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A Little Morning Music

July 31, 2009 at 3:24 AM

Last Sunday, my friend Josh and I played the Handel Sonata in G minor, Opus 2, No. 8 for two violas and harpsichord for the church service.  Given the length of the various movements and the liturgy, the movements were played out of order.  We started with the 4th movement for the "Prelude" - then the 1st & 2nd, and finally the 3rd movement - Largo for the Offertory. 

At first I was calm, cool and collected, but then I made a mistake and looked up to see a chapel FULL of people and nearly panicked.  My bow arm started shaking.  However this time, unlike other times in the past, I was able to gain control over my nerves (with a some literal hand-holding) and was able to relax into the moment and the music.  Each time I perform, it gets a little easier on the nerves.

Josh and I are now starting to work on our next performance piece -  "Lament" by Frank Bridge.  Quite a bit more challenging than the Handel, but a pure pleasure to play.