REVIEW: Robert Fripp, “Churchscapes” at Norwich Cathedral, 16 June 2006
It was never a certainty that we’d attend this performance but the decision was finally made this morning at approximately 9.20am that morning, while walking Alex the Wonderdog, with a toss of the coin and the call of heads signifying that we’d make the 100-mile journey to Norwich. I quite like Norwich as a place, but it had been a while since we’d last paid a visit and because we hadn’t parked in our usual spot, my sense of direction was somewhat “out”.
I knew that Norwich Cathedral was around somewhere, but for the life of me couldn’t get us in the right area. From previous experience, I knew it was close to the old Anglia Television Studios, but my inner radar was so off-kilter, I had to admit I was beaten. Much looking at local visitor’s maps and head scratching ensued. After a brief spell of walking in the completely wrong direction and myself begging the Missus not to ask the locals for directions, I was back on the trail and could see the spire in the distance. The time was 1.25pm. Oh dear, this was going to be an unfortunate and wasted journey if we didn’t get a move on. With sparks literally coming from our heels, we were in the cathedral grounds.
“Just let yourself be drawn to the bleeping and droning,” I joked and as we got closer to one entrance, The Missus cried: “I can hear him.”
Norwich Cathedral: Just follow the bleeping and droning...
True enough, even outside the Cathedral the faint synthetic string sounds could be heard. It was now 1.35pm, we were unfortunately a little late. However, as we walked into Norwich Cathedral, we realised that we weren’t close to the performance at all and were behind the player. It was eerie to hear the sounds of the Churchscapes echo around the ancient stonework and not be able to see the performer or audience. We let ourselves be drawn to the sound and eventually we found the presbytery and I could see the back of Robert Fripp’s head loom into view.
As we were late and we didn’t want to disturb the performance, we took a seat at the edge of the presbytery and this would turn out to be fortuitous later on. From my vantage point, I could clearly see Robert Fripp playing his blonde Fernandes and manipulating the devices in his rack. I was sitting a lot closer to the player than the St Paul’s performance and I found myself being distracted by Fripp making adjustments to his equipment and then listening for a change in the sound.
I looked away. I concentrated on the ornate stonework and the stained glass window directly facing us. The sound was very different to the St Paul’s and the presence seemed a lot more claustrophobic. Whereas St Paul’s had a certain airy atmosphere, the nature of the architecture made this a more ancient experience. The soundscapes being played here were also different. Whereas St Paul’s the performance was almost a showpiece, with a beginning, a middle and a conclusion – this seemed more freeform, more about the music being affected by the environment. Where St Paul’s were blues and golds, this was dense crimsons and deep dark browns. There were lots of string pads and that sweet soloing tone that Fripp is using now. The difference in the acoustics of the two spaces was evident: again, St Paul’s had its own ambience with people moving around the periphery and there seeming to be more space for the sound to move, whereas Norwich Cathedral, despite it size, felt smaller and claustrophobic. The deeper string pads reverberated around the stonework and you could feel them in your chest.
The performance was split into two halves and at about 1.50pm, the man stopped playing and addressed the audience. This made The Missus’s face drop – I could tell that she thought that the performance was over, but I kept the knowledge of RF’s little talks to myself and let her discover that there would be a second half in time. Fripp spoke of his gratitude of being able to playing in churches like Norwich Cathedral, decommissioned churches and even a decommissioned brothel. He thanked Mark Graham personally for organising the performances and then continued.
The second half seemed very similar in tone to the first half, with the dull colours of tone being enhanced by a twinkling surround-sound bell pad. It’s hard to explain, but these soundscapes seemed to be more about the passage of time, rather than moving from point A to point B, like the St Paul’s concert. There was a lot more soloing and multi-tracked/looped soloing too. I was really pleased that it was so different as I had previously worried that it would be a re-run of the previous performance I had been witness to.
At the end of this Churchscape, he put his guitar down, got his bag and said a brief thank-you to his support staff and the audience. He then began to leave. Before I could move myself, he was heading straight towards The Missus and myself. I was already grinning inanely and didn’t want to avert my gaze, in case this would have been considered rude, so I just sat there and grinned at him. Fripp looked right into my face and gave a big smile himself. Then I realised, quite sadly, that I was a total and utter fan…Is there no hope for me?
The Missus commented that the old Frippster had a really nice, modest smile and that he should smile more often. I was too busy giggling like a schoolgirl, happy to have witnessed another great Churchscapes performance and a feeling too much like a fanboy for my own liking. For my sins, I donated a crisp £10 note into the collection box as we left and took in the beauty of the Cathedral and its grounds.
Yours truly, praying in the cloisters, hoping that I'm not a slavering fan-boy
Click here for my review of Robert Fripp at St Paul's Cathedral.