Kanneljärvi

After fears of an exhausting and time-consuming weekend, these two days have proven themselves to be anything but that!
Early on Saturday morning, Dominante headed towards Kanneljärven Opisto, some 5 kilometres from Lohja's city centre (only 45 minutes driving from Helsinki due to summer speed restrictions, which have now finally replaced the winter-time signs!). Yesterday was spent rehearsing Bach, Bach and more Bach. All breaks were spent eating (lunch, afternoon tea - coffee in Finland, supper and a late-night dinner). At least for me, it was a nice reminder of the true essence of life at Finnish summer camps - you've hardly finished breakfast when lunch is served! And when you've gotten through that, it's time for pastries which are followed by a full-fledged meal soon afterwards.
Surely almost all of the B minor mass is now safe in the heads of every singer, after going through the particularly tricky parts (like Et Resurrexit - a real tongue-twister especially for the basses, and Cum Sancto Spiritu, which has the sopranos gasping for breath between their non-stop prestissimo figures) again, again and again. I am sure the concert will be a big success and very memorable to the public and performers alike. It's such a pity the only performance will be in Lahti. As a matter of fact, I was very surprised to see that the last time I sang the B minor mass was in 1995 with Cantores Minores, as a soprano (my score is full of ridiculous jokes I have scribbled on the pages to keep me amused during the concert, as well as completely misspelled German phrases said by our conductor). In a couple of days, the score will have been mine for exactly 10 years.
Today (Sunday) was such a warm day we abandoned the stuffy hall where we were rehearsing and brought our music outside. It was downright HOT, and people made their first appearances in shorts and sun-glasses.
A perfect weekend!
In the evening, Carlos and me carried my brand-new microwave oven home.
Piece of the day: "Schlage doch bald, sel'ge Stunde" from Bach's Cantata "Christus, der ist mein Leben" BWV95. A tenor aria portraying death in a naive, friendly way. The pizzicato strings accompany the melody, resembling the ticking of the clock, while two oboes imitate each other in a symbol of time standing still when one would want it to go faster. Experts believe Bach's intention with this almost chirpy piece was to explain to his small children that the death of their baby sister was something which was meant to be. Absolute genius.
Book of the day: Wilkie Collins- Woman in white. I have now read half of this book, which was published in 1860 and represents the Victorian genre of "sensational fiction". It is a realy page-turner, set in great country houses and with a new secret lurking behind every page.