I'm sure that over the last 75 years there must have been some hot, sunny Aldeburgh Festivals. But the one or two that I've attended always seem to be of the rainy, cloudy variety. At the moment we also have the piercing icy cold from off the sea which I remember from staying at the Red House one year long ago in the month of November.
But it can all change in a moment, with sudden rays of sunlight; and anyway, we don't mind because of the absorbing musical programme which goes on all hours. In my few days here so far I've been struck by the full houses with seriously listening audiences, for everything. The programmes are generally at least two hours of music; yesterday's recital of Unsuk Chin, Thomas Larcher and myself was "topped off" by a half-hour Schubert violin-piano Fantasie. No-one rushes out, people stay around to chat.
Claire Booth was performing King Harald's Saga for the first time, she told me, but sang it from memory, in one of the most commanding performances I've ever heard (the piece is now 45 years old). It brought to mind the work's inimitable and unforgettable dedicatee, Jane Manning. The Festival's concert presentation is also decidedly next-level, with titles and texts elegantly projected on the back wall of the hall. This kind of detail must be complicated to get right, but so helps the feeling of community between performers and audience.
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