St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington

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Bob Wilson
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Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire

St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington

Postby Bob Wilson » Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:41 pm

A great venue for the last of the ‘Ravens and Lullabies’ tour for 2012 (more to come in 2013). St Michael’s Church was originally where Gordon and Oliver chose to practice and pull together their tour, so it is special to them and it showed. Both were relaxed and in good form, obviously having fun together and keeping us all laughing between pieces. With Oliver sharing some ‘Gordonisms’ from some of the previous gigs and Gordon’s usual ‘tongue in cheek’ repartee, the audience were put at ease very quickly. Also, the history of the pieces and how they came about was a fascinating insight into these two performers.
‘Nature’s Way’, ‘Fiona’s Smile’, ‘LJW’ and ‘Roots’ were sublime in the first half.
In the second half, ‘Isabella’s Wedding’, ‘Wherever There is Beauty’ and ‘A Forgotten King’ were ‘stand-out’ pieces for me, but there was not a piece that didn’t touch somebody at the gig.
‘A Perfect Day’ and ‘LJW’ are emotional pieces which Oliver plays down a bit until he touches the keyboards. This gives away how important the pieces are to him and they shine because of it (Aah! :) ). And his piece ‘Natures Way’, inspired by Lundy Island, shows how emotive music can be when portraying nature. I’ll be interested to see what happens if he gets to the Isles of Scilly :wink: .
Although I know Gordon’s pieces well, he still likes to surprise occasionally, especially with ‘The Dodo’s Dream’. Yet another little piece put in (or improvised) to tantalise; and this, along with the beautiful ‘Camber Sands’ again transports the listener to another place. Also, Gordon playing a couple of pieces on classical guitar is a new experience for us, as well as for him :) .
In this lovely church, we were made to feel very welcome by Rev. Martin from the get-go. Good to meet up with Gordon, Hilary and Oliver and also forum members, Eddy, Keith and Fiona, Malc and Kaz (who did the merch table) and to meet (at last) Sue Webster and Dean.
Can’t wait for the CD and I hope there will be some more concerts a little nearer next year
Lives touch and paths cross for a reason - be grateful for these meetings and grow as a person

John Adams
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Location: Solihull

Re: St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington

Postby John Adams » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:59 pm

As we attended the first Ravens and Lullabies’ concert it would have been impolite not to have attended the last concert of the 2012 tour! We weren’t disappointed, as always a warm welcome from Martin and Louise (the hosts) and Gordon, Hilary and Oliver. Gordon and Oliver played to a packed house and we were treated to an excellent performance of music and gentle humour. A big thank you to everyone involved for another great night. :D :D :D :D :D

keithmeredith
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Location: Corby, Northamptonshire

Re: St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington

Postby keithmeredith » Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:41 pm

This was another superb evening's entertainment from these two premier league musicians - and I can add little to the succinct words of Uncle Bob and John.

Like John, I was lucky enough to attend both the first and the final concert of this tour - and also managed to take in the Grantham gig somewhere in the middle. Each was thoroughly enjoyable and it was interesting to see how Gordon and Oliver's performance evolved and developed during the tour. Over what was only a short month both artists became more confident and relaxed with what they were presenting to their audience - both musically and in the badinage between them.

There was something of a 'last day of term' feeling about this evening - it is a little sad when great things conclude - but the Ravens and Lullabies album will be available soon and some additional tour dates for "Giftwrap and Waitrose" are planned for next March. Can't wait - bring it on.

Keith.

PS Just remembered that we have Four Parts Guitar to look forward to in the meantime. Hope to see some of you there.

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Roger
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Location: Southsea

Re: St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington

Postby Roger » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:02 pm

Bob,

Very nice review - I think your comments about Oliver and his music are spot on, as is what you say about "On Camber Sands". For me it can trigger so many thoughts and emotions depending on the situation. Anyway hope to see you both soon :D

John,

The first and the last gigs - lucky devil :)

Keith,

I'm looking forward to my first Four Parts gig - all being well we should be at the Eastbourne concert and will probably make a weekend of it!

Best to you all,

Roger


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