back in Basel.

The time changed in the night.  Therefore it is fine for me to still be in bed right now.  I was expecting a Sunday of relaxation anyway, after my crazy week and a half, so I feel absolutely free to enjoy every lazy bit of this morning.

The rest of the week in Darmstadt was fine.  The music part was good, except for all the standing, but that's normal (it's my life).  The rest, though!  The drive up, of course.  Then on Thursday I had to get back to Basel for a Friday morning presentation at Druckwerk for my Notation class (How Music Was Printed).  Fortunately my rehearsal on Thursday night ended early.  Oh, wait, did I say early?  I meant late.  As in, quarter to twelve.  As in, nearly midnight.  My new theorbo-playing friend and I hopped in the car I rented for the trip and made it back to Basel by 2:30, which seemed pretty good.  People drive really fast on the autobahn.  There aren't any speed limits, you know.  It's pretty impressive.  We were driving as fast as seemed safe in the sad little rental car, which was only about 130 - 140 kph (about 85 mph).  He was going home to see his wife for a night, and helping me out with the manual transmission at the same time.  Thanks, man. 
By noon the next day we were headed for 4 hours through traffic back to Darmstadt, and the one performance of the opera.  Here are some pictures I took at the dress rehearsal; the opera was done with traditional Baroque gestures, there was a choreographer helping the singers with their hands and expressions. 

The woman in the bottom picture was definitely the best of the vocal group; great voice, good presence, elegant, fit the part.  But, funny, I noticed during the recitatives -- the part where the singers move the action along, have dialog, etc, and are accompanied only by the continuo group (harpsichord, cello, theorbo) -- she would just say whatever she wanted, and sometimes only vaguely stick to what was written.  Mostly her notes were right, but more importantly, I guess, she Seemed right. 
One really nice part about the production was the background "sets"; the stage set had been constructed with a screen in the back, and throughout the opera they projected old images (prints, duh) of palaces, gardens, etc from the time.  You can see an example of this in the top picture.  And from the audience, the effect was quite convincing.  Well done, creative group.
All in all, for the trouble of getting up there, getting around in Darmstadt, and finally coming back to Basel, I'm not sure it was worth it.  I know that it wasn't my problem that they hadn't secured a bass player for the opera, but somehow I made it my problem.  Lesson learned?  Probably not.

taking pictures during the recitatives.

Here are some sights from the drive back up to Darmstadt from Basel on Friday (a perfect, beautiful day, too bad we were in a car). 

fall colors

awesome 18-wheeler

A few pictures from the time in Munich, too:

rainy day

felt store

All of a sudden, I found myself a little jealous of any friend of mine who has A Job and gets to play in a hall like this all the time.  What a pleasure.  I didn't get a great picture of the Gasteig (the hall), but here's one that somebody else took and put up on Wikipedia:

 

It's maybe a little hard to tell from the picture but looking into the hall from the stage almost gave me a sense of vertigo; all the angles, and the seats swooping toward you.  Nice.

manual transmission? no, please, no.

Hi from Darmstadt, Germany.  It's near Frankfurt.  Getting here today easily shaved a week or two off the length of my life. 

Yesterday I was also in Germany, for a little while.  I'd had a concert in Munich (at the same hall where the Munich Philharmonic plays, more on that later!) the night before, then got on a bus and lay around for 6 hours while we drove back to Basel.  Back to my flat around 2 PM, first thing I did was check my email.  "Dear Megan, we missed you yesterday, we are hoping you can make it to one of the rehearsals today" -- in Darmstadt. 

Here's the deal.  Three weeks ago, I got a call at 10 PM asking if I could do an opera with the Kammerchor Darmstadt.  I said yes, but I'd have to miss the first rehearsal; I'd be playing in Munich.  But let me know, etc etc, and then I could travel directly from my other concert.  I heard nothing, nothing.  I called the guy who had called me, twice even, and heard nothing; I assumed it wasn't happening.  Literally the FIRST confirmation about the gig I got was yesterday, sent at noon.  Yesterday!  What happened to, Here's the rehearsal plan, Here's the location of the concert, or, better yet, Here's A Contract?!?  It seemed impossible to do anything but go, so I looked at the train schedule and figured I'd take the 9:13 this morning.

8:45 I got to the train station.  Oddly, it wasn't crowded at all.  I went to a ticket counter and asked if I could buy a ticket up here today, and was informed that the entire German Railway was on strike, there would be no trains at all today.  So.  I still had enough time, Darmstadt is near Frankfurt, and about 3 hours from Basel.  My first rehearsal wasn't until 2, so I figured I could find a car and be there with time to spare.  I walked next door to the train station to the rental car place, and discovered it would cost me around Fr. 500.- which, certainly, was too much.  Oh, let me remind you that I have my bass and a suitcase with me (ready for 4 nights away from home).  Heavy.

500 chf is too much, duh.  So I went home (Heavy!!) and started looking around for a cheaper car.  After an hour of calling different rental car agencies and talking with the organizers of the project, I finally decided to rent a car just one way, Switzerland to Germany, and I could get a cheaper price on it because it was originally from Germany and wouldn't have the one-way fee.  It would come to approximately Fr. 270.-.  Also, I was told it would be automatic transmission.

They were wrong, as it turns out.

It was a Mercedes, something kind of resembling a Toyota Matrix, hatchback-style.  They didn't even have time to clean it, I needed to leave so quickly.  Crumbs all over the floor.  Anyway.  I can't drive a stick.  I mean, I can, sort of.  I did.  I got here.  I was able to drive home, mostly in second gear, telling myself the whole time, People who are way dumber than I am do this all the time.  I can do it.  And I got back to Efringerstrasse with only one stall, so I was feeling OK about things.  Bass and suitcase in car, I headed for the autobahn; that went fine, too.  The weather was beautiful, the trees red and orange, and southern Germany is all wheat fields and far-off hills and dark woods of skinny trees.  Lovely.  I checked the radio, heard Karma Chameleon and some random German-language pop songs.  Then I hit the construction.  Oh My God.  Two lanes, but so, so skinny.  The choice was either be in the slow lane behind all the trucks (What Gear Should I Be In?  What If I Have To Stop Suddenly?  What If I Stall On The Autobahn?!?  What If I Destroy My Bass On The Way To This Dumb Gig??!?!?) or to be in the fast lane (Can I Successfully Navigate This Car With Only An 8" Cushion Between Me And The Wall, and Me And The 18-Wheeler Beside Me?).  I went back and forth, as needed.  White-knuckled.  Alternating feeling feelings of panic and dread kept crushing up my shoulders, and I kept feeling tired, probably from all that panicking.  When I finally got to Darmstadt, around 2:05, I made my way to the hall, and started stalling.  I stalled at the first stoplight.  Then I saw a parking spot, and stalled turning around to get back to it.  Then I stalled turning onto the street.  Then I tried to park and stalled three times in a row and ended up asking someone on the street to help me park it but no one would and I finally was able to pull in the wrong way into a different spot across the street.  Stall.  Stall.  Stall.  Oh My God. 

Reading back on this it sounds like a comedy.  Isn't there some movie like this?  Someone driving and Jerky Stop, Jerky Stop, all over town?  That was me!  Almost funny.  Not funny really at all.  But maybe kind of funny.

Plus, by the time I got to the hall, sightreading an opera that no one has ever heard, four rehearsals in, didn't seem so bad. 

I will never, ever, ever rent a car with manual transmission again.  Remind me.  Don't let me.  It's not worth it.  I'd rather pay the extra. 
Anyway, I found some people in the orchestra to help me drive the car around, so you don't have to worry about me getting it back to the rental company... phew.

Now, a well-deserved rest sleep.  Pictures to follow!

Well How About That.

Got an email yesterday from the College Book Art Association.  Back in August I submitted sum-of-parts to their Juried Show, which will be up at their annual conference this coming January.  Turns out, it got in, and also won an award -- the Best Crafted Student Work Award.  Hey!  But also, huh?  I wrote them immediately to make sure it wasn't a mistake; I only got the student membership because I am a student, not because I am a Student.  (I know that makes sense.)  I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm a professional!  I just happen to be getting a Master's degree right now.  (It's nothing.  I play the bass all day.  And learn how to play the harpsichord.  And about fugue structure.  In German.)  Anyway, they wrote me back and said Of course they knew it was me, and since I am technically a student right now I totally qualify for/deserve the award.  I guess I don't really understand the parameters, I would reserve that award for people who are just starting out in the field, not "seasoned pros" or however I think of myself, but maybe it simply means, People Who Are In School.  For anything.  I feel fraudulent in the same way as I feel about getting a Master's in music after receiving my Bachelor's in studio art.  But whatever, man.  They've seen my CV.  I accept.  Oh yeah, the award is $100, plus a $400 travel grant to fly to Bloomington, Indiana in January and attend the conference.  I told the CBAA they can give that $400 to some real Student somewhere who otherwise wouldn't be able to make it. 

School is going fine.  In some classes, I feel pretty smart.  Yes, I Understand the structure of a Minuet written during the classical period.  In other classes, I feel super dumb.  No, I don't understand German.  No, really, I don't understand German.  OK, a little, oh, wait, nope.  Also, it seems like some people in this one class in particular (the one in German) are fresh from a bunch of other theory classes and so have answers that I'm not even prepared to look for.  But maybe if I had just a little more German.  I'll keep you updated.  Today was less awful, I kept interrupting the teacher to ask questions in English.  It seemed to help some of the other people around me, so I didn't feel bad.

I tied some frets on David's bass this week.  It was a bit trying.  I've mostly gotten it, and it seems pretty good so far, but my fingers were pretty raw for a day or so after.  Here are some arty shots of the frets.

pegbox.

 And, look at this nice day!  What would you guess the temperature to be out there?  50?  60?  70?  It could have been any of those, I thought.  Wrong again.  It was 31.  Holy Crap.  I didn't think it was allowed to be that cold when the sun was out.  Against the rules of nature, or something.  Alas, no.

HAND-kerchiefs.

Duh.

it has taken a turn toward winter

Foggy, almost like San Francisco, but not so low.  And cold.  About as cold as the East Bay gets in winter.  Except here it's only cold outside.  Heeeeey.  Did laundry today, and put it out on the balcony hoping the sun would come out.  Heh.  Nope.

Hankerchiefs: a very important part of my existence in this cold, cold world.

Getting to know more of Basel, I've been walking to and from school because it seems too cold to ride my bike (weak!) and have found some nice things on my way.  Today I noticed this public flowerbed that I've passed a number of times and never seen, which astounds me, because it is full of some pretty epic chard and kale plants. 

 I took this picture of my glove on one of the chard leaves for scale.  

Basel is funny.  It always kind of weirds me out how small it is.  For instance: the other day I was in a shoe store buying these funny slippers for myself (10chf). 

I dawdled on my way up to the counter and a girl slipped in front of me to exchange a pair of shoes.  Zing.  Later that day, while on the bus, I saw the same girl (across town) riding her bike down the street.  Then, in the train station on my way to Zurich, I saw her again.  THEN, two nights ago, I was walking home from having dinner with some friends, they live in another part of town from me, and Who Was Going The Other Way?  Yes.  Same girl.  Weird.  I wonder if she notices me.  There are other people I've seen twice, but three+ times?  Crazy.

I've been a little stuck in a cooking rut lately.  Rice.  Vegetables.  Rice.  Salad.  Rice.  What else do I know how to make?  Besides cereal?  Yeah.  Well, anyway, I got up the gumption to make a pumpkin curry for a friend who came over for lunch, and decided to make the curry paste from scratch.  Amazing!  So good, so easy.  Onion, garlic, some kind of hot pepper (we don't have serrano or jalapeno peppers here), a bunch of cilantro, a little bit of water.  Grind up with food processor.  Put in a pot with coconut milk.  Add vegetables.  Cook until done.  Yes.

Since I've been walking instead of taking the tram, I rewarded myself with this plant.  Cost the same amount as tram fare.  Hello Viola.

I also finally have a key to the bass locker at school, and now can keep one of the whales there as needed.  Plus, it means I can practice at school.  It feels like I get a lot more done at school than at home.  Ah, look.  I appear to be doing work.  I wonder how long I can keep it up?  What a skeptic!

it is fall

Scenes from around my neighborhood.  This is the play yard behind Matthäuskirche, near my house.

 Cat stepping inside.  Note the ladder.

 Good old Oetlingerstrasse.  I hope to live on this street someday.  It's nice.

 Paper collection day, it happens once a month.

 I guess those posters count as "paper"

 View from the Johanniterbrücke of the river, golden trees in Kleinbasel, and the spires of Münsterkirche.  You can also see the Mittlere Rheinbrücke there in the lower right.

 Looking back to Kleinbasel from just across the Rhein.

 This is in the old part of the city, near the Schola Cantorum.

 In the yard at the Schola.

This one's for Maggie.  I wanted her to know how the agricultural economy works over here in Switzerland.  A farmer grows some vegetables.  He then picks them up off the ground and hands them over to a nice man from the Migros supermarket chain.  It may not be the most efficient system but we believe in it.

One last view of Kleinbasel trees, the quiet morning Rhein, and Grossbasel across the way.  Lovely.

more excitement in one week

My friends back home made the comment, "You have more adventures in a week than I could handle in two or three months," and I can say that the same is practically true for me.  One long day of classes and traveling past Zürich for work and I am loathe to leave the house the next day.  Even for things I love to do.
I did, anyway, make my way to the farmer's market, and I got there just in time.  I managed to get some good bread (finally!), and really at the last minute; I was saying hello to the nice lady who sells hand made mustard and she asked if I wanted to buy some bread.  Yes, why not!  Anyhow.  On the way home I passed by a parked taxi with a copy of Gilgamesh in the front window.  What a literate working population.

Not much else happened this weekend.  I made a squash curry with coconut milk (Thai-style, yum!), played the smallest amount of bass possible to still call it practicing, and then brought some curry over to my friends' house.

Classes seem to be fine.  Baroque and Classical Theory, Notation, German for foreigners (Auslanders).  My Notation class is interesting.  The idea is to place the piece in a time and location, based on the physical clues you can look at.  Like Art History for musicians.  This includes looking at things like instrumentation, why and when different markings were used, how you can tell which country the music was written in and where it was printed, and, consequently, what technique was used to do the printing.  !!  The teacher is great, she's smart and funny and very enthusiastic about her subject.  She also wears a little watch on a chain around her neck so she can end the class on time (charming).  She explained a little in class about different printing techniques, but the students seemed generally confused about the concepts.  After class I asked her if she might be interested in having the class come over to Druckwerk so I can show them what copper plate etching, lithography, and letterpress printing actually are, and how they work, and she liked the idea.  So, we're setting something up for the end of the month!  How exciting.
Every student also has to do a presentation about one subject at the end of the year, topic of our choice, and she has approved further research on my part into how and where music was printed.  I plan to do a few physical experiments, too, of course.

I have homework for other classes, too.  Come up with 6 - 8 variations on La Follia.  Write a 4-bar minuet using a specific chord progression.  Look at this, I'm back in school.  Weird.  Well, in typical form (as far as I can remember) I am putting of my homework.  Hopefully not until the last minute.  That would be depressing.  I'm 30, after all.  One would hope I've learned not to procrastinate so much.  Ha.

little web of roots I found while cleaning up the balcony today



Meanwhile, fall is starting.  Pictures to follow.