More Holst and Elgar this week. The Holst is as fabulous as ever, and I wish it was that we'll be singing for months and months and months. But sadly it's the Elgar, which I'm no more enthusiastic about than last time we tried it. This week we actually rehearsed a lively bit - the only one in the piece, I suspect - and it transpired that there had been a suggestion of the Youth Choir doing that bit, but it was decided that it was inappropriate due to the lyrics (which are about wine). I think I would really have lost the will to live if we'd had the only non-funereal bit taken from us! Oh well, no doubt it will get more likeable. (I should confess at this point that I never really liked The Kingdom, even in the performance - I haven't even listened to our recording of it yet - and The Apostles just feels like more of the same, but longer and with fewer lively bits. *sigh*)
I have all sorts of other singing going on at the moment, but I'm in a hurry so maybe I'll tell you about that next time. I mainly wanted to post before my collection of links got out of hand again!
The reason for the title of this post is that I've just discovered that Tuesday is the centenary of the song It's a Long Way to Tipperary, and there is to be a celebration at 11am at Stalybridge Civic Hall - what, you didn't know that the song was written and first performed in Stalybridge? Neither did I until recently!
I forgot to post this at Christmas - I remembered it the other day when I was telling a friend about it. Via Stephen Hough's blog, here's the organist Cameron Carpenter playing the campest version of Sleigh Ride you're ever likely to see!
Also via Stephen Hough, a term I've never encountered before: the Russian crescendo.
Rupert Christiansen, in the Telegraph, is unimpressed with Alfie Boe.
Something I found on Wikipedia while looking for something else (this happens a lot!) - a list of list songs.
A thoughtful article on the BBC News site about unwelcome noise, by historian Lisa Jardine.
Also from BBC News, a fascinating article by Kevin Connolly about water shortage in the Middle East. I hadn't realised, in particular, that the River Jordan has hardly any water in it these days. That's an oddly upsetting thought, in view of the number of times I've sung about that river.
Details are starting to emerge about the Olympic opening ceremony. It will have The Tempest as its theme (particularly Caliban's line "Be not afeared, the isle is full of noises") and it will feature Europe's largest bell, which is being cast specially.
Manchester Confidential has a load of fascinating photos of the current state of the inside of the Central Library.
Last Wednesday was St Dwynwen's Day, which I'd never heard of before. It seems that St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, so the day is sort of like an extra Welsh Valentine's Day.
You'll be aware that both United and City are now out of the FA Cup, I'm sure, but this still seems wrong: it is very likely that the cup final kickoff time will be moved from the traditional 3pm to 5.15pm. IS NOTHING SACRED?!?
YouTube has long been one of the world's biggest websites, but did you know that currently there is a total of one hour's worth of video uploaded to it every second?
The mathematics of Sudoku: it's recently been proved that there have to be at least 17 digits given at the start of the puzzle. If there are any fewer, there will be more than one possible solution.
It would be hard for anyone to miss the fact that we've just had the Chinese New Year and are now in the Year of the Dragon. I'm a dragon myself (which has always pleased me, because it's clearly the best one!), so this is a bit depressing, because the mathematical part of me keeps reminding me that this means my age this year must be a multiple of 12, and that reminds me that I'll be 48 in October, and I don't feel a day over 24! However, I had never previously realised that there are different types of dragon: this year it's a Water Dragon, and I'm a Wood Dragon. (You'd think the fire-breathing aspect would make this a bit of a problem, but what do I know?!?) Anyway, if you want to know what your element is as well as your animal, Wikipedia has a handy list.
Monday, January 30, 2012
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2 comments:
I have always known about 'Tipperary' - My dad one took me into the Stalybridge Hippodrome where the song was first performed shortly before the building was demolished. It was a very strange experience as the place looked as if it had just been abandoned with theatre tickets still in the box office and other artefacts just lying around. I was very small at the time and was more interested in the toy shop next door unfortunately!
You tell the best stories, Barbara!
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