Have you ever heard of Michael Chance? No? Too bad, because he's a great singer. He's a counter-tenor and there aren't many good ones. His voice sounds beautiful and natural and he's a Musician. You know, there are a lot of singers who just love the sound of their own voice and pay no attention to what the composer wated to say. That's not the case here. Michael uses his divine voice to get the message to us.
It has been my dream to meet him. Or even better - to have a singing lesson with him. Well, I thought that was nearly impossible. I'm so happy that I was wrong! On the 31st of October our ensemble took part in a workshop with Chance. It's really amazing that he managed to find time for us and didn't ask for money. And mind you, he taught us and then jumped on a plane and went to the Hague (he teaches there). So he's not only an exellent singer... Read more »
Many city-dwellers dream of fresh, clean air, lovely cottages surrounded by gardens and wide green fields. Why not leave the city forever and move to the country?... Read more »
Looks like the boring days are over! Not long ago I got two phonecalls. Very cheering up phonecalls. Turned out that lots of people need me and particularly my music skills.
So, the first call was from my fellow Intrada Vocal Ensemble member. That was a surprise, because I thought I wasn't singing there anymore. Well, I was wrong. She told me that I am going to sing soprano part in W. Byrd's Mass for four voice (go to http://pythagore.asso.free.fr/extraits.htm to listen to it. The performance is not great, but gives some idea.) Anyway, Byrd is one of my favourite composers and I will be very glad to sing it. But that's not all - we'll be singing it in St. Petersburg and in a very good concert hall. And we are getting paid... Read more »
What is hope? Can anyway tell me that? They say - hope never leaves us. No matter how miserable you feel, how unfair life is to you - you keep hoping for the best, dreaming of a better life in a better world.
The nature of hope is mysterious - it's always there, even when you don't realise it, even when your life is perfectly all right, thank you very much. There is always that nagging little something that keeps telling you - you deseve more! much more! you are the one! Oh, sorry - I guess that's not hope, that's something else, like... perhaps envy or jealousy, or maybe arrogance? But how come these feelings are different from hope? People often say - let's hope for the best. True, usually they say it when something dreadful has happened and we all know that it will hardly get better. However, if you read that expression literally, it becomes more lik... Read more »
Now I know this entry will be sort of out of date, because this movie, Snow Cake, was released ages ago. But then, don't forget that I live in Russia and, naturally, here it has been released (hah, should say pirate copies were being sold everywhere) as a faulty one - namely the original sound track had been deleted for a reason unknown to me. Now, those who know me should know that I would NEVER EVER watch a movie unless it has an original soundtrack! Especially not if the movie is in English. Especially not if the movie has Alan Rickman in it. There's no point in watching that in Russian (ok, I watched a bit of Robin Hood in Russian and the way they dubbed Mr Rickman nearly made me puke - there is no voice like his and that man ACTS with his voice).
Anyway. That movie is amazing. Truly amazing. Not only Alan's acting is perfect (that we know), but all of the cast is just right<... Read more »
I'm working on a new poems right now. Must admitt that it's not going too well. It will be some sort of a sequell to After the Aching Brightness of Guilt... I decided to write it in threes - well, you'll see what happens.
I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the people I have chatted with on LensChat. You're the best!!!! And a personal thank you to those who registered on this site and signed my guestbook.
I decided to build this new site as an improved version of my other site, www.minstrelelizabeth.fusiveweb.co.uk I found this web host accidentally while looking for a place to build my ensemble's site (I sing in an Early Music ensemble called Intrada. That site is not yet ready). And I was delighted - this seems to be the host I have been looking for! So now I'll have two sites - we'll see which one works better for me!
