Last night’s rehearsal was notable for many things.  Two stand out for me. Firstly, it was good to have Carolina Estrada present, not only to guide us through unfamiliar pronunciation of the Catalan text, but also to tell us something of Granados’s life and what she feels he was expressing in the Song of the Stars.

Secondly, so as to create the two choirs required for the Song of the Stars, we were all moved around – what a shock!  I am used to sitting in the front row, where  I get quite cross when Carlos stops beating time and people behind me carry on singing.  Last night I was relegated to the back row, and guess who carried on singing when Carlos stopped conducting – yes, of course, it was me.  I simply had not realised how with your head in the score in the back row you do not see Carlos’ arm movements from the corner of your eye, as you can in the front row.  So, maybe we should allow ourselves to be moved around more often, so as not to get too set in our own ways.