Art

A bigger than usual win on the premium bonds was a good way to start the day! We were up and out quite early this morning to go over to Pittenweem art festival. Beautiful sunny day (apart from a bit of cloud in the afternoon) and once again warm but not too hot, so a gorgeous day to be wandering by the seaside.
We popped in to see F&G briefly…pleased to see plenty of red dots against a lot of her work already and chatted with F about her Mum’s recent death. Hope I’ll see them again soon to have more time to talk when they’re not so busy.
From there we did the well worn path around the village, stopping at all the studios and having a nosy in the various gardens and houses that were open for the hosting…some with incredible views over the sea. We saw one converted church for sale that was gorgeous and as we ate our fish and chips on the harbour (always the best place to taste them!) we browsed the website and dreamt a bit of life in such a gorgeous fishing village with such a strong creative heart.
More wandering and looking but we didn’t buy anything, then drove home and had tea, eclairs and chat with A who’d come into town to do some final present shopping for N’s birthday next weekend.
I left K to fend for herself in the evening whilst I went to the International Festival’s opening concert with CR….Osvaldo Golijov’s incredible Latin American La Pasión según San Marcos, written in 2000 as a response to Bach’s work 250 years after his death. It was amazing! I hadn’t read up much about it * but it was so stirring, emotional and impressively performed and the urgent rhythmic elements had even a tradition bound Edinburgh audience swaying (slightly!) in the seats. At the end, we all leapt to our feet though…..and they received a rapturous and extended standing ovation…well deserved! The curtain call shot shows the fabulously musical young woman conductor thanking the audience having thanked each section of the orchestra and choir,
Home afterwards to finish some of the noodles K had bought in for her supper, chat about Olympic highlights and then collapse into bed. I’d done 6.5 miles today…less than the 8 yesterday and the 7 of the day before, but it’s mounting up!

* caught up on the background later……”The Argentinian composer crosses cultural boundaries with this transformative interpretation of Christ’s crucifixion. Golijov’s dramatic score weaves together samba, tango, Flamenco and Gregorian chant with live capoeira and dance, all propelled forward by energetic percussion.
The text is just as unusual. Instead of standard biblical translations, he uses text from gospel pamphlets sold on the street all over Latin America, combined with the Hebrew Kaddish (prayer for the dead) and modern-day Spanish poetry.
Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro joins musicians brought together especially for the Scottish premiere of this poignant work. The Caracas-based choir, Schola Cantorum of Venezuela, are integral to the piece, included in every performance since its 2000 premiere. They are joined by the National Youth Choir of Scotland and a line-up of soloists from jazz, popular and classical backgrounds.”