06.57
Monasterio Nuestra Señora De Los Angeles / Monjas Dominicas
Mare de Deu del Roser, 2.
Sant Cugat.
In the early hours: a sense of how we might redeem yesterday evening’s performance.
07.59
09.37 Silence offered itself at breakfast c. 08.17 & was accepted.
One of the Kitchen Team participants appeared at 08.24 in the doorway of the dining room to bid us farewell; and then left for the airport.
Immediately afterwards, comments were presented on yesterday evening’s performance. Various of the performers expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn how to deal with a difficult audience; after this, most audiences would be easier, it was suggested. Some audients felt that something had been lost in the performance, as a result of (disruptive) audient behaviour.
One performer wondered how the performance might have been with an attentive audience. In response: ten fifteen! An opportunity to discover how the performance might be, with an attentive audience, is called for 10.15 in the ballroom.
10.05 A during- and post-breakfast discussion with Director Nunez on the dynamics of the course.
The sixth mosquito bite of the course has appeared, on the back of my left upper leg.
12.23 The Beginners Performance was re-presented to the House at 10.15 & met by a muted & restrained audience response, until right at the end: when cheering & applause erupted. The Performance Team returned to present an encore or two; not met by cheering & applause.
At 11.15 a Beginners Meeting to undertake (what is sometimes called) The Exercise Of Qualitative Endeavour.
A common question at this stage of a course is how to take away what we have learnt? Clearly, there is a lot of information & a body of exercises & practices presented in a week. So perhaps choose one small task, one small piece of work, and undertake it superbly; establish this small part of the practice sufficiently to carry it away for further practising & development.
This small task should be available to:
short, clear & concise definition;
application;
verification.
We are meeting at 16.30 to present the small pieces of work.
At 11.35: the last meeting of this course with The LCG 3/4/5; addressing the symmetrical scale on C, a magic chord or two, moving between the scale on two tonal bases, and employing the right-hand tremelo.
14.42 A quiet lunch.
Comments presented on this morning’s performance & its relationship with that of yesterday evening.
Of the performers, roughly half preferred yesterday evening’s performance to this morning’s; the slightly larger half.
Of the audience, a large majority preferred yesterday evening’s performance.
Ocean Of Pain, the sextet, was in some disagreement as to whether its name was Circle Of Pain, or perhaps Bed Of Pain (because one of the 6 members was woken from their night’s sleep 10 minutes before this morning’s performance at 10.15). Circle / Ocean / Bed Of Pain were invited to collect their guitars & perform once more, in the dining room. This they did, then disbanded forever, reforming by popular demand to act as the lunchtime washing up six-piece.
18.04 At 16.30 the Beginners presented their work for verification in the ballroom. In a very few cases this was either too ambitious, or careless; many chose a simple task now sufficiently in place to develop / build on elsewhere.
This meeting ended at 17.17. Anyone wanting to work with guitars reconvened in the ballroom at 18.30. A Circle of 26 players formed, but fell in front of the continuing & insuperable obstacle of counting from 1 to 7, and striking an accent in time on 1, 4 & 6. What do we do when rhythm gets in the way? We abandon it! We turned to whizzing, in two groups & then one whole group. The final full group whizz was travelling the Circle in just under 3 seconds, or approximately 9 chairs a second. For a Circle of almost all Beginners, this was a remarkable accomplishment in seven days.
20.52 A dinner beginning quiet & then becoming the noisefest that has characterised meals on this course.
Post-dinner completion & touching base meetings with Dr. Mike & the SSG I.
22.12 Final House Meeting of the Beginners Course at 21.00 in the ballroom.
Thanks to Sr. Nunez & Mariana of the GC Office for dealing with the practicalities, to the Buddies Martin, Luciano, Victor & Fernando, to the Representatives of the NAFGC for journeying from the US, to Dr. Mike, the GC Representative for the UK, to the Kitchen Team for acts of heroism under difficult conditions & continuing to honour the high functional demand of feeding the House every day several times, and to Sandra for undertaking Alexander work planned for two people,
Good comments offered, and it seems that the trajectories of several lives have been redirected. Strong Silence visiting.
Subject to words of utility & necessity after that meeting, noting the course is not properly completed until the house has been returned to a state of about-to-be-becoming, the course was declared completed at 21.54 and 10 seconds.
"An artist acts with the assumption of innocence within a field of experience."
