Double Doyle and Trouble

The other thing that I wanted to talk to you both about is the fact that the majority of your work has been on continental Europe for the last few years, Justin, with you at RIAS.

And you work with many of the European ensembles singing Bach, as we've mentioned, not exclusively, of course, but that has been a large part of your musical diet.

But you're both experienced with working in the English scene as well.

And just where are the main differences? What are the pros and cons? And it's difficult in England at the moment.

It feels like it's a struggle to make concerts happen a little bit.

There's not a huge amount of money around.

Everyone's fighting for the same pots of money.

Festival directors are having to be very, very creative in their programming.

And that means that larger ensembles sometimes are slipping down the pecking order in terms of bookings.

Not always, but it is happening.

When you're working in Europe where there are unions for some of the organisations that you're working with, or if there is local or even state support for ensembles and more rehearsal time, it seems to me that that must surely make for a better working environment, or does it?

I was just quickly going to say, it's so fascinating, isn't it, how in the UK we have to do it all on a shoestring.

Everything is on the day, three hours maximum.

But we get it done.

We do get it done.

We do it pretty well.

I mean, we're all kind of in fight or flight the whole time, but we get it done.

And then you go and work outside the UK.

And the amount of rehearsal just feels so utterly luxurious, doesn't it? It feels ludicrous when you've been working in the UK.

You think, what on earth are we going to do with our time for the next three days? But actually, it is a real luxury to be able to spend to take it more slowly and spend time working in detail and forming something really special.

I don't know, it's interesting.

It just makes me appreciate the skill of the British museums, British museums? British musicians doing it on no time at all.

That's the main difference I see is the rehearsal time.

That's very true.

And I think fight or flight is a brilliant way of describing it because we do have these skills in Britain, which they're unmatched in most of the singers I see in the continent, actually.