We also decided in a reckless moment, that we could play as many instruments as possible, in a 'razzle dazzle' 'em type tradition. However, I was alarmed and horrified when Catherine suggested I accompany one of her songs on guitar, as I'm not particularly confident on the guitar, and have certainly not played it in public since I was a teenager. Daunting indeed.
However, we all decided that we didn't want to perform a load of material we'd played hundreds of times before. After all, where would the artistic growth be in that?
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So by the time we actually got to the concert last night we had amassed ourselves quite an impressive array of instruments. There was of course our trusty trio of flute, cello and piano; and in addition to this we had a banjo, guitar, recorder, melodica and a bass flute. We also performed a six hand piano piece, requiring me to seriously dust off my piano fingers as I haven't played in quite a while.
The concert was named 'The Sounds of Summer' and it seems that's as close as we got to the summer. The weather was grey, drizzly and cold and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I was wearing long johns under a graceful floaty dress. Oh dear. I think the least said about that the better. But talking of dresses...
I may be on dangerously 'girly' territory here, but it was a real treat to be able to wear a different outfit. For weddings and formal occasions we tend to wear smart black dresses, so for this event we were able to sport a 'summer look'. In fact I was particularly excited when Rachel suggested that at one of the rehearsals we should all take some possible outfits along and decide what we could wear collectively. I envisaged hours spent poring over dresses, trying each others clothes on and then experimenting with different make up ideas. What really happened was this. Rachel and Catherine took one look at the clothes, decided upon the first dress they saw and put everything else away again. Honestly!
It was particularly lovely to perform an original song as part of the programme last night too. Catherine sang 'Maybe Mine', a song we wrote together almost a decade ago. In fact it made me reminisce about our songwriting career path. Our first ever collaboration (Catherine was 5 and I was 8) was about a dear beloved family car we affectionately named Jimmy. Jimmy was quite a character - he was a dark green Robin Reliant! Since then we've written many many more songs, hopefully better ones too. Indeed, we are currently working on some new material in the hopes of having a new album by the end of the year.
We all enjoyed performing 'La Vie en Rose' too, made famous by the indomitable Edith Piaf. Catherine sang this beautifully in French at first and then after a cello and guitar instrumental, sang the last verse in English so we all had a clue what the song was about!
It was a delight to liven things up with a few jigs too. I specially loved playing my beautiful Moeck recorder (a fortieth birthday treat) as it suited the medieval music and the ancient venue so perfectly. All that was missing was a hog on a spit and men in tights. Hmmm...just as well really.
http://youtu.be/s6lpskHU7VQ
To conclude, the audience were delightful, the venue was stunning and £600 was raised for Yorkshire Cancer Research. A successful evening on every level and a big Thank You to all those involved. I'm so pleased we rose to the challenges we'd set ourselves and we can all feel a little proud of those achievements.
And on a personal note, a big shout out to Catherine and Rachel. It was, as always, a pleasure and an honour to play with you x
