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Jul. 19th, 2005 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sam_tAs usual, I have stuff to say but no time in which to say it properly. When I have got time I find I have nothing to write about. Ho hum. I wanted to get a couple of things down, though, even if in a rather rough and ready form.
Concert at the weekend: very enjoyable, if not the (amateur, 30-strong) choir's best. Interesting programme, despite the rather bland title (l'Entente Cordiale) - lots of (relatively) modern composers writing about the past. Debussy, Ravel, Shearing, Rebecca Clarke, Saint-Saens, Bob Chilcott. Settings of Shakespeare's songs, reworkings of Dowland, folk songs, poems by a French poet whose name I can't remember at the moment but I think was a contemporary of Villon, a poem by another poet whose name I can't remember, about ritual drum-making. Some more successful than others, and piano and bass in the Shearing was far too straight IMO, but at their best they were really quite good. In the pub afterwards I got stuck between two high-status church organists/choral directors talking shop.
Great evening yesterday. Same choir was visited by a touring choir from Seattle - local choir had hired a large (C19th?) cemetery chapel (of all places, although it didn't work out badly apart from the lack of tables and sink) and arranged a bring-and-share tea. I turned up to find that the local contingent was about 30 to the visitors' 80 (c45 choir plus families) so the food was rather outnumbered until a delegation was sent off to the nearest Sainsbury's. Visitors had each brought at least one bottle of beer from assorted local microbreweries - yum, and lots of conversations struck up over the merits of the different beers. Sadly no-one knew that there were beer connoisseurs arriving so we didn't have an equivalent local selection to offer. Thankfully someone had brought a box of Pedigree, though. Everyone very friendly. Our choir sang the Shearing and a Zulu wedding song (lacking the conductor and some soloists for the rest of the programme which was a bit serious in any case) which went down well. In fact, the Shearing was better than the actual concert as they borrowed the Seattle choir's pianist. Visiting choir sang a couple of spirituals and an unusual piece by a Canadian composer in which the choir imitated mosquitos. This also went down well, not least because the sopranos were fighting to keep from giggling instead of zzzzing in a couple of places. Everyone very impressed at everyone else's singing. Then we all gathered together and went outside to sing together. I got roped into singing too, which was wonderful - I haven't sung in a choir for so long - and thankfully one of the stronger altos was happy to stand next to me and put up with my sight singing. The choir went back to their hotel shortly after but a few of us followed in cars and on bikes to rope some of the younger choir members into finding the nearest pub with draught bitter. More interesting conversation over a wide variety of subjects - music is a great ice-breaker (and so was the beer).
ETA: Concert Programme (not in order) -
Chilcott, Making of the Drum
Clarke, Philomela and Weep no more you sad fountains
Shearing, Songs and Sonnets
Villette, Salve Regina
Saint-Saens, Calme des nuits and Les fleurs et les arbres
Debussy, Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans (so I wasn't far off with Villon)
Ravel, Trois Chansons
ETA2: I've just found out that the choir is actually from near Tacoma. They seemed to talk about Seattle more, though.
Concert at the weekend: very enjoyable, if not the (amateur, 30-strong) choir's best. Interesting programme, despite the rather bland title (l'Entente Cordiale) - lots of (relatively) modern composers writing about the past. Debussy, Ravel, Shearing, Rebecca Clarke, Saint-Saens, Bob Chilcott. Settings of Shakespeare's songs, reworkings of Dowland, folk songs, poems by a French poet whose name I can't remember at the moment but I think was a contemporary of Villon, a poem by another poet whose name I can't remember, about ritual drum-making. Some more successful than others, and piano and bass in the Shearing was far too straight IMO, but at their best they were really quite good. In the pub afterwards I got stuck between two high-status church organists/choral directors talking shop.
Great evening yesterday. Same choir was visited by a touring choir from Seattle - local choir had hired a large (C19th?) cemetery chapel (of all places, although it didn't work out badly apart from the lack of tables and sink) and arranged a bring-and-share tea. I turned up to find that the local contingent was about 30 to the visitors' 80 (c45 choir plus families) so the food was rather outnumbered until a delegation was sent off to the nearest Sainsbury's. Visitors had each brought at least one bottle of beer from assorted local microbreweries - yum, and lots of conversations struck up over the merits of the different beers. Sadly no-one knew that there were beer connoisseurs arriving so we didn't have an equivalent local selection to offer. Thankfully someone had brought a box of Pedigree, though. Everyone very friendly. Our choir sang the Shearing and a Zulu wedding song (lacking the conductor and some soloists for the rest of the programme which was a bit serious in any case) which went down well. In fact, the Shearing was better than the actual concert as they borrowed the Seattle choir's pianist. Visiting choir sang a couple of spirituals and an unusual piece by a Canadian composer in which the choir imitated mosquitos. This also went down well, not least because the sopranos were fighting to keep from giggling instead of zzzzing in a couple of places. Everyone very impressed at everyone else's singing. Then we all gathered together and went outside to sing together. I got roped into singing too, which was wonderful - I haven't sung in a choir for so long - and thankfully one of the stronger altos was happy to stand next to me and put up with my sight singing. The choir went back to their hotel shortly after but a few of us followed in cars and on bikes to rope some of the younger choir members into finding the nearest pub with draught bitter. More interesting conversation over a wide variety of subjects - music is a great ice-breaker (and so was the beer).
ETA: Concert Programme (not in order) -
Chilcott, Making of the Drum
Clarke, Philomela and Weep no more you sad fountains
Shearing, Songs and Sonnets
Villette, Salve Regina
Saint-Saens, Calme des nuits and Les fleurs et les arbres
Debussy, Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans (so I wasn't far off with Villon)
Ravel, Trois Chansons
ETA2: I've just found out that the choir is actually from near Tacoma. They seemed to talk about Seattle more, though.
