And even that's not quite true.
Technically I will be in Africa all day Wednesday, but I leave Cape Town somewhere around 7:30pm, so that doesn't really seem like a full day here, beings that I'll be travelling. Whatever the matter, it seems my time in Africa has come to a close. Let me tell you, I am at least as shocked as you are. Where did the time go, after all? I was thinking this morning that in two days I will standing in the Toronto airport, thinking about December 26th, 2008 when I left for Africa. I remember that day so well, how as I was looking ahead, 11 and a half months seemed like forever, and yet here I am looking back, and it seems that it was so brief.
Today will actually be a fairly standard day. I still have some assignments that I have to complete for tonight, I have some errands to run and then I have a meeting tonight with Thomas followed by Bible Study. I'll have to think of something to do, it is my last night in town after all...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Review: 'A Celebration of Handel'
The Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town
Conductor: Antoinette Blyth
Camerata Tinta Baroca
Soloist: Magdalene Minnaar (Soprano)
Featuring
Occasional Oratoria Overture
The Coronation Anthems
Concerto Grosso
Selected Soprano Arias
Excerpts from Messiah
Last night was my final night singing with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir, we ended the season off with a tribute to Handel, what with it being the 250th anniversary of his death this year. The material for the repertoire for the evenings performance was all very accessible stuff, mostly well-known Oratorio pieces and then the soprano arias, and because of this the show was almost sold out.
All in all the pieces were performed well, but there were a few things that stood out to put a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. First, when starting the Coronation anthems, the orchestra and the choir were mixed up as to which anthem they would be starting with, and so the orchestra proceded to start playing a different movement from which the choir was singing, and the piece had to be stopped and restarted. So then for the rest of the movement the choir was unsettled and distracted. Another thing was the staging. After the intermission the Camerata Tinta Barocca required a different stage setting for the Concerto Grosso, only to require a major stage shift immediately afterwards. This disrupted the flow of the concert and only added to the unsettled atmosphere.
But, that being said, the music for the evening went very well. The Camera Tinta Barocca was in fine form, Magdalene Minnaar was phenomenal (I had to constantly remind myself of the perils of falling in love with divas) and the choir also performed well (I thought the 1st baritone from the soloist choir during 'My Heart is Inditing' was exceptional). So, distractions aside, the music went very well. While the choir was a bit too unfamiliar with the 'Coronation Anthems' they made up for it with the better known 'Zadok the Priest' and excerpts from the 'Messiah'. The excerpts from 'Messiah' were the final pieces for the evening, a wise move in saving the most well-known, accessible pieces for last. And the final piece of the evening was the 'Hallelujah Chorus', which traditionally has the audience standing for the performance, and so with that being the ending of the show, we had a guaranteed standing ovation.
It was a memorable performance, I was very glad to be able to sing with such a talented choir that holds high standards for itself. Considering at the beginning of the year I was quite sure I would not be able to sing this year at all, I was glad to have this chance with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir.
Conductor: Antoinette Blyth
Camerata Tinta Baroca
Soloist: Magdalene Minnaar (Soprano)
Featuring
Occasional Oratoria Overture
The Coronation Anthems
Concerto Grosso
Selected Soprano Arias
Excerpts from Messiah
Last night was my final night singing with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir, we ended the season off with a tribute to Handel, what with it being the 250th anniversary of his death this year. The material for the repertoire for the evenings performance was all very accessible stuff, mostly well-known Oratorio pieces and then the soprano arias, and because of this the show was almost sold out.
All in all the pieces were performed well, but there were a few things that stood out to put a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. First, when starting the Coronation anthems, the orchestra and the choir were mixed up as to which anthem they would be starting with, and so the orchestra proceded to start playing a different movement from which the choir was singing, and the piece had to be stopped and restarted. So then for the rest of the movement the choir was unsettled and distracted. Another thing was the staging. After the intermission the Camerata Tinta Barocca required a different stage setting for the Concerto Grosso, only to require a major stage shift immediately afterwards. This disrupted the flow of the concert and only added to the unsettled atmosphere.
But, that being said, the music for the evening went very well. The Camera Tinta Barocca was in fine form, Magdalene Minnaar was phenomenal (I had to constantly remind myself of the perils of falling in love with divas) and the choir also performed well (I thought the 1st baritone from the soloist choir during 'My Heart is Inditing' was exceptional). So, distractions aside, the music went very well. While the choir was a bit too unfamiliar with the 'Coronation Anthems' they made up for it with the better known 'Zadok the Priest' and excerpts from the 'Messiah'. The excerpts from 'Messiah' were the final pieces for the evening, a wise move in saving the most well-known, accessible pieces for last. And the final piece of the evening was the 'Hallelujah Chorus', which traditionally has the audience standing for the performance, and so with that being the ending of the show, we had a guaranteed standing ovation.
It was a memorable performance, I was very glad to be able to sing with such a talented choir that holds high standards for itself. Considering at the beginning of the year I was quite sure I would not be able to sing this year at all, I was glad to have this chance with the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Braai and Farewells
Greetings! I realize it's been a while, I apologize, but with time winding down around here my schedule has become hectic!
Anyway, yesterday I went to a farewell braai that a couple of my friends had for me. Now, before you ask, a braai (procounced the same as 'try' but with a 'b' instead of a 't') is essentially what they call a Barbeque around here. A braai in South Africa is a pretty big deal, South Africans take their braais very seriously and pride themselves in the quality. That being said, my hosts last night were Brazzavillan, but nevertheless we had an excellent meal.
Aside from that I was also at a Farewell Party the youth program here held for me, which was very nice as well and more than I expccted. We had chips and cooldrink and they ordered pizza also. And on top of that they got me some very nice gifts, and two of the youth made speeches on behalf of the rest. I was a little bit blown away, kids often have a way of surprising you...
This week will be another week full of busyness and farewells, but I think I'm finally starting to wrap my head around the fact that I am, in fact, leaving next Wednesday.
Anyway, yesterday I went to a farewell braai that a couple of my friends had for me. Now, before you ask, a braai (procounced the same as 'try' but with a 'b' instead of a 't') is essentially what they call a Barbeque around here. A braai in South Africa is a pretty big deal, South Africans take their braais very seriously and pride themselves in the quality. That being said, my hosts last night were Brazzavillan, but nevertheless we had an excellent meal.
Aside from that I was also at a Farewell Party the youth program here held for me, which was very nice as well and more than I expccted. We had chips and cooldrink and they ordered pizza also. And on top of that they got me some very nice gifts, and two of the youth made speeches on behalf of the rest. I was a little bit blown away, kids often have a way of surprising you...
This week will be another week full of busyness and farewells, but I think I'm finally starting to wrap my head around the fact that I am, in fact, leaving next Wednesday.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Two Funerals
It was a rough weekend for our church community in terms of health concerns. On Sunday I received news of the death or near-death of three people affiliated with our church: Margaret and Monty both passed away, and Johann fell very seriously ill.
Margaret was a long time member of our church, a well respected and well loved member of the community. Her death was not so surprising, and I think it was something of a release for her, but still not easy for the family and friend she leaves behind. We had a memorial service for her yesterday at the care center where she spent the last years of her life.
Monty was another adherent of our church, he owned a successful billtong (South Africa meat product) business in the area and was always a very generous and well liked guy. He only got word of his illness three weeks ago, and that quickly he is gone. His funeral is on Thursday.
And then Johann is another fellow who is affiliated with our church, his wife Juliet has been a core member of the church for a good while, and he might have been were he not confined to a wheelchair, making regular attendance quite difficult. This weekend he suffered some major brain damage, I'm not sure the actual medical diagnosis, but he's left with very limited brain capacity and he may very well be toward his end.
I received word of all this in the past four days! And then to top that off one of our deacon's mothers fell quite seriously ill as well. To give some relative comparison, I've only been involved with two other funerals that we've had all year, so to have this number of incidents happen in such a short time is unusual.
So that's life around here right now, not to mention my still trying to get my head around only three weeks left here. Still unbelievable.
Margaret was a long time member of our church, a well respected and well loved member of the community. Her death was not so surprising, and I think it was something of a release for her, but still not easy for the family and friend she leaves behind. We had a memorial service for her yesterday at the care center where she spent the last years of her life.
Monty was another adherent of our church, he owned a successful billtong (South Africa meat product) business in the area and was always a very generous and well liked guy. He only got word of his illness three weeks ago, and that quickly he is gone. His funeral is on Thursday.
And then Johann is another fellow who is affiliated with our church, his wife Juliet has been a core member of the church for a good while, and he might have been were he not confined to a wheelchair, making regular attendance quite difficult. This weekend he suffered some major brain damage, I'm not sure the actual medical diagnosis, but he's left with very limited brain capacity and he may very well be toward his end.
I received word of all this in the past four days! And then to top that off one of our deacon's mothers fell quite seriously ill as well. To give some relative comparison, I've only been involved with two other funerals that we've had all year, so to have this number of incidents happen in such a short time is unusual.
So that's life around here right now, not to mention my still trying to get my head around only three weeks left here. Still unbelievable.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Bonne Fête
No, it wasn't anyone's birthday, but on Saturday our church held our annual Fête, which is a sort of market we set up each year, organizing booths to sell various goods. This year we had a used book booth, a white elephant sale, a used clothing booth, a sausage stand, a pancake sale (or I believe so, but I never actually saw it), a vegetable stand, and a cake sale. There may have been others, but I was busy selling vegetables until pretty late in the sale, so I didn't get to tour around while everything was still in full swing. All in all I believe it was a fairly successful event, raising funds for the church budget and drawing our community closer together.
It was nice to see different members of the community out and around browsing the church and enjoying themselves. In the midst of it all I actually gave one couple a tour of the church, it's nice to have people interested in who we are and what we're doing. We officially opened the doors at 9am, but there were people there well before that, I think our vegetables were all but sold out by 9:30 (though it took another two hours to sell off the excess cabbage and beetroot). The Fête was over by 11:30, but in that time we did well, I think everyone went away satisfied with the day.
It was nice to see different members of the community out and around browsing the church and enjoying themselves. In the midst of it all I actually gave one couple a tour of the church, it's nice to have people interested in who we are and what we're doing. We officially opened the doors at 9am, but there were people there well before that, I think our vegetables were all but sold out by 9:30 (though it took another two hours to sell off the excess cabbage and beetroot). The Fête was over by 11:30, but in that time we did well, I think everyone went away satisfied with the day.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Family Visit!
I suppose I've been rather silent for the past couple weeks, you'll have to excuse me, but I was on something of a vacation, beings that my sister and brother in-law came to visit me here in Cape Town.
Of course, I was very happy to have them here, actually, I was so excited when I was picking them up at the airport, I didn't even notice that Jon had an arm sling, due to a shoulder injury he attained a week earlier.
While they were here we toured around the various sites of Cape Town, going to the Company Gardens, Table Mountain, St George's Cathedral, Robben Island, all the mandatory sites of Cape Town. We also had a chance to get down to Hermanus, a coastal town that advertises fantastic whale sitings from the coast. And finally we also took a three day trip down to Port Elizabeth in order to spend an afternoon at Addo National Elephant Park.
So it was a very full 10 days, they went by very quickly. If you get the chance, I recommend you check out Jon's pictures, in fact, I think I could post the link to them right here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathan.hines/JonKristenAndPeterInSouthAfrica?authkey=Gv1sRgCPKo4O3KvJLxtgE&feat=directlink
You'll have to copy and paste that, but I hope it works. I dropped Kristen and Jon off at the airport on Monday, and it was sad to see them go, I'll admit, it made me just a little bit more homesick. Yet it seems I have such little time left here, there's not much point to being homesick. Six weeks.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Rossini's Stabbat Mater with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra
Tonight we (the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir) performed Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The soloists were Nozuko Teto, soprano; Monika Voysey, mezzo soprano; Willem Bester, tenor and Patrick Tikolo, bass.
To start with, for the soloists, the piece is a difficult one. There's lots of chromaticism and some intricate syncopation, not to mention the a capella quartet in the eighth movement. So, the fact that none of them were really up to the task isn't too big a deal, but the reality is that they were not that great.
The conductor for the evening was Arjan Tien, a dutch fellow, and I actually really liked him. He was good to work with in rehearsals. I'm pretty picky with my conductors, but Maestro Tien was top notch, really passionate about the work and good humoured about his criticisms.
The choir itself did fine, but the basses were less than good on our solo a capella entry in the 5th movement, even though we cheated and got the note before-hand. But other than a few hiccups of that sort, our over-all performance was fine, and our a capella movement went fine (which I was the most nervous about), so I was satisfied with that.
The Philharmonic Orchestra was also fine, but they didn't seem to really respond to the passion that they were getting from Maestro Tien. During rehearsals he was often asking for more passion, more life, but in the end it didn't really come across so effectively as I wanted it to.
Anyway, that's my take, apparently I'm an critic now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)