In what might be the most strange and wonderful concert programme seen at Wigmore, Claron McFadden & Alexander Melnikov gave us an education in avant-garde vocalise. What a treasure of an evening, Claron in her solo moments shone, Alexander proving a stunning accompanist as well as piano soloist.
John Cage’s Aria is a quirky few minutes of chattering, squeaking and sneezing. It is amazing for its liberating stance for the singer, even La Traviata gets a reference. A thread of bizarre acapella vocal work would be heard later as well. Prokofiev’s 5 Melodies have some lovely moments for both, though can fall into that mawkish aspect that a vocalise can sometime get trapped into. Though I found moments to be a joy, Claron plunging head first into everything she does. Luciano Berio sees another glorious vocal encounter in the vain of Cage and his gang. There is more scurrying here, hand over mouth vibrations and whispering. It is, as you might think a mighty little thing to hear live.
Berio’s singer wife Cathy Berberian, had her own turn with Stripsody. Here the singer is shown graphic comic panels and asked to deliver the sounds they see on the page. In the same vein as Cage and Berio, you get the idea but understanding the ideas behind these pieces, things which I have a lot of good to say about though some might roll their eyes. The now late Oliver Knussen got a collective of Whitman Settings. Poems from the American writer. Odd, angular piano meets the elaborate line of the verse, Claron really bringing out their best qualities. Perhaps a less interesting part of the night, though I did still find it intriguing.
Schnittke’s Improvisation and Fugue remained an eye bulging encounter. All the right notes were struck here, the series nature of Alexander coming into his own in what feels like a terror of a piece to play, maintaining a swell chromatic scale that remained enticing. A little flutter form Erwin Schulhoff and his Sonata Erotica saw more fun with Claron and Alexander got to pour water into a metal punch bowl mimicking the sound of a man urinating. This felt like another piece from what is the Dada era and left an impact.
George Crumb’s Apparition: Elegiac Songs and Vocalises ended the programme and made for another discovery of the late, great American composer. More Whitman, the plucking of piano strings and an all round sense of the ethereal rang through the piece. The moment when Claron turned to sing right into the piano was simply magic. A difficult piece by some means, though it had a folk like charm and theatrical flare that made me smitten with these two.
Two encores left us well appeased. Please come back!
Starting off at the Royal Academy of Music, Dutch pianist Aidan Mikdad has easily made a name for himself. How easily he made mincemeat of both composers in this fine hour afternoon concert.
The lighter side of Robert Schumann is evident in his Carnaval, a delightful multi movement thrill. Even name dropping a few fellow composers: Chopin and Paganini, the whole feat had the thrill of the joyful ride that teleports us back to the era it was written. Aidan fused well with the many moments and made it look so easy. I imagine these passages proving to be hard work, the winking eye and fairground attraction of the whole piece still having the utmost charm all these years later. This is well needed today.
We’d see Scriabin follow, the Russian born composer who has a cult . I expected a bit more of a storm from his Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp major, perhaps I went in with too many assumptions about the composer. Saying this, Aidan proudly showed off his skills in the work. Here a lot of vigour is needed, much frantic action aside daring compositional techniques, bold for Scriabin’s era. Though not my complete cup of tea, I marvelled at Aidan’s technique here. Not essentially sounding Russian, more akin to impressionism and expressionism that would follow in art. Curiously in four movements, each seemingly getting more intense as the rhapsodic flow unveils itself with impressive effect.
I don’t often review concerts I’ve heard on the radio. Though the rarity of hearing anything from Olivier Messiaen’s huge opera Saint François d’Assise could not be missed. Though the continent is being treated for the next year with at least three separate set of performances in Stuttgart, Bucharest and Hamburg, our shores would see a sliver of the grand opera. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra have taken on the challenge of performing the longest tableaux, that of the third scene of the second act entitled ‘The Sermon to the Birds’.
The first two scenes of the second act already make up an hour, so this proves to be the most testing part. Having said that, this 45 minutes remains a shimmering thrill, the amount of birdsong absurd and the excitement it brings is unbounded. With ten percussionists and a heap of woodwind, there is even three ‘ondes Martenot’, an early electronic instrument filled with smashing, ethereal sonorities, you cant deny this is highly original. In this moment, St Francis watches the birds with Brother Masseo, the former blesses them and they sing out in glory. In this strange orchestration, the birds delight in the sacred nature of the act and sing out loud and proud. The battery the woodwind players and others face in this moment remains a highlight of the entire opera. It is an modulating canvas of colours and noise, seeing birds both local to Umbria and around the world show off. The brass terrifies and the strings also wow with uneasy harmonics. The percussion getting the spotlight for constant playing and energetic vitality.
I think I could hear Ryan Wigglesworth slightly moaning during peak moments. I imagine this to be exhausting for any conductor to perform, there was apparently a second maestro on stage to reign in the buckets of chirps and whoops of these blessed birds. Ryan has proven his talents time and time again, I imagine this might have been his choice of programme and it being performed so well, should be celebrated. This tenure up north can only prove his brilliance. As the Saint, Ashley Riches pushes through a dense vocal line, all stone like chant and affirmed declarations of the cross. Ashley seems to get it, never any easy role to play by any standard, he might just work in a full outing of the work. As Masseo, Nicky Spence proves his lush tenor, something which has only gotten better as he matures. These two could easily be in the complete opera, I can just picture it.
In the first half, was Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral Symphony’ or his Sixth. Nicely tying into the theme of birdsong and nature, this might be my favourite of the old Ludvig van, though it’s a fairly vanilla symphony on many levels. Like Messiaen the transcription of birdsong is clear, though a bit arbitrary from Beethoven. You can clearly tell when the birds come in, I imagine that to be quite novel in his day. Having said this, the orchestra offered a pristine take on this delightful symphony. It’s the clarity that has to shine through in this piece of sunshine, storms and other charms. The first moments cant be beat, a tonic for the weary. The last movement with the rampant storm passing to clear the path of sunlight is another mighty moment within the music.
I wish I had been there for this head turning concert.
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform Messiaen and Beethoven again in Edinburgh 16 April at Usher Hall at 3pm.
A review of Poulenc’s second opera, presented by the performers of the David Seligman Opera School, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Sung in English.
Francis Poulenc, the bisexual, French composer is known for a lot of things. His cheery music covers broad strokes in his canon, yet his masterpiece remains Dialogues des Carmélites. This fictionalised take on the Martyrs of Compiègne makes for a fittingly, great opera, though it is not without it’s slight flaws.
Poulenc fashioned this fine work with scuttling rhythms, tributes to Catholic chants and a fine ensemble of large female voices. In France, The Reign of Terror saw many types of people executed for different reasons, for this warped cause. In what is one of the most lamentable moments in their history, the nuns of the Carmel of Compiègne are sentenced to death. The opera famously ends with each one of them getting the guillotine…
The students of the Royal Welsh College and Music and Drama deliver fine vocals and a stellar orchestra of 60 players also impress. A very bouncy James Southall remained spirited and rigorous throughout this near three hours. A long first half, left us taking a break in the middle of the second act and the English translation remaining mostly audible, a rarity in opera. Director Rachael Hewer kept most of the faith in setting, though couldn’t resist some brief, subversive moments.
Stella Sifan Chen makes a production of arches, candles and the colours of the French flag looming over the proceedings. Costumes by Shane Erikson are of the era and a nice touch see’s each of the nuns adorned with their personal, golden halos to remind us of their sainthood (they were beatified in 1906 by Pope Pius X).
The cast is filled with vast promise and far too many to mention in an idle review. Easy to get confused with which sister is which, but all the cast had Mary on their side, some angular moments of blocking also effective for the space.
The executions themselves were more of an axe affair then the guillotine, a white screen fell for the entire last scene and blast of harsh light from James Blakeman got each nun on the block at sonic speed. I should be more moved at this final agony, yet I’ve always thought Poulenc could have lost himself even more in this wallowing tableaux, piercing moments throughout the opera prove this dreaded anticipation. These students pulled off this demanding opera with might.
Next David Seligman Opera School is Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel in July 2023.
We lost Frederic Rzewski back in 2021, a maverick American composer who utilised the piano for shocking purposes. In this puzzling recording thanks to the ardent efforts of Bobby Mitchel, we hear some more of the composer’s strange, recent offerings.
Excerpts from Dreams have a ghost of Bach lying within them, pretty harsh at times. His War Songs have a rambunctious nature to it, a mashing up of various songs from his home land. Very easy to point out the similarities to Charles Ives, that titan of musical invocations whom Rzewski does owe a lot. Winter Nights has strange momentums and little of pleasure other than some attacks on the keys. Saints and Sinners starts of feeling like Erik Satie in character, the ironic side of Rzewski never far away. Through it all there was very little to be surprised with in this recording, though I do admire Bobby’s commitment.
From Bristol to Newport, I got around this week for reviews and other endeavours. I’ve a soft spot for Engelbert Humperdinck’s take on the Brothers Grimm story of Hansel and Gretel and Mid Wales Opera seemed up for the challenge.
With their last night in Newport, things felt pretty tight for this showing, though a brief hiccup in the overture for the horn was as clear as day. This reduced orchestra had an easy time with the scores thanks to its approachableness and clarity. Conductor Jonathan Lyness kept it all together like a fine gingerbread house, compelling and fun. Written by the composer’s sister Adelheid Wette, David Pountey’s winking translation works well from his time with English and Welsh National Opera (the latter the bench mark from Richard Jones superb staging.) The easy fall back upon setting this in the 1980s are as standard now, though this family could easily be set now with raising gas prices, inflation and general hardships. Director Richard Studer has made safe decisions here: we see miners, milk and a mother’s anxiety at a tempestuous time for UK history, one now miring our own. Sets also by Studer come into their own with the out-house for the father, later turned into the garish Witch’s house, featuring acidic wallpaper and contraptions of the era.
It’s easy to show the dark nature of the German fairy tale, the first two acts doing a good job in mood. Wales is blessed with great singers and here was no exception. Charlotte Badham and Ayls Mererid Roberts are fine leads, though the former has been given a costume which gives the appearance of a slubby middle aged man, as apposed to a boy. Phillip Smith as the Father is in proud voice which roars everything he vocalises, a fine highlight. Rebecca Afonwy-Jones as both the Mother and Witch gets to show off drama and fun in these roles, near Wagnerian and then almost light Offenbach offerings. You can tell she enjoyed herself as the Witch, easy to fall into as we the audience are through the woods concerning plot and pacing and just get to enjoy ourself in the second half. Siân Roberts is both the Sandman and Dew Fairy, a milkwoman who offers up milk to the kids then later offers the witch an axe, with a sweet voice I found rather charming.
Photo credit Matthew Williams Ellis
The real joy comes in the Evening Prayer and Pantomime in the opera, as the siblings realise they are lost in the woods and will have to get some kip. The singing here shines thanks to the hushed leads, if a little more push might have really sold it. The miners seen here are Corws Y Plant, later the children who escape the clutches of the witch. They have a sort of night ritual surrounding the children, though the blocking of this moment leading up to it is flat. At the end they too get to sing and have a jolly old time, joining in with the absurd, retro dance moves seen at the start of the evening.
You can never go wrong with this one hit wonder from Humperdinck. It remains endlessly charming.
Mid Wales Opera’s latest production will be Berlioz’s Beatrice & Benedict on tour around Wales in autumn 2023.
After their Bag of Bones delight, the Manchester Collective are unstoppable in their scope and creativity. In tours all around the UK, it would be a delightfully morbid night in Bristol at Strange Brew that they offered up another stellar concert.
As if were weren’t treated enough we had a warm up act that of Harrga. Dali se Saint Paul and Miguel Prado remain a fascinating duo. Sat in the front row, their sonic offering was not blazing loud, more a sort of political upset in sound, It worked well, Dali appearing more busy in their vocal work, though Miguel helped create the crumbling, formulated noise. Dali has a resounding voice, proven in little moments of opera and French, there is a pressure in the work as if we are hearing a manifesto or a protest of some kind. My plus one had seen them before and spoke well. They were a fine addition prior to the Collective’s feature event.
Starting off with Carrot Revolution by Gabriella Smith, the piece could only be described as The Straight Story on acid. It remained quite thrilling, it’s country vibe brought smiles and head bopping jerks. The String Quartet No. 2 from Edmund Finnis was next and had a soft, sensuality to it, the string quartet much more subdued in moments in the mostly enticing thing. Moor Mother’s DREAM CULTURE had a volcanic presence to it, a strange urban fiver permeated the work and proves the value of the composer in perhaps soundtrack form. It deserves more listening time (we got to digest it before an interval) and also the collaboration with Harrga proves elaborate more tingly music making.
Respite would heard the second movement of Schubert’s 14th String Quartet, better known as ‘Death and the Maiden’. It has to be said that this was performed exceptionally well. The kinetic energy between the four players. It was as if the work has never been done before, their emotive grip never wained the tenderness and passion abound forever. With no pause, they burst into the main event: George Crumb’s Black Angels. Here everything came into its own from the recently departed American composer in his best known piece. There is everything in this: shouting, glasses filled with water, German, thimbles, tam-tams and more delights. A fairly dense offering, the Collective made it all their own, the sheet music massively presented in front of them. Even the Schubert we just heard is quoted, touching moments unfurl with a mock viol-consort sees them play high on their instruments. I found the water glass moments incredibly moving.
I’m already thinking of their new event: Rosewood with guitarist Sean Shibe featuring John Cage, Julius Eastman and new work as well. I can’t believe my luck!
Whilst the Bristol Beacon might not be open as of yet, the London Symphony Orchestra is getting some time in the nearby Bath at their Forum. This Art Deco wonder was the perfect space for their event with singer/conductor Barbara Hannigan in a concert of Messiaen and Mahler.
In Messiaen ‘L’ascension’ we get glimpses of heaven, the brass woodwind and strings getting solos for the most part just for them. Early Messiaen is full of such promise. Stravinsky is there as an influence and you can hear the original voice soon to be blasted out, very French.
The agonising last movement remains a highlight, the strings on their own plain. My plus one said there was no reference points for him, thus proving how out their Messiaen really is, even in his early days. Dense chords and the soon to be vital birdsong features and his Catholic faith is superimposed into all of his canon. Truly impressive.
Mahler’s 4th Symphony might not be my favourite of his, yet the LSO offered a really stellar offering. I don’t quite know about Hannigan’s conducting, a singer by trade she at times appears stiff and unanimated. She appears to be doing a bang up job with the orchestra as the symphony was a triumph, the jingle bells, Austrian angst and saddened irony was everywhere here.
An hour in length, this meaty work sits between even larger Mahler symphonies and I feel this one sometimes gets over looked. Hannigan couldn’t offer us her USP for the night, where she both sings and conducts simultaneously, due to illness. Though a shame, the ‘child in heaven’ solo for the finale was taken by Greek wonder Aphrodite Patoulidou wrapping up with the touching, joyful thrill that mirrors Mahler’s own grief. I was rightfully won over by this Mahler.
With its contending forces of good and evil, Mozart’s sardonic fairy-tale The Magic Flute, has more than a hint of the pantomimic. To use the words of the vernacular, Daisy Evans new production for the Welsh national Opera, sung in English with Welsh sub-title, sure does that in spades. Opera afficionados used to the more traditional – as in WNO’s much loved version last staged in 2005 – need to take a breath and prepare.
Mozart’s ‘Flute,’ first performed in Vienna in 1781, is reset by Evans into today’s world, with more than a hint of Star Wars, laser beams, fluorescent multi coloured lights et al. Not always easy to follow if you neglected to read the excellent programme notes. The connecting link which runs throughout is Schikanender’s libretto telling the story of the quest of Tamino, a Prince who sets out to find and rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night. Pamina has been kidnapped by the villainous Monostatos by order of Sarastro, head of a mystic cult. Encouraged by ladies of court, Tamino is helped by the magic flute and Papageno, the bird catcher who lives in a hut in the woods and whose idea of heaven is hearth and home with the girl of his dreams. The story, with its mix of wonderful music, soaring arias, lovers’ tiffs and misunderstandings, set against a background of birdsong and mysticism, strongly references the fight between good and evil, the power of womanhood, all being brought to the fore by Evans, who has added and subtracted spoken passages in a translation that allows at times for a contemporary use of words that does not always sit well.
And thereby lies the rub, for in her endeavour to give the fairy-tale that is The Magic Flute a modern twist, Evans goes overboard. Mozart’s light-hearted touch is lost at times amidst a welter of light beams, however skilfully used and puppetry, however effectively used. Under the direction of puppeteer Matthew Forbes flocks of birds flutter intermittently around Papageno’s head. Used throughout, this is a clever idea (although it might have been preferable to dress those manipulating the strings in black) but a tad over used – it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
Nevertheless, consisting as this opera does of some of the composer’s most memorable arias and lyrical duets, this production does still keeps much of the romance, comedy and mysticism of the original. Thanks being due in no small measure to the expertise of the orchestra of the Welsh National Opera under the baton of Freddie Brown and the admirable chorus. The latter, despite being attired in headgear similar to that of a beekeeper in the second half, is as always in fine fettle, although under used in this production. At Saturday night’s (March 11th) performance, British-born soprano April Koyejo-Audiger made her WNO debut with a pleasing soprano and good sense of timing opposite South African singer Thando Mjandana, whose melodic tenor stands him in good stead in the lyrical duets with Koyejo-Audiger. Neal Davies is a quirky Papageno who combines comedy with sympathy both for being put-upon and for his unwanted single existence.
Audiences familiar with this opera are known to wait with baited breath for the high-octave reach called for by the Queen of the Night. Lyric-dramatic coloratura Julia Sitkovetsky does not disappoint with a soaring performance in high-octave and extremely difficult solos which even the most accomplished of singers can struggle to reach. Carmarthenshire-born Alun Rhys-Jenkins, whose specialises in tenor character roles, plays the supposedly frightening Monostatos for laughs more than terror, with a touch of the game show host at times in the role of sidekick to a far from sinister Sarastro sung by a bewigged Jonathan Lemalu with more than a touch of the Georgian gentleman.
A minimal and modernistic set is the background to an innovative and clever production. Whether or not this is a welcome addition to the multiple performances world-wide of one of Mozart’s most popular operas remains to be seen.
Snap: Less is sometimes more!
Runs until March 17th in Cardiff, then touring.
Tags: Alun Rhys-Jenkins, April Koyejo-Audiger,Cardiff, Daisy Evans, Emanuel Schikaneder, Freddie Brown, Jonathan Lemalu, Julia Sitkovetsky, Loren Elstein, Matthew Forbes, Neal Davies, Thando Mjandana, The Magic Flute, Wales Millennium Centre, Welsh National Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Hi Julia, great to meet you.You have a background in music and education, can you give our readers some background information on your career to date?
Straight out of Music College (RCM) I worked principally in the world of orchestral bassoon playing, freelancing with the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish and also specialising as a baroque and classical bassoonist. I performed, recorded and toured internationally with ensembles such as The Academy of Ancient Music and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Alongside playing, I’ve been composing since I was a child. I write wide ranging music from orchestral to solo instrumental works, from opera to songs for children. I loved my own childhood music experiences and have been teaching music since I was a teenager. Creating Kodaly and Dalcroze inspired learning flows for groups of children is a particular passion. I enjoyed wonderful years as Head of Primary Music at Llandaff Cathedral School before moving to the RWCMD firstly for an M.Mus in Composition and then as a tutor for baroque bassoon and early years pedagogy.
So, what got you interested in the arts?
I had an inspirational class music teacher in my Primary School years. She introduced us to recorders, singing, tuned and untuned percussion. I remember enjoying the lessons and putting on fun concerts and productions. My parents were also very supportive in organising piano and ballet lessons and making sure we did our music practice.
What importance does music have in your life and how have you combined the two areas of music and education in your professional career?
Music gives me great joy as a performer, composer, worshipper, listener and educator. From the synergy of being in a high functioning orchestral wind section to the joy of engaging babies and toddlers in perfectly age-appropriate songs and games – the ability of music to open doors into the transcendent is extraordinary.
Music education has interweaved with performing and composing right across my career, often intermingling. It feels rather like cooking to me. You have a room of “ingredients” people/instruments/voices/music and you work deftly with what you’ve got to create a delicious meal that everyone enjoys. It’s about creating the optimum environment to bring out the best in each person’s unique flavour.
“Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand”.
You are delivering two different music activities as part of a RWCMD Music Residency at Penarth Pier Pavilion, as part of a new partnership with the Vale of Glamorgan Council. A one-year pilot has been agreed that will see the college run parent and toddler music sessions, base a small ensemble at the pavilion and put on Dance Band evenings for the local community. The parent and toddler music sessions will be run by yourself, Julia Plaut, a composer who served for many years as Head of Primary Music at Llandaff Cathedral School, and take two forms – Morning Mini Music and Little Concerts. Running on a weekday morning in the pavilion gallery, Morning Mini Music sessions are focused on music and movement that help children with interaction and socialisation. Little Concerts will be weekend afternoon music events for families, specifically designed for the under-5s, that feature new works from RWCMD composers”
Credit Kirsten McTernan
How did you come to be involved in this project and what are your ambitions for its delivery?
Part of my work at the RWCMD is mentoring selected students in early years pedagogy. This project gives industry-facing experience to these students under the umbrella of an expert practitioner. My ambition is that we deliver high quality musical experiences for Penarth children and their families that create a real buzz locally while providing sector leading training for RWCMD students. You can find out more about the project and book tickets here
You are the Artistic Director of Little Live Projects, this charity works to “inspire young people to flourish through sharing excellent musical experiences with professional musicians” How do you deliver this work?
Little Live Projects has two strands. One is the Little Concerts series of joyful interactive chamber music events presented in partnership with the RWCMD. The other is the Cardiff Children’s Choir, an after-school community choir for children aged 5-11 years based at Urban Crofters near City Road in Cardiff. The choir welcomes all local children and particularly those from displaced families or who are facing barriers of any kind.
Credit Kirsten McTernan
You have close links with The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, how did this relationship develop?
Quite a few of the RWCMD staff team have been professional colleagues over the years. I’m a tutor for baroque bassoon and early years pedagogy there. I formally pitched the Little Live Projects vision as part of my M.Mus studies. The RWCMD and Little Live Projects share a strong synergy of vision for future focussed training with outstanding student experience delivered by world-class staff in providing transformative experiences for diverse communities.
The Little Live Projects Team.
Funding for musical provision is increasingly being cut for young people, can you see the impact on young peoples lives and possible career paths as professional musicians as a consequence?
Good quality instrumental music tuition is a very expensive to fund, and importantly, to sustain over long enough to allow children to become accomplished enough to consider a career in music. El Sistema style initiatives like Making Music Changing Lives in Cardiff are doing brilliant work to address this deficit. I have questions about the usefulness of the large group instrumental teaching that takes place in schools which only gives a cursory taste, often on poor quality instruments and without the formation of basic good technique. I am however excited by the potential for choral singing to provide a quicker route into embodied musical understanding and real accomplishment. It works brilliantly in large groups and embeds aural and other transferable skills that children could then take into learning an instrument.
If you were able to fund an area of the arts what would this be and why?
I would fund an expert Kodaly practitioner to lead singing in every primary school in Wales one day a week. Each child has a singing voice that can be nurtured, giving them a worthwhile means of self-expression. Through singing together children develop the intimate knowledge of a social togetherness in which discipline and order prevail. Not only would these practitioners lead and embed singing but, in doing so, they would be providing continuing professional development for staff to carry on the singing confidently during the rest of the week.
What currently inspires you about the arts in the Wales?
I am inspired and encouraged by the way Ty Cerdd are championing Welsh composers and creators across a broad range of styles. I also gain a lot as a member of Anthem’s Atsain Network. Hearing nuts and bolts stories from other community music practitioners from around Wales gives me loads of inspirational ideas.
What was the last really great arts event that you experienced that you would like to share with our readers?
Recently I attended a fabulous concert by Genesis Sixteen and Harry Christophers singing Handel’s Dixit Dominus at RWCMD. The musical excellence and vibrant energy that was released through seasoned professionals mentoring young singers, conductors, instrumentalists and soloists (aged 18-23) was breath-taking. It made my heart sing to see the cascading of good things into the next generation of musicians.
Thanks for your time.
Creating opportunities for a diverse range of people to experience and respond to sport, arts, culture and live events. / Lleisiau amrywiol o Gymru yn ymateb i'r celfyddydau a digwyddiadau byw
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