(no subject)
I had a great weekend, thanks to opalfruit. First the singing, which she has written about - and it was she who introduced me to the Breve group; and then on Sunday a meatfest in her garden because the weather was gorgeous to the point of being oppressive.
I am such a schoolgirl when it comes to singing and choirs, and the whole culture of choirs; it was GREAT to rediscover that. And we went for drinks with people after the concert - which was surprisingly well-performed, guess I managed to peak at the right time - and a soprano told us she was glad that we were able to join them, because they're apparently in short supply of altos. This NEVER happens ANYWHERE. It's good to feel needed.
There was a big, heavy, painful wheeze-making harmonium involved in our concert. I've seen a zillion harmoniums before because it's a staple instrument in India, the staple, possibly. But all the Indian ones are tiny little boxes, just 2 and a half octaves long. Until Saturday, I'd just assumed that there was nothing more to harmoniums. I guess in Indian classical music, you play it sitting down and one-handed, and press bellows with the other hand. Whereas Rossini wanted chords and more than just 2 octaves from his harmoniums, and you're sitting upright so you've got pedals with which to press the bellows (and simultaneously get some aerobic exercise from). So, yeah. Harmoniums are bizarre.
The Fantomas were doing a gig at the Forum in Kentish Town down the road from us when we were doing ours. Yeah, WE had a full house; did Mike Patton manage to fill his floor up? I doubt it.
I am such a schoolgirl when it comes to singing and choirs, and the whole culture of choirs; it was GREAT to rediscover that. And we went for drinks with people after the concert - which was surprisingly well-performed, guess I managed to peak at the right time - and a soprano told us she was glad that we were able to join them, because they're apparently in short supply of altos. This NEVER happens ANYWHERE. It's good to feel needed.
There was a big, heavy, painful wheeze-making harmonium involved in our concert. I've seen a zillion harmoniums before because it's a staple instrument in India, the staple, possibly. But all the Indian ones are tiny little boxes, just 2 and a half octaves long. Until Saturday, I'd just assumed that there was nothing more to harmoniums. I guess in Indian classical music, you play it sitting down and one-handed, and press bellows with the other hand. Whereas Rossini wanted chords and more than just 2 octaves from his harmoniums, and you're sitting upright so you've got pedals with which to press the bellows (and simultaneously get some aerobic exercise from). So, yeah. Harmoniums are bizarre.
The Fantomas were doing a gig at the Forum in Kentish Town down the road from us when we were doing ours. Yeah, WE had a full house; did Mike Patton manage to fill his floor up? I doubt it.