Lady Georgianna

Well, we are just on a roll here. We are booked to play in Upton on Severn for their music club on 16 May 2009. Hurray for our enlightened promoters. It’s a nice venue- the Upton on Severn Memorial Hall. I remember about one July ago, people jokingly called it Severn-upon-Upton (after the floods) but let me assure you the night I spent at a pub in Cropthorne was not funny at all (thinking my car might be washed away along with the plumbing of the pub!)! The first to ring (besides my spouse of course) to ask how I was doing was Allegra [a.k.a. Abi]- and I won’t forget that. I salute the spirit of all the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire folks (and those up north) who pitched in and helped each other. You wouldn’t know anything had flooded and everything is back in operation- so support them. Click here.

and see Upton in person! Here’s a lovely pic from http://www.upton.uk.net/shortterm/perch.jpg

Tags: 18th century, Abi Seabrook, after the floods, Cropthorne, Lady Georgianna, micaela schmitz, Upton Arts Music Group, Upton on Severn

Hi folks, Just wanted to share a little news of my friend Madeline who has published a book which is really quite a good read.  The piano itself is pictured here! See the review here.

Tags: 18th century, Georgian, Lancaster, Madeline Goold, micaela schmitz, square piano

And, joy of joys, It’s a sunny day!

Here’s the finished article

And here’s Gary in his hat

Visit here a link reviewing Piva- they had some nice reports from the Worcester News. It was all part of the Worcester Early Music Weekend, in which Lady G played a part. It was organised by Signora Storace(Micaela Schmitz) and her colleague Cathy Dew Click here:

Tags: 18th C music, Abigail Seabrook, Cathryn Dew, Eric Moulder, Lady Georgianna, micaela schmitz, Piva, Tudor Music

Have just about finished the cloaks now, The masks are drying on the radiator after varnishing them (seem to be taking ages to dry).

Compared to the rest, the cloaks were a walk in the park, just a simple pattern (Simplicity 5794). We decided at the last minute to line them, add I’m so pleased we did, as it makes them feel much more luxurious.

Been reading a bit more,  “Bauta refers to the whole costume, not just the mask. The mask is called Larva, the other items consist of a cloak (mantel), tricorn, and the veil thing (xendal).

Ok, just make a compilation cd for the car, then I’ll post some pics!

They’re the opposite of the early music stereotype, recreating a racy world of pleasure gardens and libertines; rogues, wenches, tars and harlots. And their music’s every bit as disreputable…

Lady Georgianna works this extraordinary material into a riotously entertaining exploration of baroque London….The original girls aloud: Abigail Seabrook and Micaela Schmitz

–Richard Bratby, ‘Hi Jinks and Low Corsets’, Metro Life Friday, August 15, 2008

http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/article.html?in_article_id=266126&in_page_id=293&in_a_source

Tags: 18th century, Abigail Seabrook, corsets, early music, evelina, Lady Georgianna, metro, micaela schmitz, Music, pleasure gardens, stays

I just had to come back after sorting out the car to say what a really wonderful concert it was. I can’t say enough how much I appreciated it. It meant so much to my wife and me. She’s a fan of the Burneys and has read Evelina many many times. You know Worcester used to have it’s own pleasure gardens - the Arboretum Gardens.

- audience member, name withheld, at Lady Georgianna’s concert ‘Ladies of Misrule’

Tags: 18th century, Abigail Seabrook, evelina, fanny burney, ladies of misrule, micaela schmitz, worcester festival

I seem to have spent most of my time today tearing my hair out over tricorn hats. Impossible to get the blasted brims to stand without collapsing under their own weight! Try as I might, I just ended up with the floppy Cap’n Jack look.

I tried coat-hanger wire, net curtain wire, boning, hobby wire, all to no avail. Then, after about  4 hours of faffing , dug out some hessian and  interlined the brim with it…success!

The rest was easy, making and attaching fabric flowers to mine and a big red feather boa to Gary’s. We’ve painted the masks gold, and they look a treat, though I say so myself.

I would post some pics, but it’s 2am and the batteries in the camera are flat.

Tags: bauta, Costume, shambala, venice

Gary and I got up at some ungodly hour this morning to peruse the rag market, and one again, it came up trumps. £20 each has got us a load of purple velvet for swishy cloaks, some tie dye sequinned velvet, a dark red feather boa (to decorate hats) , gold ribbon and black leather-look pvc with a gold sheen for hats. Probably a little more than we’d usually spend, but we figured that if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

I’m REALLY pleased with the masks that we made last night, It was a little fiddly, but we got there in the end! I got the technique from my pal Pyn, mask maker extraordinaire. She runs workshops if you’d like her to show you how. See her website here…

Tags: bauta, carnival, Costume, craft, making, venice

In my quest for a Shambala costume I came across this site which was frankly so fantastic I just had to share it. A video tutorial for making a pirate style tricorn out of a pair of leather trousers! Plus some instructions for the rest of the outfit. OooohArrrr!

Tags: craft, DIY, pirate, tricorn hat