“Tell me again the music of that Tale” was a mix of feelings. On the one hand, you can feel happiness, calm and relax, because the work is now life and you can enjoyed its final result. Contrary to these, you can feel a sort of sadness, a sensation inside you that wants more, because it finishes: all the hours you spend with the musicians, the rehearsals, working side by side with them, engaging with thew singer, sharing the stage just making music. You start thinking that maybe that is the way, and it cannot be longer than this because if it were it would loose its magic.
It was an interesting process though, to make this work alive. During the sectionals, we managed to find the last pieces of the puzzle, like for example dynamics, controlling them, notes that worked better in the low register than in the high; harmonics that worked better as non-harmonics, musical phrases, added notes to help the singer, balance between strings and winds, or between strings, piano and harp, or between the ensemble and singer. As soon as the rehearsals with everyone started, it was so much easier to make music, because we were not worried about notes, rhythms, dynamics, etc. We focused in musical phrases, focused in when the texts should be listened. We tried to create a musical contour — a sort of contour you normally do when you are taking —that was in relation with the text and the narrative of the musical phrases. We were composing in real time all together and that was a high point in the process of learning and making Tell me again the music of that Tale alive.
At the end, after some issues as for example wrong notes, wrong rhythms, wrong words and wrong gestures, the meaning, the message and the form of the piece were given to the audience properly; and you know, how many times a Mozart piece is made in the world? And how many times this piece have mistakes? Probably, the answer is all the time. How can you ask, in a contemporary context, where everyone is trying to discover the music, and when the music is also trying to discover itself, not to have mistakes? You cannot.
In general, this work is ready to be in the world and to exist. It is ready to be done again. It is full of life and it will be for long - I hope!