Halfway home

Today was the official halfway point of the festival. It's been a rough few days this week, as the Bach is fiendishly difficult (probably the hardest major work I've done other than the Beethoven 'Missa Solemnis') and the energy is beginning to run low. I find myself getting really frustrated for not picking up the Bach more quickly and still making a number of mistakes. It's such a complex, dense piece and I think I'm a bit unrealistic as to how well I can master it in a week's time. One of the other apprentices made the suggestion that I think of it more as an introduction to the work and good preparation for the next time I perform it. Still, I find myself longing for the Westminster Symphonic Choir style of preparation, where the choir lives with the piece for a couple of months, attending to all of the details while gaining the ability to be musically flexible and expressive. In most situations, unfortunately, that is an unrealistic model as performances are prepared by the clock.
It's been interesting over the past three weeks to see how different conductors respond to the challenge of pulling together a program in a week with 200 volunteers. Craig Jessop brought a sort of enigmatic, visionary approach ( a la Shaw), Frank Nemhauser kept a jovial atmosphere almost the whole time, while Gary Wedow, this week's conductor, gets results with loads of patience and a reassuring attitude. While most of us are freaking out about getting the piece learned, Gary shows confidence in the ability to get the job done. He is not trying to imitate any sort of Bach sound model, but instead insists on articulation to bring out the shape of the music. A very wise decision when you are performing a chamber work with 250 people.
Tomorrow is another day off (I switched this week). I'm definitely going to enjoy the newly cool weather, a long hike, a day with no singing, and a pampering massage. Hopefully I'll swing into the weekend refreshed and ready to go. That's the plan at least...