Sin

Saturday past to Kings Place to hear about sin from the Bach family. As it happens, BH's first visit to the place, in what was the wilds of Kings Cross. With Caitlin Hulcup and Martin Feinstein in the lead, backed up by the rest of the Feinstein Ensemble. See reference 1.

A bright if cool day, so given that the Place was on the canal, we opted for picnic. And given that the forecast had mentioned rain, we opted for folding umbrellas, it being a fair step from the Place to the shelter of the railway station. Unnecessary as it turned out.

A lot of trackside bushes were in white flower which led to a discussion of whitethorn, blackthorn and hawthorn, with the theory being that these were three distinct plants, flowering in sequence, ending with hawthorn in May. A theory which was not supported by Cortana who claimed that, apart from some American exotics, whitethorn was hawthorn and that blackthorn was sloe. Possibly conflated with various other kinds of inedible plum. So two distinct plants, flowering in sequence.

Two offers of seats on the tube, one accepted. And so onto to Kings Cross where we found that the Pentonville Road exit was shut, which meant we had to walk across the front of the station twice, once underground and once overground. Lots of people about, lots of flashy dressing.

Arriving at the Rotunda on the Basin, we took two of their deck chairs plus a tray of tea and some kind of white wine. All entirely satisfactory, apart from the fact that one lost the sun around 1330. And despite the clear blue sky, we failed on the aeroplane count, managing a meagre sequential two. Not up to the standard of my first visit, noticed at reference 2, at all.

Into the hall to find a proper small organ, unlike the fake offered by the Ripieno, noticed at reference 3. At least it was fairly elaborate, and if it was a fake, someone had gone to a lot of trouble. Music excellent, with the first piece, from J.C. Bach, 'Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte in meinem Haupte', having a particularly high impact. I associate to the programme note from another concert which told us that Haydn thought that the main Bach was one of the sons and was surprised to find that the father, the one we revere now, was a composer at all. Hulcup had a terrific voice and managed to deliver the lament without the bodily accompaniments that others go in for - which we thought proper given the sacred nature of the music. With both the opening lament and the closing cantata being very strong on sin; very north European. From the flutes, I associate to the roughly contemporary flute concertos by Tartini, concertos which I once used to know quite well, at least by recording.

A short but intense concert and we needed a walk afterwards, so strolled down to the Russell Hotel, thinking to take tea there, to find it shut for refurbishment and due to reopen the following day. We settled for the entirely satisfactory President Hotel next door, taking tea, cheesecake and wine. Tea and cheesecake good, wine not so good. Entertainment by hen party. Followed by a bus to the bar kitchen at Waterloo where we dined, the first time, according to the record, for more than a year. See reference 4. The usual pleasant atmosphere, neither empty nor crowded at this early hour.

We settled for what was advertised as the day's specials, potato soup followed by chicken followed by cheesecake. Bread good. With the soup leading to a discussion about whether it tasted of mushroom or not. Oddly, BH claimed that it did not, while I claimed that it did, tasting a lot more of mushroom than potato. Which all goes to show what a labile thing taste is. I thought the chicken a little damp, suggesting to me recent removal from either fridge or freezer. Creamed spinach good. While the cheesecake was not as good as that served by the President. Perhaps it was a mistake taking it twice.

The reisling - a Riesling Löhrer Berg Weingut Tesch  2011 - started good, but by the end of the bottle I was noticing an odd after taste, the sort of taste I associate with marc or mescal, perhaps a taste that one acquires. Described on the menu as 'Single vineyard wine shows excellent flavours which is dominated by steely minerality. Frankfurter Allgemeine 'Winemaker of the Year' 2012', so perhaps I should give it another go before coming to judgement.

Despite the carping, a good restaurant. We will, no doubt, be back.

Out to a third discussion, this one triggered by the show on at the Old Vic, about the origin of 'Fanny and Alexander'. I was sure that it did not start life as a play but as a musical. I asked the chap on the door, who smelt my breath, did not understand the question, but was entirely affable about it. He thought my best bet would be to go down to the Young Vic and ask them. Instead, I asked Cortana, to find that it started life as a long, more or less valedictory film by Ingmar Bergman. Wrong again.

And so back to Epsom.

Reference 1: http://feinsteinensemble.co.uk/.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/kings-place.html.

Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/choral-saturday.html.

Reference 4: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/woyzeck.html.

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