St.Pölten (AT) - Barockfestival St.Pölten

✨Sing My Soul✨

Just a couple of days before our concert I got back to Vienna from The Hague…saying goodbye to the studio apartment I rented there for the past year.

I got back to Vienna and right into Handel. We met for rehearsals at mathias' place at Westbahnstraße downtown Vienna, two days before the concert to really take time and freshen up "all that Händel" for our first concert since October with his arias and songs arranged by master rüegg. Oh it felt wonderful to play these colourful arrangements again with Tobias Faulhammer on guitar, Gregor Aufmesser on bass and Dominik Fuss on trumpet and flugelhorn.

We all were looking forward to playing these songs in front, with and for a live audience again. Thank you to Caroline Berchotteau for inviting us to magical Barockfestival St.Pölten. The former synagogue in which we played was an incredible venue for a singer : ) - oh the wonderful reverb!

The first concert was mathias rüegg’s Solitude Diaries - 40 piano pieces that he wrote during the first lockdown in March 2020 - played by extraordinary pianist Soley Blümel and amazing mulitinstrumentalist Ladislav Fančovič and mathias himself. While we got ready backstage we had the pleasure to listen to mathias’ personal musical diary entries telling stories and sharing memories from „Jessas na“ to „Luegit vo Berg und Tal“ and „Smiles of gold“ - here is the link to his music: https://www.mathiasrueegg.com/solitudediaries

We started our Händel-Set at 20:00 and I enjoyed every minute, every note, every song!!!WHAT AN AUDIENCE - creating clapping sounds that to my ears sounded like clapping symphonies…I’m pretty sure John Cage would have gotten inspired then, if he wouldn’t have already come up with his clapping music. It gave me so much energy - that I kept on risking more than I’ve had in quite a while, pushing me to go on and on - for me it was one of these concerts that truly reminded me of what a gift it is to play and share music together.

Thank you Tob, Greg and Dominik for giving "our" Handel your very best 👏 - and to T - as always for his tech expertise no matter where and how much reverb a venue brings with it : )!

We drove back to Vienna and got home round midnight…I made myself a Martini with three green Olives, opened the window, took a deep breath and smelled the air of my new home in Neuwaldegg and filled with gratefulness I fell asleep.

✨Sing My Soul✨

Yours Lia