Singing has been very helpful this week - a welcome distraction from a few very bad days (that included a broken-down boiler AND a repossession letter). Tonight was a frantic (but, as always, fun) rehearsal with my band, which has two gigs this Saturday afternoon and therefore thirty songs to rehearse. Needless to say, there wasn't time to rehearse any of them as thoroughly as we would have liked, but none of the songs are new, so I'm sure we'll be fine. Current favourites: the Carols for Choirs 4 a cappella version of Deck the Hall, and my own a cappella arrangement of 2000 Miles. But we also had fun doing This Little Babe (one to a part, plus guitar) and the old favourites such as Lonely This Christmas and Merry Xmas Everybody. You can hear all of these (and more) at the Henry Watson Music Library on Saturday from 4pm. (The event starts at 2pm, and you can also see City of Manchester Opera and the Cavendish Singers.)
Choir on Wednesday night was almost as frantic, because of course there were many Christmas carols (plus a bit of the Christmas Oratorio) to learn in time for next week's concerts. There was also an extra presentation to Pat for her fifty years in the choir - she got quite a few surprises, and when she said "what a pity you couldn't give me Willard White", it turned out that they'd managed to get a signed photo from him, dedicated to her! Very impressive. Also there were some excellent cupcakes!
The most amusing bit of the rehearsal was definitely the Jingle Bells argument - there's a bit in verse 2 where the ladies are supposed to sing a couple of lines, but in the past the men have done it while we whoop and shout "yee-ha!" etc. After much discussion, that's the way it will happen this year :-) I was also very amused, however, by Ding Dong Merrily - when this was announced, there was a sigh of relief, because the choir knows that one VERY well... but it turned out to be a version we'd never done before, and everyone had to rapidly go into sight-reading mode. I'm not sure quite why this was so funny, but it amused me for hours.
Anyway, a few links. I mentioned Glee a while ago (that new American TV series about a high school choir). Well, the pilot episode is on E4 on Tuesday, so you can see what all the fuss is about, with the rest of the series in the new year. I've seen twelve episodes of it, and I've found it quite silly but occasionally fun (especially the one where they use a Beyonce song to help the football team...)
Most of you will have seen by now that there was a review for our Messiah - pity it has a few errors, but it's a good review despite them.
But this cracked me up - a condensed version of Messiah. Sample: Lift up your heads, O ye gates / And be ye lifted up, ye doors / Unless you are the sort / That are on hinges / In which case / You can open / Normally. Hee!
This story from Intermezzo about Nathan Gunn introduced me to the concept of barihunks. (There's even a blog devoted to them!) Intriguing.
Tom Service has a great review of the decade in classical music which mentions our orchestra. He also tells us that Simon Rattle and the Berlin Phil are coming to London in 2011.
Talking of the Berlin Phil, Intermezzo drew my attention to an article in The Scotsman that mentions how much it costs to book them. See if you can guess before you look!
Great article on the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Blog about the standard of Scottish compositions compared to Czech ones.
From ChoralBlog, news of the choral nominees for the 2010 Grammy Awards. I think we've already beaten at least one of them to a major award :-)
A nice thing in the BBC Music Magazine about how church choirs are not just for Christmas.
And, the plans for a Royal Opera House in the North are moving again. (More about this here.)
There will be a load of swimmers that even I've heard of (e.g. Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington) in Manchester next weekend, for something called Duel in the Pool. We'll all be singing carols at the time, but it's on TV if you want to watch.
I've seen all sorts of stories about this: a weird spiral in the sky over Norway. Seems to be genuine - I wonder which theory is correct?
There's going to be a festival in Manchester in 2012 to celebrate Alan Turing. About time.
I'm amused by this use of a waxwork of Robert Downey Jr on the London Underground. And, while we're on the subject of London, Londonist has a quiz to see how well you know London.
And finally, apparently redheads can get free travel in Wigan!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
It's witchcraft!
Well, yesterday's Messiah was one of the most memorable yet, although not for musical reasons. I hasten to add that I don't mean to suggest it wasn't good musically - I thought it went very well, and the audience seemed to enjoy it. And so did I! It did have the one Messiah feature that I love the most, which is that the Hallelujah chorus was done properly, and just about the whole audience stood up without anyone patronisingly asking them to. Yay!
The soloists were great, too - all four of them. True, it was a countertenor instead of an alto AGAIN, but at least it was a very good one (Iestyn Davies - and I see from his website that he has several more Messiahs to do before Christmas). We also had Sarah Fox (soprano), Benjamin Hulett (tenor) and Derek Welton (baritone).
So why was it memorable OTHER than for the music? Several reasons. First of all, there was the whole falling-off-the-stage thing! This happened TWICE in two days... and it's possible that I might have CAUSED the second incident, with the power of my mind... On Friday, you see, when we rehearsed at the BBC, Margery fell off the stage just before the rehearsal started. I'm not sure exactly how, because I WASN'T ANYWHERE NEAR HER AT THE TIME (I just want to stress that, in view of what happened the next morning...) - I was actually walking into the hall with Dr Liz when the alarm was raised and people dashed out looking for Dr Liz. Luckily Margery was OK - she was just a bit sore, I think. She stayed for the rest of the rehearsal, but sadly didn't come to the concert.
The next morning, we had a rehearsal in the Bridgewater Hall. I was very excited when I saw the seating plan and realised that I'd been put on the end of a row. I absolutely LOVE being on the end of the row, so needless to say I hardly ever am! (Someone asked me at some point WHY I love it so much, and I couldn't give a definitive answer. But it's something to do with not feeling enclosed, I think. I hate crowds.) My excitement was short-lived, though, because Lindsey had a bad cough and wanted to sit on the end so that she could go out with less fuss if necessary. Of course I agreed, but in my head I couldn't help thinking "Oh well. But maybe her cough will get worse before tonight... or something else will happen that means she won't be here". Immediately I was horrified with myself for thinking this, but while I was still on the "I'm a bad person" thought, Lindsey only went and fell off the stage as well! And it was much more dramatic than Margery's fall, because Lindsey's chair went over the edge (she hadn't realised how little room there was, and I think she must have just moved her chair slightly until one side of it was balanced on nothing but air). She fell - with the chair - down three fairly steep steps, and hit the floor quite hard. And, alarmingly, there was quite a bit of blood spilled.
It wasn't as serious as it looked, thankfully, although it's probably just as well that Dr Liz and various other medical people were very near (actually, when Margery fell, even though she ASKED for Dr Liz, there were so many other concerned people gathered around when she arrived that she couldn't actually get near Margery!) Lindsey walked away - with help - and went to hospital to have stitches and checkups. But of course I felt INCREDIBLY guilty! I knew I hadn't really caused Lindsey to fall, but the timing of everything was just spooky. It all worked out for both of us, though, because she recovered in time to come and sing in the concert - and she insisted that I sit on the end. And I didn't fall off the stage \o/
If that had been the only incident, it would already have been the most memorable Messiah in years. But we had a huge surprise at the start of the concert. We were onstage, the orchestra had tuned up, the lights had dimmed slightly - we were just awaiting the conductor and soloists. But instead, our Music Director walked on. This was unprecedented, at a concert in which he wasn't involved. I wondered whether someone had died, or we'd just won some major award in the previous ten minutes, or something... but no. He hastened to reassure us that he was there only to bring good news - and he proceeded to make a lovely speech about Pat, one of our sopranos, who's been in the choir for FIFTY YEARS. He also gave her a commemorative brooch. It turned out that the concert was dedicated to her, and it said so in the front of the programme. Which explains why we weren't given programmes during the warmup as we usually are! Anyway, it was a lovely surprise, not least to Pat, who was as baffled as everyone else when he appeared. (The awards for long service are usually presented in orchestral rehearsals, but there's never been a fifty-year one before!)
Only a few links to share with you today, because I cleared my list on Friday.
There are still reviews appearing for the ENO Messiah, and the Independent actually has two - I think the first reviewer liked it rather more than the second one!
The New York Times has more information about the iPhone Orchestra I mentioned the other day.
From the Front of the Choir has a very interesting post about why basses get confused. It's not quite so relevant to basses who can read music, but several of the points he makes are valid whether they're reading music or not.
I found, quite by accident, a helpful page on the Manchester City Council website (I know! The shock!) which has details of all the Christmas attractions in the city centre.
And finally, I promised to list my most useful iPhone apps. I won't describe any of these in detail, because the links take you to iTunes pages that do that for me. However, if you want to ask me further questions about any of them, please do. (All of these are free, apart from two of them, which I'll indicate.)
My favourite iPhone apps
Music-related (in order of usefulness):
MiniPiano
Metronome
FourTrack (£5.99)
Shazam
SleighBells 3D
Santa's Sleigh Bells
Bravo Gustavo
Non-musical:
Air Sharing (£2.99)
Free Translator
thetrainline
Sudoku (Free)
Sky+
And, last but not least, the best one of all is part of the built-in software (i.e. you don't have to download it specially): Voice Memos. The recording quality (using the built-in mic) is unbelievable, and transferring the recording to your computer is no hassle at all - it does it automatically when you connect to iTunes. When I was voiceless in the last couple of rehearsals before The Kingdom, I recorded the orchestra and choir on my phone using this app, and emailed the results to a few choir friends (I don't have the recordings any longer, so don't ask me for them - it was just an experiment), and they were all rather impressed with the quality, given that it had been recorded on a phone. So, if you've been considering buying some recording equipment... just get an iPhone instead :-)
The soloists were great, too - all four of them. True, it was a countertenor instead of an alto AGAIN, but at least it was a very good one (Iestyn Davies - and I see from his website that he has several more Messiahs to do before Christmas). We also had Sarah Fox (soprano), Benjamin Hulett (tenor) and Derek Welton (baritone).
So why was it memorable OTHER than for the music? Several reasons. First of all, there was the whole falling-off-the-stage thing! This happened TWICE in two days... and it's possible that I might have CAUSED the second incident, with the power of my mind... On Friday, you see, when we rehearsed at the BBC, Margery fell off the stage just before the rehearsal started. I'm not sure exactly how, because I WASN'T ANYWHERE NEAR HER AT THE TIME (I just want to stress that, in view of what happened the next morning...) - I was actually walking into the hall with Dr Liz when the alarm was raised and people dashed out looking for Dr Liz. Luckily Margery was OK - she was just a bit sore, I think. She stayed for the rest of the rehearsal, but sadly didn't come to the concert.
The next morning, we had a rehearsal in the Bridgewater Hall. I was very excited when I saw the seating plan and realised that I'd been put on the end of a row. I absolutely LOVE being on the end of the row, so needless to say I hardly ever am! (Someone asked me at some point WHY I love it so much, and I couldn't give a definitive answer. But it's something to do with not feeling enclosed, I think. I hate crowds.) My excitement was short-lived, though, because Lindsey had a bad cough and wanted to sit on the end so that she could go out with less fuss if necessary. Of course I agreed, but in my head I couldn't help thinking "Oh well. But maybe her cough will get worse before tonight... or something else will happen that means she won't be here". Immediately I was horrified with myself for thinking this, but while I was still on the "I'm a bad person" thought, Lindsey only went and fell off the stage as well! And it was much more dramatic than Margery's fall, because Lindsey's chair went over the edge (she hadn't realised how little room there was, and I think she must have just moved her chair slightly until one side of it was balanced on nothing but air). She fell - with the chair - down three fairly steep steps, and hit the floor quite hard. And, alarmingly, there was quite a bit of blood spilled.
It wasn't as serious as it looked, thankfully, although it's probably just as well that Dr Liz and various other medical people were very near (actually, when Margery fell, even though she ASKED for Dr Liz, there were so many other concerned people gathered around when she arrived that she couldn't actually get near Margery!) Lindsey walked away - with help - and went to hospital to have stitches and checkups. But of course I felt INCREDIBLY guilty! I knew I hadn't really caused Lindsey to fall, but the timing of everything was just spooky. It all worked out for both of us, though, because she recovered in time to come and sing in the concert - and she insisted that I sit on the end. And I didn't fall off the stage \o/
If that had been the only incident, it would already have been the most memorable Messiah in years. But we had a huge surprise at the start of the concert. We were onstage, the orchestra had tuned up, the lights had dimmed slightly - we were just awaiting the conductor and soloists. But instead, our Music Director walked on. This was unprecedented, at a concert in which he wasn't involved. I wondered whether someone had died, or we'd just won some major award in the previous ten minutes, or something... but no. He hastened to reassure us that he was there only to bring good news - and he proceeded to make a lovely speech about Pat, one of our sopranos, who's been in the choir for FIFTY YEARS. He also gave her a commemorative brooch. It turned out that the concert was dedicated to her, and it said so in the front of the programme. Which explains why we weren't given programmes during the warmup as we usually are! Anyway, it was a lovely surprise, not least to Pat, who was as baffled as everyone else when he appeared. (The awards for long service are usually presented in orchestral rehearsals, but there's never been a fifty-year one before!)
Only a few links to share with you today, because I cleared my list on Friday.
There are still reviews appearing for the ENO Messiah, and the Independent actually has two - I think the first reviewer liked it rather more than the second one!
The New York Times has more information about the iPhone Orchestra I mentioned the other day.
From the Front of the Choir has a very interesting post about why basses get confused. It's not quite so relevant to basses who can read music, but several of the points he makes are valid whether they're reading music or not.
I found, quite by accident, a helpful page on the Manchester City Council website (I know! The shock!) which has details of all the Christmas attractions in the city centre.
And finally, I promised to list my most useful iPhone apps. I won't describe any of these in detail, because the links take you to iTunes pages that do that for me. However, if you want to ask me further questions about any of them, please do. (All of these are free, apart from two of them, which I'll indicate.)
My favourite iPhone apps
Music-related (in order of usefulness):
MiniPiano
Metronome
FourTrack (£5.99)
Shazam
SleighBells 3D
Santa's Sleigh Bells
Bravo Gustavo
Non-musical:
Air Sharing (£2.99)
Free Translator
thetrainline
Sudoku (Free)
Sky+
And, last but not least, the best one of all is part of the built-in software (i.e. you don't have to download it specially): Voice Memos. The recording quality (using the built-in mic) is unbelievable, and transferring the recording to your computer is no hassle at all - it does it automatically when you connect to iTunes. When I was voiceless in the last couple of rehearsals before The Kingdom, I recorded the orchestra and choir on my phone using this app, and emailed the results to a few choir friends (I don't have the recordings any longer, so don't ask me for them - it was just an experiment), and they were all rather impressed with the quality, given that it had been recorded on a phone. So, if you've been considering buying some recording equipment... just get an iPhone instead :-)
Friday, December 04, 2009
Mahler 8 is already sold out!
I'm quite shocked about this. Well, not really, because I knew it would sell out early, but the concert's not until 2nd May! Of course I've been telling people about it for months, and encouraging them to buy their tickets ASAP, but neither my mum nor my best friend had got round to it yet, so neither of them will be there, although they were both keen. (I've told them to pester the box office for returns, but I suspect they won't.) Oh well.
In the meantime, this week it's all Messiah, with a bit of other Christmas stuff. More on Messiah in a minute, but before I forget: good news! The Henry Watson Music Library, which (you may recall) cancelled its Christmas Music Day because it was due to close for refurbishment this month, has been persuaded to UNcancel the event now that the closure has been postponed. It's possible that I might have had something to do with this :-) Anyway, it will be on a smaller scale than in previous years, and I'm not sure who else will be there, but Pleiades will be performing at 4pm on Saturday 12th December. Come and see us - there will be mince pies!
Earlier in the day, we'll be singing at Gigg Lane before the FC United game. We did this last year and it was great fun, although I don't think I've ever been so cold. Several extra layers of socks will be in use this year! If you're around, you will be able to hear my arrangement of The Twelve Days of Cantona, with its totally ridiculous descant.
The Messiah gig is tomorrow night, and I'm off to catch the bus to the orchestral rehearsal shortly. But first, a load of links, many of which are Messiah-related.
From The Chorister, news of how someone used the Hallelujah Chorus to escape from a toilet.
Lots of stuff about the recent ENO Messiah, which I've mentioned before. Classical Iconoclast has a review and a discussion about how best to stage the piece. Intermezzo also has a review (this one includes the word "turkey" - you may be able to guess the gist of it...) The Classical Source was a bit more impressed. The Guardian didn't like the visual aspect. I was going to link you to the FT review, but they've recently made changes to their website that restrict how many times you can look at stuff, and I can no longer see it!
Via ChoralNet, a great article about the history of Messiah from the Smithsonian Magazine.
In the Spectator, Kate Chisholm talks a bit about Messiah but mainly about a recent episode of The Choir.
An AMAZINGLY useful article from The Chorister, about how to tell the difference between different voice parts. It even has video clips. And it taught me something - I'd never heard of the term "oktavist" until I read that post.
Via ChoralNet, an interesting post about the fact that lots of professional classical musicians are so miserable and/or pessimistic.
Maggie told me yesterday about the British Voice Association. There's some interesting stuff on their website, such as this page devoted to voice care.
Via my friend Chris Atherton, a theory about a possible biological link between music and speech, specifically to do with major and minor scales. I'm far from convinced by this, but if I start explaining why, I will miss my bus. Short version of my argument: major scales include both major and minor intervals, and so do minor scales. So if they're just looking at INTERVALS there shouldn't be any significant difference whether the music is in a major or minor key. (It's possible, of course, that I read the article too fast and misunderstood what they are claiming, in which case I apologise.)
Interesting article from the Guardian about singing out of tune.
Via Tom Service, Bachtrack have created a classical-music-event-finding app for the iPhone. Bachtrack provide a very useful service even if you DON'T have an iPhone - go and look at their website if you haven't before. (Sadly they don't have any of OUR concerts listed, but I don't have the authority to do anything about that.)
Talking of iPhones, a group of students has created an orchestra out of different iPhone apps. (I must do a list sometime of which musical iPhone apps I use - there are a few!)
Classic FM have a poll for the nation's favourite Christmas carol - is yours on the list? (The Darke version of In the Bleak Midwinter always seems to win these things, but I'm SO sick of it. I much prefer the Holst version.)
Via ChoralNet, a fascinating (and slightly disgusting) video called "Glottal Opera".
I was fascinated to see that there were auditions in Manchester last week for expert Lego artists - Brick Factor!
Via BoingBoing, an interesting account of a meal in the dark at a San Francisco restaurant.
From NASA's Earth Observatory, a photo of a lake with blue-green algae. Not particularly newsworthy - I'm just fascinated by the picture!
Most of you will be aware that ID cards are now available in Manchester, but have you seen one close up? Here's a photo of one. (Unlike many people, I have no real problem with the CONCEPT of ID cards, but I lost interest when I found they were going to cost money!)
A card which WOULD be useful, though, is a Manchester Oyster Card. Manchester Confidential updates us on the plans. (Anyone who EVER travels to London and doesn't have an Oyster card is insane, by the way. Get one immediately. It will save you lots of time AND money.)
The John Rylands Library is cooking medieval food.
If you haven't been past the Band on the Wall this week, you won't have seen their Giant Graphic Equaliser. Go and look!
An interesting report from Snopes (always the best place to check the truth of urban legends) about whether or not hand-driers cause disease. I've heard people argue passionately both ways, so it's good to see some facts.
I'm not planning to buy a games console any time soon, but if you are, you will find this Guardian article invaluable.
Via the Big Picture, the Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar. Fabulous.
And finally, the best seventeen seconds of your day so far: Surprised Kitty.
In the meantime, this week it's all Messiah, with a bit of other Christmas stuff. More on Messiah in a minute, but before I forget: good news! The Henry Watson Music Library, which (you may recall) cancelled its Christmas Music Day because it was due to close for refurbishment this month, has been persuaded to UNcancel the event now that the closure has been postponed. It's possible that I might have had something to do with this :-) Anyway, it will be on a smaller scale than in previous years, and I'm not sure who else will be there, but Pleiades will be performing at 4pm on Saturday 12th December. Come and see us - there will be mince pies!
Earlier in the day, we'll be singing at Gigg Lane before the FC United game. We did this last year and it was great fun, although I don't think I've ever been so cold. Several extra layers of socks will be in use this year! If you're around, you will be able to hear my arrangement of The Twelve Days of Cantona, with its totally ridiculous descant.
The Messiah gig is tomorrow night, and I'm off to catch the bus to the orchestral rehearsal shortly. But first, a load of links, many of which are Messiah-related.
From The Chorister, news of how someone used the Hallelujah Chorus to escape from a toilet.
Lots of stuff about the recent ENO Messiah, which I've mentioned before. Classical Iconoclast has a review and a discussion about how best to stage the piece. Intermezzo also has a review (this one includes the word "turkey" - you may be able to guess the gist of it...) The Classical Source was a bit more impressed. The Guardian didn't like the visual aspect. I was going to link you to the FT review, but they've recently made changes to their website that restrict how many times you can look at stuff, and I can no longer see it!
Via ChoralNet, a great article about the history of Messiah from the Smithsonian Magazine.
In the Spectator, Kate Chisholm talks a bit about Messiah but mainly about a recent episode of The Choir.
An AMAZINGLY useful article from The Chorister, about how to tell the difference between different voice parts. It even has video clips. And it taught me something - I'd never heard of the term "oktavist" until I read that post.
Via ChoralNet, an interesting post about the fact that lots of professional classical musicians are so miserable and/or pessimistic.
Maggie told me yesterday about the British Voice Association. There's some interesting stuff on their website, such as this page devoted to voice care.
Via my friend Chris Atherton, a theory about a possible biological link between music and speech, specifically to do with major and minor scales. I'm far from convinced by this, but if I start explaining why, I will miss my bus. Short version of my argument: major scales include both major and minor intervals, and so do minor scales. So if they're just looking at INTERVALS there shouldn't be any significant difference whether the music is in a major or minor key. (It's possible, of course, that I read the article too fast and misunderstood what they are claiming, in which case I apologise.)
Interesting article from the Guardian about singing out of tune.
Via Tom Service, Bachtrack have created a classical-music-event-finding app for the iPhone. Bachtrack provide a very useful service even if you DON'T have an iPhone - go and look at their website if you haven't before. (Sadly they don't have any of OUR concerts listed, but I don't have the authority to do anything about that.)
Talking of iPhones, a group of students has created an orchestra out of different iPhone apps. (I must do a list sometime of which musical iPhone apps I use - there are a few!)
Classic FM have a poll for the nation's favourite Christmas carol - is yours on the list? (The Darke version of In the Bleak Midwinter always seems to win these things, but I'm SO sick of it. I much prefer the Holst version.)
Via ChoralNet, a fascinating (and slightly disgusting) video called "Glottal Opera".
I was fascinated to see that there were auditions in Manchester last week for expert Lego artists - Brick Factor!
Via BoingBoing, an interesting account of a meal in the dark at a San Francisco restaurant.
From NASA's Earth Observatory, a photo of a lake with blue-green algae. Not particularly newsworthy - I'm just fascinated by the picture!
Most of you will be aware that ID cards are now available in Manchester, but have you seen one close up? Here's a photo of one. (Unlike many people, I have no real problem with the CONCEPT of ID cards, but I lost interest when I found they were going to cost money!)
A card which WOULD be useful, though, is a Manchester Oyster Card. Manchester Confidential updates us on the plans. (Anyone who EVER travels to London and doesn't have an Oyster card is insane, by the way. Get one immediately. It will save you lots of time AND money.)
The John Rylands Library is cooking medieval food.
If you haven't been past the Band on the Wall this week, you won't have seen their Giant Graphic Equaliser. Go and look!
An interesting report from Snopes (always the best place to check the truth of urban legends) about whether or not hand-driers cause disease. I've heard people argue passionately both ways, so it's good to see some facts.
I'm not planning to buy a games console any time soon, but if you are, you will find this Guardian article invaluable.
Via the Big Picture, the Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar. Fabulous.
And finally, the best seventeen seconds of your day so far: Surprised Kitty.
Friday, November 27, 2009
If he delight in him
More Messiah this week, plus we tried a couple of things for the carol concerts. I actually quite like the sense of panic at this time of year (you know, the "so many concerts, so little rehearsal time" thing). And, just to be clear, I do love Messiah - that is, the piece itself. I like performing it - I just hate the rehearsals for it! I could write a long list of my favourite things about the actual piece. Top of that list would be the start of the Hallelujah Chorus, IF the audience stands uninvited (I hate it when the conductor patronisingly stands them!). (I realised last night that I like this SO much that I actually get a thrill when I turn a page in my score and see that we've reached "Thou shalt break them", because I know that "Hallelujah" is next!)
Also high on my favourites would be: 2. "He trusted in God", if done properly (i.e. with a true Lucius Malfoy sneer); 3. the bass part on the last page of the Amen Chorus; 4. the chords at the beginning of "Thy rebuke"; 5. the fast bit in "But who may abide" (unless they've annoyed me by getting a countertenor instead of a female alto, which seems to happen most years now). (I have no problem with the EXISTENCE of countertenors - although I've never heard one whose voice I've really liked - but it annoys me that there are already fewer opportunities for alto soloists than sopranos, so it doesn't help if countertenors take some of them. I realise this is a bit unfair of me, but I can't help it.)
But that's all in the performance, which isn't until a week on Saturday. My favourite bit of this week's REHEARSAL was right at the end, when we sight-read a bit of the Christmas Oratorio that was new to me - I do love sight reading, and sight reading Bach is more fun than most. Hint to people who find sight reading difficult - well, I've given lots of hints before (you can download some of them from the link on the right), but the single top tip would be: LOOK AHEAD MORE. I was HUGELY amused to see that there was an alto entry immediately after a page turn, and a large number of altos didn't come in because they didn't turn their page until the first barline on the page had already happened. But then I have to admit that when I get bored in a rehearsal because it's a bit where I'm not singing, I like to watch the rest of the choir to see which people turn their pages early and which people turn very late. I find it VERY illuminating.
It turns out that the Manchester Evening News did have a review of our Nocturnes gig - they just took ages to put it on their website.
From a website I've only just discovered - Muso - here's an article about routes into conducting. It includes comments from our ex-choral director. (Pity that the Muso website doesn't seem to have any RSS feeds - that's remiss of them. It means I won't look at it unless I remember, unlike all the sites that DO have RSS feeds, so that I automatically know when they're updated.)
From Tom Service, here's an all-too-rare article about the impact that performing has on the performers.
Many of you will have heard of HC Robbins Landon. I feel slightly guilty that I hadn't actually realised he was still alive until I heard that he'd died. Anyway, Tom Service writes about him.
Talking of things I hadn't realised, another is that Elgar played the trombone - badly (and again Tom Service has more to say about this). If it hadn't been for this story, I wouldn't have paid much attention to the reviews of the recent period instrument performance of The Dream of Gerontius, featuring Elgar's own trombone. As it is, I can tell you that neither the Guardian nor the FT thought much of it, and that apparently (according to the FT review) Elgar is out of fashion in most of England.
I think I linked to a video of a "complaints choir" ages ago, but I've only just discovered that this is apparently now a worldwide phenomenon.
From The Chorister, a really great post about how upset we can get when we get a poor reaction to our singing. I can identify VERY strongly with this.
Via ChoralNet, an article about why everyone in the choir needs to attend rehearsals, however good they are.
Did you know that Halifax is now a minster town? If you've never visited the church in question, I recommend it - it's lovely.
National Geographic had a photography contest, and The Big Picture has some of the entries. Spectacular pictures.
I feel oddly angry that from December the Circle Line will no longer be a circle. (The Times is calling it a tadpole.) It just seems so wrong!
Lovers of the Yorkshire Dales will be delighted to learn that Grassington Moor and Malham Cove will both feature in the final Harry Potter films.
And, finally - I can't seem to make myself read this article properly, because it includes several words that automatically make me glaze over and start skimming, but I find myself fascinated by the table halfway down the page, which compares our use of TV to our use of the internet.
Also high on my favourites would be: 2. "He trusted in God", if done properly (i.e. with a true Lucius Malfoy sneer); 3. the bass part on the last page of the Amen Chorus; 4. the chords at the beginning of "Thy rebuke"; 5. the fast bit in "But who may abide" (unless they've annoyed me by getting a countertenor instead of a female alto, which seems to happen most years now). (I have no problem with the EXISTENCE of countertenors - although I've never heard one whose voice I've really liked - but it annoys me that there are already fewer opportunities for alto soloists than sopranos, so it doesn't help if countertenors take some of them. I realise this is a bit unfair of me, but I can't help it.)
But that's all in the performance, which isn't until a week on Saturday. My favourite bit of this week's REHEARSAL was right at the end, when we sight-read a bit of the Christmas Oratorio that was new to me - I do love sight reading, and sight reading Bach is more fun than most. Hint to people who find sight reading difficult - well, I've given lots of hints before (you can download some of them from the link on the right), but the single top tip would be: LOOK AHEAD MORE. I was HUGELY amused to see that there was an alto entry immediately after a page turn, and a large number of altos didn't come in because they didn't turn their page until the first barline on the page had already happened. But then I have to admit that when I get bored in a rehearsal because it's a bit where I'm not singing, I like to watch the rest of the choir to see which people turn their pages early and which people turn very late. I find it VERY illuminating.
It turns out that the Manchester Evening News did have a review of our Nocturnes gig - they just took ages to put it on their website.
From a website I've only just discovered - Muso - here's an article about routes into conducting. It includes comments from our ex-choral director. (Pity that the Muso website doesn't seem to have any RSS feeds - that's remiss of them. It means I won't look at it unless I remember, unlike all the sites that DO have RSS feeds, so that I automatically know when they're updated.)
From Tom Service, here's an all-too-rare article about the impact that performing has on the performers.
Many of you will have heard of HC Robbins Landon. I feel slightly guilty that I hadn't actually realised he was still alive until I heard that he'd died. Anyway, Tom Service writes about him.
Talking of things I hadn't realised, another is that Elgar played the trombone - badly (and again Tom Service has more to say about this). If it hadn't been for this story, I wouldn't have paid much attention to the reviews of the recent period instrument performance of The Dream of Gerontius, featuring Elgar's own trombone. As it is, I can tell you that neither the Guardian nor the FT thought much of it, and that apparently (according to the FT review) Elgar is out of fashion in most of England.
I think I linked to a video of a "complaints choir" ages ago, but I've only just discovered that this is apparently now a worldwide phenomenon.
From The Chorister, a really great post about how upset we can get when we get a poor reaction to our singing. I can identify VERY strongly with this.
Via ChoralNet, an article about why everyone in the choir needs to attend rehearsals, however good they are.
Did you know that Halifax is now a minster town? If you've never visited the church in question, I recommend it - it's lovely.
National Geographic had a photography contest, and The Big Picture has some of the entries. Spectacular pictures.
I feel oddly angry that from December the Circle Line will no longer be a circle. (The Times is calling it a tadpole.) It just seems so wrong!
Lovers of the Yorkshire Dales will be delighted to learn that Grassington Moor and Malham Cove will both feature in the final Harry Potter films.
And, finally - I can't seem to make myself read this article properly, because it includes several words that automatically make me glaze over and start skimming, but I find myself fascinated by the table halfway down the page, which compares our use of TV to our use of the internet.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
While Luzar and Jim have tea
Brownie points to anyone who knows what famous Christmas song contains the line above (without googling!) It's one of several for which I was working out chords yesterday.
It's Messiah season for the next two weeks, which makes lots of the choir very happy. I'm enjoying it about as much as usual (i.e. not very much at all), but at least it will soon be over. (It's a great piece - I just hate the rehearsals for it, for reasons I've explained in the past and don't plan to go into again. Sorry if you don't agree with me - I know I'm in a minority!)
For choir members that haven't sung it before, I've put mp3s of all the choruses online for you on my mp3 page.
I'm much more excited about Christmas carols and Christmas pop songs. I'm rehearsing with my band tomorrow, and I have four new songs (well, new only in that we haven't tried them before) to give them in addition to the fifty-five Christmas songs already in our repertoire. As usual the main problem will be deciding what to miss out!
Anyway, here's some stuff I've seen online recently. A few musical items, and then lots of Manchester-related news!
Over on ChoralNet, Allen H Simon wrote this article about candy music. I particularly liked the description of Bruckner and Mendelssohn as well-prepared vegetables.
I've mentioned the vuvuzela in the past - that's that trumpet that's very popular in South Africa. Well, it seems that Japan as asked for them to be banned from the World Cup! FIFA's comment is That would mean one would have to take away the cow bells from Swiss fans and ban English fans from singing. I like that they seem to consider our national instrument to be the voice.
Peter Phillips, in the Spectator, gives us an article about music expressing moods that is well worth reading but hard to describe briefly!
I'm amused to discover that Stairway to Heaven was popular with DJs because it's the perfect length for a cigarette break. And there are also toilet tracks.
From Intermezzo, news that a German chamber music group is to give a recital in a brothel.
This might be nice for any amateur guitarists among you: a guitar lesson based on Happy Xmas (War is Over) (another song I wrote out yesterday).
This will mean nothing to people who weren't at tonight's rehearsal, but I wanted to look up a couple of things that were mentioned. To save you doing the same, here's Ralph Allwood's website and his Wikipedia page, and a page about St Peter's Ancoats, and the newspaper article about it.
I'm sure you've all seen the news that Manchester Victoria, the station in which I've probably spent more time in my life than all other stations combined, has been named as the worst station in the UK. (More on this story here, here and here.)
Did you also see that we won the battle over the National Football Museum? And it turns out that the 2012 Olympics could actually start in Manchester. (The Londonist blog mocked us a bit for getting excited by this. I suspect they're probably just a bit jealous.)
Via the J-Walk Blog, fifteen Google interview questions to make you feel stupid. See if you can get ANY of them. I got three, which I was quite proud of. (There were several that I didn't even understand when I saw the ANSWER.)
And finally, here's a place I really want to visit: Galloway Forest Park.
It's Messiah season for the next two weeks, which makes lots of the choir very happy. I'm enjoying it about as much as usual (i.e. not very much at all), but at least it will soon be over. (It's a great piece - I just hate the rehearsals for it, for reasons I've explained in the past and don't plan to go into again. Sorry if you don't agree with me - I know I'm in a minority!)
For choir members that haven't sung it before, I've put mp3s of all the choruses online for you on my mp3 page.
I'm much more excited about Christmas carols and Christmas pop songs. I'm rehearsing with my band tomorrow, and I have four new songs (well, new only in that we haven't tried them before) to give them in addition to the fifty-five Christmas songs already in our repertoire. As usual the main problem will be deciding what to miss out!
Anyway, here's some stuff I've seen online recently. A few musical items, and then lots of Manchester-related news!
Over on ChoralNet, Allen H Simon wrote this article about candy music. I particularly liked the description of Bruckner and Mendelssohn as well-prepared vegetables.
I've mentioned the vuvuzela in the past - that's that trumpet that's very popular in South Africa. Well, it seems that Japan as asked for them to be banned from the World Cup! FIFA's comment is That would mean one would have to take away the cow bells from Swiss fans and ban English fans from singing. I like that they seem to consider our national instrument to be the voice.
Peter Phillips, in the Spectator, gives us an article about music expressing moods that is well worth reading but hard to describe briefly!
I'm amused to discover that Stairway to Heaven was popular with DJs because it's the perfect length for a cigarette break. And there are also toilet tracks.
From Intermezzo, news that a German chamber music group is to give a recital in a brothel.
This might be nice for any amateur guitarists among you: a guitar lesson based on Happy Xmas (War is Over) (another song I wrote out yesterday).
This will mean nothing to people who weren't at tonight's rehearsal, but I wanted to look up a couple of things that were mentioned. To save you doing the same, here's Ralph Allwood's website and his Wikipedia page, and a page about St Peter's Ancoats, and the newspaper article about it.
I'm sure you've all seen the news that Manchester Victoria, the station in which I've probably spent more time in my life than all other stations combined, has been named as the worst station in the UK. (More on this story here, here and here.)
Did you also see that we won the battle over the National Football Museum? And it turns out that the 2012 Olympics could actually start in Manchester. (The Londonist blog mocked us a bit for getting excited by this. I suspect they're probably just a bit jealous.)
Via the J-Walk Blog, fifteen Google interview questions to make you feel stupid. See if you can get ANY of them. I got three, which I was quite proud of. (There were several that I didn't even understand when I saw the ANSWER.)
And finally, here's a place I really want to visit: Galloway Forest Park.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Those duplets and triplets'll get them every time...
Busy few weeks, hence the very long gap between posts - sorry about that. I unexpectedly got three weeks of full-time work (back at RNID, covering for someone who was off sick) which happened to coincide with a busy time for the choir AND several of my part-time things all happening at once. The money is very helpful, and will allow me to pay a bit towards some bills that have been overdue for months, but it's been a very exhausting three weeks. Last night, with it finally over, I slept for seventeen hours nonstop, and now I feel great! Time to get back to all my other stuff. (Things have gradually started to improve lately - I'll explain at some point what I'm actually doing, but not now because this post will be long enough as it is!)
My to-do list for tonight includes a new a cappella arrangement of a Christmas song that I've had in my head all week, but I wanted to do a blog post first, if only because I realised I had more than fifty links to share with you! I'll get to them in a minute. But first, what's been happening with the choir? Well, I know I said I was looking forward to the new Matthews piece, but this positive attitude didn't last very long - it's really quite dreary so far. But we've only got the first part of it, so maybe it will get a bit more exciting in the bit we haven't seen yet.
We've also done a very small amount of Messiah, but mainly the last few weeks has been ladies only, rehearsing Debussy's Nocturnes, which we performed on Thursday night. I haven't seen any reviews yet, but I will post any that appear. (I was a bit outraged to find that the orchestra was repeating the Nocturnes in Nottingham last night, without us, until I noticed that they were only playing the first two movements, which we're not in. Pity though - I would have gone to Nottingham!)
I've done this piece a few times before, and it's always exciting because we are part of the orchestra (rather than being a separate entity) and actually sit on stage next to the instruments. In the past we've sat scattered around the stage, in pairs. I think I sat next to the clarinets last time. This time, there were too many of us for that to work, so we sat in two rows at the back of the stage. We did still sing seated, though, so it felt more as if we were orchestral players rather than a choir that stood up when it was about to sing. I sat behind the clarinets and bassoons, and enjoyed following their parts in the bits before we sang - we used to be able to do that in the Free Trade Hall, when I was usually behind the trumpets or trombones, but in the Bridgewater Hall choir seats we're much further away from the orchestra.
The always-few-in-number 2nd alto section did itself proud. Not that we don't always, but we felt very good about ourselves during this project! There were only eight of us, compared to the twenty-six 1st altos (although only twenty of them were there at the concert), but we kept drowning out the 1sts :-) And there was a bit where we had to sing stupidly high notes, while the 1st sopranos had two bars' rest, and plan B was for us to drop out and let the sops do it. But Plan A was the one that was used in the concert.
Our movement is called "Sirens", and there was much discussion of sirens during the rehearsals. (The Starbucks logo, often seen as a mermaid, is actually a siren - here's an article about how it's changed.) David (the guest choral director) had invented a very convincing (and useful) story about what the Sirens were actually doing in each phrase of the movement. It seems that the consensus is that sirens don't do what you might expect with the sailors once they've lured them - they actually eat them! However, the Wikipedia article suggests a few alternative versions of the legend.
Oh, and I almost forgot - Gianandrea Noseda was at the concert! We were very excited to see him with our principal conductor at the interval. I'm not sure I've EVER seen them in the same place at the same time before - it's great to see that they're friends, and even greater that he was at our concert when he wasn't even conducting it!
Debussy is over now (although I think I'll have that harp-and-muted-trumpet bit from the 2nd movement in my head for a while yet) and next week is Messiah and carols. Also I'm rehearsing Christmas stuff with my band on Thursday. Which reminds me - latest news on the Henry Watson Music Library is that Manchester City Council has changed its plans, and the library is currently NOT going to close in December. The closure has been put back to some unconfirmed date in 2010, probably June. So the library COULD have had their Christmas music day after all, but the librarians told me that the plans have changed so many times that it's still possible that anything might happen! They did also mention that when the new library reopens, in four years' time, it's likely that the music library will be on the ground floor. You heard it here first.
Anyway, are you ready for about a million links? (Well, fifty, anyway...)
First, a great 20-minute video from Itay Talgam about how conductors do what they do. My favourite bit is right at the end, when he shows Leonard Bernstein conducting with just his face, but it's all good stuff. (In fact, if you've never seen any other TED talks, I recommend you explore the site a bit - there's loads of good talks on there.)
One of the most useful sites I've found recently - Chordbook. It's mainly useful for guitarists, but I'm not a guitarist and I've found it invaluable, mainly when I've been working WITH a guitarist and I wanted him to play a chord he didn't know. This site tells you the guitar fingering for every chord you can think of, with or without capo.
Another site that some of you may find useful - mp3 accompanist. I offer mp3 accompaniments as a service myself, so I found this while I was researching the competition. Looks like a very handy site. (They have lots of mp3s ready to sell, whereas I currently only have a few, and I only do them as a sideline, because they take quite a long time to create. So I'm happy to promote this site.)
Here's a story about two churches whose congregations sing too loudly!
And I'm sure you saw the story about the shop assistant who was told she couldn't sing while working unless she had a licence.
From Tom Service, a heartwarming story about Cape Town Opera.
From Intermezzo, news that stagehands at Carnegie Hall get paid more than performers.
A Cappella News tells us that the Vienna Boys' Choir is to admit girls. (EDIT: Allen H Simon, the webmaster of ChoralNet, says this is not true. I must admit I thought it was odd that A Cappella News didn't include a link to their source...)
BBC Music Magazine points people towards downloadable resources for the Sing Hallelujah project.
I've never heard of the Gold Badge awards before, have you? They're for music professionals other than performers.
ChoralNet tells us about a singing teacher who gives lessons using Skype. A great idea - I must try it sometime.
I'm intrigued by the ramifications of this Electronic Rock Guitar T Shirt from ThinkGeek. They also have a Personal Soundtrack T Shirt and a Drum Kit T Shirt. I can see the latter being a bit painful if your friends get carried away!
Talking of geeky things (as you know I love to), someone's found a way to play Guitar Hero without any guitars (plastic or otherwise!)
Also from ChoralNet, news that Leonard Bernstein's annotated scores are to released online.
Thought-provoking article about youth orchestras from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra blog.
Tom Service writes about Classic FM's recent list of the top 10 classical works loved by children, and a rival (and much more interesting) list from Radio 3. The Radio 3 blog has more about this.
4 Bars Rest is one of the best sites for brass band news, and they often have bits of non-brass musical news I haven't seen anywhere else. Recently they had two stories about anti-brass snobbishness in the musical world.
Haven't seen this anywhere else, but apparently Leonard Slatkin recently had a heart attack while conducting.
From ChoralNet, news of a Philharmonia Orchestra project that lets people experience being part of an orchestra from the inside. As part of the choir, we get to do this all the time (although not often quite so thoroughly as we did on Thursday), and I often grin to myself when I think of how privileged we are.
Here's a guy who tells us about how singing has helped his cystic fibrosis.
Remember that thing about the ENO Messiah project? The Radio 3 blog brings us an update, with a link to the backstage blog, which has stories from the participants.
An interesting article from The Chorister about whether or not choirs should have auditions.
Equally thought-provoking, From the Front of the Choir discusses the use of the word "choir".
The Guardian wonders whether or not Christmas songs can ever be cool.
Those of you not on Twitter yet may not be aware that not only is the world's best orchestra on Twitter, they also tell us useful bits of news there, such as the fact that the Mahler series is to be recorded and broadcast on Radio 3.
The Guardian has some suggestions about how to write a family-friendly opera.
The Spectator has a great article about Murray Perahia.
Here's a great article about artistic masterpieces in English cathedrals.
Manchester Confidential, one of my favourite sites, tells us about the ice rink in Spinningfields, and several other attractions in Manchester city centre this Christmas. They also have some interesting thoughts about the decline of King Street, which was once Manchester's top shopping street.
The Guardian has some thoughts about Manchester's literary renaissance.
BBC news has an amusing story about the difference between the sexes when it comes to gadget-related problems. I'm most amused by the news that "64% of male callers and 24% of female callers had not read the instruction manual before ringing up for technical support". RTFM, people!
The Man in Seat 61 tells us, again, why travelling to European destinations can be better by train than by air. (And members of my choir may be interested to see his explanation of how to get to Prague by train. There has been mention of a possible choir trip to Prague next year, and if it goes ahead I'll almost certainly be doing it this way!)
I haven't tried this yet, but it looks useful - a site that lets you do online optical character recognition i.e. you upload a photo that has text on it, and the site converts the text to a document which you could then edit.
In astronomical news, I'm quite intrigued to hear that there is water on the Moon! And also that NASA's Martian polar lander has survived. Now if only they'd find Beagle 2!
(And, since people often ask me about this: the extremely bright "star" that's currently visible low in the south west sky until about 10pm is Jupiter, and the pinkish (but not quite as bright) one that's visible low in the north-east at 10pm (and increasingly higher in the sky throughout the rest of the night, until it's due south at 6am) is Mars. You can also see Saturn low in the south-east from 3am to sunrise, but it's nowhere near as bright as Jupiter or Mars so it doesn't stand out so much. The brightest of all is Venus, visible low in the south-east just before sunrise.)
Finally, three fabulous recent photo collections from the ever-excellent Big Picture. The one depicting Kazakhstan's nuclear legacy is sobering and rather depressing, but the Berlin Wall collection is great, and the Martian landscape pictures are amazing. But still no Beagle 2!
My to-do list for tonight includes a new a cappella arrangement of a Christmas song that I've had in my head all week, but I wanted to do a blog post first, if only because I realised I had more than fifty links to share with you! I'll get to them in a minute. But first, what's been happening with the choir? Well, I know I said I was looking forward to the new Matthews piece, but this positive attitude didn't last very long - it's really quite dreary so far. But we've only got the first part of it, so maybe it will get a bit more exciting in the bit we haven't seen yet.
We've also done a very small amount of Messiah, but mainly the last few weeks has been ladies only, rehearsing Debussy's Nocturnes, which we performed on Thursday night. I haven't seen any reviews yet, but I will post any that appear. (I was a bit outraged to find that the orchestra was repeating the Nocturnes in Nottingham last night, without us, until I noticed that they were only playing the first two movements, which we're not in. Pity though - I would have gone to Nottingham!)
I've done this piece a few times before, and it's always exciting because we are part of the orchestra (rather than being a separate entity) and actually sit on stage next to the instruments. In the past we've sat scattered around the stage, in pairs. I think I sat next to the clarinets last time. This time, there were too many of us for that to work, so we sat in two rows at the back of the stage. We did still sing seated, though, so it felt more as if we were orchestral players rather than a choir that stood up when it was about to sing. I sat behind the clarinets and bassoons, and enjoyed following their parts in the bits before we sang - we used to be able to do that in the Free Trade Hall, when I was usually behind the trumpets or trombones, but in the Bridgewater Hall choir seats we're much further away from the orchestra.
The always-few-in-number 2nd alto section did itself proud. Not that we don't always, but we felt very good about ourselves during this project! There were only eight of us, compared to the twenty-six 1st altos (although only twenty of them were there at the concert), but we kept drowning out the 1sts :-) And there was a bit where we had to sing stupidly high notes, while the 1st sopranos had two bars' rest, and plan B was for us to drop out and let the sops do it. But Plan A was the one that was used in the concert.
Our movement is called "Sirens", and there was much discussion of sirens during the rehearsals. (The Starbucks logo, often seen as a mermaid, is actually a siren - here's an article about how it's changed.) David (the guest choral director) had invented a very convincing (and useful) story about what the Sirens were actually doing in each phrase of the movement. It seems that the consensus is that sirens don't do what you might expect with the sailors once they've lured them - they actually eat them! However, the Wikipedia article suggests a few alternative versions of the legend.
Oh, and I almost forgot - Gianandrea Noseda was at the concert! We were very excited to see him with our principal conductor at the interval. I'm not sure I've EVER seen them in the same place at the same time before - it's great to see that they're friends, and even greater that he was at our concert when he wasn't even conducting it!
Debussy is over now (although I think I'll have that harp-and-muted-trumpet bit from the 2nd movement in my head for a while yet) and next week is Messiah and carols. Also I'm rehearsing Christmas stuff with my band on Thursday. Which reminds me - latest news on the Henry Watson Music Library is that Manchester City Council has changed its plans, and the library is currently NOT going to close in December. The closure has been put back to some unconfirmed date in 2010, probably June. So the library COULD have had their Christmas music day after all, but the librarians told me that the plans have changed so many times that it's still possible that anything might happen! They did also mention that when the new library reopens, in four years' time, it's likely that the music library will be on the ground floor. You heard it here first.
Anyway, are you ready for about a million links? (Well, fifty, anyway...)
First, a great 20-minute video from Itay Talgam about how conductors do what they do. My favourite bit is right at the end, when he shows Leonard Bernstein conducting with just his face, but it's all good stuff. (In fact, if you've never seen any other TED talks, I recommend you explore the site a bit - there's loads of good talks on there.)
One of the most useful sites I've found recently - Chordbook. It's mainly useful for guitarists, but I'm not a guitarist and I've found it invaluable, mainly when I've been working WITH a guitarist and I wanted him to play a chord he didn't know. This site tells you the guitar fingering for every chord you can think of, with or without capo.
Another site that some of you may find useful - mp3 accompanist. I offer mp3 accompaniments as a service myself, so I found this while I was researching the competition. Looks like a very handy site. (They have lots of mp3s ready to sell, whereas I currently only have a few, and I only do them as a sideline, because they take quite a long time to create. So I'm happy to promote this site.)
Here's a story about two churches whose congregations sing too loudly!
And I'm sure you saw the story about the shop assistant who was told she couldn't sing while working unless she had a licence.
From Tom Service, a heartwarming story about Cape Town Opera.
From Intermezzo, news that stagehands at Carnegie Hall get paid more than performers.
A Cappella News tells us that the Vienna Boys' Choir is to admit girls. (EDIT: Allen H Simon, the webmaster of ChoralNet, says this is not true. I must admit I thought it was odd that A Cappella News didn't include a link to their source...)
BBC Music Magazine points people towards downloadable resources for the Sing Hallelujah project.
I've never heard of the Gold Badge awards before, have you? They're for music professionals other than performers.
ChoralNet tells us about a singing teacher who gives lessons using Skype. A great idea - I must try it sometime.
I'm intrigued by the ramifications of this Electronic Rock Guitar T Shirt from ThinkGeek. They also have a Personal Soundtrack T Shirt and a Drum Kit T Shirt. I can see the latter being a bit painful if your friends get carried away!
Talking of geeky things (as you know I love to), someone's found a way to play Guitar Hero without any guitars (plastic or otherwise!)
Also from ChoralNet, news that Leonard Bernstein's annotated scores are to released online.
Thought-provoking article about youth orchestras from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra blog.
Tom Service writes about Classic FM's recent list of the top 10 classical works loved by children, and a rival (and much more interesting) list from Radio 3. The Radio 3 blog has more about this.
4 Bars Rest is one of the best sites for brass band news, and they often have bits of non-brass musical news I haven't seen anywhere else. Recently they had two stories about anti-brass snobbishness in the musical world.
Haven't seen this anywhere else, but apparently Leonard Slatkin recently had a heart attack while conducting.
From ChoralNet, news of a Philharmonia Orchestra project that lets people experience being part of an orchestra from the inside. As part of the choir, we get to do this all the time (although not often quite so thoroughly as we did on Thursday), and I often grin to myself when I think of how privileged we are.
Here's a guy who tells us about how singing has helped his cystic fibrosis.
Remember that thing about the ENO Messiah project? The Radio 3 blog brings us an update, with a link to the backstage blog, which has stories from the participants.
An interesting article from The Chorister about whether or not choirs should have auditions.
Equally thought-provoking, From the Front of the Choir discusses the use of the word "choir".
The Guardian wonders whether or not Christmas songs can ever be cool.
Those of you not on Twitter yet may not be aware that not only is the world's best orchestra on Twitter, they also tell us useful bits of news there, such as the fact that the Mahler series is to be recorded and broadcast on Radio 3.
The Guardian has some suggestions about how to write a family-friendly opera.
The Spectator has a great article about Murray Perahia.
Here's a great article about artistic masterpieces in English cathedrals.
Manchester Confidential, one of my favourite sites, tells us about the ice rink in Spinningfields, and several other attractions in Manchester city centre this Christmas. They also have some interesting thoughts about the decline of King Street, which was once Manchester's top shopping street.
The Guardian has some thoughts about Manchester's literary renaissance.
BBC news has an amusing story about the difference between the sexes when it comes to gadget-related problems. I'm most amused by the news that "64% of male callers and 24% of female callers had not read the instruction manual before ringing up for technical support". RTFM, people!
The Man in Seat 61 tells us, again, why travelling to European destinations can be better by train than by air. (And members of my choir may be interested to see his explanation of how to get to Prague by train. There has been mention of a possible choir trip to Prague next year, and if it goes ahead I'll almost certainly be doing it this way!)
I haven't tried this yet, but it looks useful - a site that lets you do online optical character recognition i.e. you upload a photo that has text on it, and the site converts the text to a document which you could then edit.
In astronomical news, I'm quite intrigued to hear that there is water on the Moon! And also that NASA's Martian polar lander has survived. Now if only they'd find Beagle 2!
(And, since people often ask me about this: the extremely bright "star" that's currently visible low in the south west sky until about 10pm is Jupiter, and the pinkish (but not quite as bright) one that's visible low in the north-east at 10pm (and increasingly higher in the sky throughout the rest of the night, until it's due south at 6am) is Mars. You can also see Saturn low in the south-east from 3am to sunrise, but it's nowhere near as bright as Jupiter or Mars so it doesn't stand out so much. The brightest of all is Venus, visible low in the south-east just before sunrise.)
Finally, three fabulous recent photo collections from the ever-excellent Big Picture. The one depicting Kazakhstan's nuclear legacy is sobering and rather depressing, but the Berlin Wall collection is great, and the Martian landscape pictures are amazing. But still no Beagle 2!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"Warm and fervent, mellifluously blended and pitch-perfect."
That's how the Times describes our choir. Quite right too. We ARE very fantastic.
The MEN is slightly more restrained, mentioning only that "we rose to the challenges of the big moments".
Those are the only reviews I've seen so far of Saturday's gig - I'll edit this post if any more appear.
I did enjoy it in the end, although I nearly didn't sing at all - I somehow managed to lose my voice earlier in the week (without feeling ill at all - I just couldn't make any noise!) It was just a tickle at the start of the week, but by Wednesday I could talk but not sing. I went to the rehearsal anyway, and mimed in the first half. This turned out to be a very bad idea (even though I am *convinced* I didn't make any sound) and made my throat worse, so I just sat and listened in the second half. On Thursday I couldn't even talk, let alone sing, so I had the very great pleasure of sitting in the auditorium and listening to the choir and orchestra (and soloists) from the front. Can't remember the last time I got the chance to do that! On Friday things had improved slightly, and I could talk a bit but still not sing, so I sat out again, with the aim of being able to sing on Saturday. This strategy worked, and by Saturday afternoon I found I could sing without coughing, although not loudly... and by the evening most of the volume had returned. Perfect timing!
(While I was voiceless, I was looking up suggestions for remedies online. There are several here, but the one I kept seeing all over the web was ginger tea. Have any of you ever tried that? Does it work? Or, what's your preferred remedy? I ended up just sipping hot water with honey in it, on the grounds that I actually HAD some honey, but I didn't have any of the stuff for most of the other remedies!)
This week it's all change. Elgar is replaced by Debussy, Handel and Matthews (the latter is still being written, unsurprisingly), and we have a new guest choral director. I'm looking forward to the Matthews, but only because it's NEW. I've previously mentioned (and been lambasted for) my views on Messiah, so I won't repeat them (at least not yet!) The Debussy is his Nocturnes, which for the choir means being Sirens. I thought I'd had this on the brain all week, until I realised that I'd got it muddled up with Daphnis and Chloe! They are very similar in many ways, though, although our bit in Nocturnes is considerably less exciting. Anyway, if you don't know it, here's an mp3.
Loads more links for you. In no particular order, other than that I generally put the musical ones first...
Via ChoralNet, another interesting project from Eric Whitacre. He is one of the most groundbreaking composers currently working, and not just in musical contexts.
Via Intermezzo, an interesting look at how Germany differs from England when it comes to conductors in the news.
Intermezzo also tells us how much opera singers get paid.
Have any of you heard of The Manchester Carols? I hadn't, until I saw them being advertised while I was looking for something else.
Peter Phillips wonders where's the best place to be in a concert - singing, conducting or in the audience? He concludes that it's best to be singing - see if you agree with his argument!
Yet another discussion (with figures) of how Spotify is making money.
Via BoingBoing, a musical staircase in Sweden.
EMI and the CBSO issued instant CDs of their concerts the other day. I like this idea.
Not to be outdone, Radio 3 can now do synchronised opera surtitles.
Two blogs I discovered quite recently (and am not sure how I missed them): Classical Iconoclast and Tom Service's Guardian music blog. Both are now on my sidebar. (I've often linked to Tom Service's articles but I didn't realise until this week that he actually had a blog too.)
Not all arts critics are doing as well as Tom Service - all the Daily Telegraph ones recently lost their jobs.
A new exhibition of Spanish religious art at the National Gallery has a singing curator. I *really* want to see this!
Ash (a rock band you may or may not have heard of) are doing a UK tour in alphabetical order.
Manchester Confidential tells us about the new back view of Chet's. (I went past there today - the diggers are very busy! It's like the first chapter of Hitch Hiker.)
Next weekend Manchester hosts the UK's first ever robot festival!
Letters of Note is a fascinating new blog that publishes interesting actual letters (for example, this one from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol).
From the London Review of Books, an enlightening explanation of why many postmen are so unhappy.
SayNoTo1870 is a useful website that gives you cheaper alternatives to 0870 numbers. (The Guardian claims this site has saved people a fortune.)
If you know any Deaf or hard of hearing people, make sure they know about the Emergency SMS trial, which means they can now contact 999 by sending a text message.
Astronomy Picture of the Day has long been one of my favourite websites, and last week they had a lovely new Pleiades picture.
(Ooh, that reminds me - those of you who use the Henry Watson Music Library may be unaware that the whole of Manchester Central Library (and, in fact, the Town Hall extension building) is closing for refurbishment in December, for a REALLY LONG TIME. (Three years, I believe, in the case of the library - not sure if the Town Hall is the same.) There are many, many items in the Henry Watson which are not in any other library in the UK. I have no idea whether there are any plans to make their stock available during the refurbishment - I can't imagine how they'd do it, given how much there is, so if you need anything from there, I'd make the trip ASAP.)
And finally... I'm sure you're all aware of the hilarious way in which Liverpool lost their match on Saturday - the ball went in off a beach ball that a Liverpool fan had thrown onto the pitch. Well, Liverpool play host to Manchester United this coming Sunday, and my absolute favourite story of the past few hours is that the Liverpool club shop has sold out of beach balls and the United fans are to be searched for them. "United supporters are suspected of being behind the increased demand for Liverpool beach products." Hee!
The MEN is slightly more restrained, mentioning only that "we rose to the challenges of the big moments".
Those are the only reviews I've seen so far of Saturday's gig - I'll edit this post if any more appear.
I did enjoy it in the end, although I nearly didn't sing at all - I somehow managed to lose my voice earlier in the week (without feeling ill at all - I just couldn't make any noise!) It was just a tickle at the start of the week, but by Wednesday I could talk but not sing. I went to the rehearsal anyway, and mimed in the first half. This turned out to be a very bad idea (even though I am *convinced* I didn't make any sound) and made my throat worse, so I just sat and listened in the second half. On Thursday I couldn't even talk, let alone sing, so I had the very great pleasure of sitting in the auditorium and listening to the choir and orchestra (and soloists) from the front. Can't remember the last time I got the chance to do that! On Friday things had improved slightly, and I could talk a bit but still not sing, so I sat out again, with the aim of being able to sing on Saturday. This strategy worked, and by Saturday afternoon I found I could sing without coughing, although not loudly... and by the evening most of the volume had returned. Perfect timing!
(While I was voiceless, I was looking up suggestions for remedies online. There are several here, but the one I kept seeing all over the web was ginger tea. Have any of you ever tried that? Does it work? Or, what's your preferred remedy? I ended up just sipping hot water with honey in it, on the grounds that I actually HAD some honey, but I didn't have any of the stuff for most of the other remedies!)
This week it's all change. Elgar is replaced by Debussy, Handel and Matthews (the latter is still being written, unsurprisingly), and we have a new guest choral director. I'm looking forward to the Matthews, but only because it's NEW. I've previously mentioned (and been lambasted for) my views on Messiah, so I won't repeat them (at least not yet!) The Debussy is his Nocturnes, which for the choir means being Sirens. I thought I'd had this on the brain all week, until I realised that I'd got it muddled up with Daphnis and Chloe! They are very similar in many ways, though, although our bit in Nocturnes is considerably less exciting. Anyway, if you don't know it, here's an mp3.
Loads more links for you. In no particular order, other than that I generally put the musical ones first...
Via ChoralNet, another interesting project from Eric Whitacre. He is one of the most groundbreaking composers currently working, and not just in musical contexts.
Via Intermezzo, an interesting look at how Germany differs from England when it comes to conductors in the news.
Intermezzo also tells us how much opera singers get paid.
Have any of you heard of The Manchester Carols? I hadn't, until I saw them being advertised while I was looking for something else.
Peter Phillips wonders where's the best place to be in a concert - singing, conducting or in the audience? He concludes that it's best to be singing - see if you agree with his argument!
Yet another discussion (with figures) of how Spotify is making money.
Via BoingBoing, a musical staircase in Sweden.
EMI and the CBSO issued instant CDs of their concerts the other day. I like this idea.
Not to be outdone, Radio 3 can now do synchronised opera surtitles.
Two blogs I discovered quite recently (and am not sure how I missed them): Classical Iconoclast and Tom Service's Guardian music blog. Both are now on my sidebar. (I've often linked to Tom Service's articles but I didn't realise until this week that he actually had a blog too.)
Not all arts critics are doing as well as Tom Service - all the Daily Telegraph ones recently lost their jobs.
A new exhibition of Spanish religious art at the National Gallery has a singing curator. I *really* want to see this!
Ash (a rock band you may or may not have heard of) are doing a UK tour in alphabetical order.
Manchester Confidential tells us about the new back view of Chet's. (I went past there today - the diggers are very busy! It's like the first chapter of Hitch Hiker.)
Next weekend Manchester hosts the UK's first ever robot festival!
Letters of Note is a fascinating new blog that publishes interesting actual letters (for example, this one from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol).
From the London Review of Books, an enlightening explanation of why many postmen are so unhappy.
SayNoTo1870 is a useful website that gives you cheaper alternatives to 0870 numbers. (The Guardian claims this site has saved people a fortune.)
If you know any Deaf or hard of hearing people, make sure they know about the Emergency SMS trial, which means they can now contact 999 by sending a text message.
Astronomy Picture of the Day has long been one of my favourite websites, and last week they had a lovely new Pleiades picture.
(Ooh, that reminds me - those of you who use the Henry Watson Music Library may be unaware that the whole of Manchester Central Library (and, in fact, the Town Hall extension building) is closing for refurbishment in December, for a REALLY LONG TIME. (Three years, I believe, in the case of the library - not sure if the Town Hall is the same.) There are many, many items in the Henry Watson which are not in any other library in the UK. I have no idea whether there are any plans to make their stock available during the refurbishment - I can't imagine how they'd do it, given how much there is, so if you need anything from there, I'd make the trip ASAP.)
And finally... I'm sure you're all aware of the hilarious way in which Liverpool lost their match on Saturday - the ball went in off a beach ball that a Liverpool fan had thrown onto the pitch. Well, Liverpool play host to Manchester United this coming Sunday, and my absolute favourite story of the past few hours is that the Liverpool club shop has sold out of beach balls and the United fans are to be searched for them. "United supporters are suspected of being behind the increased demand for Liverpool beach products." Hee!
Friday, October 09, 2009
We do hear them speak in our tongue
I can't say that I've particularly enjoyed this week's rehearsals (although Wednesday's was MUCH more pleasant than Monday's), but that's mainly because I never really liked The Kingdom in the first place, so I'm a bit sick of it after rehearsing it for five weeks. Next week is the end of it, though, and I do usually enjoy performances of things (even Messiah!). In this case we're recording it too, AND there are four consecutive days of singing it, so I might be REALLY sick of it... but at least after Saturday we'll get a change! And maybe I'll have an epiphany during the week and grow to love the thing anyway.
I do have a few links for you, though. Let's see...
For some reason it only occurred to me this week to look at the Amazon reviews for our award-winning Gerontius CD.
The Guardian talks about what conductors do and how much they get paid.
My old school is having an open day (free, no booking required) on Saturday 17th October from 11am. Perfect timing for any choir members who are in town early before our rehearsal and always fancied having a look at Chet's.
BBC Music Magazine has a new concert diary, although it doesn't seem to have all concerts in it (they didn't have The Kingdom when I looked!)
Here's a thing about the eigenharp, a.k.a the "sci-fi bassoon".
The Guardian tried to calculate how much it costs to run Spotify... and then corrected their sums shortly afterwards.
The Guardian also quoted a BIllboard report which lists the ten best ways for UK pop artists to gain exposure. I think this is fascinating. For reference, the list is:
1. Doing a guest performance on The X Factor
2. Having your music featured in a high-rotation TV ad for Apple
3. Getting added to the Radio 1 playlist
4. Having your song covered on The X Factor
5. Performing on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
6. Getting a listing on the iTunes front page
7. Performing at Glastonbury
8. Getting added to the Radio 2 playlist
9. Getting a cover story in Q magazine
10. Performance/interview on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show
Until I read this piece about someone creating an ending for Turandot, I hadn't actually realised it was unfinished. I need a bigger clue than that (for example, calling something the Unfinished Symphony!)
Tom Service raves about a film called Trip to Asia. It sounds familiar, but I can't imagine how I could have seen it, unless it's been on TV - does anyone know whether it has?
It seems there's someone collecting love stories from passengers on the 85 bus. I have to say I've never seen any of these postcards, and I've caught the 85 many times (it's the only bus that goes from the city centre to the inconvenient location of most of our rehearsals). Not that she'd get any useful stories out of me - I mostly live vicariously!
And finally, this is pretty, and very therapeutic: Wheel of Stars.
I do have a few links for you, though. Let's see...
For some reason it only occurred to me this week to look at the Amazon reviews for our award-winning Gerontius CD.
The Guardian talks about what conductors do and how much they get paid.
My old school is having an open day (free, no booking required) on Saturday 17th October from 11am. Perfect timing for any choir members who are in town early before our rehearsal and always fancied having a look at Chet's.
BBC Music Magazine has a new concert diary, although it doesn't seem to have all concerts in it (they didn't have The Kingdom when I looked!)
Here's a thing about the eigenharp, a.k.a the "sci-fi bassoon".
The Guardian tried to calculate how much it costs to run Spotify... and then corrected their sums shortly afterwards.
The Guardian also quoted a BIllboard report which lists the ten best ways for UK pop artists to gain exposure. I think this is fascinating. For reference, the list is:
1. Doing a guest performance on The X Factor
2. Having your music featured in a high-rotation TV ad for Apple
3. Getting added to the Radio 1 playlist
4. Having your song covered on The X Factor
5. Performing on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
6. Getting a listing on the iTunes front page
7. Performing at Glastonbury
8. Getting added to the Radio 2 playlist
9. Getting a cover story in Q magazine
10. Performance/interview on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show
Until I read this piece about someone creating an ending for Turandot, I hadn't actually realised it was unfinished. I need a bigger clue than that (for example, calling something the Unfinished Symphony!)
Tom Service raves about a film called Trip to Asia. It sounds familiar, but I can't imagine how I could have seen it, unless it's been on TV - does anyone know whether it has?
It seems there's someone collecting love stories from passengers on the 85 bus. I have to say I've never seen any of these postcards, and I've caught the 85 many times (it's the only bus that goes from the city centre to the inconvenient location of most of our rehearsals). Not that she'd get any useful stories out of me - I mostly live vicariously!
And finally, this is pretty, and very therapeutic: Wheel of Stars.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Just a perfect day
I had such a lovely day yesterday, although I feel absolutely exhausted today despite having had eight hours' sleep. I think it's probably because I spend a lot of time alone, and prolonged periods of time interacting with other people always tire me - but not usually this much! Oh well. I was determined to finally tackle my email inbox today, but instead I think I might go back to bed for a while after I've written this. (Sorry, if you've been waiting for an email reply from me! I'll get there eventually!)
It was Dr Liz's wedding, and it was fabulous from beginning to end. The photo above isn't great, but it's the only one I have - there were people in the way every other time I tried to get one! I have no doubt that there will be many proper photos available at some point.
The weather was OK - not sunny, but not too cold and not actually raining. The church was packed. The service went off without a hitch. (The brass quintet playing at the start was a lovely touch.) The evening reception featured a ceilidh - I watched more than I danced, because there kept being an odd number of people in our group and I didn't have a partner. But this was fine because I was melting as it was, so I was happy not to get any hotter! I was particularly amused to see Elaine and Gillian dancing all the dances as if they'd been doing so all their lives (which, they both admitted, they practically had) while their husbands exhausted themselves attempting to keep up :p
Our singing went very well indeed. There were six of us - two sops, two altos, a tenor and a bass (Lizzy, Claire, Amy, me, Tom and Richard) - and we did three songs a cappella. The first was the aforementioned I Was Glad, in which Lizzy was rather nervous about singing a top B flat on her own (but she needn't have been - it was spot on every time she did it), and we also did Perfect Day and Dream a Little Dream of Me. All three went down really well - there were people in the congregation mouthing the words throughout the latter two songs, which is always a nice thing to see. (In I Was Glad they mostly sat there open-mouthed, which is also encouraging!) The service was recorded, so I may be able to share mp3s with you eventually.
I felt really good about the number of people who came up to me during the rest of the day to tell me how much they'd enjoyed the singing. Most of them asked how many months we'd been rehearsing, and I don't think they all believed me when I told them we'd never sung together as a group before this week, and had only had one rehearsal. Needless to say this made me feel even more smug! And one guy - who has his own choir - was so excited about I Was Glad that he paid me for a copy of the arrangement, there and then. (He said his choir has tried it in the past and it's never really worked because the organist hasn't been good enough. And when he'd heard that this wedding would include an a cappella version with only six singers, he didn't believe it was possible.) You will understand that I very much enjoyed this whole conversation!
The six of us enjoyed ourselves so much that we were all quite sad that it's over and we have no excuse to sing together again - so if you know anyone who's getting married and has no music currently planned, let me know!
(Actually, that was one thing from yesterday that intrigued me. One of the people who came to tell me how much she enjoyed it said that it made a nice change to have something happening during the signing of the registers, because at most weddings the congregation are just left to talk amongst themselves. I was really taken aback by this, because at every wedding *I* go to, there is music during the signing of the registers.... but then it occurred to me that of course I'm usually there as one of the singers! I can't actually remember the last time I went to a wedding as just a guest - it was many, many years ago. What's your experience? Do most weddings have music at that point or not?)
P.S. Almost forgot.... When I was at Victoria Station on my way home, I was a bit baffled at the large number of people on the concourse, and even more baffled when a brass band started to play (at 11pm!) Turns out it was all in aid of the last ever train on the Oldham Loop line, which was about to depart from platform 1 when I left from platform 2. I'm annoyed with myself for not making the connection at the time (hee! I mean, the connection about the date - I did make my TRAIN connection....) because I was aware of the line being closed but had forgotten!
Saturday, October 03, 2009
We are the champions!
Yesterday was the 2009 Classic FM Gramophone Awards, for which our Gerontius CD was a finalist in the choral category, and we won! We didn't win the overall award for recording of the year, but it's still pretty good. We beat The Sixteen in the choral category, although they did win Artist of the Year!
I'm off to sing for Dr Liz in a few hours - if you're wondering why I'm awake, it's because I'm nocturnal at the moment (I often am). Just wanted to post the award news. But I may as well share my recent links while I'm here.
Gustavo Dudamel is getting a rock star's reception in LA.
Some amazing images from the Big Picture showing China's birthday celebrations. They are great at doing stuff in perfect formation. I'd love to know whether they can just all do it perfectly first time or it takes days of rehearsal!
Here's a site that has no practical use at all - but just waggle your mouse over the picture. Very therapeutic!
A bit more info about the Manchester Camerata/Venice synchronised concert.
From the "you couldn't make it up" department, the Hull City first team squad went for a walk across the Humber Bridge and saved someone from suicide as a result.
A nice article from the Independent about how a Salford school improved its results by working with the world's best orchestra.
Alex James has been conducting again, this time at the Albert Hall, and he got very nervous.
The roads are all closed in a large part of Manchester city centre next week - beware.
A friend told me about the Cragg Coiners yesterday - a fascinating story, I'd never heard it before!
And finally, I was very amused yesterday lunchtime, when two of London's tallest buildings were having an argument with each other via Twitter.
I'm off to sing for Dr Liz in a few hours - if you're wondering why I'm awake, it's because I'm nocturnal at the moment (I often am). Just wanted to post the award news. But I may as well share my recent links while I'm here.
Gustavo Dudamel is getting a rock star's reception in LA.
Some amazing images from the Big Picture showing China's birthday celebrations. They are great at doing stuff in perfect formation. I'd love to know whether they can just all do it perfectly first time or it takes days of rehearsal!
Here's a site that has no practical use at all - but just waggle your mouse over the picture. Very therapeutic!
A bit more info about the Manchester Camerata/Venice synchronised concert.
From the "you couldn't make it up" department, the Hull City first team squad went for a walk across the Humber Bridge and saved someone from suicide as a result.
A nice article from the Independent about how a Salford school improved its results by working with the world's best orchestra.
Alex James has been conducting again, this time at the Albert Hall, and he got very nervous.
The roads are all closed in a large part of Manchester city centre next week - beware.
A friend told me about the Cragg Coiners yesterday - a fascinating story, I'd never heard it before!
And finally, I was very amused yesterday lunchtime, when two of London's tallest buildings were having an argument with each other via Twitter.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Plenteousness within thy palaces
I've had a busy few days, but it's been fun. Dr Liz gets married on Saturday, and I've sorted out the mini-choir for the wedding, and I'm VERY excited about it. There are six of us, and I think we sound pretty amazing! We had a rehearsal on Sunday afternoon - the first time we've met as a group, and the only rehearsal before the day - and we all had a great time. I can't wait to see what Dr Liz thinks. Oh, and one of the things we're singing is an a cappella version of "I Was Glad", which no-one really thought would work - but it does! It sounded great in Claire's front room - I'm hoping it will be even more impressive in the church acoustic.
(We'd expected to end up giggling in "I Was Glad", but we didn't - the most amusing part of the rehearsal was actually one of the other songs, in which the sopranos have to sing a harmony part most of the way through, only getting the tune in the last two bars. The first time we tried it was HILARIOUS - they were very unsure of their parts, but when it got to the final two bars, they both eagerly sang as loudly as they possibly could. It's still making me smirk thinking about it - maybe you had to be there!)
I had fun last night because a friend bought me the 4-track iPhone app as an early birthday present, so I was experimenting. At first I was discouraged because it seemed as if it wouldn't work unless I had a microphone that would connect to the phone - I have several mics, but none that would connect, so that would have been no good. But it turns out that it works brilliantly with just the built-in mic on the phone itself. The only problem, if you're using the tracks for singing, is that you need to be able to hear the OTHER tracks you've already recorded while you're recording each new track, and the only way to do this is to plug in headphones, and even then it's really difficult to hear. So tuning can easily become an issue. (Keeping the beat is no problem, because there's a metronome that you can set up, and the clicking doesn't come out on the final recording.) It'd be fine if you were playing an instrument rather than singing, but unfortunately it'll be mainly singing I'll want to use it for. But it's still useful for rough recordings. (I'll make one for you and post it, so you can see what I mean.)
I enjoyed the last episode of Gareth Malone's community choir thing, in which he organised a festival which was attended by the entire population of the town, as far as I could see. What was particularly nice was that they actually showed a performance of a full song, with no interview clips in the middle and no commentary over the top of it. It's sad that this is a remarkable occurrence, but there you go! And as a nice postscript to the series, the choir begged Gareth to stay longer than he'd planned, and he agreed. (They have a website too.) There's a nice article by Norman Lebrecht about the series, and another one on the Radio 3 blog.
Tom Service at the Guardian has an interesting interview with Bernard Haitink.
ENO are looking for people to take part in Messiah - but not singers or instrumentalists!
Via J-Walk blog, the strangest thing I've seen in a while: Concert Hands: "a revolutionary product that allows you to play the piano in hours". *boggle*
During last week's Kingdom rehearsal, there was some discussion of a statue I'd never heard of, so I looked it up: the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (clearer picture here).
The Guardian brings to our attention the effect of changes in copyright law on session musicians.
The LA Phil website has a conducting game in which you can pretend you are Gustavo Dudamel. You can download it as a free app if you have an iPhone (you then conduct by waving the phone around!) - the non-phone game on the website is nowhere near as much fun, sadly.
The Manchester Camerata are doing a live synchronised concert with a group in Venice. Interesting idea. Hope it works a bit better than that time we sang in the Last Night of the Proms and we were supposed to be synchronised with the orchestra in the Albert Hall....
I'm fascinated by this: I mentioned to a friend yesterday that I was on my way to Gorton for a wedding rehearsal, and I was a bit taken aback when she immediately said "Gorton girls know all the words to songs by Chaka Khan"! Turns out this is a famous piece of graffiti that appears all over Manchester. I've never seen it myself, but I will be looking out for it from now on!
Talking of Manchester things, don't forget it's the Manchester Food and Drink Festival soon.
Did you know you can now borrow books from any library if you're a member of a different library? I like this idea. (I was in my local library today, actually, teaching my Silver Surfers class, and the librarian asked us to fill in a survey. One of the questions asked what effect my library use had had on my personal relationships, which seemed a bit of an odd thing to ask!)
I recently discovered the Rands in Repose blog, and I particularly like the article about book stalking and the one about people networking.
And finally - the always-wonderful Big Picture has some great photos of a recent dust storm in Australia. I don't think I saw this even mentioned on the news over here, but it looks like a big deal!
(We'd expected to end up giggling in "I Was Glad", but we didn't - the most amusing part of the rehearsal was actually one of the other songs, in which the sopranos have to sing a harmony part most of the way through, only getting the tune in the last two bars. The first time we tried it was HILARIOUS - they were very unsure of their parts, but when it got to the final two bars, they both eagerly sang as loudly as they possibly could. It's still making me smirk thinking about it - maybe you had to be there!)
I had fun last night because a friend bought me the 4-track iPhone app as an early birthday present, so I was experimenting. At first I was discouraged because it seemed as if it wouldn't work unless I had a microphone that would connect to the phone - I have several mics, but none that would connect, so that would have been no good. But it turns out that it works brilliantly with just the built-in mic on the phone itself. The only problem, if you're using the tracks for singing, is that you need to be able to hear the OTHER tracks you've already recorded while you're recording each new track, and the only way to do this is to plug in headphones, and even then it's really difficult to hear. So tuning can easily become an issue. (Keeping the beat is no problem, because there's a metronome that you can set up, and the clicking doesn't come out on the final recording.) It'd be fine if you were playing an instrument rather than singing, but unfortunately it'll be mainly singing I'll want to use it for. But it's still useful for rough recordings. (I'll make one for you and post it, so you can see what I mean.)
I enjoyed the last episode of Gareth Malone's community choir thing, in which he organised a festival which was attended by the entire population of the town, as far as I could see. What was particularly nice was that they actually showed a performance of a full song, with no interview clips in the middle and no commentary over the top of it. It's sad that this is a remarkable occurrence, but there you go! And as a nice postscript to the series, the choir begged Gareth to stay longer than he'd planned, and he agreed. (They have a website too.) There's a nice article by Norman Lebrecht about the series, and another one on the Radio 3 blog.
Tom Service at the Guardian has an interesting interview with Bernard Haitink.
ENO are looking for people to take part in Messiah - but not singers or instrumentalists!
Via J-Walk blog, the strangest thing I've seen in a while: Concert Hands: "a revolutionary product that allows you to play the piano in hours". *boggle*
During last week's Kingdom rehearsal, there was some discussion of a statue I'd never heard of, so I looked it up: the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (clearer picture here).
The Guardian brings to our attention the effect of changes in copyright law on session musicians.
The LA Phil website has a conducting game in which you can pretend you are Gustavo Dudamel. You can download it as a free app if you have an iPhone (you then conduct by waving the phone around!) - the non-phone game on the website is nowhere near as much fun, sadly.
The Manchester Camerata are doing a live synchronised concert with a group in Venice. Interesting idea. Hope it works a bit better than that time we sang in the Last Night of the Proms and we were supposed to be synchronised with the orchestra in the Albert Hall....
I'm fascinated by this: I mentioned to a friend yesterday that I was on my way to Gorton for a wedding rehearsal, and I was a bit taken aback when she immediately said "Gorton girls know all the words to songs by Chaka Khan"! Turns out this is a famous piece of graffiti that appears all over Manchester. I've never seen it myself, but I will be looking out for it from now on!
Talking of Manchester things, don't forget it's the Manchester Food and Drink Festival soon.
Did you know you can now borrow books from any library if you're a member of a different library? I like this idea. (I was in my local library today, actually, teaching my Silver Surfers class, and the librarian asked us to fill in a survey. One of the questions asked what effect my library use had had on my personal relationships, which seemed a bit of an odd thing to ask!)
I recently discovered the Rands in Repose blog, and I particularly like the article about book stalking and the one about people networking.
And finally - the always-wonderful Big Picture has some great photos of a recent dust storm in Australia. I don't think I saw this even mentioned on the news over here, but it looks like a big deal!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Welcome to Manchester
I'm mainly posting today to correct an error in a recent post, but I couldn't resist the title! Many of you will be aware of the controversy caused by the billboard poster that appeared just after Carlos Tevez moved from City to United a few months ago. Yesterday the teams played each other at Old Trafford, and the fans unfurled a banner in reply (above), except that this one was able to mention the silverware United had won, thus rubbing in the fact that City haven't won anything since 1976 :-)
The match was very exciting indeed, and could have gone either way, but United won 4-3 in the end, courtesy of a Michael Owen goal in the 95th minute. This being the case, I expect the police will be even more worried about what might happen on Wednesday (23rd September), when both teams are at home on the same night. This is the main reason for me posting today - I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but for some reason I told you that these matches are on 23rd *October*, and they're not. (United are at home on Wednesday 30th September too.)
I watched Gareth Malone trying to teach Barber's Agnus Dei to his community choir, did you? (Oh, and later the same night he presented How a Choir Works, which was not quite as interesting as I'd hoped but DID feature a bit of our very own scratch performance of Spem in Alium, conducted by David Lawrence.) I was very unconvinced by his reasons for why this was the best thing for them to try for their FIRST EVER CLASSICAL PIECE, and he did actually seem to have doubts later on, but they did perform it, and it was better than you might think... although I got the impression that the community choir was only singing in 4 parts rather than 8. The commentary mentioned - VERY briefly - that some members of another choir joined the community choir for the performance so that all the parts could be there, but they didn't show ANY rehearsals with that happening, so it was very glossed over. Oh, and he also has a kids' community choir, and he got a few of them to join the adult choir so they could sing the very high notes that the sopranos in the adult choir were scared of, but I have no problem with that because they didn't try to hide what they were doing in THAT case. The rest of it, though... it just seems so odd that they would choose such a hard piece and then hide the full details of how they got away with it. Why not just choose something slightly easier?
Anyway, a few links.
This made me laugh a lot: a story about how a Tesco employee got in trouble over being a Jedi. The last line is my favourite.
It's a couple of days late for this year, but as a reference guide for the future, here are some hints on how to talk like a pirate.
You've probably seen all the recent fuss about how the new London tube map has no river on it (Boris is trying to get them to change it back) but here's an even simpler one.
I forgot to mention that our Gerontius recording is up for a Gramophone award.
Elbow played another Manchester gig the other day, and they think they might have set a world record for biggest backing choir.
I really, really, really, really want this, but it costs £5.99: a 4-track recorder for the iPhone!
And finally, I hadn't previously realised that there was a BBC Music Blog, but I've added it to my soundbar now I do.
Friday, September 18, 2009
These men are full of new wine
Still rehearsing The Kingdom, which I think I must be enjoying more than I expected, given that I've had bits of it on the brain all week! It's still not my favourite piece, but it does have quite a few bits I really like. Actually, I think its bittiness is possibly the main thing I don't like about it.
There was a bit of seating chaos this week - if anyone had looked at the area of the choir in which I was sitting at the end of the rehearsal, they would have wondered how on earth we ended up in the formation we did. It was a real mess! The first cause was that we started the rehearsal with the ladies in the main hall and the men in the tea room, and it was only tutti after the break, so everyone had to move seats. This always causes problems! But I think more of the problem was caused by the fact that sometimes we sit with choir 1 at the front and choir 2 at the back, and sometimes we sit in wedges so that both parts have people on the front row. Last week the seating plan told us to sit in wedges, but this week there was no indication as to how we should sit, so the 1st altos defaulted to all sitting at the front (which has been more common in the past) while the 2nd altos attempted to follow last week's instruction and sit in a wedge... and also people hadn't moved across far enough to let the basses sit in their places... so there was a huge crush in our corner, and a whole row of empty seats at the back of the 1st altos, and we were trying to get some 1sts to move there but they didn't realise, and then the rehearsal started so we all just kind of sat in a huddle. And to make matters worse, we had to stand up a few times, and lots of us 2nds are quite short, and we can't see the conductor AT ALL when we're standing up, unless we're at a venue with tiered seating.
I can't believe I wrote so much about that. It wasn't actually a huge deal!
Anyway, a few links for you. But first, please can I repeat my request from last week? Do any of you know of a swing band or big band in Manchester or Salford or Cheshire, which is accepting new members? The person who asked me is a Grade 8+ tenor sax player who is keen to find a band to play with, and I have been unable to come up with any suggestions.
The BBC Music Magazine rounded up the Proms season and said that our Mendelssohn 2 was their best new discovery.
Here's a lovely post about performing the American national anthem. I really like this.
A very interesting and detailed review - by someone who describes himself as an audiophile - of the recently-released remastered Beatles albums.
If you didn't sign up to Spotify any of the first few times I told you about it, you've missed your chance for the moment (unless you sign up for the non-free premium version). Due to hugely increased demand, they've reinstated their invite-only system, which means that for the time being you can't sign up unless you have an invite from someone who's already signed up. And before you ask, I can't give anyone an invite, presumably because I only have the free version myself. Those of you who DID sign up when I advised you to can now feel smug :-)
There are going to be ghost hunters at Chet's! I never saw a ghost when I was there, but every so often someone would insist they'd seen the Grey Lady.
There's a plan to make St Peter's Square traffic-free - hope they fix Metrolink before they do that!
The Guardian is outraged about the sacking of the guy who reads the shipping forecast - and so am I, now I've read what they say.
There are only allowed to be three days of heavy snow this winter - Calderdale Council says so.
While running my Silver Surfers courses, I've usually started by explaining to each new group how the internet works, and they're always amazed to hear about the broadband cables that run under the sea to connect continents etc. together. I've found that it's not just my silver surfer students who don't know that these exist, so you may be interested in this picture of where the cables are. (Note: when you load the page it shows you the 1999 cables - drag the slider at the bottom to show where they are in 2009.)
I like the simplicity of this: howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com.
And finally, a café in Westhoughton has been famous right across the internet this week, because of its £10 breakfast.
EDIT: Almost forgot! This weekend is the 24-hour race on the Marine Lake at Southport - 12 noon on Saturday to 12 noon on Sunday. Go and watch a bit of it if you're in the area. But, more importantly, don't forget that Saturday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrrrgh!
There was a bit of seating chaos this week - if anyone had looked at the area of the choir in which I was sitting at the end of the rehearsal, they would have wondered how on earth we ended up in the formation we did. It was a real mess! The first cause was that we started the rehearsal with the ladies in the main hall and the men in the tea room, and it was only tutti after the break, so everyone had to move seats. This always causes problems! But I think more of the problem was caused by the fact that sometimes we sit with choir 1 at the front and choir 2 at the back, and sometimes we sit in wedges so that both parts have people on the front row. Last week the seating plan told us to sit in wedges, but this week there was no indication as to how we should sit, so the 1st altos defaulted to all sitting at the front (which has been more common in the past) while the 2nd altos attempted to follow last week's instruction and sit in a wedge... and also people hadn't moved across far enough to let the basses sit in their places... so there was a huge crush in our corner, and a whole row of empty seats at the back of the 1st altos, and we were trying to get some 1sts to move there but they didn't realise, and then the rehearsal started so we all just kind of sat in a huddle. And to make matters worse, we had to stand up a few times, and lots of us 2nds are quite short, and we can't see the conductor AT ALL when we're standing up, unless we're at a venue with tiered seating.
I can't believe I wrote so much about that. It wasn't actually a huge deal!
Anyway, a few links for you. But first, please can I repeat my request from last week? Do any of you know of a swing band or big band in Manchester or Salford or Cheshire, which is accepting new members? The person who asked me is a Grade 8+ tenor sax player who is keen to find a band to play with, and I have been unable to come up with any suggestions.
The BBC Music Magazine rounded up the Proms season and said that our Mendelssohn 2 was their best new discovery.
Here's a lovely post about performing the American national anthem. I really like this.
A very interesting and detailed review - by someone who describes himself as an audiophile - of the recently-released remastered Beatles albums.
If you didn't sign up to Spotify any of the first few times I told you about it, you've missed your chance for the moment (unless you sign up for the non-free premium version). Due to hugely increased demand, they've reinstated their invite-only system, which means that for the time being you can't sign up unless you have an invite from someone who's already signed up. And before you ask, I can't give anyone an invite, presumably because I only have the free version myself. Those of you who DID sign up when I advised you to can now feel smug :-)
There are going to be ghost hunters at Chet's! I never saw a ghost when I was there, but every so often someone would insist they'd seen the Grey Lady.
There's a plan to make St Peter's Square traffic-free - hope they fix Metrolink before they do that!
The Guardian is outraged about the sacking of the guy who reads the shipping forecast - and so am I, now I've read what they say.
There are only allowed to be three days of heavy snow this winter - Calderdale Council says so.
While running my Silver Surfers courses, I've usually started by explaining to each new group how the internet works, and they're always amazed to hear about the broadband cables that run under the sea to connect continents etc. together. I've found that it's not just my silver surfer students who don't know that these exist, so you may be interested in this picture of where the cables are. (Note: when you load the page it shows you the 1999 cables - drag the slider at the bottom to show where they are in 2009.)
I like the simplicity of this: howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com.
And finally, a café in Westhoughton has been famous right across the internet this week, because of its £10 breakfast.
EDIT: Almost forgot! This weekend is the 24-hour race on the Marine Lake at Southport - 12 noon on Saturday to 12 noon on Sunday. Go and watch a bit of it if you're in the area. But, more importantly, don't forget that Saturday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrrrgh!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Seek first the Kingdom
First choir rehearsal of the new season last night, and it felt really weird. Several old friends returned, but several OTHER old friends have left. I know things have to move forward but it'll be a while before we're used to this change, I think!
In a way it's a pity it's The Kingdom that we're starting with this year, because I have to admit it's not one of my favourite pieces, although it does have some good bits. (Quick summary for those who don't know it - it's about what the apostles do after the Ascension. Longer summary here.) Lots of us bought our own copies of the score last time we did it, and I know I wasn't the only one who kept finding quotes I'd written in the margins. Here are a few of them (note: these may not mean much to you if you don't know who's being quoted - and I can't say who it is - but those who DO know who it is will smile!):
"Have you thought about that part of your body today? Why not?"
"We don't do diction here - we do words."
"Altos, this is where your chests come into their own."
"Sing the end loud, but piano."
"Gonzo chicken bit." (I have NO IDEA!)
"It shouldn't really sound like Flanders and Swann, but it does."
"In cricket they have a thing called the TFC award. It means 'thanks for coming'. Tenors, you just won it."
"Sing as if you've got a rhino horn." (a soprano suggests he means a unicorn horn) "No, I'm talking about the TYPE of horn, not the position."
"I've always wondered why 'monosyllable' has so many of them."
"Hulme Bridge bit!"
"Eddie Izzard, 2nd clarinet sketch."
("Where are we breathing?") "You know what, I was actually hoping 'never'."
"When you've got two notes together which are the same pitch, the first of which is correct and the second of which is not... I'm not sure I can help you."
"What I think you need to do is be a little more ambitious, pitch-wise."
Tonight, by way of a change, I had another rehearsal, this time for a wedding at which I'm singing (along with some other Pleiades) on Saturday. I have a bit of a curse on Pleiades rehearsals - someone is almost ALWAYS ill or unavailable at the last minute. Tonight no-one was ill, but there was an accident on the M60 which meant that the whole motorway was closed after junction 17, which is where we had to come off to pick Lindsey up. I've never seen anything like it - it took us 45 minutes to get from the start of the J17 sliproad to the far side of the J17 roundabout. The police were trying to clear the bit of motorway UNDER the roundabout by bringing traffic up the other sliproad the wrong way. This traffic was being added to an already gridlocked roundabout. Unsurprisingly a few people tried to get away by driving across the grass verges. Total chaos.
(EDIT: Turns out a minibus had overturned.)
Anyway, we were already stupidly late by the time we got to Lindsey's in Whitefield, so plan A, which was to go to Claire's in Chorlton, had to be abandoned, because there was no way to do it without crossing the motorway, and there was gridlock as far as the eye could see in every direction. So we rehearsed at Lindsey's without Claire. It'll all be fine on the day though - it's not as if Claire doesn't know the songs. Maybe one day I'll organise a rehearsal that's not cursed!
(I'm praying my curse doesn't extend to the mini-choir I'm organising for Dr Liz's wedding - the rehearsal is organised, although it took SEVEN WEEKS between the first time I asked the singers about their availability to the final confirmation! Very much looking forward to that rehearsal though - some fun arrangements to try!)
I'm still enjoying The Choir, although I would have liked to see more of how he taught them to sing in harmony and less of the ANNOYING INTERVIEWS. And I'm a bit suspicious of the fact that when he decided he didn't have enough men, and the ones he had were a bit woolly, he miraculously managed to find a load more really good ones. But while I'm mentioning the programme, I should remind you about the BBC's Sing page, which includes both The Choir and the Sing Hallelujah project. They also have a new Performing Arts Fund which may be of interest to those of you who run your own choirs. (I found out about this via A Cappella News.)
EDIT: I just looked at the Radio Times and discovered that next week Gareth wants his choir to try something classical, so they will be singing the BARBER AGNUS DEI. *boggle* Because that's an obvious, easy first piece to try.... right? I suspect they won't show much of how he actually does it!
The MEN tells us that this year's Manchester International Festival was a big hit. And also that the Opera House North thingy will be split between the Palace and the Lowry.
Talking of things moving north, the London Evening Standard points out that because most of the BBC's sports staff are moving up here, they'll have a £3 million bill getting them all back to London for the Olympics. Good planning, eh?
Here's a nice feature about the fact that it's 40 years ago this month that Chet's became a music school.
There is an interesting looking free festival in Piccadilly Gardens next weekend - Platform 4 Piccadilly. (Note: despite the name, it's not at the station.)
In other wacky Manchester news, Urbis is to be recreated as an ice sculpture. (A friend of mine works in an office that was involved in the decision as to whether or not this would happen, and he had me in tears of laughter describing their discussion about where one might obtain a jelly mould of Urbis. I can't remember now why it was so funny - I suspect you had to be there!)
Has anyone had a go at Beatles Rock Band yet? It came out on Wednesday. I don't own a Wii etc. so I'll have to wait to try it at a friend's house, but the plans to do so are already in place. Should be fun! Oh, and here's an interesting article about whether or not Guitar Hero is discouraging people from playing ACTUAL guitars.
A thought-provoking list of 50 things that are being killed by the internet.
Members of my choir may be interested to know that on 23rd September both United AND City are playing at home, and both games kick off at 8pm. Oh, and United are also at home on 30th September. (I've given up maintaining my own online schedule because I don't think anyone's looked at it in ages - if I'm wrong about that, please tell me, because it would be easy to reinstate it! - so I'll just mention football fixtures here.)
Oh, and a final question, which I was asked last week but didn't know the answer to: do any of you know of a swing band or big band in Manchester or Salford or Cheshire, which is accepting new members? The person who asked me is a Grade 8+ tenor sax player who is keen to find a band to play with.
Yet again I seem to be months behind with my email, which is a bit ridiculous considering I've also been unemployed for months and therefore at home most of the time! I do intend to try to clear the backlog soon, though, so if I owe you an email, sorry for the delay and I hope to get to you soon.
In a way it's a pity it's The Kingdom that we're starting with this year, because I have to admit it's not one of my favourite pieces, although it does have some good bits. (Quick summary for those who don't know it - it's about what the apostles do after the Ascension. Longer summary here.) Lots of us bought our own copies of the score last time we did it, and I know I wasn't the only one who kept finding quotes I'd written in the margins. Here are a few of them (note: these may not mean much to you if you don't know who's being quoted - and I can't say who it is - but those who DO know who it is will smile!):
"Have you thought about that part of your body today? Why not?"
"We don't do diction here - we do words."
"Altos, this is where your chests come into their own."
"Sing the end loud, but piano."
"Gonzo chicken bit." (I have NO IDEA!)
"It shouldn't really sound like Flanders and Swann, but it does."
"In cricket they have a thing called the TFC award. It means 'thanks for coming'. Tenors, you just won it."
"Sing as if you've got a rhino horn." (a soprano suggests he means a unicorn horn) "No, I'm talking about the TYPE of horn, not the position."
"I've always wondered why 'monosyllable' has so many of them."
"Hulme Bridge bit!"
"Eddie Izzard, 2nd clarinet sketch."
("Where are we breathing?") "You know what, I was actually hoping 'never'."
"When you've got two notes together which are the same pitch, the first of which is correct and the second of which is not... I'm not sure I can help you."
"What I think you need to do is be a little more ambitious, pitch-wise."
Tonight, by way of a change, I had another rehearsal, this time for a wedding at which I'm singing (along with some other Pleiades) on Saturday. I have a bit of a curse on Pleiades rehearsals - someone is almost ALWAYS ill or unavailable at the last minute. Tonight no-one was ill, but there was an accident on the M60 which meant that the whole motorway was closed after junction 17, which is where we had to come off to pick Lindsey up. I've never seen anything like it - it took us 45 minutes to get from the start of the J17 sliproad to the far side of the J17 roundabout. The police were trying to clear the bit of motorway UNDER the roundabout by bringing traffic up the other sliproad the wrong way. This traffic was being added to an already gridlocked roundabout. Unsurprisingly a few people tried to get away by driving across the grass verges. Total chaos.
(EDIT: Turns out a minibus had overturned.)
Anyway, we were already stupidly late by the time we got to Lindsey's in Whitefield, so plan A, which was to go to Claire's in Chorlton, had to be abandoned, because there was no way to do it without crossing the motorway, and there was gridlock as far as the eye could see in every direction. So we rehearsed at Lindsey's without Claire. It'll all be fine on the day though - it's not as if Claire doesn't know the songs. Maybe one day I'll organise a rehearsal that's not cursed!
(I'm praying my curse doesn't extend to the mini-choir I'm organising for Dr Liz's wedding - the rehearsal is organised, although it took SEVEN WEEKS between the first time I asked the singers about their availability to the final confirmation! Very much looking forward to that rehearsal though - some fun arrangements to try!)
I'm still enjoying The Choir, although I would have liked to see more of how he taught them to sing in harmony and less of the ANNOYING INTERVIEWS. And I'm a bit suspicious of the fact that when he decided he didn't have enough men, and the ones he had were a bit woolly, he miraculously managed to find a load more really good ones. But while I'm mentioning the programme, I should remind you about the BBC's Sing page, which includes both The Choir and the Sing Hallelujah project. They also have a new Performing Arts Fund which may be of interest to those of you who run your own choirs. (I found out about this via A Cappella News.)
EDIT: I just looked at the Radio Times and discovered that next week Gareth wants his choir to try something classical, so they will be singing the BARBER AGNUS DEI. *boggle* Because that's an obvious, easy first piece to try.... right? I suspect they won't show much of how he actually does it!
The MEN tells us that this year's Manchester International Festival was a big hit. And also that the Opera House North thingy will be split between the Palace and the Lowry.
Talking of things moving north, the London Evening Standard points out that because most of the BBC's sports staff are moving up here, they'll have a £3 million bill getting them all back to London for the Olympics. Good planning, eh?
Here's a nice feature about the fact that it's 40 years ago this month that Chet's became a music school.
There is an interesting looking free festival in Piccadilly Gardens next weekend - Platform 4 Piccadilly. (Note: despite the name, it's not at the station.)
In other wacky Manchester news, Urbis is to be recreated as an ice sculpture. (A friend of mine works in an office that was involved in the decision as to whether or not this would happen, and he had me in tears of laughter describing their discussion about where one might obtain a jelly mould of Urbis. I can't remember now why it was so funny - I suspect you had to be there!)
Has anyone had a go at Beatles Rock Band yet? It came out on Wednesday. I don't own a Wii etc. so I'll have to wait to try it at a friend's house, but the plans to do so are already in place. Should be fun! Oh, and here's an interesting article about whether or not Guitar Hero is discouraging people from playing ACTUAL guitars.
A thought-provoking list of 50 things that are being killed by the internet.
Members of my choir may be interested to know that on 23rd September both United AND City are playing at home, and both games kick off at 8pm. Oh, and United are also at home on 30th September. (I've given up maintaining my own online schedule because I don't think anyone's looked at it in ages - if I'm wrong about that, please tell me, because it would be easy to reinstate it! - so I'll just mention football fixtures here.)
Oh, and a final question, which I was asked last week but didn't know the answer to: do any of you know of a swing band or big band in Manchester or Salford or Cheshire, which is accepting new members? The person who asked me is a Grade 8+ tenor sax player who is keen to find a band to play with.
Yet again I seem to be months behind with my email, which is a bit ridiculous considering I've also been unemployed for months and therefore at home most of the time! I do intend to try to clear the backlog soon, though, so if I owe you an email, sorry for the delay and I hope to get to you soon.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Big name signing for Hull!
You may remember my fascination with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (note: that's an old post and some of the links no longer work). Well, I was upset recently to discover he'd been released by Celtic... but all is now well, because Hull City have just bought him. So we'll see him on Match of the Day!
(Talking of links not working, I've had a few problems with my online mp3s... the server on which I've always stored them belongs to a friend, who's let me use it for free as a favour. He's had some technical issues, which have meant that that server has been offline for a few months now. I'm trying to find a solution, but for the moment all my mp3s are offline, sorry. I hope to be able to get things sorted in time to give you mp3s of The Kingdom, but in the meantime you can find it on Spotify. (In theory, if you have Spotify installed, this direct link to my playlist should work. If you don't have Spotify installed, what are you waiting for?!?))
I've been very bad about updating here in the past year or two, I know. I just lost my inspiration. But I've resolved to try to improve, and the first step is to share all the links I've saved in the past month.
First and best: Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the pentatonic scale. This is the best thing EVER. It was being talked about all over the web a month ago, but although I saved the link, for some reason I didn't actually WATCH it till today. (If you're wondering where you've heard the name before, he's most famous for this song.)
Most of you are probably watching The Choir: Unsung Town. What do you think? I always get vaguely annoyed with things like this - it's all the little mini-interviews they insist on putting in, I think (e.g. when Gareth confesses that everything is a nightmare) - but I have ended up really enjoying the other Gareth Malone things despite this, so I'll stick with it.
A great post from the Bournemouth Male Voice Choir blog, about confidence in singing. It occurs to me that I'm usually pretty confident when actually singing (in a group, at least - far less so if I'm singing alone) - when I have a crisis of confidence (and I've had some big ones this year) it's always when I'm THINKING about singing.
I'm amused by this review of Die Walküre, which includes the line "The singers needed all the help they could get, but received none."
An interesting article which compares Handel to, well, all other composers.
This had been bugging me for ages - I kept hearing a particular bit of music all over the place, and had no idea what it was. I finally remembered to use Shazam while it was actually playing, and found that it is Escape by Craig Armstrong, and is from the soundtrack of the film Plunkett & Macleane. No idea how it ended up being used for so many other things.
The Royal Opera House is putting on a Twitter opera. I think this is silly. Much as I'm a fan of Twitter, I'm NOT a fan of desperate-seeming attempts to jump on bandwagons.
Did you know that there is now a Manchester Show Choir? I didn't, until yesterday. I'm intrigued by their plans for a world record attempt: "Manchester Show Choir will be attempting the Guinness World Record for the longest singing relay. We have to beat the current record of 202 singers lined up, who each sing one word of our chosen song. The song has to be performed in time and in tune! Wish us luck!" I found out about them because they are advertising for singers, by the way.
Don't know whether any of you will be interested in this, but there is an online thingy for arranging rehearsals.
I'm very much enjoying the Proms, although not that many have stood out. I have three favourites so far. Berlioz Te Deum has always been one of my favourite pieces - I did it a couple of times at school, and I think I've done it ONCE with an adult choir, but it was so long ago that I can't remember which choir or when. I would LOVE to do it again, but in the meantime I always love listening to it.
Also by Berlioz, the Symphonie funèbre et triomphale is another one I did at school, this time as an oboist, and I don't think I've ever heard it since, till this Prom. The sound was incredible - I'd love to have been in the hall for this.
My very favourite Prom, though, was definitely the Ukulele Prom. Such a pity this wasn't on TV! They gave the audience the option of bringing their own ukuleles, and a THOUSAND of them actually did! That was only a small part of it though. This prom made me laugh out loud several times - which is rare for a concert - but there were beautiful bits too. The eight players sang as well as playing ukuleles, and although it wasn't always the greatest singing ever, it didn't matter. In particular, they did several items which involved three different songs going on at the same time - very clever. Sadly it's no longer on the iPlayer, but I have it downloaded, and can put it on a CD for any choir members who are interested. (I'll put it online too when I have server access restored.)
Via ChoralNet, a useful post about vocal health.
This sounds great, although I haven't explored it yet: the sound archive of the British Library is now available online for free.
I'm sure you heard about the opera singer who fell into the orchestra pit but I couldn't resist mentioning it anyway!
And now some non-musical links:
There are plans for an interesting new building in Bangkok.
A useful site that I use quite often, but it occurred to me you might not know about it: Down for everyone or just me? The idea is that if you go to a website and it doesn't seem to be working, you can enter it onto this page to find out whether the website is REALLY not working or the problem is actually at your end.
An addictive online word game: Must Pop Words. Don't blame me if you get nothing done for the next hour, though!
I will be printing this out and framing it as soon as I have any ink: Tech Support Cheat Sheet.
Manchester Confidential has a walking trail of the city centre which visits lots of places significant to the lesbian and gay heritage of Manchester: part 1 and part 2.
Apparently the Manchester accent confuses devices using voice recognition technology.
My latest favourite Big Picture photo set: Californian wildfires.
I seem to have talked about Neil Gaiman a lot recently to various people, most of whom had never heard of him - but even if you know nothing about him, you'll be impressed by the library in his house.
And finally, Radio 4 repeated I Was a Child Prodigy last week, and the programmes are currently still on iPlayer, although not for long. I think anyone who was interested has probably heard them, but if you haven't, episode 2 is entirely about me and episode 5 has a few minutes about me too. (I do have mp3s of both episodes and will put them back online when I regain server access.)
Four days till the dawn of a new age for the choir! It'll be strange but exciting. I'll write again then.
(Talking of links not working, I've had a few problems with my online mp3s... the server on which I've always stored them belongs to a friend, who's let me use it for free as a favour. He's had some technical issues, which have meant that that server has been offline for a few months now. I'm trying to find a solution, but for the moment all my mp3s are offline, sorry. I hope to be able to get things sorted in time to give you mp3s of The Kingdom, but in the meantime you can find it on Spotify. (In theory, if you have Spotify installed, this direct link to my playlist should work. If you don't have Spotify installed, what are you waiting for?!?))
I've been very bad about updating here in the past year or two, I know. I just lost my inspiration. But I've resolved to try to improve, and the first step is to share all the links I've saved in the past month.
First and best: Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the pentatonic scale. This is the best thing EVER. It was being talked about all over the web a month ago, but although I saved the link, for some reason I didn't actually WATCH it till today. (If you're wondering where you've heard the name before, he's most famous for this song.)
Most of you are probably watching The Choir: Unsung Town. What do you think? I always get vaguely annoyed with things like this - it's all the little mini-interviews they insist on putting in, I think (e.g. when Gareth confesses that everything is a nightmare) - but I have ended up really enjoying the other Gareth Malone things despite this, so I'll stick with it.
A great post from the Bournemouth Male Voice Choir blog, about confidence in singing. It occurs to me that I'm usually pretty confident when actually singing (in a group, at least - far less so if I'm singing alone) - when I have a crisis of confidence (and I've had some big ones this year) it's always when I'm THINKING about singing.
I'm amused by this review of Die Walküre, which includes the line "The singers needed all the help they could get, but received none."
An interesting article which compares Handel to, well, all other composers.
This had been bugging me for ages - I kept hearing a particular bit of music all over the place, and had no idea what it was. I finally remembered to use Shazam while it was actually playing, and found that it is Escape by Craig Armstrong, and is from the soundtrack of the film Plunkett & Macleane. No idea how it ended up being used for so many other things.
The Royal Opera House is putting on a Twitter opera. I think this is silly. Much as I'm a fan of Twitter, I'm NOT a fan of desperate-seeming attempts to jump on bandwagons.
Did you know that there is now a Manchester Show Choir? I didn't, until yesterday. I'm intrigued by their plans for a world record attempt: "Manchester Show Choir will be attempting the Guinness World Record for the longest singing relay. We have to beat the current record of 202 singers lined up, who each sing one word of our chosen song. The song has to be performed in time and in tune! Wish us luck!" I found out about them because they are advertising for singers, by the way.
Don't know whether any of you will be interested in this, but there is an online thingy for arranging rehearsals.
I'm very much enjoying the Proms, although not that many have stood out. I have three favourites so far. Berlioz Te Deum has always been one of my favourite pieces - I did it a couple of times at school, and I think I've done it ONCE with an adult choir, but it was so long ago that I can't remember which choir or when. I would LOVE to do it again, but in the meantime I always love listening to it.
Also by Berlioz, the Symphonie funèbre et triomphale is another one I did at school, this time as an oboist, and I don't think I've ever heard it since, till this Prom. The sound was incredible - I'd love to have been in the hall for this.
My very favourite Prom, though, was definitely the Ukulele Prom. Such a pity this wasn't on TV! They gave the audience the option of bringing their own ukuleles, and a THOUSAND of them actually did! That was only a small part of it though. This prom made me laugh out loud several times - which is rare for a concert - but there were beautiful bits too. The eight players sang as well as playing ukuleles, and although it wasn't always the greatest singing ever, it didn't matter. In particular, they did several items which involved three different songs going on at the same time - very clever. Sadly it's no longer on the iPlayer, but I have it downloaded, and can put it on a CD for any choir members who are interested. (I'll put it online too when I have server access restored.)
Via ChoralNet, a useful post about vocal health.
This sounds great, although I haven't explored it yet: the sound archive of the British Library is now available online for free.
I'm sure you heard about the opera singer who fell into the orchestra pit but I couldn't resist mentioning it anyway!
And now some non-musical links:
There are plans for an interesting new building in Bangkok.
A useful site that I use quite often, but it occurred to me you might not know about it: Down for everyone or just me? The idea is that if you go to a website and it doesn't seem to be working, you can enter it onto this page to find out whether the website is REALLY not working or the problem is actually at your end.
An addictive online word game: Must Pop Words. Don't blame me if you get nothing done for the next hour, though!
I will be printing this out and framing it as soon as I have any ink: Tech Support Cheat Sheet.
Manchester Confidential has a walking trail of the city centre which visits lots of places significant to the lesbian and gay heritage of Manchester: part 1 and part 2.
Apparently the Manchester accent confuses devices using voice recognition technology.
My latest favourite Big Picture photo set: Californian wildfires.
I seem to have talked about Neil Gaiman a lot recently to various people, most of whom had never heard of him - but even if you know nothing about him, you'll be impressed by the library in his house.
And finally, Radio 4 repeated I Was a Child Prodigy last week, and the programmes are currently still on iPlayer, although not for long. I think anyone who was interested has probably heard them, but if you haven't, episode 2 is entirely about me and episode 5 has a few minutes about me too. (I do have mp3s of both episodes and will put them back online when I regain server access.)
Four days till the dawn of a new age for the choir! It'll be strange but exciting. I'll write again then.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Prom reviews
I'll edit this as more appear. So far there's just the Independent, who don't mention the choir AT ALL (typical!) but they did say they liked the Mendelssohn the best.
EDIT: Really nice one from BBC Music Magazine.
EDIT 2: And the Guardian liked us too!
EDIT 3: The Times liked us better than the soloists, I think :-)
EDIT 4: (via Graham) Music Web International didn't like it that much, but did like the choir! But Classical Iconoclast seemed to quite like it.
EDIT: Really nice one from BBC Music Magazine.
EDIT 2: And the Guardian liked us too!
EDIT 3: The Times liked us better than the soloists, I think :-)
EDIT 4: (via Graham) Music Web International didn't like it that much, but did like the choir! But Classical Iconoclast seemed to quite like it.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Singing under the mushrooms
Well, our choral season is over (we start the new one in a month or so) and our choral director is now our ex-choral director. The sheet of notes he gave us after Tuesday's rehearsal is very characteristic of him, and I heard a few people rightly bemoaning the fact that we'll probably never have notes quite like that again. I'll certainly be keeping my sheet.
The concert went very well indeed, and we got a great reception, although I personally made more mistakes that I have in all the other concerts this year combined. I was trying to hardly look at the score at all, and as a result I got a few words wrong and (much worse) came in a bar early at one point. But that was in a bit where the 2nd altos were singing the tenor part, so hopefully if anyone noticed they'll think it was a tenor :p
I'll post reviews as they appear, but to be going on with, here's a few reviews from the BBC website.
A few other links:
On the way back from Tuesday's orchestral rehearsal (which was surprisingly short and included a very moving speech about Sir Edward Downes) Alison and I listened to a bit of that night's Prom. Just before the interval, Stephen Hough played, as an encore, a piece that not only did we not recognise, the Radio 3 announcer didn't know either! A few minutes later, he'd been told the answer, but although we caught the title, we couldn't make out the composer's name. I looked it up when I got home, and here is Stephen playing it (at a different concert): Young Girls in the Garden by Federico Mompou.
The FT has some theories about why Glyndebourne is so successful.
The Spectator has some responses to earlier articles, including another Wagner opinion, and news of a piece which uses the acoustics of St Paul's to advantage.
BBC Music Magazine has a poll to find out which is the most popular of Holst's Planets. I'm quite surprised that Mars is (at the time of writing) only 3rd, and Venus and Mercury joint last! I'd have Saturn last, but any of the rest could be first, although I actually voted for Uranus.
Do you know what a vuvuzela is? You will next summer. There have been a few articles about this recently: four different ones from the Guardian/Observer (one, two, three, four) and one from a brass band website called 4 bars rest. The latter amused me the most :-)
Via ChoralBlog, a collection of choral humour. I've seen lots of it before, but some of it is new to me so maybe it will be to you too.
I've mentioned how much I've enjoyed recent articles by Alex James (the Blur bass player). Here's another one: this time he takes his kids to Oxford.
The Big Picture's latest wonderfulness is a collection of lightning photos. Plus, the Beetham Tower was struck by lightning this very morning!
The concert went very well indeed, and we got a great reception, although I personally made more mistakes that I have in all the other concerts this year combined. I was trying to hardly look at the score at all, and as a result I got a few words wrong and (much worse) came in a bar early at one point. But that was in a bit where the 2nd altos were singing the tenor part, so hopefully if anyone noticed they'll think it was a tenor :p
I'll post reviews as they appear, but to be going on with, here's a few reviews from the BBC website.
A few other links:
On the way back from Tuesday's orchestral rehearsal (which was surprisingly short and included a very moving speech about Sir Edward Downes) Alison and I listened to a bit of that night's Prom. Just before the interval, Stephen Hough played, as an encore, a piece that not only did we not recognise, the Radio 3 announcer didn't know either! A few minutes later, he'd been told the answer, but although we caught the title, we couldn't make out the composer's name. I looked it up when I got home, and here is Stephen playing it (at a different concert): Young Girls in the Garden by Federico Mompou.
The FT has some theories about why Glyndebourne is so successful.
The Spectator has some responses to earlier articles, including another Wagner opinion, and news of a piece which uses the acoustics of St Paul's to advantage.
BBC Music Magazine has a poll to find out which is the most popular of Holst's Planets. I'm quite surprised that Mars is (at the time of writing) only 3rd, and Venus and Mercury joint last! I'd have Saturn last, but any of the rest could be first, although I actually voted for Uranus.
Do you know what a vuvuzela is? You will next summer. There have been a few articles about this recently: four different ones from the Guardian/Observer (one, two, three, four) and one from a brass band website called 4 bars rest. The latter amused me the most :-)
Via ChoralBlog, a collection of choral humour. I've seen lots of it before, but some of it is new to me so maybe it will be to you too.
I've mentioned how much I've enjoyed recent articles by Alex James (the Blur bass player). Here's another one: this time he takes his kids to Oxford.
The Big Picture's latest wonderfulness is a collection of lightning photos. Plus, the Beetham Tower was struck by lightning this very morning!
Monday, July 27, 2009
You know when to unleash the beast
I did mean to post a bit sooner after my last post than this, but I was waiting for reviews of our 4th July gig to appear, and they never did! Such a pity - the critics don't know what they missed. Well, apart from the one from the Oldham Evening Chronicle. Oh well.
We've only sung once since then, so my main reason for posting now is to share about a million links with you. First, though, I just wanted to remind anyone reading this who's NOT a member of the choir that our Proms visit this year is this Thursday, and we're live on both BBC4 and Radio 3, and no doubt available on the iPlayer for a while afterwards. It'll be the third time we've performed the Mendelssohn this year, and I hope it'll be the best - although it would have to be AMAZING to outdo the Valencia gig. I think we can do it though!
We're rehearsing tomorrow night (well, I guess tonight really, since it's now 1 a.m.) and Tuesday night, then I'm off to London on Wednesday. It's very bad timing that my mobile phone has recently been cut off because I couldn't pay the bill - not a big problem when I'm at home, but I feel twitchy without it when I'm out of the house. Which is silly, because for the vast majority of my life I didn't own one!
Last week was a little sad - we had our last ever "normal" rehearsal with our current choral director, who leaves us at the end of this season (i.e. this week). We didn't do any Mendelssohn, but instead spent the rehearsal sight-reading various a cappella things, including Palestrina's Sicut Cervus, Victoria's O quam gloriosum, Bruckner's Christus Factus Est, Elgar's My love dwelt in a Northern land, Pearsall's Lay a Garland, and finishing with Rheinberger's Abendlied. (I say "including", but I think that's everything we did - can anyone spot anything I'm missed?) This was very good fun, and (as a bonus) proved how much better at sight-reading the choir is than it used to be. Although, we did get the comment "I think the opening section sounds better with C sharps, but I admire your spirit of experimentation..." He will be sorely missed.
So, a load of links for you! In no particular order....
I'm sure lots of you will have seen Blur's triumphant headline set at Glastonbury a few weeks ago (if you didn't, I should probably point out that they split up years ago and have been doing various successful solo things since, for example Damon Albarn's Monkey opera and Alex James taking part in Maestro, but they reformed for a few gigs this summer, of which Glastonbury was the pinnacle). I really love this article by Alex James (the bass player) in which he explains not only the feeling created by having done a really great gig, but also how upsetting it is for a musician to be asked if they "still do music". There's also another article by him in which he explains what it feels like to perform.
Here's why the critics didn't come to our 4th July gig - they went to Piccadilly Station that night to watch the RNCM thing there. Robert Beale reviews it for the MEN, and (more entertainingly) Mark Garner for Manchester Confidential.
A few days later were the two Elbow gigs, the thought of which which has been upsetting me for months (because I would have given just about ANYTHING to have been chosen to sing in the choir with them, but I was not one of those invited), but I'm a bit calmer now they've happened. Anyway, the reviews were great (and numerous!): Guardian, Observer, Independent, MEN/City Life, Telegraph, Manchester Confidential, BBC, and some great pictures (my favourite of which is above).
The thing that was theoretically the festival's main event, Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna opera, wasn't quite such a huge success, but it wasn't a disaster either. Can't say I had the urge to see it (unlike the Monkey opera, which I remember raving about at the time) but that's probably because I've never really liked Rufus Wainwright. But several of my friends (who have otherwise excellent taste) love him, so what do I know?! Anyway, here are reviews from the Guardian, Manchester Confidential, and FT.
Two updates in the ongoing saga of a Northern base for the Royal Opera House - a negative one from the BBC and a positive one from the MEN.
From Intermezzo, a theory that Wagner is kinder to sopranos than Mozart. Which seems unlikely, but there you go!
Talking of Wagner, here's a Spectator article about how someone became a fan.
Tom Service in the Guardian is unimpressed with a website called musoc.org. He's also unimpressed with the idea of live musicals without a live band.
The newest article on musoc.org discusses people who clap in the "wrong" places, and here's a BBC article that discusses this topic (which is a big issue for us after what happened on 4th July). (Thanks to Barbara for pointing this out.)
Here is an absolutely wonderful story about someone who won a prize and decided to give it away to a music teacher.
Did you hear the one about the mezzo who fell over during an opera performance, broke her leg in the fall, but continued to sing for another three hours? Clearly an alto really!
Here's a fabulous video showing an a cappella performance of Toto's Africa. The way they do the rain effect is amazing.
Apparently people are upset about Judas Maccabeus being used to open the Edinburgh Festival. I was quite startled to read their reason - I had no idea!
I'm sure you'll have heard the sad news about Sir Edward Downes. On an Overgrown Path had a nice post about him, as did the Guardian. I don't think I was ever conducted by him, but I have a very vague memory of a concert, many years ago, that he was SUPPOSED to conduct for us, but he was ill and someone else stepped in. Have I imagined that? The concert I'm thinking of was in London, possibly the Festival Hall, and possibly Delius.
Interesting piece from Peter Phillips about music composed for specific performance spaces.
Great interview with Wynton Marsalis. I particularly like the last line!
There's a new TV series starting in the USA this autumn called Glee, and it's about a high school choir. The pilot episode was floating around the web for a while, and I saw it - it's very High School Musical ish (unsurprisingly) but interested me enough that I will probably watch the first few episodes at least. It starts on 16th September, and no doubt those who are interested will be able to find ways to see it online - and if not, it's bound to turn up in the UK eventually.
Some very surprising news about 582 drummers: They beat out the same rhythm for five minutes to set a new world record. I love the quote from the Slade drummer though: "'It isn't as difficult getting to everyone playing at the same speed for this as people might think, it's getting them to stop that's the problem." Hee!
Here's a Spectator thing about moving pianos, and another about Proms programming.
The Guardian has advice for teenagers wanting to try classical music. (The Muse song they mention, in case you're wondering, can be heard here. It's a bit... surprising.)
BBC Music Magazine explains why the only way to see the Proms is to be a Prommer. And the Observer reviews a couple of last week's Proms.
I know I often rave about the Big Picture (if you don't have it bookmarked, do so immediately), but they've outdone themselves recently. I particularly love their pictures from Glastonbury, but there's also Apollo 11, the solar eclipse, and mud!
Did you know that London tube drivers are to quote Gandhi in their announcements? I'm fascinated by this. Has anyone heard any of these announcements yet?
Sadly, I didn't see the recent flower festival in Manchester Cathedral, but Manchester Confidential has pretty pictures.
I also didn't see the Manchester Zombie Walk, despite looking forward to it for ages, but the MEN has a report with a couple of pictures. It seems they didn't break the record, but that's OK because it means they'll have to try again!
The MEN and BBC update us on the current Metrolink city centre misery. And remember that the whole of the Altrincham and Eccles lines will be closed in August as well!
And finally, I'm quite fascinated by the idea of the people on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, but not quite fascinated enough to watch them. But if you want to see them, you can do so online here.
We've only sung once since then, so my main reason for posting now is to share about a million links with you. First, though, I just wanted to remind anyone reading this who's NOT a member of the choir that our Proms visit this year is this Thursday, and we're live on both BBC4 and Radio 3, and no doubt available on the iPlayer for a while afterwards. It'll be the third time we've performed the Mendelssohn this year, and I hope it'll be the best - although it would have to be AMAZING to outdo the Valencia gig. I think we can do it though!
We're rehearsing tomorrow night (well, I guess tonight really, since it's now 1 a.m.) and Tuesday night, then I'm off to London on Wednesday. It's very bad timing that my mobile phone has recently been cut off because I couldn't pay the bill - not a big problem when I'm at home, but I feel twitchy without it when I'm out of the house. Which is silly, because for the vast majority of my life I didn't own one!
Last week was a little sad - we had our last ever "normal" rehearsal with our current choral director, who leaves us at the end of this season (i.e. this week). We didn't do any Mendelssohn, but instead spent the rehearsal sight-reading various a cappella things, including Palestrina's Sicut Cervus, Victoria's O quam gloriosum, Bruckner's Christus Factus Est, Elgar's My love dwelt in a Northern land, Pearsall's Lay a Garland, and finishing with Rheinberger's Abendlied. (I say "including", but I think that's everything we did - can anyone spot anything I'm missed?) This was very good fun, and (as a bonus) proved how much better at sight-reading the choir is than it used to be. Although, we did get the comment "I think the opening section sounds better with C sharps, but I admire your spirit of experimentation..." He will be sorely missed.
So, a load of links for you! In no particular order....
I'm sure lots of you will have seen Blur's triumphant headline set at Glastonbury a few weeks ago (if you didn't, I should probably point out that they split up years ago and have been doing various successful solo things since, for example Damon Albarn's Monkey opera and Alex James taking part in Maestro, but they reformed for a few gigs this summer, of which Glastonbury was the pinnacle). I really love this article by Alex James (the bass player) in which he explains not only the feeling created by having done a really great gig, but also how upsetting it is for a musician to be asked if they "still do music". There's also another article by him in which he explains what it feels like to perform.
Here's why the critics didn't come to our 4th July gig - they went to Piccadilly Station that night to watch the RNCM thing there. Robert Beale reviews it for the MEN, and (more entertainingly) Mark Garner for Manchester Confidential.
A few days later were the two Elbow gigs, the thought of which which has been upsetting me for months (because I would have given just about ANYTHING to have been chosen to sing in the choir with them, but I was not one of those invited), but I'm a bit calmer now they've happened. Anyway, the reviews were great (and numerous!): Guardian, Observer, Independent, MEN/City Life, Telegraph, Manchester Confidential, BBC, and some great pictures (my favourite of which is above).
The thing that was theoretically the festival's main event, Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna opera, wasn't quite such a huge success, but it wasn't a disaster either. Can't say I had the urge to see it (unlike the Monkey opera, which I remember raving about at the time) but that's probably because I've never really liked Rufus Wainwright. But several of my friends (who have otherwise excellent taste) love him, so what do I know?! Anyway, here are reviews from the Guardian, Manchester Confidential, and FT.
Two updates in the ongoing saga of a Northern base for the Royal Opera House - a negative one from the BBC and a positive one from the MEN.
From Intermezzo, a theory that Wagner is kinder to sopranos than Mozart. Which seems unlikely, but there you go!
Talking of Wagner, here's a Spectator article about how someone became a fan.
Tom Service in the Guardian is unimpressed with a website called musoc.org. He's also unimpressed with the idea of live musicals without a live band.
The newest article on musoc.org discusses people who clap in the "wrong" places, and here's a BBC article that discusses this topic (which is a big issue for us after what happened on 4th July). (Thanks to Barbara for pointing this out.)
Here is an absolutely wonderful story about someone who won a prize and decided to give it away to a music teacher.
Did you hear the one about the mezzo who fell over during an opera performance, broke her leg in the fall, but continued to sing for another three hours? Clearly an alto really!
Here's a fabulous video showing an a cappella performance of Toto's Africa. The way they do the rain effect is amazing.
Apparently people are upset about Judas Maccabeus being used to open the Edinburgh Festival. I was quite startled to read their reason - I had no idea!
I'm sure you'll have heard the sad news about Sir Edward Downes. On an Overgrown Path had a nice post about him, as did the Guardian. I don't think I was ever conducted by him, but I have a very vague memory of a concert, many years ago, that he was SUPPOSED to conduct for us, but he was ill and someone else stepped in. Have I imagined that? The concert I'm thinking of was in London, possibly the Festival Hall, and possibly Delius.
Interesting piece from Peter Phillips about music composed for specific performance spaces.
Great interview with Wynton Marsalis. I particularly like the last line!
There's a new TV series starting in the USA this autumn called Glee, and it's about a high school choir. The pilot episode was floating around the web for a while, and I saw it - it's very High School Musical ish (unsurprisingly) but interested me enough that I will probably watch the first few episodes at least. It starts on 16th September, and no doubt those who are interested will be able to find ways to see it online - and if not, it's bound to turn up in the UK eventually.
Some very surprising news about 582 drummers: They beat out the same rhythm for five minutes to set a new world record. I love the quote from the Slade drummer though: "'It isn't as difficult getting to everyone playing at the same speed for this as people might think, it's getting them to stop that's the problem." Hee!
Here's a Spectator thing about moving pianos, and another about Proms programming.
The Guardian has advice for teenagers wanting to try classical music. (The Muse song they mention, in case you're wondering, can be heard here. It's a bit... surprising.)
BBC Music Magazine explains why the only way to see the Proms is to be a Prommer. And the Observer reviews a couple of last week's Proms.
I know I often rave about the Big Picture (if you don't have it bookmarked, do so immediately), but they've outdone themselves recently. I particularly love their pictures from Glastonbury, but there's also Apollo 11, the solar eclipse, and mud!
Did you know that London tube drivers are to quote Gandhi in their announcements? I'm fascinated by this. Has anyone heard any of these announcements yet?
Sadly, I didn't see the recent flower festival in Manchester Cathedral, but Manchester Confidential has pretty pictures.
I also didn't see the Manchester Zombie Walk, despite looking forward to it for ages, but the MEN has a report with a couple of pictures. It seems they didn't break the record, but that's OK because it means they'll have to try again!
The MEN and BBC update us on the current Metrolink city centre misery. And remember that the whole of the Altrincham and Eccles lines will be closed in August as well!
And finally, I'm quite fascinated by the idea of the people on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, but not quite fascinated enough to watch them. But if you want to see them, you can do so online here.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
He ain't got long to stay here
People who've sung with me many times may be aware that many of my scores have the letters "GB" written on them at various points. (Sometimes it's "GGB".) "GB" stands for "good bit", and although of course there are lots of good bits in most of the pieces we sing, only a few of them get the written warning. It is a warning, and it's to warn me that that particular bit is likely to give me a lump in my throat and/or a tear in my eye, so I need to try to concentrate really hard to sing properly. (I'm usually OK in rehearsals - it's in the performance that it gets to me.)
Concentration doesn't always work in these circumstances, so there have been quite a few concerts in which I've had to stop singing briefly because my voice was wobbling so much. It's REALLY annoying when this happens, because it means that in many of my very favourite bits, which I've been looking forward to performing, I end up not singing! Dr Liz told me on the way offstage tonight that she never gets tearful when she's singing, just when she's listening. I think I'm the other way round. There aren't many pieces that make me tearful when I hear them (a notable exception is A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, in which the entry of the brass at the end reduces me to a quivering wreck every time), but there are loads that make me tearful when I sing them.
I mention all this because I don't remember ever being in a concert that made me tearful as much as tonight's did. I'd been looking forward to it more than I can remember looking forward to any concert in years in any case, and I wasn't disappointed - it was fabulous. True, a few things didn't go according to plan - the sopranos didn't come in at all at the start of We Shall Walk, which was baffling, but the rest of us waited another beat for them, and they DID come in, and the crisis was averted and probably none of the audience noticed. And there were some REALLY stupid people in the audience. I thought my least favourite audience ever was the one we had four times at Christmas, when they would NOT stop coughing, but tonight's annoyed me more. To be fair, it was only a few of them - it was an almost-full house, and the vast majority were perfectly well-behaved. But those few thoughtless idiots totally ruined TWO pieces.
How? They were so desperate to be the first ones to applaud that they not only started the instant the music stopped - before the conductor's arms were lowered, so we never got that wonderful silence before the applause starts. But in two cases they assumed that the piece had ended when it hadn't. The first time was at the end of the Largo from the New World Symphony. The conductor, in his introduction, had really only mentioned two things - that there was a famous cor anglais solo, and that although that was wonderful, his favourite bit was right at the very end, where the double basses end the movement with a 4-part chord. (I never knew this before today, which is a bit of a shock to me because I thought I knew the New World Symphony very well indeed.) Did we hear the 4-part chord? We did not, because the I-want-to-clap-first idiots decided the music had ended in the previous bar, and applauded over the double bass chord. I mean, come ON, people - he TOLD YOU HOW IT ENDED and you still got it wrong!
But it was even worse in the second half, because we started with the Barber Agnus Dei. If you know the piece at all (or the Adagio for Strings, of which it is an adaptation) you can probably guess which is the worst possible moment for people to applaud, and of course that's where they did it - there's a huge climax about 7 minutes into the piece, and after a few moments' silence the music continues with an extremely quiet echo of the same two chords. Of COURSE the idiots applauded in that silence, thinking the climax was the end of the piece, and the quiet echo - the best bit of the piece, on which we'd worked the longest - was totally lost. (If you don't know the piece that well and want to know exactly which bit I mean, listen to this recording - the climax in question is at 6:50.)
After the Barber, there were no other applause-related disasters, so I like to think that the offenders were quietly removed and executed. I was particularly pleased that they didn't spoil my favourite piece in any way. (That was A City Called Heaven, in case you're wondering. But I'll come back to that.) So, having written for longer than I intended about what went WRONG, I suppose I'd better rectify that by talking about what went right, because it really was a FABULOUS concert, and there were many, many things I loved about it.
Fanfare for the Common Man was the first item, and it was awesome, in both senses of the word. I don't think I've ever heard it performed live before, and the sound was just incredible. After that, Lincoln Portrait, which I didn't know at all, was always going to be less impressive in comparison, but it was pleasant enough, and I was very taken with the speaking voice that the bass soloist used - very Darth Vader! I would have loved it if he'd added an extra line to the Gettysburg Address that said "No, Luke. I am your father."
The children's choir then sang At The River. When I saw that on the programme, I hoped it was the Groove Armada song, although I realised that was unlikely.... It turned out to be a hymn, and as usual Wikipedia has a lot of interesting information about it. Anyway, they sang it very well (they're REALLY good!) and I know a few members of the choir did get tearful listening to them, but it didn't move me quite that much, lovely though it was.
Then it was time for Go Down Moses (a.k.a. "the one where the 2nd altos have all the best bits"). The bit that got to me in this one was "let my people go" - every time it came, actually, but particularly the one with no crescendo. Spinetingling. The next piece was "We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace" (Moses Hogan arrangement), which I had never heard before a few weeks ago. I really love this piece, and a had a tear in my eye at several places, but mostly the very loud bit near the end where the 1st sops finally had a top G. Someone near me said she found this piece boring, and I suppose I can see what she meant, but I thought it was just wonderful.
I've already mentioned the New World Symphony, but apart from the idiot clappers it was great. It's always been one of my very favourite pieces, and hearing the Largo tonight reminded me how long it's been since I listened to the whole thing, so I'll be doing that very soon. But in the meantime, the last thing in the first half was Songs of Freedom. I love this piece too, but I've been frustrated while we've been rehearsing it because the men never seemed enthusiastic about it. Today, though, they finally sounded as if they were enjoying themselves, and the piece was transformed. And the kids were great too - they'd been practising their hurrahs and were very effective, and of course there was the cute little blond boy (I think he was called Nicholas) who sang a line on his own. He was perfect in rehearsals, but I wondered whether nerves would get to him in the performance - but he was fine. And then, straight after, was Shenandoah.
When we first heard the kids sing this on Wednesday, we all melted (at least, the back row of the altos did). But I still managed (just) to sing our backing vocal part. Tonight I could hardly sing at all - it took me several bars before I could produce even a wobble. Luckily I'd managed to calm down by the time we got to our "Glory Glory Hallelujah" countermelody, although I wasn't helped by the men sounding so amazing in the middle verse!
The train bit was the next part of the medley, i.e. We Are Coming, Father Abraham (I don't think our version included the slightly gruesome last verse!) This has an exciting accelerando as the train picks up speed, but the men never managed to do this convincingly in rehearsals - well, apart from the memorable evening when our choral director conducted them by doing train impressions.... But today they nailed it, and it was great, and then we were into When Johnny Comes Marching Home, in which the kids were again fabulous, and at the very end when they all shouted "HURRAH!" and punched the air in unison, that was when I actually cried briefly, for the first time of the evening. I'm not sure why - my best explanation is that I just LOVED that moment. (I've got a lump in my throat right now just thinking about it!) Just as well it was right before the interval.
After the break was Barber's Agnus Dei, which was sadly ruined by the idiot clappers. Other than that, it went very well, although my breathing seems to go worse each time I do it. At one point on Wednesday I was thrilled that I managed the first line in one breath for the first time ever. But I haven't managed it since, and I never managed it with any of the other lines! Oh well. (And before someone points out that we weren't EXPECTED to sing most of the lines in one breath - I know that, but trust me, we weren't supposed to be breathing as often as I was!)
Then the orchestra played Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer. Never heard either played by an orchestra before, although I know the piano originals very well, so that was fun. This was followed by Showboat (Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (in which the tenors FINALLY did their interjections convincingly) and Ol' Man River. (I haven't mentioned the soloists - Sarah Fox and Robert Winslade Anderson - but they were both great.)
And finally we were up to A City Called Heaven. I mentioned this at the end of my last post - the piece was only written two weeks ago, and it was definitely my favourite thing in the concert. Just gorgeous. I was delighted, too, that the conductor told the audience the story of why he wrote it, as I'd hoped he would (it was in the programme notes too, for good measure). (I looked up Anne Brown's obituary, in case you're interested.) I really wish I had a recording of... well, the whole concert actually, but mainly this. Although I struggled to sing the first page because our choral director called us "his beloved choir" just before we started, and I can't remember the last time I was called "beloved", so I had another lump in my throat!
Next came a bit of (appropriately enough) Porgy and Bess: "Summertime" and "Bess, You is My Woman" - both of which brought the house down - and then the conductor got his own back on the audience by starting the last piece - Battle Hymn of the Republic (Wilhousky arrangement) - while they were still applauding the previous one. It seems this arrangement is very popular in America, but I'd never heard it before we started rehearsing it, and we didn't hear it with the orchestra till Friday. As soon as I did, I knew my mum was going to LOVE it. Not that she wouldn't like the rest of the concert, but we both love march-type things with trumpets and military drums, and this was an extreme example. Such an exciting start, and the end was spectacular - and in the middle the men did another 4-part illustration of how incredible they can sound when they put their minds to it. It was all appropriately glorious.
Applause, applause, applause... and then, the encore. We only found out we were doing this on Wednesday: Steal Away. We've done it before, and know it very well, so the lack of rehearsal wasn't a problem - it sounded great the first time we tried it, so it was just a case of polishing. I was all ready to sing it really well tonight - and then, just before we sang it, he quoted the words: "steal away... I ain't got long to stay here". And I felt like such an idiot for not having made the connection between those words and him leaving, but I hadn't. And once the connection was made, I couldn't get it out of my head, and I had tears running down my face through the whole song, and couldn't sing any of it without my voice wobbling. I don't think I'll ever hear it again without thinking of tonight.
Anyway, I have a few links to share with you, but I think I'll save them for a day or two in the hope that a few reviews appear, and I'll link everything together,
Concentration doesn't always work in these circumstances, so there have been quite a few concerts in which I've had to stop singing briefly because my voice was wobbling so much. It's REALLY annoying when this happens, because it means that in many of my very favourite bits, which I've been looking forward to performing, I end up not singing! Dr Liz told me on the way offstage tonight that she never gets tearful when she's singing, just when she's listening. I think I'm the other way round. There aren't many pieces that make me tearful when I hear them (a notable exception is A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, in which the entry of the brass at the end reduces me to a quivering wreck every time), but there are loads that make me tearful when I sing them.
I mention all this because I don't remember ever being in a concert that made me tearful as much as tonight's did. I'd been looking forward to it more than I can remember looking forward to any concert in years in any case, and I wasn't disappointed - it was fabulous. True, a few things didn't go according to plan - the sopranos didn't come in at all at the start of We Shall Walk, which was baffling, but the rest of us waited another beat for them, and they DID come in, and the crisis was averted and probably none of the audience noticed. And there were some REALLY stupid people in the audience. I thought my least favourite audience ever was the one we had four times at Christmas, when they would NOT stop coughing, but tonight's annoyed me more. To be fair, it was only a few of them - it was an almost-full house, and the vast majority were perfectly well-behaved. But those few thoughtless idiots totally ruined TWO pieces.
How? They were so desperate to be the first ones to applaud that they not only started the instant the music stopped - before the conductor's arms were lowered, so we never got that wonderful silence before the applause starts. But in two cases they assumed that the piece had ended when it hadn't. The first time was at the end of the Largo from the New World Symphony. The conductor, in his introduction, had really only mentioned two things - that there was a famous cor anglais solo, and that although that was wonderful, his favourite bit was right at the very end, where the double basses end the movement with a 4-part chord. (I never knew this before today, which is a bit of a shock to me because I thought I knew the New World Symphony very well indeed.) Did we hear the 4-part chord? We did not, because the I-want-to-clap-first idiots decided the music had ended in the previous bar, and applauded over the double bass chord. I mean, come ON, people - he TOLD YOU HOW IT ENDED and you still got it wrong!
But it was even worse in the second half, because we started with the Barber Agnus Dei. If you know the piece at all (or the Adagio for Strings, of which it is an adaptation) you can probably guess which is the worst possible moment for people to applaud, and of course that's where they did it - there's a huge climax about 7 minutes into the piece, and after a few moments' silence the music continues with an extremely quiet echo of the same two chords. Of COURSE the idiots applauded in that silence, thinking the climax was the end of the piece, and the quiet echo - the best bit of the piece, on which we'd worked the longest - was totally lost. (If you don't know the piece that well and want to know exactly which bit I mean, listen to this recording - the climax in question is at 6:50.)
After the Barber, there were no other applause-related disasters, so I like to think that the offenders were quietly removed and executed. I was particularly pleased that they didn't spoil my favourite piece in any way. (That was A City Called Heaven, in case you're wondering. But I'll come back to that.) So, having written for longer than I intended about what went WRONG, I suppose I'd better rectify that by talking about what went right, because it really was a FABULOUS concert, and there were many, many things I loved about it.
Fanfare for the Common Man was the first item, and it was awesome, in both senses of the word. I don't think I've ever heard it performed live before, and the sound was just incredible. After that, Lincoln Portrait, which I didn't know at all, was always going to be less impressive in comparison, but it was pleasant enough, and I was very taken with the speaking voice that the bass soloist used - very Darth Vader! I would have loved it if he'd added an extra line to the Gettysburg Address that said "No, Luke. I am your father."
The children's choir then sang At The River. When I saw that on the programme, I hoped it was the Groove Armada song, although I realised that was unlikely.... It turned out to be a hymn, and as usual Wikipedia has a lot of interesting information about it. Anyway, they sang it very well (they're REALLY good!) and I know a few members of the choir did get tearful listening to them, but it didn't move me quite that much, lovely though it was.
Then it was time for Go Down Moses (a.k.a. "the one where the 2nd altos have all the best bits"). The bit that got to me in this one was "let my people go" - every time it came, actually, but particularly the one with no crescendo. Spinetingling. The next piece was "We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace" (Moses Hogan arrangement), which I had never heard before a few weeks ago. I really love this piece, and a had a tear in my eye at several places, but mostly the very loud bit near the end where the 1st sops finally had a top G. Someone near me said she found this piece boring, and I suppose I can see what she meant, but I thought it was just wonderful.
I've already mentioned the New World Symphony, but apart from the idiot clappers it was great. It's always been one of my very favourite pieces, and hearing the Largo tonight reminded me how long it's been since I listened to the whole thing, so I'll be doing that very soon. But in the meantime, the last thing in the first half was Songs of Freedom. I love this piece too, but I've been frustrated while we've been rehearsing it because the men never seemed enthusiastic about it. Today, though, they finally sounded as if they were enjoying themselves, and the piece was transformed. And the kids were great too - they'd been practising their hurrahs and were very effective, and of course there was the cute little blond boy (I think he was called Nicholas) who sang a line on his own. He was perfect in rehearsals, but I wondered whether nerves would get to him in the performance - but he was fine. And then, straight after, was Shenandoah.
When we first heard the kids sing this on Wednesday, we all melted (at least, the back row of the altos did). But I still managed (just) to sing our backing vocal part. Tonight I could hardly sing at all - it took me several bars before I could produce even a wobble. Luckily I'd managed to calm down by the time we got to our "Glory Glory Hallelujah" countermelody, although I wasn't helped by the men sounding so amazing in the middle verse!
The train bit was the next part of the medley, i.e. We Are Coming, Father Abraham (I don't think our version included the slightly gruesome last verse!) This has an exciting accelerando as the train picks up speed, but the men never managed to do this convincingly in rehearsals - well, apart from the memorable evening when our choral director conducted them by doing train impressions.... But today they nailed it, and it was great, and then we were into When Johnny Comes Marching Home, in which the kids were again fabulous, and at the very end when they all shouted "HURRAH!" and punched the air in unison, that was when I actually cried briefly, for the first time of the evening. I'm not sure why - my best explanation is that I just LOVED that moment. (I've got a lump in my throat right now just thinking about it!) Just as well it was right before the interval.
After the break was Barber's Agnus Dei, which was sadly ruined by the idiot clappers. Other than that, it went very well, although my breathing seems to go worse each time I do it. At one point on Wednesday I was thrilled that I managed the first line in one breath for the first time ever. But I haven't managed it since, and I never managed it with any of the other lines! Oh well. (And before someone points out that we weren't EXPECTED to sing most of the lines in one breath - I know that, but trust me, we weren't supposed to be breathing as often as I was!)
Then the orchestra played Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer. Never heard either played by an orchestra before, although I know the piano originals very well, so that was fun. This was followed by Showboat (Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (in which the tenors FINALLY did their interjections convincingly) and Ol' Man River. (I haven't mentioned the soloists - Sarah Fox and Robert Winslade Anderson - but they were both great.)
And finally we were up to A City Called Heaven. I mentioned this at the end of my last post - the piece was only written two weeks ago, and it was definitely my favourite thing in the concert. Just gorgeous. I was delighted, too, that the conductor told the audience the story of why he wrote it, as I'd hoped he would (it was in the programme notes too, for good measure). (I looked up Anne Brown's obituary, in case you're interested.) I really wish I had a recording of... well, the whole concert actually, but mainly this. Although I struggled to sing the first page because our choral director called us "his beloved choir" just before we started, and I can't remember the last time I was called "beloved", so I had another lump in my throat!
Next came a bit of (appropriately enough) Porgy and Bess: "Summertime" and "Bess, You is My Woman" - both of which brought the house down - and then the conductor got his own back on the audience by starting the last piece - Battle Hymn of the Republic (Wilhousky arrangement) - while they were still applauding the previous one. It seems this arrangement is very popular in America, but I'd never heard it before we started rehearsing it, and we didn't hear it with the orchestra till Friday. As soon as I did, I knew my mum was going to LOVE it. Not that she wouldn't like the rest of the concert, but we both love march-type things with trumpets and military drums, and this was an extreme example. Such an exciting start, and the end was spectacular - and in the middle the men did another 4-part illustration of how incredible they can sound when they put their minds to it. It was all appropriately glorious.
Applause, applause, applause... and then, the encore. We only found out we were doing this on Wednesday: Steal Away. We've done it before, and know it very well, so the lack of rehearsal wasn't a problem - it sounded great the first time we tried it, so it was just a case of polishing. I was all ready to sing it really well tonight - and then, just before we sang it, he quoted the words: "steal away... I ain't got long to stay here". And I felt like such an idiot for not having made the connection between those words and him leaving, but I hadn't. And once the connection was made, I couldn't get it out of my head, and I had tears running down my face through the whole song, and couldn't sing any of it without my voice wobbling. I don't think I'll ever hear it again without thinking of tonight.
Anyway, I have a few links to share with you, but I think I'll save them for a day or two in the hope that a few reviews appear, and I'll link everything together,
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Some people think I'm bonkers, but I just think I'm free
So, the picture above was taken four weeks ago today. It feels SO much longer ago than that. I'm not entirely sure where the time's gone, though, since I've been at home most of the time. But I realised that if I don't write this blog post soon, I'll have forgotten everything about Spain, and my list of links to share will be so long no-one will ever read to the end of it....
Actually it's probably a good thing that I've left it a few weeks before writing, because hopefully it'll help me be more concise. And, most of what I have to say is about the journey rather than the time in Valencia - I spent most of the time there in my room reading. But let's see.
(Note: this will be long anyway, I suspect. If you're not interested in the overland trip to Valencia and back, scroll down to the links!)
We set off as planned on Tuesday 26th May. Nothing much to report between home and London. We walked from Euston to St Pancras and did the obligatory pose with John Betjeman. We considered having champagne until we saw how much it cost. Plan B involved getting wine and nibbles from M&S to eat on Eurostar. Eurostar was very exciting and RIDICULOUSLY fast. I was following our progress on the map on my iPhone, and couldn't believe how fast we whizzed across Kent (or how little of London we saw on the way out - a lot more of the journey was underground than we'd expected). When we emerged in France there wasn't much to see other than fields. Sue eventually became convinced that she could see the Eiffel Tower, but none of the rest of us could. In fact, we didn't see it at any stage (on OR off the train), and we're now convinced it's actually been removed.
We emerged from Eurostar at Gare du Nord. After a lot of faffing about caused by the fact that no-one had any euro coins and the ticket machines didn't take notes, so we had to queue for ages to get Metro tickets, we eventually got on a Metro headed for Gare d'Austerlitz... and it didn't move. Turned out there was a strike on. There were lots of announcements which we couldn't quite hear, and each time, some people got off the train, but most of them stayed on. A helpful local woman advised us to stay on because the train would move eventually, and luckily she was correct.
Plan A, on arrival at Gare d'Austerlitz, where we had several hours to kill before getting the sleeper train to Barcelona, was to put the bags in left luggage and wander up to Notre Dame. However, it turned out this would cost a fortune, so we lugged them with us. It wasn't too bad, at least at first - Alison and Sue and I had large rucksacks, which meant that we ended up with sore shoulders quite soon but could otherwise walk easily, whereas Judy had a wheeled case AND a (small) rucksack, so her shoulders were fine but she was hampered by having to manoeuvre her case. Anyway, we wandered along the river in the vague direction of Notre Dame. On the map it looked as if it was quite close, but the map was deceiving, and we walked for quite a while before we could see it. Sadly we didn't have time to go inside, but it was nice to see the place anyway.
When we got back to Gare d'Austerlitz, we had a quick drink in the station bar before wandering over to look for our train. We were all a bit startled at first to see how very small the compartment was. I'd seen photos on the website, and they were quite accurate, but it felt a lot smaller with four of us in it! It was fine though, and actually it felt roomier when the beds were pulled out, even though it wasn't. There was lots of entertainment due to the fact that the corridors were so narrow you had to squeeze past anyone you met coming the other way. (The train was set up in the old-fashioned way with a narrow corridor running along the carriage and separate compartments opening off it. You know, like the Hogwarts Express.)
We'd planned to have our evening meal on the train, but when we went to investigate, it turned out that there wasn't a table available till 11pm. (The train left at 8.30pm.) This was a bit of a disappointment, because we were quite hungry by then, but there was nothing we could do, so we sat and read for a while until we could eat. When we finally did get into the restaurant, the meal was nice, but VERY overpriced for what it was, and there was very little choice. I must admit that if I'd known how much it was before I'd agreed to eat there, I wouldn't have agreed. However, the setting was amazing, so I'm glad I had one meal in there, even though it used the entirety of the money my mum had given me for the week. (Yes, I know it's ridiculous that the only money I had was what my mum gave me!)
After we ate, it was definitely bedtime - it had been a long day and we were all exhausted. The beds were quite comfortable, but annoyingly I couldn't sleep a wink. I think it was because it was so ridiculously hot. Apparently the air conditioning did kick in at some point, but I was on a bottom bunk and couldn't feel any cool air. So I lay awake all night. I did have my eyes shut, though, so it was quite restful. And I was delighted to realise, at about 5 am, that we must have reached the Spanish border, because I felt them changing the wheels on the train (Spain has a different gauge to France).
We got to Barcelona just in time for breakfast. It was now Wednesday 27th May - the day of the Champions' League Final between Barcelona and Man Utd (in Rome) - so I had put on my United shirt specially :-) I was so pleased I did this, because that morning was great as a result! Wherever I went in the city, people commented on my shirt, and it was a really nice atmosphere. The others were a bit taken aback at how friendly the rivalry was - they'd expected that me wearing my shirt would cause trouble - but I hadn't been worried. Interestingly, the first guy who talked to me was someone who was standing at the entrance to the station when we emerged. I'd been told that when we got to Valencia all the locals hated Barcelona so they'd all support United for the day, but this guy told us that this wasn't the case - if it was Real Madrid against United, everyone in Spain (other than Real Madrid fans) would cheer on United, but Barcelona don't inspire such hatred, so the rest of Spain (other than Real Madrid fans!) would cheer on Barcelona. (And he was correct, at least as far as Valencia fans went.)
We asked this guy where he recommended for breakfast. Turned out there was a cafe/bar right over the road from the station, which he said was perfect, and it was. It had the two vital things I needed at that point: 1. great coffee, and 2. a plug socket so I could charge my phone! (I'd expected there'd be sockets on either Eurostar or the Trainhotel, but there weren't, and my phone had used lots of its charge following our progress on the map.) As a bonus, the TV in the bar was showing nonstop pictures of the buildup in Rome. I like a city that has its priorities right - there was NO more important news in Barcelona that day!
After a leisurely coffee or two, we went in search of the metro station, where a very helpful member of staff confirmed the cheapest way of doing what we wanted to do. I was very impressed with the Barcelona metro system - it was clean and efficient and air-conditioned, and the stations had arty things on the walls, and even the muzak was cool - at one point there was a jazzy version of Tea for Two which we were quite taken with. It took a couple of trains to get to Sagrada Familia (the main place we all wanted to see). Eventually we came up the steps, and... WOW! The initial view of the place is absolutely mindblowing, and it just gets better after that.
We all wanted to go round and look, but we still had the problem of the bags (the left luggage at the station was closed, and the nearest alternative was miles away, so we had to keep everything with us). But it all worked out fine, because Sue and I were quite keen to sit and have a rest before going round the cathedral, whereas Alison and Judy wanted to go immediately. So Sue and I sat with the bags while they went in, with the plan being that we'd go in when they came out. As it turned out, they were longer than we'd expected and we didn't have time, but it wasn't a problem, because we knew we had time to kill on our return journey. It did mean we didn't see much else in Barcelona, but we'd never expected to, so none of us minded.
While Sue and I were waiting, we took turns popping off for a quick wander round the square. I bought some postcards and attempted to buy some stamps. In Spain you get them from tobacconists (if they don't have any where they sell postcards) but the first few places I asked said they didn't have any. The next place I tried said they DID have stamps, but couldn't possibly sell them to me because of my shirt. I couldn't work out whether or not they were joking, but they didn't give me any stamps! I got some in the end though, from a lady who had just finished wrapping up a Barcelona football shirt for a customer. That resulted in another good conversation :-)
Sue and I had a great time examining the outside of Sagrada Familia. I think it's the most amazing building I've ever seen. Only St Peter's in Rome comes close. I could tell you all the things we saw, but there are probably millions of places online that will do it better. (If you're interested, you should probably start with the official site.) Most unexpected thing we saw in the architecture: probably the bassoon. Really.
Anyway, when Alison and Judy emerged we went for lunch nearby. It was at this point that I cursed things by saying - out loud, in front of witnesses - that it was the best day I could remember having in years. Note to self: if you ever have another day as good, do NOT say so. Because before our lunch had even arrived, Judy's rucksack had vanished. She retraced her steps just in case, but was adamant all along that she'd had it when we got to the café, so it must have been stolen while we were sitting there. She seemed amazingly unruffled by this, saying that it didn't really matter because most of her stuff was in her case and everything valuable was in her handbag, but even so I would have been much more upset than she was. (In fact I *was* quite upset, because I felt as if I'd cursed the day. Yes, I know that's irrational.)
Despite this setback, we had a lovely lunch. All morning there had been people in Barcelona shirts all over the place. They vanished, of course, at the precise moment that we decided it would be nice to get a photo of one of them with me in my United shirt. But a while later, one did appear, so I hurtled across the street and accosted him. He seemed quite amused, and didn't mind being dragged across to our table to be photographed. (That's the photo at the top of this post.) When the waiters saw this, they wanted to be photographed as well, but they weren't wearing Barcelona shirts so it seemed like a good idea to wrap my United scarf round them. (See photo below.)
Eventually we got back on the metro to head back to Estació de França, and the curse struck again. There was a minor incident on the train that I didn't really see clearly, but it looked as if Judy was being pushed by someone. I'd forgotten about it by the time we got off, until Judy realised that her purse had been taken out of her handbag. This upset her a lot more than the loss of the rucksack an hour or two earlier, because there was a lot of money in it.
We'd seen a place we thought might be a police station, so Judy went in there to ask what to do. Turned out it was a Foreign Office type place, and they couldn't do much, but they did call the police in Valencia to explain what had happened, so that it would be easier for Judy to report there the next day.
After that, we got to the station. We were in plenty of time for the train to Valencia, so we sat on a bench and waited for our train to appear on the board. There was a train listed at the correct time, but the departure board didn't go into much detail, and didn't mention where ANY of the trains stopped (other than their final destination) so we weren't sure whether that train was ours.
It goes without saying that when a day is cursed, it's cursed three times... because with (I think) twenty minutes to go before the train left, we found out that that train (the only one at the correct time) was NOT our train... because our train went from Barcelona Sants instead of Estació de França! I felt terrible. This was entirely my fault. I'd been the one who'd booked all the tickets and told the others the arrangements. I thought I'd double checked everything, but I hadn't been thorough enough. (Some trains to Valencia DO go from França, but not the one our tickets were for.) The thing is, because Alison had paid for all the tickets, I gave them all to her when they arrived, so I didn't have the actual ticket to look at, or I might have noticed the station name. I can't believe I didn't notice when I *got* the tickets, though - I suspect I must have assumed that "Sants" was some sort of abbreviation.
Anyway, the urgent thing was to try to get to Sants in time. We got a cab, and it was obvious that he thought it was unlikely we'd make it, when we told him what the problem was. He did drive pretty fast, but the traffic wasn't good (and at one point there was apparently a naked guy running along the pavement, although I didn't see him!) and we got to the barrier less than a minute after the train was due to leave. Needless to say it had left bang on time.
As Judy later pointed out, if there was ONE train we were going to miss, this was the best one, because there were plenty of trains on that route, and missing ours didn't mean we missed anything else. But the problem was that I knew it would cost us a fortune. The tickets we had were extra-cheap web special offer ones, valid only on that specific train. Judy tried to talk them into letting us use them on the next train, but I knew it would never work - the conditions were very clear - and it didn't. So we had to get new tickets, which cost more than three times as much as the useless ones. And by this point, of course, neither Judy nor I had any money at all. Sue came to the rescue, although there was a bit of a panic when they pointed out that her credit card had expired (luckily she had another one that worked).
The next train was an hour later, and it was possibly the nicest train we'd been on so far (even nicer than Eurostar, and that was quite posh). I was in a black mood by then, though - I just felt so guilty that a simple error of mine had cost everyone so much money, especially because I already had no idea when I'd be able to pay the others back for the REST of the journey. I managed to distract myself a bit with Harry Potter - I'd taken all seven books with me to reread, and I think I was up to book 4 by this point. Harry always cheers me up, so I was in a better mood by the time we arrived (again, bang on time, like all our trains so far). I was quite surprised that the others still trusted me to know which way to go to get to the hotel, but they did, and in this case their trust wasn't misplaced, because it was fairly easy to find. (I'd loaded lots of maps onto my phone - it would have been easier to use the GPS map, but that involves going online, which is only free in the UK.)
We finally got to the hotel at about 7.30 pm, I think. All I wanted to do was sit down, shower (preferably while sitting down), rest my feet, rest my SHOULDERS (the weight of our bags had become a big issue by then) and eat and drink. But most of these were not an option. Why not? CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE FINAL! Kickoff was at 8.45 pm. I'd arranged to meet Claire and her husband, who'd agreed to find somewhere good to watch the match from. She'd texted me to tell me where they were, but when I looked on the map my heart sank, because it was even further from the hotel than the station was, and I knew THAT took ages. So I had the fastest shower ever, got half changed (only half, because there was no way I wasn't putting that United shirt back on, however sweaty it was... if I'd thought ahead properly, I would have brought two! I've GOT two!) and went straight out again. It's fair to say I was hobbling a bit - I suspected I had some blisters, but hadn't had time to look properly.
I made it to the bar JUST in time - the match kicked off just after I walked through the door - but I missed the first few minutes while I wandered through the bar looking for Claire, with no success. I texted her to ask where she was, but shortly afterwards she appeared at the door and took me to another bar nearby - they'd decided it was less crowded. It was indeed less crowded - but only a couple of minutes after I got there, Barcelona scored. Things went downhill from there, as I'm sure you're aware. United had only played well in the first ten minutes, and they eventually lost 2-0, and we couldn't claim they didn't deserve to lose.
It was an experience watching the game in a bar full of Spanish fans, who were cheering for Barcelona whether or not they were actually Barcelona fans, but the atmosphere was friendly. Ro and I shouted sporadically, which amused them. (Les, Claire's husband, was too annoyed with the performance to get excited about it, and Claire herself wasn't watching.) (I actually tend to squeak rather than shout, when I'm watching football.)
By the time the game ended, I was REALLY hungry, having had nothing to eat since lunch, but I had no money till I could get my per diem thingy, so it couldn't be helped. I think it actually helped that there were no seats in the bar and another long walk back to the hotel, because by the time I got back my feet and legs were aching so much that I was more bothered about getting into bed and not having to move for eight hours than about getting any food. Also, I hadn't slept a wink the previous night on the train, and I'd only slept for an hour or so the night BEFORE that, so it was definitely bedtime.
Next morning: concert day! It seemed a bit surreal that after all that travelling and non-musical activity, it was so soon. But more important things came first, name ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BREAKFAST and HANDING OUT OF MONEY. Hurrah! Food at last!
I think I went back to my room to read, after breakfast. My legs and shoulders were still aching, and I had definite blisters on my feet. And in any case I'd planned to stay in a lot - it's the best way of not spending any money. I'd decided that I could probably survive till I got home on the handout money, but this plan was based on eating as much as possible at breakfast and putting bread and fruit aside for lunch.
At lunchtime we all wandered over to the Palau de la Musica to rehearse. It's a lovely place - actually even lovelier than I thought, because I didn't walk all the way round it, and when I saw Alison's photos I wished I had. The rehearsal was fine - I was about to tell you about my favourite moment of the whole trip, but I think that was in the SECOND rehearsal (just before we went onstage) so I'll get to it shortly. The acoustic in the hall was a bit weird and it was very hard to keep to the beat until we got used to it.
I went back to read some more between rehearsal and concert, although we did go for a wander to the supermarket at some point to get snacks to keep us going till after the concert. By the time it was concert o'clock, I was already melting - I really, really hate the heat. But I forgot about it when I got inside the Palau de la Musica, because there was fabulous air conditioning, and then our choral director gave one of his inspiring speeches (I can't remember a thing he actually said now, but I know I was really inspired at the time!) and then, during the warmup/rehearsal, there was an absolutely magical moment which was my highlight of the whole trip, and which I've been trying to describe to people since.
This will sound a bit odd if you weren't there, but bear with me. It was the "ich harrete" bit, where the men sing the tune and the two soprano soloists sing backing vocals. The men knew the tune, and they were singing it in tune and with the correct pronunciation. There was nothing wrong with it at all - it sounded great - and I suspect that most other choral directors would have said "well done" and moved on. But not ours. He DID say "well done". But he wanted more. He wanted the men to sing the tune as if they were all soloists.
Now, just think about that for a moment. It's an absolutely tiny alteration that he was looking for. So tiny that it's difficult to put into words exactly what he meant (well, any words other than what I've already used). It's SUCH a tiny alteration that you'd be forgiven for not believing it would be possible for anyone to tell the difference, even if the men DID succeed in doing what was requested.
And yet.
Here's how he got what he wanted: He told them to all sing that passage together, but not TRYING to be together. They were to all sing as soloists, and as long as they all sang at roughly the right speed, it didn't matter (for the purpose of the exercise) that the rhythm was lost. He did not clarify exactly how it WAS going to work.
Well, it took a minute before they all worked out what he meant, but then they set off. He didn't conduct them at all, after starting them off. Of course, within a few seconds there was just a huge wash of sound, and no words or rhythm were audible, just mushed-up notes. The ladies looked at each other, amused, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one wondering how on earth this was going to help ANYTHING. It sounded totally ridiculous.
But then... the miracle. (Or, if you like, the proof of genius. I know which explanation I believe.) With no other input - from anyone other than the men themselves - the sound changed. Gradually we realised that it DIDN'T sound totally ridiculous; it was the best sound I've ever heard the men make. I had shivers down my spine, because they DID suddenly sound like a load of soloists. It was wonderful. By the end of it I had a big goofy grin on my face through the sheer joy of listening to that sound. We gave them a round of applause, and we were not just being polite.
In the concert, that bit didn't sound QUITE as magical as it did when they sang it without a beat... but it definitely sounded better. Which was the point, after all. I really hope that experience sticks with them until we sing at the Proms - I can't wait to hear that bit again!
The whole concert went really well, actually. We got a standing ovation at the end, which was lovely. (We often get a few people standing in Manchester, but it's extra special when it's an audience that doesn't know us, and presumably didn't include many family or friends.)
After the concert, Alison and I went out for food. We actually ended up in an Italian restaurant, which was not our intention, but it was very nice and we ate far too much. We decided to walk it off afterwards - Alison wanted to see the cathedral, and I knew where it was (because the bar where I'd met Claire was very near there) and we were at that side of town anyway, so we had a bit of a wander. The most impressive thing we saw wasn't actually the cathedral (which wasn't lit very well, so we couldn't see much of it) but an absolutely enormous tree in the middle of a square. We did find out later what sort of tree it was - it was mentioned in that guidebook that was in the hotel room - but I've forgotten now. (Here's what it looked like, though. That's me sitting on it.)
Friday was a free day, and in the morning we walked up to the City of Arts and Sciences, passing the opera house on the way. Both were spectacular. (I've only just found out that the opera house has had its problems. Seem amazing - it looks absolutely perfect now.) We did go inside the science museum bit of the City of Arts and Sciences, but I didn't find the inside as impressive as the outside, sadly (although they did have Spider-Man, which is always a good thing). Afterwards, we had some orxata (tigernut squash, a local delicacy) because a friend of Alison's had told her it was unmissable. Well, it was OK, but I don't think I'd rave about it.
We'd decided we had to find some authentic paella for lunch. This turned out to be UNBELIEVABLY difficult. I know there were paella places near the hotel, and out past the Palau de la Musica. But there were NONE near the City of Arts and Sciences - at least, if there were, they were well hidden. We looked all over the place. There were loads of restaurants, but none served paella! Eventually we decided to head back to the hotel from the place we'd got to (which was quite a way away), and if we didn't find any paella on the way, we'd give up. Well, we did find some in the end, but we were almost all the way back to the hotel before we did.
After all that walking, my blisters were playing up again, so I stayed in my room reading (and brilliantly not spending any money!) for the rest of the day and evening. (No doubt some of you will feel sorry for me, but I'm very used to my own company and was very happy to do this, so don't worry. I love to sit and read. If I sit and read at home, I'm always aware there's something else I really ought to be doing instead. I loved reading without the guilt!)
The next morning was the start of the long (but exciting) journey home. It was a lot less eventful than the outward journey, so it won't take as long to tell. Let's see... The lovely Graham agreed to squeeze the five books I'd finished into his suitcase so I didn't have to carry them. That fact made the journey home a million times easier - my shoulders hadn't really recovered from the outward journey! My only remaining concern was whether the last two Harry Potter books would last me until I got home. (I'm a very fast reader anyway, but even faster when it's a book I've read several times before.)
Sue and Judy didn't want to walk to the station, so they paid for a cab for all of us, which was nice. We were in plenty of time, and definitely at the right station! It's a gorgeous station, as well. Alison was very frustrated because she hadn't brought the charger for her camera, and it had died, so she couldn't take photos of the fantastic architecture. (That's why the last few photos are all mine, you see.) Sue and I sat on a bench, and our weight made the other end lift up, which amused the extremely cute guy who was sitting there, which in turn amused me enough to make me determined to get a photo of him - and I did (see below).
The train actually left about fifteen minutes late (the only one of all our trains that wasn't bang on time) but it had made up the time before Barcelona, so all was well. We arrived at Sants station and got the metro to Sagrada Familia, where Sue and I went inside - and were blown away by how amazing it was - while Judy and Alison stayed with the bags. We confused ourselves because we'd assumed that the bench we'd sat on on Wednesday was the same as the bench they sat on on Saturday, but it turned out it was in a whole different garden on the opposite side of the cathedral. However, it was while discussing this that it turned out Judy and Alison had missed one entire face of the cathedral as a result of similar confusion, so we won! Highlight of the day, though, was Sue looking at the architecture and suddenly shouting out "There's the cock!" It was probably funnier if you were there :-)
We had lunch nearby again - same road, different café - and then got the metro back to Estació de França and went to the Bar with the Plug Sockets (it probably had a different name but I forget what!) Sue and I sat and people-watched (and bag-watched) and had sangria, while Judy and Alison went to see Las Ramblas. I'd been told all sorts of other places that I should visit, but going anywhere else on the metro would have cost money I didn't have, and I didn't have the energy - or the unblistered feet - to walk far, so I volunteered to stay with the bags, and Sue liked the idea of just sitting and having a drink, so everyone was happy. Hopefully I'll go back to Barcelona one day. (I'll have to, I didn't even see Camp Nou!)
Alison and I had decided we weren't going to have another meal on the trainhotel, so we went to a nearby shop and bought supplies to sustain us till the next day. It was still ridiculously hot, so we got ice creams too. EXCELLENT plan, because when we got on the trainhotel it was soon as hot as last time. There was a bit of tension, too, because Sue had bought her ticket a day after the rest of us, and that meant she'd ended up in a different compartment on the return journey because someone else had already bought the fourth place in our compartment. Sue was hoping to persuade whoever it was to swap, but as it turned out we never even saw her. We saw her partner a few times, and I don't know what he'd sorted out, but the gist of it was that if we didn't mind keeping their suitcase in our compartment, Sue could stay with us, so it all worked out well.
Sue and Judy went for their meal (again, they couldn't get in before 11 pm), and while they were eating, at about midnight, we crossed the border into France, and the wheels were presumably changed again. I say "presumably" because Alison and I were trying hard to see exactly what was going on, but we couldn't be sure. We definitely stopped for ages, and they were doing SOMETHING, but we couldn't see what. When I witnessed whatever it was on the way south, I was sure the train tilted when they did it, but it didn't this time. Maybe it felt different because I was lying down? Anyway, this time it felt more as if they lifted the whole train up and then lowered it again, but I couldn't be sure.
Sue and Judy returned not long afterwards, and we all went to sleep. Well, we tried - Sue fell asleep with her light on, and I can't sleep with lights on. We were both in top bunks this time, so if I'd climbed over to wake her, I suspected I would have woken the others as well. So I had the brilliant idea of throwing things at her till she woke up, and the best things seemed to be screwed up (but unused) tissues. She did wake up eventually, and turned the light off at my request and went straight back to sleep. She was very amused when I explained to her (in the morning) why her bed was covered with screwed up tissues, because she didn't remember the incident at all!
We got to Paris in time for Sunday breakfast. The others wanted to go for a wander and have breakfast somewhere outside the station. I figured that inside the Gare d'Austerlitz was still in Paris, and it involved no walking, and my blisters were STILL sore, so I insisted on staying with the bags and had breakfast on my own on the station. (I had the last laugh, because the café they went to didn't have enough croissants for all of them!) I enjoyed people-watching - in particular, there was a large samba band that was obviously meeting up to go by train to a festival somewhere, and every time an extra one turned up, there were flamboyant greetings all round. I was also quite taken with the station announcement jingle, which had a sultry jazz-type female voice singing "da da da da" (to C G Ab Eb) before every bit of information.
When the others got back, we got the Metro to Gare du Nord, and had a coffee while waiting for our Eurostar to be announced. The trip back under the Channel was as incident-free as the trip the other way, and in no time at all we were back at St Pancras and it was time to split up. Alison was going off to Glyndebourne before she went home, and I was booked on a different train home to Sue and Judy. I'd hoped to meet up with friends, because I had several hours to kill before my train (it was cheaper to go later), but they had other plans in the end, so I did a bit more reading. That meant that I'd slightly miscalculated the number of books I needed, because I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Euston Station an hour before my train left. But all was well, because I have free internet access on my phone, so I read some books online. I finally got home just before 11 pm on Sunday 31st May, very keen to see my cats. Slightly less keen to find that my mum (who'd been catsitting) had accidentally unplugged the fridge and freezer at some point, but there was hardly any food in either anyway, and she'd cleaned the house for me, so I came out of it all pretty well!
You can see all my photos - and even more of Alison's (which are much better, because she had a proper camera and a steadier hand!) online here. But, in case you can't be bothered to look, my favourites (other than the one at the top of this post) are below. The first is us having lunch near Sagrada Familia. (That's where the top picture was taken, too.) The second is the two waiters with me and Alison, wearing my scarf (they were very amused by that). The last picture was taken on Valencia station on the morning we left. It may appear to be a photo of Sue, but I was actually trying to get the very cute guy who was sitting on the bench with us :-)
Anyway, the aforementioned million links, in no particular order:
Here's the Times review of our Valencia gig.
It turns out there's a great blog about life in Valencia - Hola Valencia. Sadly I only found out they existed while we were actually there, because they contacted me via Twitter. If I'd known earlier I would have got them to come to our concert! But do look through the blog - there are some great pictures.
Oh, and coincidentally Valencia is coming to Manchester in August! Do go to the game if you can. Valencia CF is a very good team (they finished 6th in La Liga) but they have huge financial problems at the moment, and presumably this friendly is part of their plan to make some money.
Sting talks about songwriting and school music lessons.
Via ChoralNet, a very powerful welcome address given to new music students in Boston by Karl Paulnack. He talks about the power of music, particularly after September 11th.
There are pianos being left in public places all over London at the moment. Someone from the Guardian went to play one.
The BBC Music Magazine compares the musical heritage of Barcelona and Manchester.
The new version of Sibelius (version 6) allows you to input music (to produce a printed score) by singing directly into the computer. Can't wait to try this, but it'll be a while before I can. In the meantime, version 5 does everything I really need it to, so I can be patient.
On 14th June there was a World Busk Day. They even had the first ever buskers in Antarctica. Yet somehow none of this was in the mainstream news, unless I missed it. Bizarre.
If you've ever played Rock Band, you'll be looking forward to the forthcoming Beatles Version. Most exciting part? If you watch the trailer all the way through, you'll realise that it has not just one vocal line but THREE DIFFERENT ONES. So people who can sing harmony parts - and stick to them - will have a decided advantage!
A brief Guardian editorial about office choirs.
The Spectator talks more about Spotify, which I mentioned a while ago. If you haven't signed up yet, I recommend you do!
Also in the Spectator, a piece about songs that you don't like as much as you used to.
Via Finite Attention Span, a fabulous audio story about postal workers in Ghana.
You may remember that I have written about Whit Friday in the past. This year's was on 5th June, and it was the wettest one I can remember. It was still great, though. If you know a band which was involved, look them up on the Saddleworth results and the Tameside results. And put Whit Friday 2010 in your diary - it's on 28th May.
BBC Sport lists their favourite football chants of the season.
Did you all watch the Cardiff Singer of the World? I enjoyed it, but that's probably because I didn't attempt to watch it live - I recorded it all so that I could fast forward through the interview and chat bits, which I really hate (in general, not just on this programme). As usual I was disappointed that there were no altos and hardly any mezzos, and I was annoyed that there was a counter-tenor in the final (I don't like counter-tenors at all), although he was quite good. I was also annoyed that so many of the arias were repeated so often - the baritones were the worst for this. I got very sick of Largo al factotum and that thing from Don Carlo. I think the right person won, though.
I listened to Götterdämmerung on the radio and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. The men sounded fabulous. My favourite bit, though, was the orchestral bit right near the end, and it was a bit I'd heard before but hadn't even realised was Wagner, let alone Götterdämmerung. I worked out that where I'd heard it before was on the soundtrack to Excalibur, at (I think) the bit when Arthur's died and Excalibur has been thrown into the lake, and then the Lady of the Lake holds it up in the air. It's years since I've seen this film, so I might have remembered it wrong. But I'm pretty sure the music I'm talking about accompanies a scene that's something like that. The IMDB soundtrack listing suggests it might be Siegfried's Funeral March; can anyone confirm this? Anyway, the Classical Source has a review that I don't think I'd seen when I listed other reviews.
The Choir of London took Puccini to Palestine.
The Guardian has been running an alphabetical series called School of Rock, which analyses aspects of songs. My favourite so far has been the feature on optimistic songs.
My favourite link of all the ones I'm mentioning today: The BBC Music Magazine reports that the RLPO is trying to claim that our orchestra is not the oldest in Britain. I absolutely love the quote from our chief executive - I laughed out loud for quite a long time when I first read it!
The Guardian is very excited about the forthcoming Elbow concert. They had a preview piece a couple of weeks ago, and now there's a more detailed report about rehearsals.
Here's a thing from BBC News about how singing can help seriously ill people, and another thing about how opera is good for the heart. Oh, and apparently Verdi is better for your heart than Bach. (via Intermezzo)
An interesting thing in the Guardian about the evil that is booking fees.
It seems that Brynfest made a big loss last year and this year's has been cancelled. Very sad.
And, finally, a few non-musical links. The most important is about the Manchester Zombie Walk on Sunday 12th July. Put the date in your diary! Read the comments to the MEN article for a few more details. We should have singing zombies! 4-part harmony!
Star Wars fans - particularly if they also like games - will be excited about the forthcoming Star Wars MMO, called Star Wars: The Old Republic. Watch the trailer - the game looks AMAZING. (Also, like most games, it looks like one I'd be REALLY bad at, but I'd enjoy watching a friend play.)
The Guardian is as enthusiastic as me about the Spanish rail system.
Soup o' th' Day is a new website that lists "what's on in Greater Manchester". I don't really like the layout - it's quite hard to read - but the information is up to date, and may be useful to some of you.
What does the internet think? is a new site that gives a simple answer to a simple question.
And, finally - you'll be aware, I'm sure, that United have allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to leave. Both the Guardian and the MEN describe him as "irreplaceable", and I'm very much afraid they're right, although I hope they're not. I'm particularly worried because my season ticket has now expired, and my heart is broken because I can't afford to renew it. (I couldn't afford it last year either, but there was a miracle - i.e. a well-paid one-off piece of freelance work - at just the right time. This year, there was no such miracle.) The reason I'm WORRIED rather than just upset is that I've had my season ticket for the last three seasons, and we've won the league in all three seasons. We didn't win in the three seasons BEFORE I had a season ticket. So plainly I was the lucky charm, and it's all downhill from here. Oh well.
It occurs to me that I haven't said anything about rehearsals since we got back from Spain, and they've been fabulous - but I have no energy to write in detail now! Short version: we are currently rehearsing for a concert on 4th July, which has an all-American programme that I'm very excited about. There are things we're doing that night that aren't listed on the website - another four things at least, and who knows what else (we only found out about one of the extras last night, and we haven't seen the music for it yet!) In addition to the Barber Agnus Dei (which will be mindblowing, although my breathing feels worse every time we do it) and the Songs of Freedom medley (which I really like, especially after I asked whether we could change a note in the alto part and he agreed!), we're also doing a fun arrangement (involving the audience) of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, plus three spirituals: Go Down Moses (my favourite of the Tippett set, mainly because the 2nd altos have the best part, which NEVER happens); We Shall Walk Through The Valley In Peace (which is just gorgeous, particularly the bass notes) and A City Called Heaven, which is the one we just found out about. Our choral director sang it to us at the end of last night's ladies' sectional, and it was so beautiful I had a tear in my eye. Not sure whether that was because of the song itself, or his singing, or the fact that it was his last ever sectional with us. Probably a combination of all three. But I can't wait to sing it tonight.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Faster than fairies, faster than witches
Early tomorrow morning I will be setting off on a 1400-mile train journey from my house to Valencia. The journey involves five separate trains in each direction, and I am RIDICULOUSLY excited that it's about to happen, having been planning it for so long. My mum has arrived at my house in preparation for her catsitting duties. Really I should start packing, but I have the urge to tell you all the details of the journey (sorry Libby!)
For comparison purposes, I should explain that he main group from the choir is setting off from Manchester Airport at stupid o'clock on Wednesday morning and flying to Alicante, from where they will transfer to Valencia by coach, arriving about 2pm. They are setting off again on Saturday teatime, and will be back in Manchester in the early hours of Sunday. I believe this is costing them about £265 each.
The main reason I started looking for another option was that a deposit had to be paid last autumn, and the rest of the money had to be paid in January. Neither of these was an option for me, so I was encouraged to discover that not only is it possible to make the whole journey by train, but it would be a bit cheaper, and (most importantly) we wouldn't need to pay anything until much nearer the time. As it's turned out, I still don't have any money at all (so I'm EXTREMELY relieved to find out that we will all be given some money for food while we're in Spain - I was quite worried about how I was going to eat!), but luckily I have some nice friends. My fellow altos Alison and Judy and Sue are travelling with me, and the agreement has been that I would do all the investigating and booking etc., and they (well, mainly Alison) would pay for my share on the understanding that I would pay them back when I could. So, I feel a bit guilty that so far I haven't paid anything at all, but I'll feel slightly LESS guilty if it turns out that we get to Valencia with no problems.
It should all be fine - we do have all the tickets, and we know where and when we've got to be at each place. And we will get to spend time in both Paris and Barcelona in both directions, which no-one else will! So, here's my schedule:
OUTWARD:
Tue 26th May
0745 Depart Littleborough
0814 Arrive Manchester Victoria
Walk across city centre
0915 Depart Manchester Piccadilly (Virgin Trains)
1123 Arrive London Euston
Walk or tube to St Pancras
1332 Depart London St Pancras (Eurostar)
1647 Arrive Paris Gare du Nord (Paris is an hour ahead so only 2h15m)
Metro to Gare d'Austerlitz
2032 Depart Paris Gare d'Austerlitz (Trenhotel sleeper)
Wed 27th May
0824 Arrive Barcelona Estaçion de França
1500 Depart Barcelona Estaçion de França (RENFE regional train, along the coast)
1821 Arrive Valencia Estaçion del Norte
RETURN:
Sat 30th May
1000 Depart Valencia Estaçion del Norte (RENFE regional coast train)
1339 Arrive Barcelona Estaçion de França
2105 Depart Barcelona Estaçion de França (Trenhotel sleeper)
Sun 31st May
0900 Arrive Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
Metro to Gare du Nord
1213 Depart Paris Gare du Nord (Eurostar)
1328 Arrive London St Pancras (London is an hour behind so actually 2h15m)
Walk or tube to Euston
1855 Depart London Euston (Virgin Trains)
2111 Arrive Manchester Piccadilly
Walk across city centre
2208 Depart Manchester Victoria
2235 Arrive Littleborough
Total cost: £256. So it's not MUCH less than flying, but in my opinion it's well worth it, mainly because of no-one having to pay anything until much more recently, but also because it will be so EXCITING! The trains themselves will be great (I've always wanted to travel on Eurostar, ever since the tunnel opened) and the chance to spend significant amounts of time in both Paris and Barcelona is just a bonus. Not to mention we get to sing in a concert. Whee!
Anyway, I may as well clear up some links while I'm here.
First, and most importantly, football. (What? You know you were expecting it!) You will no doubt be aware that last year, when United won the league AND the champions' league, there was no victory parade because the council was too scared after Rangers Day. This year, they have relented slightly. They are still insisting that there will never again be any live football on big screens in Manchester, but they have agreed that if - and only if - United beat Barcelona on Wednesday, there will be a parade on Thursday. (I'm sad I'll miss this, but those of you who will be in Manchester may wish to be warned about the road closures.) It does seem a bit mean, though, that if United lose on Wednesday, there will be no parade. If it was any other team in any other city, you can bet there'd be a victory parade if they won ONE trophy, let alone the FOUR trophies that United have already won this season (the Champions' League would make it five). Oh well.
In other Manchester news, I assume most people know that there are no trams running in the city centre till September, but did you also know that there will be no trams on the REST of the Altrincham and Eccles lines for the whole of August?
Music-related stuff now: Have you seen the new Cadburys Cluster advert? I saw it a couple of weeks ago and was very amused. You know I love sleighbells, especially in May :-)
On 18th May, a pianist called Gonzales broke the world record for the longest solo performance: over 27 hours. Here's how he prepared for it.
You probably already know about the Royal Opera House stuff on Radio 3, but the Intermezzo blog has a few more details.
Mendelssohn 2 is on this month's BBC Music Magazine cover CD, and Robert Tear talks about it on their website.
Via ChoralBlog, an interesting post from This Blog Will Change The World, about introverts as performing musicians.
From The Chorister, a selection of remedies for when you have a bad throat but you HAVE to sing.
From The Spectator, an interesting article about authenticity.
And one last non-musical link before I go off to pack: via the J-Walk Blog, a fascinating article about logos with hidden messages. There are lots of extra ones mentioned in the comments - well worth a read!
Hasta luego :-)
For comparison purposes, I should explain that he main group from the choir is setting off from Manchester Airport at stupid o'clock on Wednesday morning and flying to Alicante, from where they will transfer to Valencia by coach, arriving about 2pm. They are setting off again on Saturday teatime, and will be back in Manchester in the early hours of Sunday. I believe this is costing them about £265 each.
The main reason I started looking for another option was that a deposit had to be paid last autumn, and the rest of the money had to be paid in January. Neither of these was an option for me, so I was encouraged to discover that not only is it possible to make the whole journey by train, but it would be a bit cheaper, and (most importantly) we wouldn't need to pay anything until much nearer the time. As it's turned out, I still don't have any money at all (so I'm EXTREMELY relieved to find out that we will all be given some money for food while we're in Spain - I was quite worried about how I was going to eat!), but luckily I have some nice friends. My fellow altos Alison and Judy and Sue are travelling with me, and the agreement has been that I would do all the investigating and booking etc., and they (well, mainly Alison) would pay for my share on the understanding that I would pay them back when I could. So, I feel a bit guilty that so far I haven't paid anything at all, but I'll feel slightly LESS guilty if it turns out that we get to Valencia with no problems.
It should all be fine - we do have all the tickets, and we know where and when we've got to be at each place. And we will get to spend time in both Paris and Barcelona in both directions, which no-one else will! So, here's my schedule:
OUTWARD:
Tue 26th May
0745 Depart Littleborough
0814 Arrive Manchester Victoria
Walk across city centre
0915 Depart Manchester Piccadilly (Virgin Trains)
1123 Arrive London Euston
Walk or tube to St Pancras
1332 Depart London St Pancras (Eurostar)
1647 Arrive Paris Gare du Nord (Paris is an hour ahead so only 2h15m)
Metro to Gare d'Austerlitz
2032 Depart Paris Gare d'Austerlitz (Trenhotel sleeper)
Wed 27th May
0824 Arrive Barcelona Estaçion de França
1500 Depart Barcelona Estaçion de França (RENFE regional train, along the coast)
1821 Arrive Valencia Estaçion del Norte
RETURN:
Sat 30th May
1000 Depart Valencia Estaçion del Norte (RENFE regional coast train)
1339 Arrive Barcelona Estaçion de França
2105 Depart Barcelona Estaçion de França (Trenhotel sleeper)
Sun 31st May
0900 Arrive Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
Metro to Gare du Nord
1213 Depart Paris Gare du Nord (Eurostar)
1328 Arrive London St Pancras (London is an hour behind so actually 2h15m)
Walk or tube to Euston
1855 Depart London Euston (Virgin Trains)
2111 Arrive Manchester Piccadilly
Walk across city centre
2208 Depart Manchester Victoria
2235 Arrive Littleborough
Total cost: £256. So it's not MUCH less than flying, but in my opinion it's well worth it, mainly because of no-one having to pay anything until much more recently, but also because it will be so EXCITING! The trains themselves will be great (I've always wanted to travel on Eurostar, ever since the tunnel opened) and the chance to spend significant amounts of time in both Paris and Barcelona is just a bonus. Not to mention we get to sing in a concert. Whee!
Anyway, I may as well clear up some links while I'm here.
First, and most importantly, football. (What? You know you were expecting it!) You will no doubt be aware that last year, when United won the league AND the champions' league, there was no victory parade because the council was too scared after Rangers Day. This year, they have relented slightly. They are still insisting that there will never again be any live football on big screens in Manchester, but they have agreed that if - and only if - United beat Barcelona on Wednesday, there will be a parade on Thursday. (I'm sad I'll miss this, but those of you who will be in Manchester may wish to be warned about the road closures.) It does seem a bit mean, though, that if United lose on Wednesday, there will be no parade. If it was any other team in any other city, you can bet there'd be a victory parade if they won ONE trophy, let alone the FOUR trophies that United have already won this season (the Champions' League would make it five). Oh well.
In other Manchester news, I assume most people know that there are no trams running in the city centre till September, but did you also know that there will be no trams on the REST of the Altrincham and Eccles lines for the whole of August?
Music-related stuff now: Have you seen the new Cadburys Cluster advert? I saw it a couple of weeks ago and was very amused. You know I love sleighbells, especially in May :-)
On 18th May, a pianist called Gonzales broke the world record for the longest solo performance: over 27 hours. Here's how he prepared for it.
You probably already know about the Royal Opera House stuff on Radio 3, but the Intermezzo blog has a few more details.
Mendelssohn 2 is on this month's BBC Music Magazine cover CD, and Robert Tear talks about it on their website.
Via ChoralBlog, an interesting post from This Blog Will Change The World, about introverts as performing musicians.
From The Chorister, a selection of remedies for when you have a bad throat but you HAVE to sing.
From The Spectator, an interesting article about authenticity.
And one last non-musical link before I go off to pack: via the J-Walk Blog, a fascinating article about logos with hidden messages. There are lots of extra ones mentioned in the comments - well worth a read!
Hasta luego :-)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Que sera sera, whatever will be will be - we're going to Italy!
Well, I've been saying for ages that the Champions' League Final would be between Manchester United and Barcelona, and so it has turned out. I'm very much looking forward to watching this from Spain - I'm told that Valencia fans hate Barcelona, but whether or not they'll support them in a match where the opponents are English remains to be seen!
As for the title, I was amused at Old Trafford on Sunday when the crowd realised that "Italy" and "Wemberlee" not only rhyme with each other but also have the same number of syllables, which meant that all the songs which include the world "Wembley" could be instantly adapted to become Champions' League Final songs. Recycling is always good!
I didn't sing in the Wagner concert this weekend, but the reviews are impressive - Manchester Evening News, Guardian and Times so far (I'll add others if they appear). Only the MEN mentions the choir, but since the MEN is the one that hardly EVER mentions the choir, that's good!
EDIT: Graham points out a couple of posts on the Intermezzo blog (I used to edit a newsletter called "Intermezzo", but that's a scary amount of time ago!): half-time report and the final score.
FURTHER EDIT: A couple more reviews: Telegraph and Musical Criticism.
FURTHER FURTHER EDIT: Here's the Independent review.
AND ANOTHER ONE: The Spectator is maybe not quite as impressed as the others, but they still liked it!
I went to Thursday's rehearsal because we were due to rehearse music other than just Wagner. As it turned out this only happened in the final five minutes, but never mind. Before that, I did get to sing the 15 notes of Wagner, but because I wasn't doing the concert I had no music. But I hate having to share copies, so I'd prepared by putting the music onto my phone. I wouldn't recommend singing from a mobile phone screen usually, but for 15 notes it was good enough, and it amused me that it was possible! (There were more than 15 notes on the screen - of course I had to add cues...)
I've been at home for almost four weeks now - temp assignments seem to be vanishing along with permanent jobs - but at least I'm well rested and have been able to work on Plan A. My website is ALMOST ready to go - watch this space.
Other stuff: which opera would you say is England's national one?
As you've probably seen, the bells of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral are to play "Imagine".
Here's more news about that Elgar statue I mentioned a while ago (Graham sent me the link at the time but I am very behind with my email).
The ABBA guys have written a song for their staff choir - very sweet of them!
Via Allen Simon on ChoralBlog: Liz Garnett on How much practice do you need?
The always-wonderful Overgrown Path tells us more about the recent goings-on at Snape. (I have recently been reading lots of Harry Potter fanfiction so it took me a few minutes to realise that the Snape in question was not a Hogwarts professor...)
Talking of Harry Potter, anyone who's read the books or seen the films will know about the Weasleys' clock. Well, soon you will be able to buy one!
There's an interesting new initiative to provide free rehearsal rooms.
If you have a PS3 in your house, you may be interested to know that you can now get SingStar with wireless mics. (If you've never tried this game, I recommend it - great fun! I've only played it once myself but I did enjoy it.)
I think I already mentioned this, but Usain Bolt will be running down Deansgate on Sunday.
And finally, this isn't anything to do with music (at least, not directly), but I found this 15-minute talk about creativity fascinating. (If you like this sort of thing, there is lots more at TED.)
As for the title, I was amused at Old Trafford on Sunday when the crowd realised that "Italy" and "Wemberlee" not only rhyme with each other but also have the same number of syllables, which meant that all the songs which include the world "Wembley" could be instantly adapted to become Champions' League Final songs. Recycling is always good!
I didn't sing in the Wagner concert this weekend, but the reviews are impressive - Manchester Evening News, Guardian and Times so far (I'll add others if they appear). Only the MEN mentions the choir, but since the MEN is the one that hardly EVER mentions the choir, that's good!
EDIT: Graham points out a couple of posts on the Intermezzo blog (I used to edit a newsletter called "Intermezzo", but that's a scary amount of time ago!): half-time report and the final score.
FURTHER EDIT: A couple more reviews: Telegraph and Musical Criticism.
FURTHER FURTHER EDIT: Here's the Independent review.
AND ANOTHER ONE: The Spectator is maybe not quite as impressed as the others, but they still liked it!
I went to Thursday's rehearsal because we were due to rehearse music other than just Wagner. As it turned out this only happened in the final five minutes, but never mind. Before that, I did get to sing the 15 notes of Wagner, but because I wasn't doing the concert I had no music. But I hate having to share copies, so I'd prepared by putting the music onto my phone. I wouldn't recommend singing from a mobile phone screen usually, but for 15 notes it was good enough, and it amused me that it was possible! (There were more than 15 notes on the screen - of course I had to add cues...)
I've been at home for almost four weeks now - temp assignments seem to be vanishing along with permanent jobs - but at least I'm well rested and have been able to work on Plan A. My website is ALMOST ready to go - watch this space.
Other stuff: which opera would you say is England's national one?
As you've probably seen, the bells of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral are to play "Imagine".
Here's more news about that Elgar statue I mentioned a while ago (Graham sent me the link at the time but I am very behind with my email).
The ABBA guys have written a song for their staff choir - very sweet of them!
Via Allen Simon on ChoralBlog: Liz Garnett on How much practice do you need?
The always-wonderful Overgrown Path tells us more about the recent goings-on at Snape. (I have recently been reading lots of Harry Potter fanfiction so it took me a few minutes to realise that the Snape in question was not a Hogwarts professor...)
Talking of Harry Potter, anyone who's read the books or seen the films will know about the Weasleys' clock. Well, soon you will be able to buy one!
There's an interesting new initiative to provide free rehearsal rooms.
If you have a PS3 in your house, you may be interested to know that you can now get SingStar with wireless mics. (If you've never tried this game, I recommend it - great fun! I've only played it once myself but I did enjoy it.)
I think I already mentioned this, but Usain Bolt will be running down Deansgate on Sunday.
And finally, this isn't anything to do with music (at least, not directly), but I found this 15-minute talk about creativity fascinating. (If you like this sort of thing, there is lots more at TED.)
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo was yesterday. It's a festival that I remember every year but have never actually had a chance to celebrate. Nice that Mexicans have SOMETHING to cheer them up at the moment! (If you can't be bothered to follow the link, Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for 5th May, and is a Mexican holiday which commemorates them kicking the French out of Mexico.)
I'm in a bit of a slow period with my attempt to learn Spanish, because I'd been mainly studying on the train, but I've been at home for the past three weeks, so no train journeys! Must get back to it soon. Three weeks from this moment, my train will have just arrived in Barcelona. Three weeks from today is also the Champions' League Final, which I always knew United would be in because I wouldn't be able to go! (Mind you, I was sure we'd be in the FA Cup Final for the same reason - it's on 30th May - and that didn't work...) It's still very possible that Barcelona will be our opponents - they just need to beat Chelsea (at Chelsea) tonight. (Actually a score draw would be enough, due to the away goals rule.) I do hope it's Barcelona, it will add to the atmosphere in Spain if it is! And just in case you feel the urge to burst into song, here is some music for you:
(Higher quality version here in case you want it!)
Before I leave football, I can't resist mentioning last week's story from the Newcastle-Portsmouth game - the "swearing opera singer" was one of the soloists when we did St Cuthbert! He was very nice too - I seem to remember he saw me taking pictures and offered to take a photo of the choir for me (on my camera).
I have an mp3 that I'd love to share with you, but I think the people involved might not be too impressed, so I won't! But I do want to mention it anyway. It's a great example of how it's possible for a group of a cappella singers can rescue a song that's gone horribly wrong, just by listening to each other and not giving up! I did a couple of 6-part a cappella arrangements almost two years ago for my band, but for various reasons we never managed to get six of us in the same place at the same time till last week. I had been DESPERATE to try these two songs, but since we had a gig a couple of days later, we mainly had to concentrate on that - but we tried the two 6-part songs right at the end. Unfortunately no-one had had a chance to look at their part - or, at least, maybe they looked when I first gave them the music but forgot in the following two years! This meant that things did not go well.
One song wasn't too bad, because at least everyone knew the tune, but the other was so bad it was hilarious! Despite that, I'm quite proud of the recording of our attempt at sight reading it. Why? Well, the first two notes are fine. Immediately after that, things start to go wrong, but because there was one person singing who DID know their part (me, because I wrote it!), it didn't totally fall apart, just sounded awful. When the song reaches its last verse, there is a complicated key change, which you'd think would make things worse... but the person who has the tune at that point came in very confidently on what FELT like the right note (he had few other options, since most of the notes he was relying on for his cue didn't happen) and everyone else recognised his confidence and pitched their next note from his. Immediately there was audible harmony, which increased everyone's confidence - and the last couple of bars were perfect. To cap it all, when we checked with the guitar, we'd ended perfectly in tune! So the message is: any performance can be rescued, if you trust each other :-)
I have a lot of links to share, but first I wanted to mention All the Small Things, which finished its first series last night. I imagine lots of you watched it - what did you think? I expected to hate it, but actually I really enjoyed it. It even brought a tear to my eye once or twice. There were a few things that annoyed me, though... Mainly, the fact that they made classical music slightly evil. (Well, not really, but if you watched it I'm sure you know what I mean.) The breakaway choir was made to seem more fun partly because they sang choral arrangements of pop songs, and the original choir (with the nasty people in it) was shown singing classical stuff most of the time, except for a couple of occasions when we were plainly supposed to be slightly sympathetic, and then they sang pop! But I suppose this was to be expected from a primetime BBC1 programme.
(Just to be clear, I love pop songs as well as (if not more than) classical, so I'm not saying they should have reversed their portrayal - it just seems a bit unreasonable to give the impression that pop is fun and classical isn't.)
There's also the fact that the main choir only sang one piece of music most of the time (Haydn's Creation) - which I suppose is fairly realistic, because the series didn't last very long - except that they only ever rehearsed one movement of it! And then, at the last rehearsal before the contest they'd been working towards, the conductor abandoned Haydn and gave them a pop song to sight read (not just for fun, they performed it in the contest final). Uh huh.
However, I did really like the fact that they concluded that contests were not the be-all and end-all of choral singing, and also that they showed that even the best singers can fall apart in auditions! And I loved the fact that they filmed the finale on my platform at Victoria Station. I felt so proud to see it! Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the next series - maybe they might even learn another movement of The Creation...
(Talking of Haydn, have you seen the official website of the RNCM's imminent Haydn fetsival? And, while we're at it, have you seen what they're doing - non-Haydn-related - at Piccadilly Station on 4th July? I wish I could see that - very mean of them to do it while we're singing elsewhere!)
The other main thing I wanted to mention here today is Spotify. I've been hearing about this for ages, but I only tried it a few days ago. Until fairly recently you could only sign up if you had an invite, but this is no longer the case - go to the official page to start an account. I'm very impressed with it - it gives you the option to listen (legally) to full pieces of music (both pop AND classical). Those of you who use iTunes will be aware of how useful it is to be able to listen to 30-second clips of music before buying it... Spotify lets you listen to the WHOLE THING. It also gives you links to buy the music if you want to, but you don't have to. So, what's the catch? Lots of you won't even think it's a catch, because it's just this: you can't save the music to your own computer, you have to go online to hear it every time. But there's no limit to how many times you can do this, and you can save the link so that you don't have to search for the song again. There is one more tiny catch if you sign up for the free account, which is that after every few songs you have to listen to a short advert before you can play your next song. They don't interrupt the song to play an advert, and each time you have a forced ad break it's only ONE advert. I've found it a small price to pay for such a good service. Try it and see!
On a related note, the Overgrown Path blog tells us about things you can download from the British Library. I haven't tried this yet but I plan to do so soon. (I'm also amused by his post about music journalists! But I particularly liked his post about the difference between "lean-forward music" and "lean-back music". Food for thought.)
TV things coming up: I think I mentioned a while ago about the Birth of British Music series - well, it starts this Saturday (BBC2, 8pm). The first episode is about Purcell, and there's also a performance of Dido and Aeneas (from the Royal Opera House) on BBC4 next Friday night (15th May, 8.05pm). (I had an unexpected job interview just after I last posted, during which - amongst other things - I had to identify a couple of musical scores from untitled pages. One of them was Dido, and I knew the others too. Needless to say I still didn't get the job! I must admit I'm curious about whether or not the successful candidate got all the questions correct....)
Oh, and also on Saturday - and also at 8pm - there is a Radio 4 programme about John Barbirolli. Bit rubbish of them to put it on then, but thank goodness for iPlayer! (If you can't use iPlayer, it's repeated on Monday afternoon.)
What else? The blog at ChoralNet has moved, and I didn't realise until Podium Speak pointed it out. I've fixed my link now, but there have been lots of articles posted there in the meantime, of which the ones that caught my attention for longest were the ones about Germanic Latin and singing styles you may never be able to master.
Via Eine Kleine Nichtmusik, this thing about Mahler's markings made me laugh a LOT :-)
Here's a delightful video of a load of buskers round the world playing Stand By Me. Do watch the whole of it, it will put a smile on your face. And, entirely coincidentally, here's another performance of Stand By Me, together with a nice article about the wonderful Gareth Malone, which explains very well what effect a good choirmaster can have on many lives. (I had tears in my eyes watching this video, but that's mainly because I remember crying my eyes out when I saw it at the time, and THAT was because I'd watched what they'd gone through to get to that point - I'm glad that series won a BAFTA, it was great!)
And a few quick links to finish, in no particular order:
Interesting article about the power of live performance (prompted by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, but the point is more general).
Norman Lebrecht wonders how much justification there is for calling London a music capital.
Another alarming article about libraries - this one tells us that some Gloucestershire libraries are to have piped music! Argh!
Not three tenors any more: Placido Domingo has switched to baritone.
An article about playing Bach to hippopotamuses (mentioning our very own orchestra).
Ben Folds has released an album of his own songs covered by university a cappella groups. More pop stars should do this!
The Guardian points out that the UK's last piano maker is to cease production soon. Very sad.
Manchester Confidential tells us of a charity karaoke day in Manchester next Wednesday (13th May): 24 Hour Karaoke People at Tiger Tiger. (They also mention that karaoke was born in Stockport!)
And some non-musical links: the Manchester Evening News says it was 40 years ago yesterday that G-Mex stopped being a train station. Some interesting facts, most of which I didn't know!
Blackle is an alternative to Google which claims to save energy.
And finally, a game for you to try: Foldit. It's a bit of a time sink (like all the best games!) but at least it's all for a good cause (unlike most other games!)
I'm in a bit of a slow period with my attempt to learn Spanish, because I'd been mainly studying on the train, but I've been at home for the past three weeks, so no train journeys! Must get back to it soon. Three weeks from this moment, my train will have just arrived in Barcelona. Three weeks from today is also the Champions' League Final, which I always knew United would be in because I wouldn't be able to go! (Mind you, I was sure we'd be in the FA Cup Final for the same reason - it's on 30th May - and that didn't work...) It's still very possible that Barcelona will be our opponents - they just need to beat Chelsea (at Chelsea) tonight. (Actually a score draw would be enough, due to the away goals rule.) I do hope it's Barcelona, it will add to the atmosphere in Spain if it is! And just in case you feel the urge to burst into song, here is some music for you:
(Higher quality version here in case you want it!)
Before I leave football, I can't resist mentioning last week's story from the Newcastle-Portsmouth game - the "swearing opera singer" was one of the soloists when we did St Cuthbert! He was very nice too - I seem to remember he saw me taking pictures and offered to take a photo of the choir for me (on my camera).
I have an mp3 that I'd love to share with you, but I think the people involved might not be too impressed, so I won't! But I do want to mention it anyway. It's a great example of how it's possible for a group of a cappella singers can rescue a song that's gone horribly wrong, just by listening to each other and not giving up! I did a couple of 6-part a cappella arrangements almost two years ago for my band, but for various reasons we never managed to get six of us in the same place at the same time till last week. I had been DESPERATE to try these two songs, but since we had a gig a couple of days later, we mainly had to concentrate on that - but we tried the two 6-part songs right at the end. Unfortunately no-one had had a chance to look at their part - or, at least, maybe they looked when I first gave them the music but forgot in the following two years! This meant that things did not go well.
One song wasn't too bad, because at least everyone knew the tune, but the other was so bad it was hilarious! Despite that, I'm quite proud of the recording of our attempt at sight reading it. Why? Well, the first two notes are fine. Immediately after that, things start to go wrong, but because there was one person singing who DID know their part (me, because I wrote it!), it didn't totally fall apart, just sounded awful. When the song reaches its last verse, there is a complicated key change, which you'd think would make things worse... but the person who has the tune at that point came in very confidently on what FELT like the right note (he had few other options, since most of the notes he was relying on for his cue didn't happen) and everyone else recognised his confidence and pitched their next note from his. Immediately there was audible harmony, which increased everyone's confidence - and the last couple of bars were perfect. To cap it all, when we checked with the guitar, we'd ended perfectly in tune! So the message is: any performance can be rescued, if you trust each other :-)
I have a lot of links to share, but first I wanted to mention All the Small Things, which finished its first series last night. I imagine lots of you watched it - what did you think? I expected to hate it, but actually I really enjoyed it. It even brought a tear to my eye once or twice. There were a few things that annoyed me, though... Mainly, the fact that they made classical music slightly evil. (Well, not really, but if you watched it I'm sure you know what I mean.) The breakaway choir was made to seem more fun partly because they sang choral arrangements of pop songs, and the original choir (with the nasty people in it) was shown singing classical stuff most of the time, except for a couple of occasions when we were plainly supposed to be slightly sympathetic, and then they sang pop! But I suppose this was to be expected from a primetime BBC1 programme.
(Just to be clear, I love pop songs as well as (if not more than) classical, so I'm not saying they should have reversed their portrayal - it just seems a bit unreasonable to give the impression that pop is fun and classical isn't.)
There's also the fact that the main choir only sang one piece of music most of the time (Haydn's Creation) - which I suppose is fairly realistic, because the series didn't last very long - except that they only ever rehearsed one movement of it! And then, at the last rehearsal before the contest they'd been working towards, the conductor abandoned Haydn and gave them a pop song to sight read (not just for fun, they performed it in the contest final). Uh huh.
However, I did really like the fact that they concluded that contests were not the be-all and end-all of choral singing, and also that they showed that even the best singers can fall apart in auditions! And I loved the fact that they filmed the finale on my platform at Victoria Station. I felt so proud to see it! Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the next series - maybe they might even learn another movement of The Creation...
(Talking of Haydn, have you seen the official website of the RNCM's imminent Haydn fetsival? And, while we're at it, have you seen what they're doing - non-Haydn-related - at Piccadilly Station on 4th July? I wish I could see that - very mean of them to do it while we're singing elsewhere!)
The other main thing I wanted to mention here today is Spotify. I've been hearing about this for ages, but I only tried it a few days ago. Until fairly recently you could only sign up if you had an invite, but this is no longer the case - go to the official page to start an account. I'm very impressed with it - it gives you the option to listen (legally) to full pieces of music (both pop AND classical). Those of you who use iTunes will be aware of how useful it is to be able to listen to 30-second clips of music before buying it... Spotify lets you listen to the WHOLE THING. It also gives you links to buy the music if you want to, but you don't have to. So, what's the catch? Lots of you won't even think it's a catch, because it's just this: you can't save the music to your own computer, you have to go online to hear it every time. But there's no limit to how many times you can do this, and you can save the link so that you don't have to search for the song again. There is one more tiny catch if you sign up for the free account, which is that after every few songs you have to listen to a short advert before you can play your next song. They don't interrupt the song to play an advert, and each time you have a forced ad break it's only ONE advert. I've found it a small price to pay for such a good service. Try it and see!
On a related note, the Overgrown Path blog tells us about things you can download from the British Library. I haven't tried this yet but I plan to do so soon. (I'm also amused by his post about music journalists! But I particularly liked his post about the difference between "lean-forward music" and "lean-back music". Food for thought.)
TV things coming up: I think I mentioned a while ago about the Birth of British Music series - well, it starts this Saturday (BBC2, 8pm). The first episode is about Purcell, and there's also a performance of Dido and Aeneas (from the Royal Opera House) on BBC4 next Friday night (15th May, 8.05pm). (I had an unexpected job interview just after I last posted, during which - amongst other things - I had to identify a couple of musical scores from untitled pages. One of them was Dido, and I knew the others too. Needless to say I still didn't get the job! I must admit I'm curious about whether or not the successful candidate got all the questions correct....)
Oh, and also on Saturday - and also at 8pm - there is a Radio 4 programme about John Barbirolli. Bit rubbish of them to put it on then, but thank goodness for iPlayer! (If you can't use iPlayer, it's repeated on Monday afternoon.)
What else? The blog at ChoralNet has moved, and I didn't realise until Podium Speak pointed it out. I've fixed my link now, but there have been lots of articles posted there in the meantime, of which the ones that caught my attention for longest were the ones about Germanic Latin and singing styles you may never be able to master.
Via Eine Kleine Nichtmusik, this thing about Mahler's markings made me laugh a LOT :-)
Here's a delightful video of a load of buskers round the world playing Stand By Me. Do watch the whole of it, it will put a smile on your face. And, entirely coincidentally, here's another performance of Stand By Me, together with a nice article about the wonderful Gareth Malone, which explains very well what effect a good choirmaster can have on many lives. (I had tears in my eyes watching this video, but that's mainly because I remember crying my eyes out when I saw it at the time, and THAT was because I'd watched what they'd gone through to get to that point - I'm glad that series won a BAFTA, it was great!)
And a few quick links to finish, in no particular order:
Interesting article about the power of live performance (prompted by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, but the point is more general).
Norman Lebrecht wonders how much justification there is for calling London a music capital.
Another alarming article about libraries - this one tells us that some Gloucestershire libraries are to have piped music! Argh!
Not three tenors any more: Placido Domingo has switched to baritone.
An article about playing Bach to hippopotamuses (mentioning our very own orchestra).
Ben Folds has released an album of his own songs covered by university a cappella groups. More pop stars should do this!
The Guardian points out that the UK's last piano maker is to cease production soon. Very sad.
Manchester Confidential tells us of a charity karaoke day in Manchester next Wednesday (13th May): 24 Hour Karaoke People at Tiger Tiger. (They also mention that karaoke was born in Stockport!)
And some non-musical links: the Manchester Evening News says it was 40 years ago yesterday that G-Mex stopped being a train station. Some interesting facts, most of which I didn't know!
Blackle is an alternative to Google which claims to save energy.
And finally, a game for you to try: Foldit. It's a bit of a time sink (like all the best games!) but at least it's all for a good cause (unlike most other games!)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Verrath? An wem? ... Siegfried? Gutrun's Gemahl? ... Brach er die Treue?
So, I've been sent rehearsal mp3s of the Wagner (thanks to those responsible, you know who you are) and they are now on my mp3 page. The total length of all 19 clips is less than 19 minutes, and sure enough the ladies only seem to sing for a total of about one minute (three separate bits, in clips II-39A, II-43 and II-45B). I looked up the score online (at IMSLP) and found that the entirety of the ladies' role is in the title of this post - and none of those words are repeated! A total of 15 notes, not even in harmony. Good old Wagner.
It's just as well I already decided I couldn't do the concert due to the Manchester derby, because due to United beating Porto last night, there is now a Champions' League semi-final at Old Trafford on the evening of 29th April, which I will NOT be missing. (It's against Arsenal, and Dimitar Berbatov - who is not the most popular United player, but I love him - had this to say: "They are a great team. But we are Manchester United, so I think we are going to win.")
A few links for you: firstly, our Abraham Lincoln gig is now on the official site. (Note to self: must go and look at that statue sometime.)
On An Overgrown Path reports on the latest I Fagiolini project - Tallis in Wonderland. Sounds intriguing - I'd love to see that. (I've still never seen them live despite one of my best friends being a member!)
Operas from Glyndebourne are to be shown on Sky Arts this summer.
In non-musical news, several bits of Greater Manchester are to lose their postmarks (I'm actually pleased about this - I hate having an Oldham postmark when I don't live in Oldham), and here is a heartwarming story about robots and nice people: Tweenbots.
Oh, and I finally finished my most recent temp assignment (at the university) yesterday, and I'm taking all the paid holiday I'm owed (which is only about a week, because I had to use some of it for recent bank holidays) to try and make some progress with Plan A, which has always been to do musical stuff from home. I have a new website that no-one has yet seen, with a proper domain name and everything - I'll let you know as soon as it's ready to be unveiled! In the meantime, I'm still applying for relevant musical admin jobs when they come up, but having been rejected now by every major musical organisation in Manchester (one of them has rejected me FIVE TIMES) I don't hold out much hope there. But working from home is much better if I can manage it, because it saves me three hours' travelling every day plus £23 train fares each week.
Just a couple of requests in the meantime, though - hope you don't mind me being cheeky... If you know anyone who's doing an Associated Board exam soon, and they're worrying about the aural and sight reading aspects, please suggest that they contact me, because I would love to give them a crash course (two or three lessons). Similarly, if you know anyone who wants a few maths (or music) GCSE or A level lessons before their exam, please send them my way. Thanks!
It's just as well I already decided I couldn't do the concert due to the Manchester derby, because due to United beating Porto last night, there is now a Champions' League semi-final at Old Trafford on the evening of 29th April, which I will NOT be missing. (It's against Arsenal, and Dimitar Berbatov - who is not the most popular United player, but I love him - had this to say: "They are a great team. But we are Manchester United, so I think we are going to win.")
A few links for you: firstly, our Abraham Lincoln gig is now on the official site. (Note to self: must go and look at that statue sometime.)
On An Overgrown Path reports on the latest I Fagiolini project - Tallis in Wonderland. Sounds intriguing - I'd love to see that. (I've still never seen them live despite one of my best friends being a member!)
Operas from Glyndebourne are to be shown on Sky Arts this summer.
In non-musical news, several bits of Greater Manchester are to lose their postmarks (I'm actually pleased about this - I hate having an Oldham postmark when I don't live in Oldham), and here is a heartwarming story about robots and nice people: Tweenbots.
Oh, and I finally finished my most recent temp assignment (at the university) yesterday, and I'm taking all the paid holiday I'm owed (which is only about a week, because I had to use some of it for recent bank holidays) to try and make some progress with Plan A, which has always been to do musical stuff from home. I have a new website that no-one has yet seen, with a proper domain name and everything - I'll let you know as soon as it's ready to be unveiled! In the meantime, I'm still applying for relevant musical admin jobs when they come up, but having been rejected now by every major musical organisation in Manchester (one of them has rejected me FIVE TIMES) I don't hold out much hope there. But working from home is much better if I can manage it, because it saves me three hours' travelling every day plus £23 train fares each week.
Just a couple of requests in the meantime, though - hope you don't mind me being cheeky... If you know anyone who's doing an Associated Board exam soon, and they're worrying about the aural and sight reading aspects, please suggest that they contact me, because I would love to give them a crash course (two or three lessons). Similarly, if you know anyone who wants a few maths (or music) GCSE or A level lessons before their exam, please send them my way. Thanks!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Shoes off!
Well, it seems to be three weeks since I last wrote here. Sorry for the delay, things have been stupidly busy, but hopefully they are starting to calm down now. I have a million links to share with you, but first let me summarise recent choral goings-on.
We've done The Planets twice, once in Manchester and once in Leeds. Both performances went well, although they were very different from each other. In Manchester, we stood in the choir assembly area in a big group facing away from the doors (which were opened just before we sang and closed gradually at the end, as instructed in the score). We (well, the altos at least) were instructed to sing as loudly as we possibly could. In Leeds, there were far fewer people singing, and we stood in a curved, narrow corridor just outside one of the doors to the auditorium; unlike in Manchester, there were audience members sitting right by the door, and we could see into the hall when the door was open. So when we sang as we'd been instructed in Manchester, of course it was far too loud, so some rapid adjustment was required.
(Apparently, after the Manchester concert, an audience member was heard to say "that was really good, but it's a pity they used a recording for the ladies' voices!" I hope that at least the Leeds audience was convinced we were really there...)
Actually, it was very odd singing The Planets without moving! I don't recall ever doing that before. We seem to have done the fadeout differently each time, although each time we've usually stood still until the actual fadeout bar. Let's see how many ways I can remember of doing that last bar:
• gradually turn through 180 degrees so we're facing away from the door
• gradually raise our music to cover our faces
• both of the above, one after the other
• walk backwards away from the stage
• gradually turn and then walk FORWARDS away from the stage (our favourite example of this was the time (at the Bridgewater Hall) that we sang from the side of the stage and then walked along the corridor to the bar)
Anyone remember any others?
We also had our first Mendelssohn 2 gig last Sunday (this is the only performance in Manchester, but we'll also be doing it in Spain and London). It went well, although I've only seen one review so far, in The Times, who said that "time and again [the choir] plunged us into a luxurious warm bath, scented with emollient harmonies". Not bad, although given that we were going for lightness and clarity, maybe not the review we might have hoped for! I think we DID achieve lightness and clarity, though, so maybe the reviewer just didn't have enough words to say that too...
I must admit that, although I really enjoyed the concert (as I always do), I'm feeling very demotivated about choir at the moment, and my self-esteem as a singer is at an all-time low. This is more to do with me (and the way my mind works) than with the choir, but I've been thinking about whether this summer might be a good point to leave. It has a certain symmetry - as I've mentioned before, Mendelssohn 2 is the first thing I ever sang with the choir, so it'd be fitting if it was the last thing as well. I haven't decided yet though - and maybe the trip to Spain will reinspire me and give me back some self-belief. I hope so, as I can't imagine life without choir!
Anyway, there are a LOT of links I need to share with you. Oh, and if you're looking for mp3s to practise with, my mp3 page doesn't yet have any Wagner, but it will as soon as I have the relevant mp3s (I have a source who has promised to send them). The Mendelssohn is still there, and I've just added the Barber Agnus Dei (I know we won't be doing that for a while, but it's hard so I thought I'd put it up while I remembered!)
(The Guardian included the Wagner gig on their list of top 50 things to see this spring, by the way. I think it's unlikely I'll be there, though, because the Manchester derby (i.e. United v City) has just been rescheduled to the afternoon of Sunday 10th May. Oh, and in case you haven't heard it, there's a very interesting interview about the project which you can download from the orchestra's website.)
The 2009 BBC Proms season has finally been unveiled, with the highlight of course being Prom 19 on 30th July (although I see that the Youth Choir get to go twice - they'll also be there on 6th September for Messiah). Advance booking (limited online and postal only) opens on Monday 20th April and general booking opens on Tuesday 26th May. In the Guardian, Charlotte Higgins lists her potential highlights; Tom Service does the same; and Stephen Hough (who was a couple of years about me at school - I wonder if he'd remember me?) talks about his Tchaikovsky proms.
From the Front of the Choir has a great post (although a slightly depressing one!) about the difficulties of hosting an English sing-along.
Norman Lebrecht writes about the Messiah tradition (there have also been a few TV programmes this weekend about the same topic, but I haven't seen any yet, although Sky+ has them for me!)
An interesting new CD release - a four-CD survey of British songwriting. Tom Service tells us more, including the interesting fact that the project is possible due to The Planets!
Paul Johnson writes about Richard Strauss (I'd forgotten it was an anniversary year for him!)
Here's a piece about Kathleen Ferrier's death, discussing what (if anything) she had in common with Jade Goody.
Via On an Overgrown Path: a performance of Cosi Fan Tutte in New York is asking the audience to send texts to choose the ending!
It was on the same blog that I first heard the sad news about the death of Maurice Jarre (do read the comments there too). The Guardian has an obituary.
Have you heard of the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir? No, I hadn't either. You may regret clicking on the link, especially if you watch their video! (And if you HAVE watched their video, the name you're trying to remember is this!)
Good news for opera fans - the BBC is extending its opera coverage - more on TV, and the radio stuff available online (I must admit I hadn't realised it wasn't already!)
If you, like me, knew nothing of the link between Manchester and Abraham Lincoln until recently, you may be interested by a recent MEN article that mentions it. (I can't find a link to our Abraham Lincoln gig - or in fact any of the summer prom concerts - on the orchestra's website - am I being blind?) (EDIT: Sheena points out that it's on the B Hall site.)
The prolific Tom Service has a thought-provoking article about why young people have been driven away from classical music.
A recent Guardian editorial compares Purcell with the Beach Boys.
Gramophone has a list of orchestras that change lives.
From VHK, news of a choral music exhibition at Oxford's Bodleian Library. I wish I could go and see this, but it's very unlikely, so I'll have to make do with living vicariously through VHK.
A great article (not specifically music-related) on the BBC News site, about how a piece of art can change your life.
From ChoralNet: the choices facing the conductor when the performance falls apart.
From the same blog: news of how a Canadian choir is trying to recruit tenors.
And also via the same blog: news of Handel's eating disorder.
An interesting initiative by Sky Arts: a virtual trip to the opera, including backstage camera. I don't have Sky Arts - did any of you see this?
Peter Phillips writes about vibrato.
Charles Hazlewood writes about British classical music - and it looks as if he has a TV series about this starting soon too.
Anthony Sayer, at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra blog, writes about what conductors are for.
And in today's news, the pianist who has conquered Tourette's.
Finally, a few non-musical links: Rachel Cooke writes about fighting to save libraries. Nostalgic, thought-provoking and depressing.
The Big Picture is always fabulous, but I particularly liked these photos of the recent Earth Hour, in which you can click to see the difference with the lights out.
If you're still a bit baffled by Twitter, here's an article explaining it more thoroughly. And if any other choir people (other than Dr Liz and I) have signed up, let me know!
Here's a handy list of things you may not have realised you can do with Google.
Other things you may not have realised existed: several of my friends are raving about Graze, which I haven't tried but seems like a great service.
TV Catchup is a free LEGAL online service for watching programmes from the most popular UK TV channels.
Couch Surfing is a way to travel very cheaply by staying on people's couches.
And, finally finally, two things that have amused me this week: a recent Dilbert comic, and this incident at the station on Wednesday night:
(The guy on the bench was extremely drunk, and it seems he had created that puddle...)
We've done The Planets twice, once in Manchester and once in Leeds. Both performances went well, although they were very different from each other. In Manchester, we stood in the choir assembly area in a big group facing away from the doors (which were opened just before we sang and closed gradually at the end, as instructed in the score). We (well, the altos at least) were instructed to sing as loudly as we possibly could. In Leeds, there were far fewer people singing, and we stood in a curved, narrow corridor just outside one of the doors to the auditorium; unlike in Manchester, there were audience members sitting right by the door, and we could see into the hall when the door was open. So when we sang as we'd been instructed in Manchester, of course it was far too loud, so some rapid adjustment was required.
(Apparently, after the Manchester concert, an audience member was heard to say "that was really good, but it's a pity they used a recording for the ladies' voices!" I hope that at least the Leeds audience was convinced we were really there...)
Actually, it was very odd singing The Planets without moving! I don't recall ever doing that before. We seem to have done the fadeout differently each time, although each time we've usually stood still until the actual fadeout bar. Let's see how many ways I can remember of doing that last bar:
• gradually turn through 180 degrees so we're facing away from the door
• gradually raise our music to cover our faces
• both of the above, one after the other
• walk backwards away from the stage
• gradually turn and then walk FORWARDS away from the stage (our favourite example of this was the time (at the Bridgewater Hall) that we sang from the side of the stage and then walked along the corridor to the bar)
Anyone remember any others?
We also had our first Mendelssohn 2 gig last Sunday (this is the only performance in Manchester, but we'll also be doing it in Spain and London). It went well, although I've only seen one review so far, in The Times, who said that "time and again [the choir] plunged us into a luxurious warm bath, scented with emollient harmonies". Not bad, although given that we were going for lightness and clarity, maybe not the review we might have hoped for! I think we DID achieve lightness and clarity, though, so maybe the reviewer just didn't have enough words to say that too...
I must admit that, although I really enjoyed the concert (as I always do), I'm feeling very demotivated about choir at the moment, and my self-esteem as a singer is at an all-time low. This is more to do with me (and the way my mind works) than with the choir, but I've been thinking about whether this summer might be a good point to leave. It has a certain symmetry - as I've mentioned before, Mendelssohn 2 is the first thing I ever sang with the choir, so it'd be fitting if it was the last thing as well. I haven't decided yet though - and maybe the trip to Spain will reinspire me and give me back some self-belief. I hope so, as I can't imagine life without choir!
Anyway, there are a LOT of links I need to share with you. Oh, and if you're looking for mp3s to practise with, my mp3 page doesn't yet have any Wagner, but it will as soon as I have the relevant mp3s (I have a source who has promised to send them). The Mendelssohn is still there, and I've just added the Barber Agnus Dei (I know we won't be doing that for a while, but it's hard so I thought I'd put it up while I remembered!)
(The Guardian included the Wagner gig on their list of top 50 things to see this spring, by the way. I think it's unlikely I'll be there, though, because the Manchester derby (i.e. United v City) has just been rescheduled to the afternoon of Sunday 10th May. Oh, and in case you haven't heard it, there's a very interesting interview about the project which you can download from the orchestra's website.)
The 2009 BBC Proms season has finally been unveiled, with the highlight of course being Prom 19 on 30th July (although I see that the Youth Choir get to go twice - they'll also be there on 6th September for Messiah). Advance booking (limited online and postal only) opens on Monday 20th April and general booking opens on Tuesday 26th May. In the Guardian, Charlotte Higgins lists her potential highlights; Tom Service does the same; and Stephen Hough (who was a couple of years about me at school - I wonder if he'd remember me?) talks about his Tchaikovsky proms.
From the Front of the Choir has a great post (although a slightly depressing one!) about the difficulties of hosting an English sing-along.
Norman Lebrecht writes about the Messiah tradition (there have also been a few TV programmes this weekend about the same topic, but I haven't seen any yet, although Sky+ has them for me!)
An interesting new CD release - a four-CD survey of British songwriting. Tom Service tells us more, including the interesting fact that the project is possible due to The Planets!
Paul Johnson writes about Richard Strauss (I'd forgotten it was an anniversary year for him!)
Here's a piece about Kathleen Ferrier's death, discussing what (if anything) she had in common with Jade Goody.
Via On an Overgrown Path: a performance of Cosi Fan Tutte in New York is asking the audience to send texts to choose the ending!
It was on the same blog that I first heard the sad news about the death of Maurice Jarre (do read the comments there too). The Guardian has an obituary.
Have you heard of the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir? No, I hadn't either. You may regret clicking on the link, especially if you watch their video! (And if you HAVE watched their video, the name you're trying to remember is this!)
Good news for opera fans - the BBC is extending its opera coverage - more on TV, and the radio stuff available online (I must admit I hadn't realised it wasn't already!)
If you, like me, knew nothing of the link between Manchester and Abraham Lincoln until recently, you may be interested by a recent MEN article that mentions it. (I can't find a link to our Abraham Lincoln gig - or in fact any of the summer prom concerts - on the orchestra's website - am I being blind?) (EDIT: Sheena points out that it's on the B Hall site.)
The prolific Tom Service has a thought-provoking article about why young people have been driven away from classical music.
A recent Guardian editorial compares Purcell with the Beach Boys.
Gramophone has a list of orchestras that change lives.
From VHK, news of a choral music exhibition at Oxford's Bodleian Library. I wish I could go and see this, but it's very unlikely, so I'll have to make do with living vicariously through VHK.
A great article (not specifically music-related) on the BBC News site, about how a piece of art can change your life.
From ChoralNet: the choices facing the conductor when the performance falls apart.
From the same blog: news of how a Canadian choir is trying to recruit tenors.
And also via the same blog: news of Handel's eating disorder.
An interesting initiative by Sky Arts: a virtual trip to the opera, including backstage camera. I don't have Sky Arts - did any of you see this?
Peter Phillips writes about vibrato.
Charles Hazlewood writes about British classical music - and it looks as if he has a TV series about this starting soon too.
Anthony Sayer, at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra blog, writes about what conductors are for.
And in today's news, the pianist who has conquered Tourette's.
Finally, a few non-musical links: Rachel Cooke writes about fighting to save libraries. Nostalgic, thought-provoking and depressing.
The Big Picture is always fabulous, but I particularly liked these photos of the recent Earth Hour, in which you can click to see the difference with the lights out.
If you're still a bit baffled by Twitter, here's an article explaining it more thoroughly. And if any other choir people (other than Dr Liz and I) have signed up, let me know!
Here's a handy list of things you may not have realised you can do with Google.
Other things you may not have realised existed: several of my friends are raving about Graze, which I haven't tried but seems like a great service.
TV Catchup is a free LEGAL online service for watching programmes from the most popular UK TV channels.
Couch Surfing is a way to travel very cheaply by staying on people's couches.
And, finally finally, two things that have amused me this week: a recent Dilbert comic, and this incident at the station on Wednesday night:
(The guy on the bench was extremely drunk, and it seems he had created that puddle...)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
"You really did kind of miss it... except for the back row of the altos."
It's very rare for me to miss a choir rehearsal, so it felt very weird to be there on Wednesday having missed the previous week due to the Inter Milan game. It felt much longer than two weeks since I'd been there! Anyway, it doesn't sound as if I missed too much, and I had two separate people who took notes for me so I'd be up to date. (Oddly enough, they didn't both give me the SAME notes, which is a little intriguing!)
This week we spent the first half separated into two rooms - the ladies did Neptune while the guys had their first go at Götterdämmerung. (It's because of the Wagner that we're likely to have lots of free time after the Holst is out of the way - the ladies only have "about 9 bars" to sing in the whole of it, whereas the men have lots to do.) Neptune was a bit dire at first, and I got quite cross, as you will have realised if you follow me on Twitter (I won't repeat it all here). But it got better, and I'm sure it will be alright on the night. To finish the first half, we did the bit of the Mendelssohn where the men don't sing, which is nice because it's the only time we get to split into 1st and 2nd altos.
The second half of the rehearsal was great fun, though, because we moved into the jumbled-parts formation, in which the instruction is "sit wherever you like, as long as you're not next to anyone singing the same part as you". I absolutely LOVE it when we do this. (I think some people don't love it, because it usually transpires that there are clumps of people who haven't moved until they are individually instructed to do so!) Last time we did it, I sat between two basses. This time it was two young tenors called (I think) Josh and Michael. They were a bit shy, and I think they lost a lot of their confidence when they found that they couldn't hear any other tenors, but they did much better than I think they think they did. Points in their favour: 1. I could hear them both, and they both sang in tune and on the beat; and, 2. They didn't get every note right, but when either of them got a note wrong, they realised, and put a ring round it, and in most cases if we then sang the same section again, they got it right the second time. All choral singers should be like this.
The next two weeks will be a bit hectic, since they include 3 concerts and various extra rehearsals. Hope everyone's feeling healthy! (I often try to explain to non-choir people why it's so tiring, but I don't think they believe me. It's hard to get across to non-singers how physically exhausting it is. So we get no sympathy!)
Anyway, a few links for you. The biggest news of the last week has been the unveiling of the 2009 Manchester International Festival programme. We already knew about Prima Donna (Rufus Wainwright's opera) but the two pop/orchestral collaborations were a very pleasant surprise - I hope I'll be able to find enough money to get tickets. If I can only see one of them, then it will definitely be Elbow with our favourite orchestra, but I'd also quite like to see Antony and the Johnsons with the Camerata.
Talking of unveiling, our boss has unveiled an Elgar statue.
Here's a Spectator article by Peter Phillips talking about whether or not choirs should attempt Allegri's Miserere.
And a new craze: Bikearoke! Or, singing while you cycle. I think I'd be too out of breath!
This week we spent the first half separated into two rooms - the ladies did Neptune while the guys had their first go at Götterdämmerung. (It's because of the Wagner that we're likely to have lots of free time after the Holst is out of the way - the ladies only have "about 9 bars" to sing in the whole of it, whereas the men have lots to do.) Neptune was a bit dire at first, and I got quite cross, as you will have realised if you follow me on Twitter (I won't repeat it all here). But it got better, and I'm sure it will be alright on the night. To finish the first half, we did the bit of the Mendelssohn where the men don't sing, which is nice because it's the only time we get to split into 1st and 2nd altos.
The second half of the rehearsal was great fun, though, because we moved into the jumbled-parts formation, in which the instruction is "sit wherever you like, as long as you're not next to anyone singing the same part as you". I absolutely LOVE it when we do this. (I think some people don't love it, because it usually transpires that there are clumps of people who haven't moved until they are individually instructed to do so!) Last time we did it, I sat between two basses. This time it was two young tenors called (I think) Josh and Michael. They were a bit shy, and I think they lost a lot of their confidence when they found that they couldn't hear any other tenors, but they did much better than I think they think they did. Points in their favour: 1. I could hear them both, and they both sang in tune and on the beat; and, 2. They didn't get every note right, but when either of them got a note wrong, they realised, and put a ring round it, and in most cases if we then sang the same section again, they got it right the second time. All choral singers should be like this.
The next two weeks will be a bit hectic, since they include 3 concerts and various extra rehearsals. Hope everyone's feeling healthy! (I often try to explain to non-choir people why it's so tiring, but I don't think they believe me. It's hard to get across to non-singers how physically exhausting it is. So we get no sympathy!)
Anyway, a few links for you. The biggest news of the last week has been the unveiling of the 2009 Manchester International Festival programme. We already knew about Prima Donna (Rufus Wainwright's opera) but the two pop/orchestral collaborations were a very pleasant surprise - I hope I'll be able to find enough money to get tickets. If I can only see one of them, then it will definitely be Elbow with our favourite orchestra, but I'd also quite like to see Antony and the Johnsons with the Camerata.
Talking of unveiling, our boss has unveiled an Elgar statue.
Here's a Spectator article by Peter Phillips talking about whether or not choirs should attempt Allegri's Miserere.
And a new craze: Bikearoke! Or, singing while you cycle. I think I'd be too out of breath!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Me gusta cantar
I am slowly making some progress with my Spanish, see, although the inconsistency of pronunciation is still really confusing! I'll get there. Currently I can understand a lot more of it than I can speak, but there's still a couple of months before I need to be able to speak it, so all is well. (Yes, I'm sure it's possible to go to Spain without knowing any Spanish at all, but not if you're me.)
There is one thing I've noticed while I've been trying to learn Spanish, which I wanted to mention here, and it's something I've never noticed when working on Italian or German or French. (I have O-levels/GCSEs in all three, but I don't use them regularly enough to keep in practice, so every so often I try to build up my skills again.) The thing is that we sing in all three of those languages, so their pronunciation has been regularly reinforced, and I hardly ever have to think how to pronounce the words. This was actually a bit of a problem when I was in Italy last year with my mum, because I could pronounce things so well (e.g. on menus) that the waiters assumed I could actually understand and compose sentences perfectly too! So I often had to disappoint them by slowing them down.
Anyway, I got sidetracked there for a minute... What I actually wanted to explain here was that Spanish is much more unfamiliar to me. I think I've only ever sung in Spanish once, and that was a section of a fabulous piece by Bill Connor called "Land" which was commissioned by the Manchester Cathedral Cantata Choir almost twenty years ago. (I don't know if the work has ever been performed since, but I'd love to do it again.) Other than that, my only Spanish singing has been "La Bamba", and I only know a few of the words to that! So, I've had to concentrate much harder on listening carefully to the pronunciation. I've got a CD that accompanies the textbook I'm using, but at the moment I'm mainly concentrating on podcasts such as SpanishPod and Coffee Break Spanish. (Both are available free on iTunes and updated regularly.) Anyway, it was actually Coffee Break Spanish that made me realise what I wanted to explain here (I'm getting to my point, honest!) because whereas SpanishPod has two hosts who both speak Spanish fluently (although only one is a native speaker), Coffee Break Spanish is made in Scotland, and whereas one of the hosts is a fluent speaker, the other is a beginner, so you often get to hear him demonstrating pronunciation to her, and her repeating it (somewhat haltingly). And what I find fascinating is that even though I'm not familiar with the language yet, I can instantly identify what's wrong with her pronunciation, because exactly the same sort of issues come up every single week at choir, regardless of which language we're singing in! For example, if the teacher guy says a phrase and the girl repeats it, I know immediately that the reason it sounds wrong is because her vowel is more "ew" than "oo", or her T sound is too hard, or her R isn't rolled enough, etc. And every time I spot something like this and then the teacher mentions it to her a moment later, I feel really smug :-)
TL;DR version: being in a really good choir helps with language-learning, in ways you might not have realised!
It does feel like several weeks since I was last in a choir rehearsal, although it was only six days ago. I've been busy nonstop since then, including spending the whole of the weekend earning some extra cash by doing a load of data entry. I'm regretting having volunteered for that now, because although I do need the cash, I probably needed the rest more. And I'd promised myself I'd catch up on emails this weekend... Oh well. If I owe you an email, I apologise - it's not just you! I do read all my emails the day I receive them, but at the moment I can only reply to them immediately if I can do so in one line or so. I do have a folder of emails-that-need-longer-replies going back to December, so if you're one of them, sorry - I'll reply eventually, I promise. (Unless I don't know you at all, in which case I *might* reply, but you must understand that when I have time to clear my inbox, I will give priority to people I *do* know.)
There was no Holst at last week's rehearsal, which is a pity because it looks as if the main rehearsal for that will be tomorrow, when I won't be there. (I'm going to Old Trafford to see United play Inter Milan - I do usually give up my season ticket when football clashes with choir (as it so often does!) but there's no way I'm missing this one!) It was great to be at the BBC though - I love it when we rehearse there (even though we had to go in via the basement on this occasion). It's well-lit and the toilets are clean and numerous (I wish our usual venue could say the same on either count) but most importantly it is in the CITY CENTRE and therefore very easy to get to. Pity we can't rehearse there all the time, but I imagine they charge us an arm and a leg so it probably can't be helped.
Yet again I have had "und alles Fleisch" (the octave leap bit) on the brain ever since the rehearsal - well, until this afternoon, when I heard a colleague use the phrase "always the bridesmaid", and this caused the chorus of "Why Am I Always The Bridesmaid" to lodge itself in my head. (After tomorrow night hopefully it'll be replaced by "Mourinho, are you listening...")
On Thursday I went with a friend to check out an open mic night in a pub near where he lives. Luckily we hadn't rehearsed at all - if we got to go on stage, we were just going to do songs we knew well enough to do at the drop of a hat - because it turned out that the pub had put the open mic nights on hold for a while (I suspect they saw us coming!) However, we spent a couple of hours there anyway, just chatting - very pleasant, I hardly ever do that. My friend's wife has been learning the piano, and she told me that her teacher has persuaded her to take the grade 1 exam. However, it transpired that this teacher hadn't mentioned anything at all about aural or sight-reading, so I think I scared her by explaining what was involved! Hope I haven't put her off the exam... I did say I'd help her if she wanted me to, so hopefully all will be well. (I have many thoughts about aural and sight-reading, many of which I've mentioned here in the past, but I don't think it helps students not to tell them they'll have to do it.)
Anyway, a few links: Someone has investigated the use of a click track on various pop songs. The article itself is quite technical, but if you ignore the numbers the conclusions are still comprehensible.
YouTube has finally chosen its orchestra, and the Guardian has a couple of articles about this (here and here).
The Guardian also has a couple more articles related to the ABO conference: one about speeches in Welsh and one responding to last week's article about drunkenness in orchestras.
And in non-music news, if you're a fan of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", you may find this as fascinating as I do: the transcript of the first story meeting has emerged. (Fuller story here.)
And finally, here's a really nice idea for a birthday present - wish this had happened to me!
P.S. Only just saw this and had to edit to add it: Manchester Confidential samples the buffet at Victoria Station and really, really regrets it. It's funny but sadly all too true!
There is one thing I've noticed while I've been trying to learn Spanish, which I wanted to mention here, and it's something I've never noticed when working on Italian or German or French. (I have O-levels/GCSEs in all three, but I don't use them regularly enough to keep in practice, so every so often I try to build up my skills again.) The thing is that we sing in all three of those languages, so their pronunciation has been regularly reinforced, and I hardly ever have to think how to pronounce the words. This was actually a bit of a problem when I was in Italy last year with my mum, because I could pronounce things so well (e.g. on menus) that the waiters assumed I could actually understand and compose sentences perfectly too! So I often had to disappoint them by slowing them down.
Anyway, I got sidetracked there for a minute... What I actually wanted to explain here was that Spanish is much more unfamiliar to me. I think I've only ever sung in Spanish once, and that was a section of a fabulous piece by Bill Connor called "Land" which was commissioned by the Manchester Cathedral Cantata Choir almost twenty years ago. (I don't know if the work has ever been performed since, but I'd love to do it again.) Other than that, my only Spanish singing has been "La Bamba", and I only know a few of the words to that! So, I've had to concentrate much harder on listening carefully to the pronunciation. I've got a CD that accompanies the textbook I'm using, but at the moment I'm mainly concentrating on podcasts such as SpanishPod and Coffee Break Spanish. (Both are available free on iTunes and updated regularly.) Anyway, it was actually Coffee Break Spanish that made me realise what I wanted to explain here (I'm getting to my point, honest!) because whereas SpanishPod has two hosts who both speak Spanish fluently (although only one is a native speaker), Coffee Break Spanish is made in Scotland, and whereas one of the hosts is a fluent speaker, the other is a beginner, so you often get to hear him demonstrating pronunciation to her, and her repeating it (somewhat haltingly). And what I find fascinating is that even though I'm not familiar with the language yet, I can instantly identify what's wrong with her pronunciation, because exactly the same sort of issues come up every single week at choir, regardless of which language we're singing in! For example, if the teacher guy says a phrase and the girl repeats it, I know immediately that the reason it sounds wrong is because her vowel is more "ew" than "oo", or her T sound is too hard, or her R isn't rolled enough, etc. And every time I spot something like this and then the teacher mentions it to her a moment later, I feel really smug :-)
TL;DR version: being in a really good choir helps with language-learning, in ways you might not have realised!
It does feel like several weeks since I was last in a choir rehearsal, although it was only six days ago. I've been busy nonstop since then, including spending the whole of the weekend earning some extra cash by doing a load of data entry. I'm regretting having volunteered for that now, because although I do need the cash, I probably needed the rest more. And I'd promised myself I'd catch up on emails this weekend... Oh well. If I owe you an email, I apologise - it's not just you! I do read all my emails the day I receive them, but at the moment I can only reply to them immediately if I can do so in one line or so. I do have a folder of emails-that-need-longer-replies going back to December, so if you're one of them, sorry - I'll reply eventually, I promise. (Unless I don't know you at all, in which case I *might* reply, but you must understand that when I have time to clear my inbox, I will give priority to people I *do* know.)
There was no Holst at last week's rehearsal, which is a pity because it looks as if the main rehearsal for that will be tomorrow, when I won't be there. (I'm going to Old Trafford to see United play Inter Milan - I do usually give up my season ticket when football clashes with choir (as it so often does!) but there's no way I'm missing this one!) It was great to be at the BBC though - I love it when we rehearse there (even though we had to go in via the basement on this occasion). It's well-lit and the toilets are clean and numerous (I wish our usual venue could say the same on either count) but most importantly it is in the CITY CENTRE and therefore very easy to get to. Pity we can't rehearse there all the time, but I imagine they charge us an arm and a leg so it probably can't be helped.
Yet again I have had "und alles Fleisch" (the octave leap bit) on the brain ever since the rehearsal - well, until this afternoon, when I heard a colleague use the phrase "always the bridesmaid", and this caused the chorus of "Why Am I Always The Bridesmaid" to lodge itself in my head. (After tomorrow night hopefully it'll be replaced by "Mourinho, are you listening...")
On Thursday I went with a friend to check out an open mic night in a pub near where he lives. Luckily we hadn't rehearsed at all - if we got to go on stage, we were just going to do songs we knew well enough to do at the drop of a hat - because it turned out that the pub had put the open mic nights on hold for a while (I suspect they saw us coming!) However, we spent a couple of hours there anyway, just chatting - very pleasant, I hardly ever do that. My friend's wife has been learning the piano, and she told me that her teacher has persuaded her to take the grade 1 exam. However, it transpired that this teacher hadn't mentioned anything at all about aural or sight-reading, so I think I scared her by explaining what was involved! Hope I haven't put her off the exam... I did say I'd help her if she wanted me to, so hopefully all will be well. (I have many thoughts about aural and sight-reading, many of which I've mentioned here in the past, but I don't think it helps students not to tell them they'll have to do it.)
Anyway, a few links: Someone has investigated the use of a click track on various pop songs. The article itself is quite technical, but if you ignore the numbers the conclusions are still comprehensible.
YouTube has finally chosen its orchestra, and the Guardian has a couple of articles about this (here and here).
The Guardian also has a couple more articles related to the ABO conference: one about speeches in Welsh and one responding to last week's article about drunkenness in orchestras.
And in non-music news, if you're a fan of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", you may find this as fascinating as I do: the transcript of the first story meeting has emerged. (Fuller story here.)
And finally, here's a really nice idea for a birthday present - wish this had happened to me!
P.S. Only just saw this and had to edit to add it: Manchester Confidential samples the buffet at Victoria Station and really, really regrets it. It's funny but sadly all too true!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
"If you DON'T praise his holy name, then we'll go into D minor, people, and it will be BAD."
It feels like much longer since I've updated here than it actually is. Sorry if it feels that way to you too!
Vaughan Williams is now a long-distant memory, because for the last couple of weeks it's been all Mendelssohn. (Incidentally, I'd forgotten how short Mendelssohn's life was - he died when he was 38.) I really like this piece, quite apart from its personal significance for me (being, as previously mentioned, the first thing I ever sang with the choir). It's a huge sing, though, and it'll be interesting to see whether any voices collapse under the strain, particularly as we're performing it more times than we do most things (we're doing this in Manchester, and at the Royal Albert Hall in the Proms, and in Valencia). My favourite bit is still the 4-part men's chord at the start of "The Night is Departing", but there are lots of other good bits too.
Last week we had a great rehearsal in which we sight-read through the whole thing. I love rehearsals like that (so much so that I gave up my ticket for that night's United game) but that's mainly because I love sight-reading. And yes, even though I have sung it before, it did feel like sight-reading... but bear in mind that it's over 15 years since I last sang it, and last time it was in English and this time it isn't, so there is no muscle memory (if indeed muscle memory works after 15 years!) On the whole the sight-reading was pretty successful - I do think most of the choir are getting better at this. (It occurred to me the other night that there's an easy way to tell - just from watching - who the best sight-readers are in any choir. Just wait for a page turn. There are still many singers (in all choirs) who only turn the page at the moment the music actually REACHES the end of the page. The good sight-readers will have turned several bars earlier.)
This week we didn't do the whole thing, but concentrated on some of the harder bits. There was also a ladies' sectional at which I'd expected we'd do the section where the men don't sing and the ladies are in 4 parts, but we didn't. I'd also expected we'd do the Planets, but we only spent 5 minutes reading through it at the end. Lots of people (who presumably hadn't done it before) seemed quite bemused by it, but I'm sure they'll find it easy enough once they've worked out which line to sing. The sectional was great fun though, as usual. I think it's because there are always far fewer people there than at the Wednesday rehearsals, so the atmosphere is much more intimate.
(They used to always alternate the sectional nights, so that people who have a regular commitment on a particular night, as so many of the choir do, don't always miss out. But recently all the ladies' sectionals have been on Thursdays and all the men's have been on Tuesdays, so any ladies who have to be elsewhere on a Thursday won't have been able to come to any of them. And it's been a pain when I've been trying to schedule rehearsals for my band, because Thursdays are the only nights none of us has any other regular commitment, so we usually rehearse on Thursdays, but since four of us sing in the choir we've found it extremely difficult to fit rehearsals in this year so far, due to the number of choir commitments on Thursdays.) (And even after we HAVE agreed dates, things keep happening to prevent us rehearsing as planned, due to people being ill or having to go into work. There are seven of us and we've NEVER yet had a rehearsal with more than five! One day...)
Anyway, at this week's ladies' sectional, we not only made lots of progress on the hard bits of the Mendelssohn, we were also treated to a one-man performance of My Evaline. (I recognised the tune but didn't know its name - I had to ask. It's from the Yale Songbook, a.k.a. "Songs of Yale", used by the Yale Glee Club.) Why? Because there's a bit in Mendelssohn 2 that is similar to a bit of "My Evaline"! There was also a bit of discussion of the Andrews Sisters (for those who've never heard them, their most famous song is probably Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and there's a documentary about them on BBC4 at 9pm this Friday.). I love rehearsals like that! (And I realise I've now said that about two totally different types of rehearsal - well, I love both types!)
The other choir-related excitement this week was that I've spent quite a bit of time fine-tuning the details of our get-to-Valencia-by-train plan. In the next day or two the tickets will go on sale for the Paris to Barcelona leg of the journey, so I wanted to be sure that we know exactly what we're doing, and at what time, and how long we need for each connection. The plan is now thoroughly worked out, and all we have to do is buy the tickets. I think I'm actually looking forward to the journey more than the concert - well, we'll be doing the same concert at least twice in other locations, but this journey will be a one-off! (In case you're wondering, it will cost about £240 total for each of us - £220 if we stay with friends in London on the Sunday night on the way back and take advantage of the cheap fares on the Monday.)
Anyway, I have a few links to share from the last week or two.
At Sydney Opera House they had a dawn concert for the victims of the Australian bush fires. There is a clip on the BBC news site, although it cuts out just as the choir is about to sing - if anyone finds a link to more of it, please let me know!
Meanwhile, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, they performed an opera in the bar after a power cut in the auditorium.
ACDA (the American Choral Directors' Association) has its own YouTube channel, where you can view lots of videos of choral performances. I've only looked at a few - please let me know if you discover one that you think everyone needs to see. (Thanks to ChoralBlog for alerting me to this.)
Here's a fascinating article about the technical aspects of a project to bring live opera to cyberspace.
From the front of the choir has had a great series of posts recently about "preparing to sing", but the one I found most interesting was the one that explained exactly why physical warmups are so important.
The Really Terrible Orchestra is having problems with other orchestras using its name. I'm very amused by this article: "Their CDs come with complimentary earplugs and their music is bereft of C sharps because it is a note that their principal bassoonist has never mastered." "Sometimes the orchestras' efforts are so excruciating that the conductor will stop a performance to offer his apologies to the audience." "“It does not matter that on more than one occasion members of the orchestra have been discovered to be playing different pieces of music by different composers, at the same time. We are The Really Terrible Orchestra and we shall go on and on.”
A nice story from the MEN about a member of the Youth Choir.
There is a new(ish) band called Fleet Foxes, and I just love their singing. Read this review of a concert they did in London this week. I would REALLY like to hear them live. (More reviews of their gig by The Times, the Financial Times and the Independent.)
Talking of London concerts, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela will be at the South Bank Centre for a week in April. (That's these people, in case you'd forgotten.) I think it was only announced a few days ago, but already all the tickets are almost gone. That's someone else I'd love to see live, particularly as they're doing (amongst other things) Concerto for Orchestra and The Rite of Spring, two of the most exciting pieces there are. (Their conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, has been in London this week conducting the Philharmonia, to rave reviews (Guardian, Times, FT.))
By way of contrast, there's someone who decided to go for a month without music and blog about it.
In the news yesterday: doctors are planning to do voice box transplants. I'm intrigued by this, mainly because I can't help wondering what effect this would have on the singing voice. The article doesn't mention this question, but I hope some scientist is poised to investigate!
In the news today: well, not really news, but further mention of the prevalence of drinking problems in orchestras. I'd be very surprised indeed if it transpired that this was a problem that affected OUR orchestra, but I'd love to know which orchestras they're talking about in the article.
Non-musical stuff: the Big Picture has a great series of photos from this year's Carnival in Rio.
A date for your diary: Saturday 28th March (8.30-9.30pm) is Earth Hour. Get ready to turn your lights out.
I'm fascinated by Twitscoop - a constantly-changing summary of what people are talking about RIGHT NOW, taken from millions of Twitter posts.
And finally - apparently cats are fascinated by this spider, but I haven't been able to get either of mine to look at the screen for long enough to notice it!
EDIT: I almost forgot... the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film (due for release on 17th July) has a new official website, where you can see a trailer and hear the new version of the theme tune. Over four months to go and I'm ridiculously excited!
Vaughan Williams is now a long-distant memory, because for the last couple of weeks it's been all Mendelssohn. (Incidentally, I'd forgotten how short Mendelssohn's life was - he died when he was 38.) I really like this piece, quite apart from its personal significance for me (being, as previously mentioned, the first thing I ever sang with the choir). It's a huge sing, though, and it'll be interesting to see whether any voices collapse under the strain, particularly as we're performing it more times than we do most things (we're doing this in Manchester, and at the Royal Albert Hall in the Proms, and in Valencia). My favourite bit is still the 4-part men's chord at the start of "The Night is Departing", but there are lots of other good bits too.
Last week we had a great rehearsal in which we sight-read through the whole thing. I love rehearsals like that (so much so that I gave up my ticket for that night's United game) but that's mainly because I love sight-reading. And yes, even though I have sung it before, it did feel like sight-reading... but bear in mind that it's over 15 years since I last sang it, and last time it was in English and this time it isn't, so there is no muscle memory (if indeed muscle memory works after 15 years!) On the whole the sight-reading was pretty successful - I do think most of the choir are getting better at this. (It occurred to me the other night that there's an easy way to tell - just from watching - who the best sight-readers are in any choir. Just wait for a page turn. There are still many singers (in all choirs) who only turn the page at the moment the music actually REACHES the end of the page. The good sight-readers will have turned several bars earlier.)
This week we didn't do the whole thing, but concentrated on some of the harder bits. There was also a ladies' sectional at which I'd expected we'd do the section where the men don't sing and the ladies are in 4 parts, but we didn't. I'd also expected we'd do the Planets, but we only spent 5 minutes reading through it at the end. Lots of people (who presumably hadn't done it before) seemed quite bemused by it, but I'm sure they'll find it easy enough once they've worked out which line to sing. The sectional was great fun though, as usual. I think it's because there are always far fewer people there than at the Wednesday rehearsals, so the atmosphere is much more intimate.
(They used to always alternate the sectional nights, so that people who have a regular commitment on a particular night, as so many of the choir do, don't always miss out. But recently all the ladies' sectionals have been on Thursdays and all the men's have been on Tuesdays, so any ladies who have to be elsewhere on a Thursday won't have been able to come to any of them. And it's been a pain when I've been trying to schedule rehearsals for my band, because Thursdays are the only nights none of us has any other regular commitment, so we usually rehearse on Thursdays, but since four of us sing in the choir we've found it extremely difficult to fit rehearsals in this year so far, due to the number of choir commitments on Thursdays.) (And even after we HAVE agreed dates, things keep happening to prevent us rehearsing as planned, due to people being ill or having to go into work. There are seven of us and we've NEVER yet had a rehearsal with more than five! One day...)
Anyway, at this week's ladies' sectional, we not only made lots of progress on the hard bits of the Mendelssohn, we were also treated to a one-man performance of My Evaline. (I recognised the tune but didn't know its name - I had to ask. It's from the Yale Songbook, a.k.a. "Songs of Yale", used by the Yale Glee Club.) Why? Because there's a bit in Mendelssohn 2 that is similar to a bit of "My Evaline"! There was also a bit of discussion of the Andrews Sisters (for those who've never heard them, their most famous song is probably Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and there's a documentary about them on BBC4 at 9pm this Friday.). I love rehearsals like that! (And I realise I've now said that about two totally different types of rehearsal - well, I love both types!)
The other choir-related excitement this week was that I've spent quite a bit of time fine-tuning the details of our get-to-Valencia-by-train plan. In the next day or two the tickets will go on sale for the Paris to Barcelona leg of the journey, so I wanted to be sure that we know exactly what we're doing, and at what time, and how long we need for each connection. The plan is now thoroughly worked out, and all we have to do is buy the tickets. I think I'm actually looking forward to the journey more than the concert - well, we'll be doing the same concert at least twice in other locations, but this journey will be a one-off! (In case you're wondering, it will cost about £240 total for each of us - £220 if we stay with friends in London on the Sunday night on the way back and take advantage of the cheap fares on the Monday.)
Anyway, I have a few links to share from the last week or two.
At Sydney Opera House they had a dawn concert for the victims of the Australian bush fires. There is a clip on the BBC news site, although it cuts out just as the choir is about to sing - if anyone finds a link to more of it, please let me know!
Meanwhile, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, they performed an opera in the bar after a power cut in the auditorium.
ACDA (the American Choral Directors' Association) has its own YouTube channel, where you can view lots of videos of choral performances. I've only looked at a few - please let me know if you discover one that you think everyone needs to see. (Thanks to ChoralBlog for alerting me to this.)
Here's a fascinating article about the technical aspects of a project to bring live opera to cyberspace.
From the front of the choir has had a great series of posts recently about "preparing to sing", but the one I found most interesting was the one that explained exactly why physical warmups are so important.
The Really Terrible Orchestra is having problems with other orchestras using its name. I'm very amused by this article: "Their CDs come with complimentary earplugs and their music is bereft of C sharps because it is a note that their principal bassoonist has never mastered." "Sometimes the orchestras' efforts are so excruciating that the conductor will stop a performance to offer his apologies to the audience." "“It does not matter that on more than one occasion members of the orchestra have been discovered to be playing different pieces of music by different composers, at the same time. We are The Really Terrible Orchestra and we shall go on and on.”
A nice story from the MEN about a member of the Youth Choir.
There is a new(ish) band called Fleet Foxes, and I just love their singing. Read this review of a concert they did in London this week. I would REALLY like to hear them live. (More reviews of their gig by The Times, the Financial Times and the Independent.)
Talking of London concerts, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela will be at the South Bank Centre for a week in April. (That's these people, in case you'd forgotten.) I think it was only announced a few days ago, but already all the tickets are almost gone. That's someone else I'd love to see live, particularly as they're doing (amongst other things) Concerto for Orchestra and The Rite of Spring, two of the most exciting pieces there are. (Their conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, has been in London this week conducting the Philharmonia, to rave reviews (Guardian, Times, FT.))
By way of contrast, there's someone who decided to go for a month without music and blog about it.
In the news yesterday: doctors are planning to do voice box transplants. I'm intrigued by this, mainly because I can't help wondering what effect this would have on the singing voice. The article doesn't mention this question, but I hope some scientist is poised to investigate!
In the news today: well, not really news, but further mention of the prevalence of drinking problems in orchestras. I'd be very surprised indeed if it transpired that this was a problem that affected OUR orchestra, but I'd love to know which orchestras they're talking about in the article.
Non-musical stuff: the Big Picture has a great series of photos from this year's Carnival in Rio.
A date for your diary: Saturday 28th March (8.30-9.30pm) is Earth Hour. Get ready to turn your lights out.
I'm fascinated by Twitscoop - a constantly-changing summary of what people are talking about RIGHT NOW, taken from millions of Twitter posts.
And finally - apparently cats are fascinated by this spider, but I haven't been able to get either of mine to look at the screen for long enough to notice it!
EDIT: I almost forgot... the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film (due for release on 17th July) has a new official website, where you can see a trailer and hear the new version of the theme tune. Over four months to go and I'm ridiculously excited!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The night is departing
Very busy week - out every night and have had loads of stuff to do at home too, which has meant not going to bed till... well, now! - so I'll write properly at the weekend. This is just a flying visit to let choir members know that, thanks to the wonderful Sheena, Mendelssohn 2 is now available on my mp3 page (also linked on right of this page). The choir on the recording isn't great, but they're good enough to help with notebashing at least. Oh, and my prediction about what language we're singing in turned out to be correct! Drat!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A demonstration of quality unaccompanied singing
I'm quite impressed with the MEN review of last night's concert, although their perception of what part of our performance was the best is interesting (by which I mean, I don't agree with it!) I really enjoyed the concert (well, our bit at least - the rest of the programme wasn't really to my taste, although the Britten thing was fun). I don't think we sang as well as we were doing last week, but it was amazing after the rehearsal the previous night, which did not go as well as we might have hoped (plus it ended with us receiving some very bad news). People always say that a bad dress rehearsal makes for a good concert, and it certainly worked in this case!
I actually got quite overcome at some point in the Gloria when I realised that the performance was going to be good after all, and couldn't sing properly for a minute or so because I had a lump in my throat. After that I was OK, but I got so excited by the end that I couldn't keep my breath for the very last phrase - a pity, because how often do the altos get to start *and* finish a piece? Oh well.
Anyway, no more Vaughan Williams for us - next up, Mendelssohn 2 and the Planets. I'm really, really hoping we do the Mendelssohn in English (which will probably guarantee it's in German...) because it was the first thing I ever did with the choir, in 1993, and we did it in English then, so that's the version I've got in my head. (I wasn't allowed to sing in the concert that time due to being "on probation", so this will be my first performance of it.) Does anyone have (or know of) a recording of it IN ENGLISH? I've been looking for one for the past 16 years and not managed to find one... In the meantime, if anyone has a recording in German that they'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate it. (I've never bought one because I've been holding out for the English version.)
Finally, a couple of links: talking of Mendelssohn, there is a sing-a-long-a-Mendelssohn day in May.
From the BBC, the healing power of drumming.
And a composer tries to recreate Neanderthal music.
I actually got quite overcome at some point in the Gloria when I realised that the performance was going to be good after all, and couldn't sing properly for a minute or so because I had a lump in my throat. After that I was OK, but I got so excited by the end that I couldn't keep my breath for the very last phrase - a pity, because how often do the altos get to start *and* finish a piece? Oh well.
Anyway, no more Vaughan Williams for us - next up, Mendelssohn 2 and the Planets. I'm really, really hoping we do the Mendelssohn in English (which will probably guarantee it's in German...) because it was the first thing I ever did with the choir, in 1993, and we did it in English then, so that's the version I've got in my head. (I wasn't allowed to sing in the concert that time due to being "on probation", so this will be my first performance of it.) Does anyone have (or know of) a recording of it IN ENGLISH? I've been looking for one for the past 16 years and not managed to find one... In the meantime, if anyone has a recording in German that they'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate it. (I've never bought one because I've been holding out for the English version.)
Finally, a couple of links: talking of Mendelssohn, there is a sing-a-long-a-Mendelssohn day in May.
From the BBC, the healing power of drumming.
And a composer tries to recreate Neanderthal music.
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