To Steeple Gidding

IMG_1847The second church I visited for my Vivienne recce was in the village of Steeple Gidding. The church is now deconsecrated, but a beautiful and well-kept venue, if a still a bit chilly in May. Just along the ridge from Little Gidding, this church also looks out over ravishing countryside and extensive earthworks – signs of much earlier inhabitants in the area – now grazed by sheep and cattle. The night before we perform Vivienne, Ruth Padel will be reading some of her poetry here, interleaved with the movements of Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross.

IMG_1846Alas, not all venues in which I get to sing are equipped with a Steinway, and we will be using an electric piano. That seems heretical at one level, but it would be a pity not to perform a piece like Vivienne in such a pertinent setting solely on account of the keyboard. I don’t know any professional pianist who enjoys playing an electric piano but the better ones are a godsend in venues with draughts, variable temperature and an uneven floor, and often much better than a ‘real’ piano that has not been cared for. I am always impressed by my various accompanists who, over the years, have conjured beauty, volume and expression from the most unpromising-looking instruments. Fortunately, I will have Libby “Liberace” Burgess with me on this occasion.