You probably know that the original ending of the Enigma Variations was a lot shorter. After the first performance Elgar was persuaded to extend the final variation and today the revised ending is almost always played. But not on Saturday! I was playing contra in the Derby Concert Orchestra concert in Wirksworth church. We had just started the finale when all of the lights went out. We continued as best we could for a few moments but then it all inevitably fell apart and we had to stop. We waited for the lights to come back on but after five minutes it was clear that there was a major power cut and we were not going to get the lights back. So we had to abandon the concert and very carefully find our way out of a very dark church.
Never happened to me before.
The contra part in Enigma is not exactly the most extensive item in the repertoire and the only bit of sustained playing is in the finale! So given that it took an hour to drive to the church for the concert I didn't exactly over exert myself
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