A week of practice: cellist Hadewych van Gent

Discover more Featured Stories  like this in The Strad Playing Hub

The week before the recording I started with playing a run through for a few close friends. I find this very helpful because they create a pressurised atmosphere, and I trust and value their opinion. Their comments helped me to determine my priorities in practice for this last stage. When you know you are going to record, every little noise matters. It becomes a challenge to know what to focus on and what to trust when playing and practising. Doing run-throughs helps me to find a middle ground. 

For the preparation I was lucky to have time and space to practice in a house that I shared with other wonderful musicians. Knowing that there was someone else working on their music gave me motivation and perspective. I enjoyed living in my musical bubble where all I would do was practise, go on walks, eat and rest. 

I liked to start my practice in the morning with a good stretching session, really allowing myself to do whatever motion would feel best. Then I would move on to warming up my voice as I sing as well as play the cello on the album. Singing is a great way to connect to your body, your breath, your musicality and your joy. You get to move, walk around, make silly noises and experiment; in other words, loosen up. I would recommend any musician to corporate this into their practice.

Next, I would warm up on the cello doing things such as open strings, scales and shifts. If I was feeling disconnected to the instrument for whatever reason, I would put on some of my favourite music and improvise over it. This exercise would help me to connect physically to the instrument and creatively warm up. Improvising makes you map the instrument in a different, more intuitive way. I find that just as useful as playing scales. (I make sure I still practise my scales of course).

During this period, I was studying for my Advanced Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music which gave me the freedom to focus my time on preparation for the recording. This included making checklists of repertoire I needed to keep up, repertoire I still needed to practise thoroughly and repertoire I needed to perform to either myself or a friend. Some things I kept on the list for daily practice, and some things changed according to how the last practice session went. The things I wrote on the list were things that I definitely had to go through. I often find it challenging to stick to a schedule as I indulge for too long on particular passages, or I suddenly move on to other things. But I made sure I practised everything on the list and then I added what felt necessary that day. The list ensured that there was a solid structure to my practice.

The list could look like this: 

REBECCA CLARKE SONATA 

• 15 minutes of ’virtuosic passage’ in the second movement with a metronome, then play without metronome

• Play through the second movement

• 30/40 minutes of ’virtuosic passages’ in the third movement

• Perform the first movement to myself up to three times 

Break (glass of water, a stretch) 

PETRIS VASKS, II Pianissimo 

• 30 minutes of shifts

• Singing and playing

• Perform it at least twice 

Break 

ERNST REIJSEGER, Colla Parte 

• Beginning: intonation, pizzicato good sound, voice separately and together with cello

• Arpeggios: find flow and create different sounds.

• Improvisation part: try out different sounds and lengths (play to people).

• Ending: pizzicato intonation and sound, voice separately and together. Try out different ways of ending, with chord solution or without chord solution? 

This last piece, Colla Parte, required a particular preparation process because I was arranging it. The original music was not written down and I had all of these different ideas to choose from. At this stage the most important choices were made, but there were little choices that could still change the piece significantly. I was confronted with questions such as: Where and in which octave should I add the voice? What is the story and the arc of the piece? How long should different sections be? Is something actually functioning within the story or is it merely based on a feeling?

These questions might sound simple, but each tiny change would make a big impact. Because this piece has a very improvised feel, it was essential for me to work out how I feel about the music, rather than how I merely think about it. I usually find my answers when I perform. Therefore, I made sure I played both my separate ideas and the entire piece to friends or teachers, even in uncomfortable stages. My choices had to feel intuitively right. 

Lastly, I made sure I recorded myself often. I trained myself to listen as honestly as I can. It is important to get used to your own sound and to know when you are just doing something in your head or actually drawing it out of the instrument. Since this was my debut album it was hard to know what to expect in the recording process. I spoke to people who recorded and even though they gave me good advice, you can only truly gain insight by experiencing it. 

I had two days to record the full programme. In that time, I learnt a lot about shifting between and connecting the mindsets when playing with absolute decisive precision and being in the moment giving a heartfelt performance. During the whole process of preparing, recording and listening back, I learnt a tremendous amount about my own playing. I experienced a unique type of focus which gave me insight into deeply listening, and that one has to be extra conscious of every musical choice made and exaggerate those ideas in the practice room. Moving forward, I feel confident about how to work for the next recording.

Hadewych van Gent and pianist Yupeng He’s album Voice will be released on 26 July 2024 as part of the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Series on Linn Records. Featuring works by Clarke, Vasks and Reijseger, Hadewych van Gent explores different voices of composers that have helped her to gain an insight into her own voice, combining singing with cello playing in an authentic form of expression.