I had my eyes closed. The visuals were not especially interesting... a black background and undefined forms of mild, light colours, mostly of orange shade played in one corner of the dark scene. On the other side, my hearings were quite occupied. Boom, boom, boom, boom... The rhythmical four-beats pattern continued to hit louder every second, while my mind tried to find out the source of it.
Do I hear my heartbeats, like when I am running from something? Is it fear? Danger? Passion?
Are my eardrums playing tricks on my mind and I hear something that turns into beats in my head? Or maybe I am just dreaming? Pretty probable - with the eyes closed.
No, it's not a trick. I do hear that constant boom-boom... I know, I hear the deep beats of some electronic track, as if I would have my headphones in my ears. Loud and clear, now I am sure of that! I am not that crazy. Yet.
{Hands searching for headphones on my head, eyes still closed...}
Nada. Nothing on my head and ears, not even music is switched on in our home... but I should wake up finally. There are things to work on, not to mention additional tasks like a rehearsal I am having today. I used to have rehearsals with a singer I started to collaborate with during December but then the holidays came and my trip. Last week we didn't manage to meet and today is the day we will resume work. A constructive rehearsal as we agreed on the pieces that will be practised. She has a ton of different pieces and I don't have time to study all of them every time. Also, we add every time new compositions... a thick folder of scores is what I have reserved for my singer partner.
When too many things are happening around we tend to forget how to focus just on a few important things. That is why I will prepare the piano accompaniment of 3 pieces for the rehearsal today. Well, she wrote me the list of 6 pieces, but three of them I already know or are easy. The other three pieces that I will certainly need to look better are those that I am going to share now with you. Two of them are with orchestral accompaniment (though I have the piano arrangement) and one is piano-voice. I just started to study this one and already fell in love with it:
It is an aria from Jules Massenet's opera Werther. It's my first time playing the accompaniment for an aria by Massenet though I played the piano part of a different composition by this composer. I like the calm pace of it but at the same time, it is not a piece you would listen to relax on a cheerful, sunny day. It is full of sorrow. We don't even have to know that the aria finishes with words that the heart is crushed and broken, we can clearly hear it from the harmonies and melody.
Greek tragedy! Again a new thing for me, though I do practice this Aria since December (and it still needs more practice). It is just written in a weird (not very suitable) way, both for the singer and the pianist. The composer is Luigi Cherubini, and the opera we are working on is Medea. Let me try to explain in simple words, so I can also understand what is happening in this tragedy. The main character, Medea is having some emotional troubles. She has been betrayed by the man she loves and has children with and the pain makes her crazy. Literally, as in the part we perform, she is having deep thoughts and crazy doubts about what to do, but in the end, she decides to kill her children and that way to take revenge on him.
Why do I say it is not written in a very suitable way? Because my part (the piano arrangement - which is the same as the orchestra part) is not musically supporting well the story. If I would not know what Medea is saying in this part, I would think it is a lot less dramatic story.
But that is what I have. Accompaniment that I have to understand well and work on the performance part and bring more drama. First, to polish the technical parts my scores are showing me and then think about tactics how to make it sound deeper and more dramatic.
Bach is also on the musical menu today. I do have to study this composition more than until now. We played it already in at least two rehearsals, but I get frustrated when I don't play it perfectly. Hahahahaha, "perfectly" is far away from the stage I do it now, so the best thing would be to get up, (note to myself: right now!!) and study this aria Erbarme dich, by J.S. Bach. A beautiful, deep composition, with long phrases full of expression. Compared to all the mediocre music we can hear all around... this is just music from another world.
What I need to work on here is not just the complexity of the voices (as I play the part of the main violin plus all the other strings in the left-hand part) but also to take care of the phrases, how my singer partner will shape them and where she is breathing. She has a bit different approach to this one, as she sees herself as another instrument, like a flute. She doesn't want to perform it from the approach many singers have. No forced voice is her goal. Be like an additional instrument and make harmony with me. Huh, a bit difficult at the moment as I need want to play it already without errors and without thinking about notes. Making harmony, making a connection - that is what she wants. Arriving until the end with as less as possible mistakes is my current phase.
So, time to switch this keyboard to the black and white one, to my piano. But one question for all of you... did you forget about the boom-boom part from the beginning of this post?
You did?
Cool, as then it means that music won upon the noise that is coming from one apartment which is getting refurbished in my building. Unfortunately, history is repeating as last January my very first neighbour was rebuilding her apartment. It was a huge and very noisy work for a couple of months... Now, on the first floor, someone got the same idea, and no, it doesn't matter it is not the first neighbour. It is still a very loud hammering and the boom-boom thing that is coming to my hearing. Anyway, the piano will be switched on now, the party in the building can start!!! 🎶🎶
