Category: Germany

Recording a CD; Das Lied des Herrn

2/11/2025

I recorded a CD!! Somehow, in a very short amount of time I managed to convince various people to help me.

A very supportive Orgelbauverein (they financed the whole thing)
A very flexible and competent sound engineer (thanks Matthias Reuland)
An incredibly patient, hardworking and creative graphic designer (thanks Mirabel Fawcett)
A supportive colleague/predecessor (Dr. Tamás Szőcs)
An unbelievably supportive and understanding wife (thank you Stephanie)
Multiple competent and ready-to-help choir members (led by Kirsten Jaench)
A patient and able organ colleague to page turn for a couple of pieces (thanks Friso Wyckelsma)

I had helped out on a CD before and sung on several as a chorister, but this was my first experience being in charge of something like this. Due to both budget and the summer holidays, I recorded alone without the support of a producer. In reality, that meant that I clicked the button on the laptop set up by Matthias (which was connected to the six microphones positioned around the church), trotted over to the organ bench, played something, trotted back and pressed stop. Then came listening intently through headphones and hearing EVERYTHING!

Me and Friso listening back to the latest take.

Overall, I really enjoyed the process. I had cleared my schedule, and planned my time carefully so that I knew how much time I could spend on each piece. The title of the CD means, "The Lord's Song" and many of the pieces relate to church hymns, I played some pieces I knew really well and several that I learnt new for the recording. I don’t often hear the organ except when I’m playing, so it was really interesting to hear how the different stops balance at a greater distance. There was one day (it was a Tuesday) that nothing seemed to be going right. I had to clip-clop in my organ shoes backwards and forwards, do take after take (I can’t even remember which piece it was now) and still thought everything sounded terrible. Luckily the next day I was pleasantly surprised by some of the playing! The last day of recording, Friso came along to page turn and press a few stop tabs which I couldn’t manage alone. That was a different experience too, suddenly sharing the previously lonely experience, but also being conscious of using someone else’s time.

After two weeks almost entirely alone in the church, then came the graphic design and the writing of the booklet. Without Mirabel Fawcett and Tamás Szőcs that wouldn’t have happened at all! The Sauer organ just happens to be visually striking as well as sonically. The case of the organ is a great starting point for creative inspiration, and Mirabel did a fantastic job of incorporating elements of the organ as well as listening to my wishes. The resulting CD case and booklet couldn’t be better - it maintains a formality that fits with the project, is very precise and enjoys features of the organ (I love the printing on the CD itself the best!).

The console of the Sauer Orgel - complete with organ shoes, coffee thermos and many books!

In the middle of that was sitting for half a day with Matthias to cut the takes together. I had kept careful notes of what I wanted to use, so it was mostly straightforward. One obstacle was an extraneous noise - in the Bach fugue there is one pedal note that made a wood-hitting-wood sound. It happened in every take, but only in the Bach. Matthias worked his magic, if you can hear it, let me know where exactly it is and you’ll win some kind of prize!

I want to do it again! I learnt so much in the process, that I would love the chance to record another CD before I forget everything that I learnt. In the meantime, I am SO PROUD of Das Lied des Herrn!

The recording will soon be available on streaming platforms but if you want the full, beautiful product in your hands it will be available in London at the CD Launch Party at Temple Church on Wednesday 25th November at the lunchtime concert (1:15pm). It is already readily available in Germany, just send me a message via the Contact Form - I can get them posted wherever they are wanted.

0 Comments

Aeham Ahmad, Pianist, on the Fall of Assad - Van Magazine

7/1/2025

0 Comments

Back in September 2023, I went to hear Aeham Ahmad play at the Konzertgalerie here in Steinfurt. I was moved not only by the performance, but by Aeham's life story of growing up as a Palestinian refugee in Syria, fleeing to Germany and the traumas along the way. Aeham wore his emotions so publicly. Music magazine Van were equally taken with Aeham's journey and comissioned my to write an interview - A Climate of Fusion, published in September 2023.

Fast forward to December 2025, the surprise fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, hit global news headlines. But there is only so much that news headlines can share, so Van were keen for a follow-up. Aeham happily agreed to talk to me again, and with a very quick turn around, we published this interview in December 2024.

Wonderful Chaos - Pianist Aeham Ahmad on what the fall of Assad means for him, his family, and his art. Interview with Hannah Parry.

It was enlightening to me to hear Aeham's views and to learn of repercussions for the Syria people scattered around the world. It was also great to have an update on Aeham's career.

I hope you are interested in reading both interviews (Van has a paywall, it is worth subscribing, of you can read a limited number of articles for free).
Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions - comment below.

0 Comments

Aeham Ahmad: Piano Concert in Steinfurt

1/8/2022

1 Comment

Konzertgalerie: Tourism Steinfurt

The Konzertgalerie in Steinfurt is on my running route. It sits in the huge Bagno Park which divides the two parts of town. I’ve been past it countless times but never been inside until last week. The chandeliers glittered in the mirrors, illuminating the painted ceiling and rather ugly angel and harp statue at the back.

I’m constantly surprised that I live in Steinfurt - home to many retired people who made up the bulk of the audience for tonight’s concert. The old white people were out in force to support and learn from a young Palestinian/Syrian man. Aeham Ahmad climbed the shallow steps to the platform before the first powerful notes of his music rang out.

Before the first piece, there was a lot of talking. A lot. Firstly heckling from the audience because the microphone wasn’t loud enough, (“turn your hearing aid up” was the helpful advice of one retiree), then the painful story of Aeham’s life. Growing up in as a Palestinian refugee in Syria was hard enough, before war broke out. Aeham and his friends would wheel his piano outside and he would play amidst the rubble of bomb blasts.

Aeham talked about his music, describing how classical, jazz and eastern music all combined in his composition/improvisations. He sang too, mournful notes over sustained chords were alternated with impressively virtuosic passages. The anger, sorrow, guilt and sadness of his story poured out through his fingers to be made sound for us to share.

Between pieces, a narrator read passages from one of Aeham’s two books. Death, destruction, and loneliness filled every story - from being separated from his family to watching his piano burn. Moments of calm came too, and he encouraged the audience to sing a repeated melody with him while he played, a moment of togetherness for us to share.

Aeham’s classical training is evident. His facility of touch and the sheer speed at which he can play was astounding. In all honesty, I found it really hard to listen to him. There was a lot of loud playing, the raw emotion spilling everywhere. The pieces were also quite similar to each other. Familiar riffs would return and chord sequences were reused. The message of peace and hope that the narrator put forward wasn’t expressed in the music at all.

The audience clearly admired his dexterity and ability to perform with such passion. After a standing ovation, the first encore was based on Ode to Joy - the famous tune from Beethoven’s ninth symphony which all the German pensioners knew the words for. To me, this was a sudden contrast to the ‘real’ music - but showed off his ability to weave a melody into his own style with skill.

I can’t imagine the life that Aeham and his family have had to endure. In 2016, Aeham took the Balkan route from Syria to Germany. But I can’t miss an opportunity to draw attention to how things are now.

Aeham had achieved family reunification within a year of his arrival. That means that his asylum claim was processed, accepted and then his family could join him via a legal route. Friends of mine spend twice that time or longer trapped in countries on the way. They then have to wait years just for their asylum claims to be assessed. The wait even after an interview is months and months in France, Germany and the UK. The compassion shown by the audience for Aeham should be extended to everyone else, whether from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan or anywhere else.

Aeham is a firstclass musician, and an ambassador for others who share parts of his story, and I'm really glad I got to hear him play.

Want to DO SOMETHING! People in the UK can volunteer to help Care4Calais when people first arrive in the country. Or if you’d rather have an online task and have 3-4 hours a week, get in touch to help Are You Syrious with the News Digest.

1 Comment

A change is as good as a rest, And don’t forget to feed the goat… Workaway in Germany

23/9/2021

2 Comments

Workaway life, on the Dutch border, of course there are clogs.

The last 18 months have been unexpected for all of us. Yet I still wonder how I end up where. One thing led to another, and I found myself arriving at the farm on the German/Dutch border in my noisy British car. Living with strangers, helping with goats, it’s just the sort of thing that happens to me apparently.

I had decided to do a Workaway. I was stuck in a rut, bored and needing adventure. I’d been spending a lot of time in front of a computer, writing, doing courses and had put pressure on myself to achieve goals and keep working hard. There had been a time when a week was the longest I’d spend in one place. So I needed a change of scene.

Restrictions in Germany were still quite strict which made travel problematic, but it was only an hour’s drive to my new home. The deal with Workaway is that you work in exchange for bed and board. Hosts can set their own parameters but something like 4 or 5 hours work per day seems common.

Farm is perhaps a grand word for where I was. Joris and Leonie have around 10 goats, 5 or so chickens, a couple of geese, dozens of cats (ok only about 10 at the time…), and an elderly dog. That first evening I was welcomed incredibly warmly. We had a drink and a lovely dinner and got to know each other.

My first full day, and it was raining. Joris and Leonie both went off to work, leaving me with a choice of several jobs. It was liberating to be told what to do and not be self-motivating.

Tiny kittens!

First I checked on the tiny, week-old kittens before being watched by several pairs of goat’s eyes as I dashed to the shed. I say shed. The house was pretty confusing, only part of it was modern and liveable - like a concrete box inside the shell of the older structure. The enormous, long building that was the shed, actually attached to the rest of the house and somehow led to the roof space and other more solid rooms. I put on a podcast and settled to my task. I was sorting and tidying the numerous, somewhat lethal looking tools and cleaning up. It was satisfying to see chaos turned to order.

I spent the drier part of the day weeding the potato patch - under the watchful eye of both goat and cat. It was great to be outside in the fresh air, and watching the potato plants appear as the weeds were cleared away.

By the end of the day I was tired, but in the good way of feeling physically spent. So much better than sitting at a computer all day! I also had plenty of time for yoga and reading.

Over another delicious dinner, with vegetables from the garden, I got to know more about the motivations for the farm. Of course, veganism was brought up quite early on, but we agreed that the most important thing was for people to know where their food came from. Would you really eat the chicken if you had seen it’s living conditions? Or if you knew what cocktail of drugs and hormones were fed to mother cows to get the milk you drink? Joris and Leonie are working towards self-sufficiency. Already they produce a healthy crop of vegetables to keep them going throughout the year.

A selection of goats on a sunny day.

I raised the window blind on my second morning to rain pouring from the sky! The goats normally get let into their paddock during the day, but the weather meant that they were staying in the stable for now. Leonie left me a note to ask me to check the water, give more hay and bottle-feed the smallest baby. So around lunchtime, after chopping wood all morning (not with an axe like a badass woodswoman but using a machine), I ventured into the goat stable. Taking the little boy outside for his bottle seemed to go as planned. The sour smell of the goat’s milk had already become quite familiar and goats all have their own, unique personalities which I was beginning to learn. It was only when I opened one of the inner pens that I had a few issues.

Goats are strong and heavy. So when a mother and her babies are wandering around the wrong part of the stable, there’s not really that much you can do about it. Chief goat Selma went to have a look through the doors of the other pens, tried to steal their hay, attempted to break into the feed shed and trod on my foot. Obviously these goats only understood Dutch, none of my pleas for cooperation were listened to.

Eventually I convinced her that her hay was just as good as everyone else’s and the babies followed her in, with the gate slamming quickly behind!

Joris and Leonie both had taken holidays from their regular work for the second week that I was there. It was really fun to be part of a team (and not take full responsibility for goat escapes…) The weather shared our enthusiasm and we had beautiful sunshine to inspire us to work harder.

Our first team project was to dig holes for the fence posts of the new paddock. The goats needed more space and a change of scene. The experts (not me!) measured and marked out the new fence line while I dug 70 cm deep holes where I was told. I really enjoyed the physicality of using my muscles, sweating in the sun and chatting to my friends.

Work in progress, new fencing.

When we had had our fill of holes and fence posts, I borrowed a bike and went exploring. As an islander, it still blows my mind that you can just step into another country so easily. It's not quite as flat as expected in this part of the country and Joris directed me to a viewing tower on a hill. There were fantastic views in all directions, over the Netherlands and back across Germany, on the beautifully clear day.

It’s amazing how a shift in thinking can cause a physical change. I had given my time to the farm and therefore released myself from the pressures of writing pitches, learning German and cramming each day full.

I haven’t mentioned the puppy! Olla joined the family during my stay. I think he’s the absolute best.

Olla the puppy! He's so good.

On my last evening, we had a barbeque. Marinated giant mushrooms, veggie kebabs, garden grown salad and Dutch beer led to some deep conversations. Leonie asked me what they could do to make it better for Workawayers. They’re keen to create a place that is as inspiring as some of the Workaways that Leonie had done several years ago. I had been so warmly welcomed, they had given me the right amount of instructions about the tasks and I’d worked hard but not too hard. I had time to write a bit and explore. It was the perfect refreshment that I needed.

The pandemic has caused us all to rethink our interactions and priorities. I found rejuvenation and renewal so close to home, by changing my mindset. I was reminded how important exploring and meeting new people is to me, and how simple living is rewarding in a different way to being productive at a computer. And it was certainly the case that my fresh mindset allowed me to focus on projects better when I got back.

Thank you Joris and Leonie for us a wonderful break. I already know that we'll meet again, especially because the puppy is soo cute!

Have you done a workaway? Would you consider it? Tell me why in the comments below.

Relaxing by the fire. Workaway life.

2 Comments

Recording a CD; Das Lied des Herrn

Aeham Ahmad, Pianist, on the Fall of Assad - Van Magazine

Wonderful Chaos - Pianist Aeham Ahmad on what the fall of Assad means for him, his family, and his art. Interview with Hannah Parry.

Aeham Ahmad: Piano Concert in Steinfurt

A change is as good as a rest, And don’t forget to feed the goat… Workaway in Germany

Hannah the traveller

Categories

Archives