Yesterday we decided to go back to Snape where there is a lovely village around the Snape Maltings concert hall. We beat a regular track between Aldeburgh and Snape, but had not previously looked around the Maltings area. There is the most amazing antique shop there, where only the really serious collectors would shop. Everything antique that you can think of was in the shop. Rob enjoyed seeing the Hornby Dublo train engines and carriages, some of which are the same as the ones he has in his collection. There was one person who was very interested in some Britten memorabilia which cost between 450 pounds to 3,000 pounds. There is also a huge home and garden shop which sold everything from gourmet specialty local food, to every kitchen gadget one could possibly want, furniture, manchester, plants etc. If we were locals, we could have racked up a huge credit card bill, buying lots of stuff!
The highlight yesterday was travelling from Aldeburgh to Orford to hear two of Britten’s Church Parables (The Prodigal Son and the Burning Fiery Furnace), performed by Mahogany Opera. These were inspired by Britten’s trip to Japan and Indonesia in 1956, where he saw medieval theatre performances. Being the Britten Centenary year, the decision was made to perform these church parables in the church where the first performances took place in 1966 and 1968. The lead role in each of the pieces was sung by James Gilchrist, who is the most amazing tenor. We have heard him sing before, and really looked forward to hearing him again. He started his working life as a Doctor, but turned to a full time career in music in 1996. He performs internationally, darting all over the place to sing lots of major roles. Quite a change from being a Doctor, spending time trying to diagnose sick patients!
Between each of the performances (of just over an hour each) we had about an hour spare, and most people headed off to the nearby restaurants and pub. We met some people who came from North Hampshire, who seem to spend a lot of time travelling the country to hear music, including coming to nearly all the Aldeburgh festivals. They also arrange concerts in their own community. We had a very enjoyable chat with them in the parlour of the pub!
Today we have just pottered around Aldeburgh, doing not much. Aldeburgh is a very nice place to relax. Lots of Londoners have second homes here and escape the rat race whenever they can. It isn’t very far from London so they can get away easily for a weekend or a short break.
