A Song, A Soprano, and A Book

Where's Izzy Cooper when you need her?
Robin is currently working on a few arrangements for the concerts in August.
They are sounding great, but there is a problem.
He keeps seeking me out, and asking me, to sing the soprano part.

The problem is, I'm not a singer.
By any stretch of the imagination, I am not a singer.
I'd love to be a singer, and have tried recording various songs of Robin's, over the years.
And he has always, very patiently, manned the recording equipment, before playing back the 'take', and trying to disguise the nervous tick that starts to develop.

But I am trained to observe, and I also have ears.
I can hear that I am no singer.
I can also see the flicker of pain as it crosses the sensitive musician's face.
That's OK though, we got past all that years ago.

So today, as he asks me to sing some parts for him, he is under no illusions, and neither am I.
Basically we are checking that the notes are all in the right places...
The children have escaped to another room and the dogs have their paws over their ears.

Actually, I'm doing myself an injustice.
I'm not that bad, as non-professional singers go, I'm OK.
But Robin has spent parts of his career working with some incredible singers, Pavarotti, Russell Watson, Madeline Bell, etc.
So my 'singing round the house' style just can't compete.

Luckily, I'm not trying to make a living out of it.
I have however just completed a book.
A whole book, from start to finish, written.
I still have some editing to do, and the small matter of getting an agent and publisher, but I won't let that spoil the mood.
It's not everyone that can say they have written a book...

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...

Russell Watson and Sir Paul McCartney

Robin has been hard at work all day and I have been out.
But we couldn't let the day pass without commenting on two very different situations.
The first, is the news that Russell Watson has had to endure brain surgery, a second time, for a recurring tumour.
At the time of writing, here, in a report by Veronica Schmidt, is the latest news.
It appears that Russell's condition has moved from 'critical' to 'stable', which is fantastic news.
If you want to watch a video of Russell and Robin, then you can do so, right here.
Be sure to think very positive thoughts, and hopefully, we will see Russell making a full and speedy recovery very soon.

On a much lighter note, did you see the fabulous concert last night?
This is a review worth reading by Helen Brown, 'Sir Paul McCartney rocks the Electric Proms.'
Oh how we wished we'd been there.
However, you can see some extracts, on the 'BBC electric proms' site.
Go and have a look.
It's worth it.

Robin's son, 'Caruso' and Sir Thomas Beecham

Wow.
What can I say, other than there has been huge global interest in the, 'Robin Hill with Russell Watson' video, both here, and over on YouTube.

When this performance was first shown back in 2001, son number one, was only 3 years old. As you can imagine, we all settled down to watch, only to have the entire performance drowned out, by an over-excited child becoming hysterical...he was very embarrassed when I reminded him of this yesterday!

However, judging by the responses I've been getting, you all seem to be enjoying it. I certainly haven't been able to get it out of my mind since posting the video yesterday.
But, as the English conductor, Thomas Beecham, once said:

"Good music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and quits the memory with difficulty."

Thomas Beecham was another local chap, coming from St.Helens, Lancashire. So with Russell Watson from Salford and Robin from Huddersfield, the north of England is certainly doing its bit to promote music.

For any newcomers to the site, of which there are many from around the world, you may like to check out David Juritz's, 'Round the World and Bach', as he could be visiting a country near you soon.
He's in Lisbon today and returns briefly to the UK for a concert in Portsmouth Cathedral on Saturday, before setting off for Africa shortly.
Judging by the photographs on his site, he is still smiling, but, I'm sure by now he is beginning to feel a little tired, so if he's playing near you, go along and show some support.

Back here, well, we have plenty more for you to see coming up, so do keep checking in.

Robin Hill with Russell Watson

We found this video footage the other day of Robin performing on BBC1, back in 2001, with Russell Watson.

This came about as Robin had been performing on 'Friday Night is Music Night' for BBC Radio 2, and Russell was on the same show. Having heard him play, Russell then contacted us, to collaborate for the performance you can see today.
This was actually the first time that Robin and Russell played together, but they went on to perform on many other occasions, in venues such as, 'The Bridgewater Hall', 'St.David's Hall' Cardiff, 'NEC - Birmingham' and 'BBC Proms in the Park'.

Robin always enjoys performing with other musicians and these concerts were no exception.

This footage is Russell singing 'Caruso', by Dalla, accompanied by Robin on guitar, and some members of the string section of the 'BBC Philharmonic'.

The voice is a powerful instrument, and unfortunately, the sound of the guitar is sometimes low in the mix, but you can still hear what is going on, and there are some fine examples of the tremelo that we were discussing the other day.

Enjoy!