The Healing Powers of the Renaissance

It has been a stressful day for Robin.
Last week an old friend, and for some years agent, died.
This saddened us all, as Dave Barnes was such a nice man, and a complete classical guitar enthusiast.
Whenever he attended one of Robin's concerts his energy and enthusiasm was infectious, and on many occasions they would spend some time 'post concert' discussing details of the performance.

Today was Dave's funeral and his wife Chris asked Robin if he would play something.
He was very happy to do so, but I have rarely seen him as anxious before performing.
The situation is an unusual one, it requires playing 'cold' without the opportunity to warm up, and under very harrowing circumstances, also Robin was very keen to give Dave the performance he deserved, so, it made for a tense situation.

He deliberated on the choice of pieces, but was only required to play for a short time, after the eulogy.
Robin settled on a group of Italian Renaissance lute pieces as they had always been favourites of Dave's, and somehow seemed to possess the appropriate spirituality for the occasion without being mournful.

On a much lighter note, we are delighted to hear that Russell Watson has now been discharged from hospital.
It's amazing how quickly he has reached this point, and a sign of his strength of character.
I hope all the messages from his fans will help him maintain his energy through the coming months as he faces further treatment.

We are strong believers in the power of positive thinking.
The 16th century essayist, Michel de Montaigne, made these trenchant observations on writing about the sheer power of the imagination:

"There are some who from fear anticipate the executioner's hand; and there was one who, when they unbound his eyes so that his pardon might be read to him, was found to be stark dead on the scaffold, slain by no other stroke than that of the imagination."

If thoughts can have such a negative effect just imagine the power of positive thinking...