Well, I spent a large part of the weekend in Southport watching the 24-hour race. I only found out at the last minute that my sailing instructor, the lovely Adam McGovern, was attempting something unprecedented in aid of Sail4Cancer. If you want to sponsor him, even though the race is now over, I'm sure he'd be thrilled - there are links at both of the sites. I didn't actually see the end of the race - I left at 8.30 a.m. in order to get the first train home, having been outside all night - but he (with his crew, Chris) did finish, and in 2nd place too! (83 laps means they sailed more than 100 miles, in case you were wondering.) The picture at the end of this post is of him just before I left.
Thanks to those who responded to my query about mp3s sounding wonky. It seems as if it might be just Graham and I who have the problem, so I won't worry about it too much for now! That being the case, I'm going ahead and posting Verdi Requiem stuff.
I was a little surprised to find that a lot of the choir have never sung it, and don't know about its EXTREME AWESOMENESS, so I will introduce it a bit! This is possibly my favourite piece. I could explain why, in detail (and maybe I will, nearer the time), but a short version will do for now: All of it is amazing, but the most entertaining part when we do it live is the start of the second movement. I have, written in my score at that point, "WATCH THE AUDIENCE!!!!" Because the first movement ends very quietly (like this), and the second movement starts with one of the loudest noises you'll ever hear in a concert (this one). (The start of the second movement is of course the bit that everyone knows, although a surprising number of people don't know what it's from.) It always amuses me a LOT when half the audience literally jump out of their seats :-)
(Oh, and the bass drum in that bit has been described as the most famous bass drum in all of music. Often a specially large bass drum is used - one that is never used in any other piece - and they even do special Verdi Requiem mallets (scroll down) "for maximum volume".)
(And, and, and, the offstage trumpets! They appear later in the second movement. Take That used a bit of this section at the start of Never Forget", but that doesn't give anything like the live effect of all the trumpets surrounding you, and the buildup from one solo trumpet to the entire orchestra playing ff. (In theory there are 4 onstage and 4 offstage, but they sometimes add players if they can.) That's always spinetingling in the Bridgewater Hall - I think that in St Paul's it will make the hardest backbone melt.)
Those are by no means my favourite parts of the music - I love all of it, but my favourite part is the a cappella bit in the last movement. Mmmmmmmm. (I even once wrote a song based on the last line of that section... not that anyone who heard it realised that!) But the whole piece is one of those pieces that just isn't the same unless you experience it live. And I can't wait to hear how it works in St Paul's.
Anyway, Verdi Requiem mp3s:
1. Requiem & Kyrie Eleison
2. Dies Irae
3. Tuba Mirum
4. Mors Stupebit
5. Liber Scriptus
6. Quid Sum Miser *
7. Rex Tremendae
8. Recordare *
9. Ingemisco *
10. Confutatis
11. Lacrymosa
12. Domine Jesu (Offertorio) *
13. Sanctus
14. Agnus Dei *
15. Lux Aeterna *
16. Libera Me
(These don't quite all fit on one CD (at least, not if you do it in standard audio format), so it may be helpful to know that the tracks marked * don't involve the choir.)
And finally, I thought you might like to hear my current favourite song. It's by Mika (the Grace Kelly guy) and is called Happy Ending. I love the backing vocals, but the whole song just puts a smile on my face. Enjoy!
EDIT: If you're not a fan of the Wheel of Time books, this will mean nothing to you, but if you are, you will be as distraught as I am to learn that Robert Jordan died yesterday :-(
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