We got our moment back!

I was fed up a few days ago because we'd been told that the BIG ALTO MOMENT at the end of Mahler 2 had been transferred to the 2nd sopranos. (If there is a bigger alto moment in ANYTHING, I can't currently think of it! Any suggestions?) But it now seems that there may have been some confusion, and we have our moment back. I'm VERY happy about this. (Just so we're clear, under normal circumstances I don't enjoy singing top Gs, but I do HAVE a top G - we all do! - and when I don't have to try to do it any quieter than fff, it's great fun!) Mahler did NOT make a mistake - he was well aware that the altos would be right at the top of their range there, but that's the EFFECT he wanted.

I don't actually have any evidence for this statement, I have to admit (although it's not one I've invented myself - I've heard far more experienced people than me say the same thing), but while I was looking for some, I did find that there is a blog (by a conductor called Kenneth Woods) which is doing a series of detailed posts about the Mahler in Manchester series. He also has a great series of posts (from a few years ago) about Mahler 2 specifically.

The Mahler series has started now, of course. The Guardian even had an editorial about it, of which the gist was "London COULD have done this, but they didn't, did they?" And the reviews for Mahler 1 were great: Guardian, Times, Manchester Evening News.

I'm actually really quite enjoying the Colin Matthews piece now, although I doubt it will be one I'll listen to very often after this month. We sang it through without stopping for the first time on Wednesday, and I think it will be great. The triplet crotchet scales sound impressive rather than difficult now, and the bars that have the really satisfying chords sound spectacular. And I love the end! Hope the audience like it on Thursday.

I'm also still loving ITV's Popstar to Operastar, although I remain baffled about why the producers are doing some of the things they're doing. Tonight, for example, of the seven songs performed, only FOUR were from actual operas. (Wikipedia, as ever, has full details.) It seems that the producers think that any song counts as operatic if it's in Italian! (I mean, VOLARE?!?) I don't understand this - it's not as if there aren't LOTS of well-known operatic arias! Also, one of the ones they did include - Brindisi - is a duet, so it makes no sense to have Kym Marsh sing it on her own... and in totally the wrong key, as I realised when the backing choir joined in! I've sung that backing part lots of times, so I remember quite well that the alto part is all Fs... but when I joined in with the alto part tonight, it wasn't Fs. Bizarre. (Note: I'm not blaming the pop stars themselves - I presume they're not choosing their own songs.) Anyway, I thought the lovely Danny McFly WAS the best tonight (although his song wasn't from an opera), but Marcella Detroit was a close second. I'm sticking to my prediction that it will be between the two of them.

I'm getting lots of interest in my website - it's doing well on Google, and the free downloads have proved very popular. However, despite a few promises from people, I haven't actually made any money at all yet, so I'm getting a bit desperate! I have a few strategies I'm planning to try, though, and giving up is not an option, so let's hope something works soon.

I seem to have acquired a load of links again, so let me list them for you.

Via Eine Kleine Nichtmusik, news about the Extreme Cellists.

I mentioned the recent a cappella festival in London. This short video from the Guardian shows a bit of the Swingle Singers performance from it, but mainly it's a lesson in beatboxing. Very interesting.

ChoralBlog brings us this amazing video of a marching band. Even if you think you don't like marching bands, PLEASE watch this. It is full of brilliantly creative ideas that enhance the performance, and it must have been SO much fun to do!

You'll have heard the story about the headteacher who uses classical music as a punishment, because it's been all over the place since the Guardian printed this.

Great article by Charlotte Higgins about amateur music-making in the UK. I particularly love the idea of a Cobweb Orchestra!

Tom Service tells us about the Cleveland Orchestra strike, and its speedy resolution. As he points out, there are issues here that may come up in the UK too.

Via Classical Iconoclast, details of the English Song Weekend which will take place in Shropshire this June. Looks lovely - wish I could go.

Via A Cappella News, a Times article explaining why choirs are now cool.

You can now vote online in the BBC Music Magazine awards.

Stephen Moss writes in the Guardian about the enduring appeal of Gilbert and Sullivan. (I've never seen Ruddigore, so although one of my main World of Warcraft characters is called Mad Margaret (all my WoW characters are from G&S), I was delighted to learn that "her bouts of insanity can be calmed by shouting 'Basingstoke'"!)

There is trouble in Spain over music played in hairdressers' salons, would you believe.

I told you about Glee last July (I hope I can honestly say "you heard it here first!") You'll no doubt be aware that it's been airing in the UK for the past few weeks. My very favourite episode is the one that will be on E4 on Monday (not sure when it will be on C4), so don't miss that one. But in the meantime, the BBC website has a fact-packed article about glee clubs.

Here's an Independent article about female conductors, and Tom Service writes on the same subject. I'm disappointed that neither article mentions Ewa Strusinska, though!

Did you know about the missing visitor to Edgar Allan Poe's grave? I'm fascinated by this story. (The Guardian mentioned it too.)

Oh, and in my only bit of Manchester news this week, they've found human bones underneath Victoria Station! Which is all very well, but I wish they'd get a move on and FINISH WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING TO PLATFORM TWO (which is where I presume the bones are, since it's currently the only one that's dug up). It's causing great inconvenience to everyone who uses the Bradford/Leeds line (i.e. me!)