Concentration

The last day of rehearsal before the concerts was a tough one. In the morning we worked for three hours without a break, among other things hammering out the rest of Mirjam's Siegesgesang (see yesterday for my opinion of this piece). Our soloist ... er, Myriam ... did some more coaching, which is always very helpful. "Use less breath, not more!" she urged us.

We women had a longer lunch break while the men practised Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, but the weather was too horrible to go out for a walk. Then we went through the entire programme in order. After a full morning's singing, it was exhausting, and Schubert's obligatory fugue meant an equally obligatory break to recover. But it was mostly OK, only the odd non-fatal slip. Myriam, a soprano, seized her chance to sight-read and sing the solo in the Rhapsody, since it's not something anyone will ever pay her to do :)

And home. Too knackered to do anything else. I'd had tomato clafoutis for lunch, and dinner was left over macaroni in a cheese sauce with ham, with the remaining roasted tomatoes stirred into it. It was yummy.

More enthusiasm in extras :)