I’ve been meaning to post up these schedules for a while now. We often get them at the beginning of the week. They have usually changed somewhat by the time the day arrives, but this one was correct as of 10pm last when the piece of paper was handed around.

Sitting in the Shakespeare cafe in Tartu after spending the morning working on the Ring Bearer in the Tartu theatre’s rehearsal rooms. This afternoon we get a tour of the theatre which includes getting to watch a rehearsal for an opera that is currently being rehearsed. Then St Petersburg competition rehearsal, a short performance at the science and technology museum to help pay for our visit there and a final evening where we get to spend some time with our hosts! Another good day in Estonia!

Rohan

Latvia is beautiful!  It has been a magical week here.  We are living out in the country again here in Adazi.  It wasn’t until I sat still on the lush green grass under the beautiful beech (?) trees and listened to the rich silence, that I realised just how much noise has been surrounding us during our trip: on the train, in the cities staying in apartments with people always nearby.  Even just being surrounded by Wayfarers who are always talking or making music of some kind.

Most of us are staying at the Adazi Waldorf school which is one beautiful large building, surrounded by grass and trees, with a lake across the road and the town’s shops within walking distance.  We are sleeping in the kindergarten.  They have sleeping rooms here with cute child-sized beds and mattresses so on the first night a few people thought to sleep in the beds, happily curled up.  I chose to put my mattress on the floor, having already learned the lesson that they were about to learn-that not being able to stretch out at night makes for a terrible night’s sleep!

We eat our meals sitting around kindergarten sized tables on child sized chairs, and are back eating delicious home made food.  Much closer to what is usual for us, but with a few slight differences which keeps it interesting.  This deliciousness is prepared for us at different points by the school, the nearby kindergarten, or Heather and Gen (and helpers), all of whom have cooked some stunningly delicious meals, making for a very happy group of singers!

As well as being surrounded by beautiful countryside and beautiful things, this week has been wonderful because it has also been quite restful.  We have given two performances and a workshop, and that is all.  We love the summer holidays!  It has given us some time to begin rehearsals for the new version of The Ring Bearer that does not have Terry as Gandalf (because she will not be with us in India).  But its also given us time to have evenings of sitting around on low tables and chairs chatting, or swimming in the lake, going for walks or finding a quiet nook somewhere and having some time on your own.  All surrounded by the beautiful summer weather… which is actually very much like Adelaide’s beautiful spring weather, cold nights, and beautiful sunny days with rain showers that pass over at times (often during the late afternoon it seems…).

Both our concerts here have been received very warmly, the first in the Riga Waldorf school and the second here.  Although these were originally going to be a repeat of the same concert, in true Wayfarers fashion they ended up being entirely different.  No overlap at all.  Both halls had incredibly rich acoustics.  Almost too rich, sometimes I felt like we were overwhelming the audience, although they didn’t seem to mind.  I think we are finally getting to the stage where we can perform some of our repertoire really well without having to practice it before each concert. Yay! The feeling of group cohesion is so strong now when we sing. It is the most interesting feeling to go from a disparate, disorganised, distracted bunch of individuals into a single whole that is focussed on a one thing, is responsive and making beautiful music!

Unfortunately things aren’t always this wonderful. Our second concert included Kakadu.  Our first performance of it in its entirety for about a month.  There were a few ‘interesting’ moments.  My favourite being Yegge.  The treble recorder came in well, the tenor followed beautifully, then the bass recorder joined, but a semitone sharp compared with the other recorders, which totally changed the chord!  The men were left having to make a choice between singing their part correctly or singing in the same key as the recorder. It would have been highly amusing if it hadn’t been a performance, and if it hadn’t distracted me so badly that I missed my next entry entirely.  Oops.