Thanks to everyone for their efforts last week. I couldn’t believe how cold it was for the middle of June. It was a difficult rehearsal in exceptional circumstances. For those who weren’t there: we started in the usual space but it got so cold that we relocated to inside the barn, which was dark so it was difficult to see in.

Here is the video of the first part of the rehearsal – I didn’t move the camera for the second part. To be honest it is not a very good rehearsal, mainly because of the conditions, but we can learn a lot by listening when we are not up to standard. Having said that there are some good moments. When we moved into the barn we sang Abendleid,Steal Away and Love is the sweetest thing.

I have noticed that in recent rehearsals that usually the first “stop” in a piece is after a few bars because we are not together. We have been able to attribute that to the unusual conditions but we are sufficiently proficient and have now had enough time to be able to adjust. It means that I have to give you a better lead and that you have to anticipate the tempo before we start – let’s work on that this week.

The last couple of rehearsals have not been very efficient – last week I edited out over 10 minutes of music searching time. You have had the music list in advance so you could have it all together so that you don’t have to search your bag each time. I will help you by announcing a proposed order at the beginning of the rehearsal so that once we start we can spend more time singing and less time searching.

The weather forecast is for warmer temperatures this week.