Finally, a suitable post for this icon.
So, some of you (whoever you may be) may or may not know that I have a straining metaphorical hard-on for Dimitri Shostakovich's 11th Symphony. I guess this is a really distasteful thing to say, since the symphony is essentially about the uprising in Russia in 1905. But it's absolutely true - I love this symphony so much.
Well, I just saw the NZSM orchestra perform it in concert.
I've been looking forward to this concert for weeks, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Every Tuesday when I've been wandering around the school of music or mixing tracks on Logic in EMS4 I've heard them in the background playing those melodies; I managed to record, by accident, the faint rolls of the timpani rhythms, which are quite familiar to me, whilst I was in the recording studio at one point.
I guess I was a little worried about seeing/hearing it performed, since I know it so well (I have a recording on one of my late uncle's CDs) and that it might have lost its charm, its power.
But no, never have I been so moved. It's exciting, it's beautiful, it's terrifying, it's engaging, it's tragic.
You can hear the cries of despair and the gunfire.
...So I guess, since it was so amazing, that I could nit-pick about one thing.
Performance.
Ok, I know I'm not a performance student, and I know that I take most of my knowledge about presenting myself in front of an audience from my Barbershop training. I know that the orchestra is definitely not the same as a Sweet Adelines chorus, but I think that there are universal performance practices which would make sense in both settings.
Also I should say that I haven't been to an NZSM orchestra concert before this one.
Anyway, let me just say,
I don't really care if you bollocks up half of bar 71 or whatever - don't pull a face.
If Ken does something weird with his baton, don't pull a face.
The audience can see you; players in a large ensemble or chorus should never assume that they can't be seen just because they're in a crowd. Unlike everyday life, you're in front of an audience and there is a good chance that at least one person in the audience will have their eyes on you at any given time. And if they see you zoned out or looking confused or insecure, it's uncomfortable for them, it really is.
Not everyone had this problem - some people didn't have it at all, some people were on the edge, some people I saw did it several times.
It was the same with energy. The one person I felt most drawn to was Arna, since her body language was so reflective of the symphony, and emotive. It also made sense since she was kind of the concert-master, but that's not an excuse for her to be the only one with that much energy. I saw players in there with similar kinds of expressiveness (especially in the double bass section at times, holy crap) but not always to the same extent as Arna.
Imagine if all the players in the string section had Arna's energy all the time. The emotion and expressiveness of the symphony would shoot straight through the roof. Now, it may just be a law for orchestral players to mainly look deadpan and only move their bow arm, but I doubt that's really the case. If every single player fought for attention, or had that sort of attitude, no-one would stand out because they were either dead-pan or 'over the top'.
Even if you didn't have reason to move, like woodwind and brass players, maybe putting some lift in your face might work. This is the singer coming out in me, I know. But it's all essentially just ideas towards captivating performance. Again, the audience can see you. Just because you're not a soloist doesn't mean that you can let go. Perform.
One final thing: I wish that players would properly accept their applause. The audience loves you. At least smile. You might be sick of the piece, or tired, or have gastric flu but were forced to roll out of bed because you're the only xylophone player in the region or something ridiculous like that (I doubt that was true, but it's just an example) - but this is your performance. You're not a member of a large group who doesn't have a large impact, you're a valued unit in the team. Be proud of that.
I'm sure that people know this already. But seriously, sometimes it really doesn't show.
Despite all this, though, it really was a moving experience to hear these masterpieces live. Really it's just those imperfections that subtract from everything, which is a shame in some ways, but all in all it was just gorgeous.
In my opinion the Schumann could never have held up against the Shosty, which is probably why it was placed first in the programme, but Diedre Irons' performance wholly made up for this. Unfortunately where I was sitting I couldn't actually see her, but what little I did catch of her performing I was blown away by.
So yeah, awesome stuff, and I'm sort of sorry for being a dick about performance. And sort of not. I felt like I needed to say it.
Well, I just saw the NZSM orchestra perform it in concert.
I've been looking forward to this concert for weeks, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Every Tuesday when I've been wandering around the school of music or mixing tracks on Logic in EMS4 I've heard them in the background playing those melodies; I managed to record, by accident, the faint rolls of the timpani rhythms, which are quite familiar to me, whilst I was in the recording studio at one point.
I guess I was a little worried about seeing/hearing it performed, since I know it so well (I have a recording on one of my late uncle's CDs) and that it might have lost its charm, its power.
But no, never have I been so moved. It's exciting, it's beautiful, it's terrifying, it's engaging, it's tragic.
You can hear the cries of despair and the gunfire.
...So I guess, since it was so amazing, that I could nit-pick about one thing.
Performance.
Ok, I know I'm not a performance student, and I know that I take most of my knowledge about presenting myself in front of an audience from my Barbershop training. I know that the orchestra is definitely not the same as a Sweet Adelines chorus, but I think that there are universal performance practices which would make sense in both settings.
Also I should say that I haven't been to an NZSM orchestra concert before this one.
Anyway, let me just say,
I don't really care if you bollocks up half of bar 71 or whatever - don't pull a face.
If Ken does something weird with his baton, don't pull a face.
The audience can see you; players in a large ensemble or chorus should never assume that they can't be seen just because they're in a crowd. Unlike everyday life, you're in front of an audience and there is a good chance that at least one person in the audience will have their eyes on you at any given time. And if they see you zoned out or looking confused or insecure, it's uncomfortable for them, it really is.
Not everyone had this problem - some people didn't have it at all, some people were on the edge, some people I saw did it several times.
It was the same with energy. The one person I felt most drawn to was Arna, since her body language was so reflective of the symphony, and emotive. It also made sense since she was kind of the concert-master, but that's not an excuse for her to be the only one with that much energy. I saw players in there with similar kinds of expressiveness (especially in the double bass section at times, holy crap) but not always to the same extent as Arna.
Imagine if all the players in the string section had Arna's energy all the time. The emotion and expressiveness of the symphony would shoot straight through the roof. Now, it may just be a law for orchestral players to mainly look deadpan and only move their bow arm, but I doubt that's really the case. If every single player fought for attention, or had that sort of attitude, no-one would stand out because they were either dead-pan or 'over the top'.
Even if you didn't have reason to move, like woodwind and brass players, maybe putting some lift in your face might work. This is the singer coming out in me, I know. But it's all essentially just ideas towards captivating performance. Again, the audience can see you. Just because you're not a soloist doesn't mean that you can let go. Perform.
One final thing: I wish that players would properly accept their applause. The audience loves you. At least smile. You might be sick of the piece, or tired, or have gastric flu but were forced to roll out of bed because you're the only xylophone player in the region or something ridiculous like that (I doubt that was true, but it's just an example) - but this is your performance. You're not a member of a large group who doesn't have a large impact, you're a valued unit in the team. Be proud of that.
I'm sure that people know this already. But seriously, sometimes it really doesn't show.
Despite all this, though, it really was a moving experience to hear these masterpieces live. Really it's just those imperfections that subtract from everything, which is a shame in some ways, but all in all it was just gorgeous.
In my opinion the Schumann could never have held up against the Shosty, which is probably why it was placed first in the programme, but Diedre Irons' performance wholly made up for this. Unfortunately where I was sitting I couldn't actually see her, but what little I did catch of her performing I was blown away by.
So yeah, awesome stuff, and I'm sort of sorry for being a dick about performance. And sort of not. I felt like I needed to say it.