Lovely PR man Doug has set up another blog for me, more “hipster” in feel (well, I do have hips…can’t argue with that…) and I feel I must somehow share this information! For those who are in any way interested (oh it all feels so solipsistic! I try to talk about other people in it) here tis: http://thecanadiannightingale.blogspot.com
I do apologise for the size of the print and the fact it is white-on-black. Perhaps this is to do with the hipster element too.
Also I apologise for the way that these emails say, clinically, at the bottom, “you received this email because you asked for it.”
Oh while I’m recommending blogs, take a look at the adorable Noir Girl’s blog! I’m not just saying this because we had a really fun conversation which she’s painstakingly transcribed, but because she’s got some wonderfully enjoyable features (“read with me!” “The Huzzah Squad” and has a lovely sense of joy about things Noir, and things, for want of a better word, retro.) http://caseykoester.wordpress.com/
Yesterday saw the live debut of “Our Lovely Day”. It was unheralded because it looked unlikely to happen. The venue was in the “Scoop” which is a sunken stage next to London’s City Hall and it is surrounded by stone steps that are supposed to be seats. If it rains, bands aren’t allowed to perform, and it looked very likely to rain yesterday. But Andrea Kmecova (piano), Orpheus Papafillippou (violin), Nick Ball (percussion, spoons), John Baker (double bass) and Matt Redman (guitar, mandolin, banjo, melodica, glockenspiel on this occasion) all came out and stood by, dressed in their best Parlour Exhibition Band finery. Orpheus had a top-hat, Matt had a Fedora and large pinstripes, John wore a mourning-coat with tails, Nick was 1930s with a bowler hat, Andrea in black velvet with silk flowers. I wore a creation from my favourite boutique, Nataya.
Our Lovely Day features about thirty different instruments, though never all at once, and these new arrangements by Matt Redman take what he and Nick arranged for the album and make them work with this particular ensemble, all of whom feature on the CD. We can now tour Our Lovely Day!
In the end it didn’t rain, and what was more, our music drew people in. In fact, the crowd stretched all the way to the Thames. People of all ages including a school outing came and sat down. I could see the astonished faces of some elderly couples as they heard songs their grandparents used to sing coming forth from this essentially rock-and-roll bandstand. I looked out occasionally for Boris Johnson’s tousled blond head poking out of a window in City Hall. I think he’d have loved us. We performed “Always”, “Did You Ever See A Dream Walking”, “Yours”, “Button Up Your Overcoat”, “That Lovely Weekend” and “Come to the Fair”, and we are ready for the tour circuit!!
When I listed the concert in the Notting Hill Mayfest (Monday the 23rd) I said it was in St. John’s, but it’s in St. Peter’s! Only around the corner (Kensington Park Road, opposite Stanley Gardens), but an entirely different church. I am now, by the way, a massive fan of Ragtime.
A world premiere where they filmed All Creatures Great and Small! (Sorry, but that bit of trivia does excite me) Composer Michael Brough has been commissioned to set three texts by local poets and I’m the lucky one to sing them, with Lucy Downer on the clarinet. They’re imaginative and express the mood of the terrain amazingly. Think of the last couple of pages of Britten’s Peter Grimes. That atmospheric. It’s to be on the 1st of June, in Arkengarthdale, north Yorkshire. St. Mary’s Church at 5pm.
More information HERE.
“Our Lovely Day” is now completed! All 18 tracks have been recorded, and now we’re just waiting for a release date, and a swank location for a showcase. As soon as I know, I will post details on this site.
Songs on this CD, in no particular order, include Button Up your Overcoat (you belong to me); Yours; That Lovely Weekend; Can’t Help Singing; A Nice Cup of Tea in the Morning; Did You Ever See a Dream Walking; Smiling Through; Always; the Honeysuckle and the Bee; We’ll Gather Lilacs; My Own; Drink to me Only; Love’s Old Sweet Song; I’ll See You In My Dreams; and of course, Our Lovely Day.
A glorious compilation of nostalgic songs: evergreens that are still enjoyed by young and old, Our Lovely Day brings to life the sounds of a cherished era.
Despite the continuing popularity of such numbers as Smilin’ Through and Let Him Go Let Him Tarry, many of these gems haven’t been recorded in several decades. Others, such as Love’s Old Sweet Song and We’ll Gather Lilacs, are almost standards. “It’s a distillation of my favourites and the favourites of the many people I’ve sung to,” says Patricia. “It’s wonderful when these two things go together!”
A mixture of songs from Patricia’s childhood, her ongoing sheet music collection, and audience requests, this CD presents 13 specially-commissioned arrangements, using two exciting young talents, Matt Redman and Nick Ball, who also provide 16 of the 31 instruments used on the album. Drink To Me Only and I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls use a simple harp accompaniment, three songs are for piano and voice, and the rest range from a small early jazz ensemble including spoons, banjo and violin, to a lavish assortment of orchestral sounds.
Bach’s B Minor Mass, performed at St. Anne’s Lutheran Church on Gresham Street, London. I’ll be singing the alto solos, in company with three outstanding soloists. Tickets £15.
Bach’s St. John Passion at the Eton College Chapel! At 19:30, tickets £18 and £16.
On Saturday the 2nd of April, I’ll be doing Bach’s B Minor Mass again, with Eclectic Voices, this time at the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden: St. Paul’s. Tickets are £15.
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