I was asked by a good friend the other day whether, when keying in the notes of a twenty-page song to a Finale file (« Leichenfantasie »), it wouldn’t be quicker to hook up my computer to the (hideous) synthesizer upstairs via a midi programme and play the damn thing. Apparently it’s much quicker, although you need to be on the alert for enharmonic shenanigans, to say nothing of having to re-write polyphonic passages. But speed ain’t of the essence: I like to to get down on

La Pierre de Brunehaut Today is a kind of fallow day, tomorrow being a performance day. I like to speak to my audiences, so I will need to cobble together a few words in French about the songs. I usually write down what I want to say, but since I speak ad lib., much of what i write it is discarded. I also need to ge shopping. Sounds banal, but what one eats, and when, plays a crucial rôle in performing well. A drop in blood sugar when facing a hefty song can be disastrous. Si

Château d'Awans, near Jodoigne Yesterday was devoted to memorizing the text of Leichenfantasie, a formidable hurdle comprising nine chunky verses. Schiller's verse is sometimes dense and difficult to memorize. This, Schubert's third song, is considerably less accomplished than his first, Hagars Klage, leading me to wonder if the dates of composition are not erroneous. Leichenfantasie is also uncomfortably high — a feature of the early songs being the unusual demands they pla

Thursday, December 11th, Jodoigne Since Michel Stas and I are repeating last Sunday's performance in a few days time in Jodoigne, preparation of the new programme has to be put on hold. Repeat performances are always tricky: one can easily be lulled into a false sense of confidence. Jodoigne is a whole different kettle of fish: we're lucky enough to perform on a period piano based on an 1810 Walter, constructed by Claude Kelecom. The tone is silvery, the treble comparatively

I thought it might be interesting to see how I construct a programme from day one. Each recital lasts about an hour, is sung from memory and takes three months to prepare. Monday, December 8th. I generally start researching the programme for the following recital the day after the première of the preceding one. Yesterday for example saw the performance of Schubertreise XIV in Bever, a programme which included Schubert's first (remarkably good) song, "Hagars Klage", as well as