Hoo-wild-ah!

We started a new season of rehearsals this week. Our first concert isn't until 5th November, and we'll be singing Harmonium by John Adams, which is a work that's totally unfamiliar to me, and probably to most of the choir. I wasn't expecting to like it very much, but I've listened to it a few times and I actually like it a lot! It reminds me quite a bit of the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass, which I've always loved. (It looks as if Harmonium preceded Koyaanisqatsi by a year or two, but they were both written round about the same time - in the early 80s - so I don't know whether or not Philip Glass would have heard Harmonium before he started Koyaanisqatsi.) If you want mp3s of it, you can download them from my page here.

The notes aren't very difficult, but the rhythms will take a lot of work to get right, so it's probably just as well that we don't have anything else to work on for the next two months. And the various different ways in which the choir has to be divided only add to the fun! We all arrived to find a list of all the singers stuck to the door, with everyone allocated to a lettered group. Then, inside the hall, there was a very complicated (and colour-coded) seating plan, showing where each group was supposed to sit. There was lots of confusion. But the thing that amused me most all evening was connected to this.

I was in group K (as are many, but not all, of the 2nd altos), and was sitting right on the end of the back row. There were several empty seats immediately in front of me, so when Judy arrived slightly late, she rushed in, spotted that there were seats among the 2nd altos, and sat in one of them. I leaned forward and explained to her that she needed to check which group she was in etc., so she went back outside, found that she was indeed in group K, and came back to sit in the seat she'd originally taken. Shortly afterwards, Sue (who's a 1st alto) arrived, saw that the only currently accessible empty seats were among the 2nd altos (i.e. next to Judy), and sat there, presumably planning to move later. Judy smiled welcomingly at her and said "Are you a K?" to which Sue grinned back and said "Fine, thanks!" *giggle* I very much enjoyed explaining to Sue what Judy had actually said :-)

We had a very clear list of printed instructions telling us which group was singing which line at which point, so I did what I always do with a new score and went through it, to mark my line, while I was waiting for the rehearsal to start. So I felt quite smug when, partway through the rehearsal, we were given five minutes to do exactly that. I must admit that when I saw how many people hadn't already done it, I realised why so many of the choir have problems when we're sight-reading. Hint: it's a lot easier when you don't have to work out what line to look at as well as how to get your note!

I have a gig later today, actually - I'm going to the wilds of Staffordshire to sing at a party for Amy's parents. There will be six of us - three from our choir and three from the CBSO Chorus - and we have never sung together before. Everyone's had the music (and mp3s) in advance, though - we'll be singing four of my arrangements, all in six parts - and we'll be meeting a couple of hours before the party to rehearse. I'm looking forward to it - I love one-to-a-part stuff, and it's always fun to sing with competent people (well, I've never met the CBSO ones, but I'm assured they're good).

I'm sure you've all been watching and/or listening to the Proms, as I have, although I haven't caught as many this year as I did last year. There hasn't really been one so far that bowled me over. I think the one I enjoyed the most was yet again the John Wilson one - such fun! But I'm a little disappointed that there hasn't been one that had the same impact on me as the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra the first time I saw them, a few years ago. I watched their Mahler 2 this season with great anticipation, and I did enjoy it, but I thought we did it a lot better last year. There have been very mixed reviews of it: the Guardian gave it five stars, but The Arts Desk wasn't quite as impressed. On an Overgrown Path was slightly baffled by the Guardian review, and then wrote a controversial post about Dudamel in general. Do read the comments on that one - fascinating, and not just because of the name-calling!

An interesting related story: did you know that the Venezuelan music system has also produced a prison orchestra?

The Last Night of the Proms is tonight, of course. I'll watch it later, because I'll be singing in Staffordshire at the time. But I'm disappointed that the Sea Songs aren't in it - I know they're not always, but it never feels like the Last Night without them. Incidentally, when I was a teenager I used to adore our own Last Night of the Proms at the Free Trade Hall, which always featured a Fantasia on North Country Tunes (specially commissioned for the occasion from Ernest Tomlinson) - I would love to hear that again! At one point they had half the audience singing "She's a Lassie from Lancashire" while the other half sang "My Girl's a Yorkshire Girl". The tunes clashed horribly but it was great fun. And I vividly remember galloping down the aisle to "Blaydon Races" with my friend. (They had proper promenaders' tickets - i.e. standing - but we stood at the back of the stalls rather than the front. However, as the night wore on there were more and more moments in which we promenaders danced round the hall - I loved it!)

But my reason for mentioning the Last Night is that there's a world premiere in the first half, and it features a part for the promenaders... and if you want to join in from home, here's a page that tells you how.

And another participation opportunity: they are looking for a thousand volunteer drummers to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics next year. No experience required. How much fun would that be?!?

Other links I have saved, in no particular order.... On an Overgrown Path has a list of actual fees charged by a few top musicians.

Classical Iconoclast has an intriguing article about BBC's safety advice to its orchestras, but the BBC (unsurprisingly) has a much more detailed (and informative) report on the Radio 3 blog.

An even more intriguing article from the same source: Mongolian Throat Singing Wars. I think that's the best title I've heard in ages :-)

I have Nigel Kennedy's Bach prom recorded but I haven't watched it yet. But he's been quite outspoken about the fact that (according to him) lots of musicians can't play Bach properly.

This will be a big story, but the New York Times explains it better than I ever could: US copyright law is in upheaval, because songwriters who had hits in 1978 can now reclaim their rights to their own songs from the record companies.

A related story: this Guardian article explains the bizarre world of topline melody writing, and the legal problems caused by this.

Here's a sad story about the impact that the recent London riots had on the Manchester independent music scene.

Speaking of the riots, it seems like they happened ages ago now (to me, at least), yet it was only a month (9th August). I was in the city centre that afternoon, but the first I heard of any trouble in Manchester was just as I was setting off home. I spent that evening following the Manchester Evening News's live blog, which was very informative and updated every couple of minutes - I recommend looking at their website next time there's any ongoing local incident (although let's hope it's a more pleasant one next time!) The Greater Manchester Police Twitter feed was also very reassuring. But, if you were away from Manchester that night, this Manchester Confidential post (which includes lots of pictures, as well as real-time reports) gives a feeling of what it was like.

On a more positive note (admittedly, this was written just before the riots), here's a great Guardian article about why Manchester is amazing :-)

I did lots of volunteer work for Manchester Pride this summer, and really enjoyed it. Here's an informative Manchester Evening News article about Manchester's tradition of tolerance. And if you missed the fabulous parade, put next year's date in your diary (Saturday 25th August, 1pm) and console yourself by looking at the photos and videos from this year's parade.

On a totally different note, I know that several members of the choir are keen hillwalkers. Did you know that there aren't as many Munros as there used to be? One of the mountains is shorter than they thought!

David Mitchell's Soapbox (on the Guardian website) always amuses me, but this one - about the habit TV companies have of squashing credits into a corner of the screen so they can put a trailer in the rest of it - is particularly good. Possibly because I hate that more than you can possibly imagine.

And finally... this sounds like fun! In a couple of weeks' time, you can go to Leeds and take part in a live action game in which you will be chased through the city streets by zombies. I'm quite tempted, I must say!