Casa Mila

Inside the courtyard - notice the delicate ironwork and the beautiful colors!

Courtyard

Roof!

Deep in audioguide-land

Inside the apartment

I want.

What a beautiful bed!

These curtains were stunning.

I loved the delicate colors that were in the apartment. So beautiful.

Bathroom!

Casa Mila!

So that was Casa Mila! Hope you enjoyed!

Love,

Hannah

P.S. Extreme productivity is going well so far. I’ve officially finished Wagner’s Ring Cycle, (four operas, four days!), as well as the three notation assignments I wanted to have done by the end of the week. I’ve also done a fair bit of the Wagner readings. Not to mention two solid blog posts. And Paige and I officially booked our tickets for Vienna in April! Feels good to be on task! Pip pip!

Update!

Hey everyone! Slightly manic update today… I’m back in Cambridge after a whirlwind trip to Barcelona, Madrid, and Toledo with my parents! It was a stunning trip. Spain is unbelievably beautiful. I’d like to share more detailed posts about Spain in the near future, but here are a few snapshots for now:

Mom and Dad at a Christmas choir concert, night one, Barcelona

Gaudi apartment building!

On the roof of the Gaudi-designed apartment building. (Note audio guide)

View from the roof

In front of La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's basilica. Still under construction!)

In La Sagrada Famlia - the most overwhelming place I've ever been

That martini glass was full of MASHED POTATOES. I kid you not. Amazing.

Dad enjoying his Spanish hot chocolate (literally just melted chocolate.)

Hanging out in The Ritz (not our hotel!) lobby in Madrid

Charmed, I'm sure.

Dad in front of an ancient Egyptian temple in Madrid

At the same park

Flamenco in Madrid!

Ringing in the New Year with Cirque du Soleil!

Confetti. Everywhere.

Happy New Year!

Parental units in the cloisters of the monastery in Toledo.

The best picture ever. (Dad decided to forego sitting down inside for lunch in favor of eating fish and chips in Toledo. We watched each other eat through windows.)

Beautiful Toledo!

At the zoo in Madrid. Sweet baaaabieesss!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!!!

So now it’s back to reality. I’m giving myself until Sunday to have all non-dissertation work absolutely and completely finished, which means two more notation assignments, three more full-length Wagner operas, and finishing up two essays. I’ve already had one very good day of productivity, in which I moved back in to Queen’s Wing, did all my laundry, watched an opera, bought groceries, and did a notation assignment. For Day No. 2, the plan is to do two notation assignments and watch a minimum of two hours of Wagner opera and applicable readings… stay tuned for results…

Love you all and I hope you all had a great start to 2012!

xxxx,

Hannah

Merry Christmas!

The Snowman

Today was a good day.

I got an email while I was in Austria that the student outreach group needed a soprano who would be in Cambridge this week to fill in short notice for a group of school performances of “The Snowman.” So today I had the immense pleasure of touring around to four Cambridgeshire primary schools to participate in the program. It was so much more fun and rewarding than I thought it would be. The kids were so adorable, attentive, and excited about what we were doing. There were four of us: a narrator, an increeddiibbllee pianist, and a woman running the slide projector animations. (She was also the organizer of the program.) My job was by far the easiest: sit behind piano for about fifteen minutes watching the show, then sing a short little song about the snowman and the little boy flying around the “midnight sky.”

The whole operation was heartwarming. The children were so sweet – and their teachers were even sweeter. The headmasters were wonderful people so obviously and completely devoted to the care of the kids at their school.

Definitely put me in the Christmas spirit! If you’re unfamiliar with “The Snowman”, you really should check out the book or the animated video version. It’s a beautiful little story with some great musical moments. Laura, Rowan would love it! :)

And I’m planning on doing more with the outreach group the next two terms I’m here – it’s such a great idea.

Love,

Hannah

Austria choir tour!

Hello all! I’m officially back in Cambridge, getting ready to dive into the pile of work that I’ve done a superior job of ignoring the past ten days…

Here’s a slideshow of pictures from the choir tour Sidney did to Austria at the start of winter break. The pictures are mostly mine, but I also used some pictures taken by a really amazing photographer/alto two from the choir! The group pictures are from her.

Sorry the pictures aren’t in any order… they’re all jumbled up. Some of the places/things in the videos include:

- Various members of the choir – they are all spectacular people

- Cheese noodles (AAHH!)

- Pictures from our walk

- The church where we sang our main concert

- The main square in Klagenfurt (where we sang a small set outside)

- Pictures of and from the marvelous dinners we had at our host, Stefan’s house!

The music is a recording of us from our last performance in Tanzenburg! The songs are: “This is the Truth” arr. V. Williams (fun fact: the second sops have the first verse. That’s me and my two second soprano friend!) and then “Little Lamb” by John Tavener. While it’s not a perfect performance, I’m very proud of us and proud to be part of the “us” that is Sidney choir!

Hope you enjoy! I’ll blog soon about London and then Paris! Stay tuned.

Love,

Hannah

P.S: Here’s a link to another set of pictures, taken by our host, Stefan. They’re really neat! Or, as my dad would say, “artsy fartsy.” http://www.stefanschweiger.com/sidneysussex/ (This music is not us…)