News
#2 – A Great Rehearsal!
by Tristan Latchford
Date added: 15/05/2024
A Great Rehearsal
For the first time today, the whole ensemble was met ready for the show ahead – building connections, laughing together, and becoming lost in the experience of making music much to my delight.
As the concert series launching a new violin concerto that I have written for Claire Hebeisen approaches, I have busied myself with encountering my music from a different perspective – that of the conductor. My usual task as a choral conductor lies in two places: Showing the breath, and shaping the phrase. The pulse and cueing typically tend to take a back seat. The best cue is to look at a singer and breathe with them. To conduct a choir is strangely to induce an exercise of breathing together.
For an ensemble of instrumentalists on the other hand, the clarity of the pulse, and the importance of a cue are your two priorities as a conductor. This is something that Ryo Hasegawa is achieving mastery at. With friends such as these, it is no surprise that I’m not often called upon to conduct in instrumental settings.
This series, however, is an exception. At Claire’s request, I turned to studying my own music from a conductor’s perspective. Our performers met last week to rehearse without Claire, and each proved to be remarkable in their own right!
The pace at which the music was learned was dizzying, and as I greeted Claire at the airport on Monday, I felt quietly confident that we were prepared for the first rehearsal with everyone together.
We began with the violin concerto. With Claire’s part added, there was an instant galvanization, By this rehearsal the players were getting more confident about pointing out opportunities to enhance the performance. For example, Jon’s suggestion of removing some rather verbose octave leaps in the cello part without detracting from the musical effect, or Sîan’s suggestion of a phrasing that brought out the counterpoint more clearly to the listener. It was clear that we were finally out of the practice phase, and into the phase of ‘making music.’
The requirements of the performers from me in my role as a conductor gate valuable insight into the instrumentalist’s needs in a way that learning from manuals or being part of an instrumental ensemble can’t quite demonstrate. The cue is not just an indication for someone to start playing, but an invitation for them to include their musical voice in a mood that you as a conductor might suggest that fits into the situation. This is a tiny detail with profound consequences that can be induced by anyone in the ensemble, but especially the conductor, whose job it is to track, manage, and mould these moods and voices into a performance that is affecting for listeners and players alike.
It was a terrific rehearsal, from which I learned a lot. I hope that you will be able to join us in our music making in Newmarket, Burwell, or Cambridge. See you in concert!
