(no subject)
I knew I should never have said anything about posting every day :-P clearly that only works when I give myself a thing to post every day (ie. a piece of art or poetry as I've done before) I mean possibly I'll try that again but not until September now.
ANYWAY.
I had a busy but VERY fund weekend and I'm totally going to actually write about it now unlike all the other posts I haven't written /o\
On Saturday I went to Cambridge to see Sing! Community Choir's summer concert. My little sister is one of Sing's founders and I haven't managed to get to one of their concerts in ages so despite it being about a million degrees I drove over to Cambridge and was very glad I did.
Sing! is built very much along the same lines as Revelation for those of you who were members of Rev when at university or who have heard be talk about it before. Open to all and encouraging everyone to get involved in conducting, solos, accompanying pieces and even arranging which means that at times it isn't entirely polished but it's ALWAYS enthusiastic and loads of fun.
And actually it was really really good too! They sang everything from Happy (as in the Pharrell Williams song *g*) to Fly Me to the Moon (in a really complicated setting, very impressive) as well as various gospel standards including Faith a fabulous version of Asikathali (which I know my sister has been trying to find a workable version of for ages).
Plus there was a range of conductors & soloists and all the music came from various pianists and a couple of drummers.
Yet again it mostly made me very sad that I can't get to the community choir that's started near me because it meets on the same night as the church choir I'm in :-/
But I was very glad I went!
I helped out a bit with drinks & refreshments in the interval but it was SO hot I flaked on the picnic afterwards because all I could think about was having to drive home hot & sweaty & cranky :-/
Still that did mean I was home in time to catch the Tour de France highlights which is clearly a VITAL part of any day.
(thoughts about this year's Tour so far)
I'm still so sad Cav had to go out like that and even sadder for Chris Froome because it wasn't his fault BUT I'm also, despite myself, pretty damn impressed with the way Nibali is riding. I mean I have a lot of very complicated & mostly negative thoughts about his team but he's stamped his authority all over this race!
Meanwhile other riders I'm loving include Kwiatkowski (who might not have coped with the Alps so well but was super aggressive early on), Simon Yates (who is a STAR and yes they've pulled him now but he's only 21 and we're going to see a LOT more of him and Adam very soon), Jack Bauer (so close bb <3 you're definitely a Garmin rider with a breakway & dash for the line like that) ALSO I'm actually really excited by there being all these young french riders coming through and I'm also glad to see Tejay hasn't vanished out of the top ten yet, at least one rider in my fantasy team isn't failing completely :-P)
So those are my un-ordered and ridiculous thoughts.
On Sunday, after church and then coffee which mostly involved my goddaughter & her brother "ticking" my feet with their tiny but very sharp fingernails *rolls eyes* I headed into London for Aurora Orchestra's Jitterbug concert which I have been looking forwards to for MONTHS.
Before the concert though they had also arranged for Swing Patrol to come in a give anyone who wanted a short lesson in the Lindy Hop *g* Or rather more specifically we learned the 1940s Charleston- both side-by-side and hand-to-hand as well as a couple of linking moves. It was SO much fun and my utter panic just beforehand about going on my own was entirely unnecessary because even though almost everyone was there in a pair they made us switch partners every couple of minutes so there was no chance to fell left out. Even in the break when I was practicing on my own two different people came up to help/practice with me. There were even some of the musicians present too, I'm sure I danced with Dave O'Brian (Man Overbaord's bass player) at one point.
There's even video here (I'm top right, ponytail & dark top) and miraculously it's one of the times I did everything right (and cuts out just at the point I always found almost impossible)
I very much want to have another go at some point either with Swing Patrol or the classes that happen nearer to me ALSO Swing Patrol do evening's at Wilton's Music Hall sometimes starting with a Beginners' Class and then just dancing and that sounds like a thing we should TOTALLY do- any takers?
Jitterbug: Aurora Orchestra @ LSO St Lukes
The concept behind the concert was obviously swing music but they'd also broadened it out to music that made you want to dance and also music that had been inspired across the Atlantic ocean and so they started with some Rameau called Les Indes Galantes which he wrote after seeing Native American dancers at the French court. I hadn't ever heard it before but you could hear the new rhythms coming in and all of the varying characters (it's part of a ballet as far as I could tell- there was a wonderful bit which was a girl being chased by the North wind and then rescued by the West wind which you could really see as you listened to the music).
They didn't quite get to the end though because just as they were heading that way the wonderful members of Man Overboard snuck in and Ewan (clarinet) started straight into a specially written arrangement of Duke Ellington's Jubilee Stomp.
One of the reasons for this concert was that Aurora's lead violin, Thomas Gould, is also the violinist in Man Overboard and so as the Rameau finished he walked across to stand with the band and I just kept thinking it was like one of those parties where you introduce your friends to each other and hope they like each other and they all kept beaming at each other which was rather lovely :D
We had another song with the orchestra & band next and their singer Louisa Jones came out- she had a lovely voice, very Madeline Peyroux! I can't actually remember the name of the song now (fail) but it was another Iain Farrington special arrangement and I'll edit in the name when I'm at home *G*
Then finally in the first half we had some Stravinsky called Dumbarton Oaks which was written after he moved to America and which was lovely only I hit my energy blackout point after all that dancing and lost about 5 minutes in the middle /o\ oops!
Thankfully a little walk, some fresh air and a nice refreshing drink gave me plenty of energy for the second half. Just as it was about to start two people came and sat in the empty seats next to me- Aurora's flautist Jane Mitchell and next to her Nicholas Collon! So no conductor then... *g*
Of course he wasn't needed at first because they opened with Thomas Gould playing Paganini Caprice No 5 in A minor which was STUNNING. There's no other word for it. It's one of those show off pieces and he really did and it all REALLY worked.
On stage with him were the rest of Man Overboard and then Max Bailie (the lead Viola player for Aurora but with a violin) and just a handful of other players (clarinet, drums... something else (sorry!)) and Max came in at the very end of the Paganini before the segued into Tiger Rag.
I don't really understand how half the audience managed to sit through that without tapping their feet, they were just having so much FUN. I need to look up which Aurora clarinetist it was because he was BRILLIANT and they kept switching between Thomas & Ewan (Man Overboard) and then Max and the Aurora clarinet like a sort of tennis match and it was fantastic. Also they were just smiling and laughing and at one point Nicholas Collon up by me also started laughing which made me wonder about inside jokes *g*
Then they did St James Infirmary which I ADORE in almost every version I've ever heard but Louisa's voice really lends itself to that kind of song and the they had a couple of Swing Patrol dancers in for that number as well and I was in 7th heaven.
The final part of the evening was back to all Aurora for a brand new arrangement of Gerswhin's Porgy and Bess Fantasy. I can't praise Iain Farrington enough because every one of his arrangements seemed to show off both the orchestra and the band in equal parts and all of them seemed to be having a great time. (I didn't mention it earlier but in the Ellington he'd even written himself a part on the harpsichord!)
Mostly it made me desperately want to see Porgy & Bess and annoyed at myself that I haven't done anything about it because it's ON at the Regent's Park Theatre this summer!
But it just all worked so well and was SO much fun and I do love a good bit of swing and jazz <3
I never get tired of going to Aurora Orchestra concerts and particularly their New Moves series. Their next New Moves concert is in November and it includes something titled "Music for Two Acoustic Toothbrushes" so... yes.
It did occur to me though that I completely failed to review their LAST New Moves concert which was a collaboration with the counter tenor Iestyn Davies so here's what I remember of that!
How Pure the Sky: Aurora Orchestra @ LSO St Lukes
If you haven't realised already that I adore the Aurora Orchestra and love their experiments then you haven't been paying attention HOWEVER they really didn't need the film & sound effect they used in this one. They kept projecting pictures of various skies and using whistling wind sounds etc. but really I'd have rather they just put the blinds up and let us see the actual sky and trees outside because LSO St Lukes is so beautiful when the blinds are up.
That said the actual concert? Entrancing and delightful and perfect. There was a new orchestration by Nico Muhly based on Howells' King David which was wonderfully full of texture and which was followed by Thomas Adès Three Studies from Couperin which again I didn't know but which included all kinds of contrasts and which I thought was beautiful.
The second half started with Iestyn Davies in the gallery (where I was sitting) singing anotehr Nico Muhly arrangement- this time of some Handel, which just floated over the open space and really set the hairs going on the back of my neck. He then sang Che puro ciel from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (which is where the concert's title came from) followerd by Back's Widerstehe doch der Sünde both of which were brilliant although I have to admit after a few months I can't remember details of either I just remember not really breathing a lot whilst Iestyn was singing.
They finished the second half with some Schubert- hsi Symphony No 5 in B flat- and I always love a bit of Schubert and, as it finished, they switched into Irving Berlin's Blue Skies as Iestyn Davies entered from the back with an umbrella <3 a lovely light hearted ending to a great evening.
So look! Two new reviews and one old (May 1st) review. Yay Monday?
ANYWAY.
I had a busy but VERY fund weekend and I'm totally going to actually write about it now unlike all the other posts I haven't written /o\
On Saturday I went to Cambridge to see Sing! Community Choir's summer concert. My little sister is one of Sing's founders and I haven't managed to get to one of their concerts in ages so despite it being about a million degrees I drove over to Cambridge and was very glad I did.
Sing! is built very much along the same lines as Revelation for those of you who were members of Rev when at university or who have heard be talk about it before. Open to all and encouraging everyone to get involved in conducting, solos, accompanying pieces and even arranging which means that at times it isn't entirely polished but it's ALWAYS enthusiastic and loads of fun.
And actually it was really really good too! They sang everything from Happy (as in the Pharrell Williams song *g*) to Fly Me to the Moon (in a really complicated setting, very impressive) as well as various gospel standards including Faith a fabulous version of Asikathali (which I know my sister has been trying to find a workable version of for ages).
Plus there was a range of conductors & soloists and all the music came from various pianists and a couple of drummers.
Yet again it mostly made me very sad that I can't get to the community choir that's started near me because it meets on the same night as the church choir I'm in :-/
But I was very glad I went!
I helped out a bit with drinks & refreshments in the interval but it was SO hot I flaked on the picnic afterwards because all I could think about was having to drive home hot & sweaty & cranky :-/
Still that did mean I was home in time to catch the Tour de France highlights which is clearly a VITAL part of any day.
(thoughts about this year's Tour so far)
I'm still so sad Cav had to go out like that and even sadder for Chris Froome because it wasn't his fault BUT I'm also, despite myself, pretty damn impressed with the way Nibali is riding. I mean I have a lot of very complicated & mostly negative thoughts about his team but he's stamped his authority all over this race!
Meanwhile other riders I'm loving include Kwiatkowski (who might not have coped with the Alps so well but was super aggressive early on), Simon Yates (who is a STAR and yes they've pulled him now but he's only 21 and we're going to see a LOT more of him and Adam very soon), Jack Bauer (so close bb <3 you're definitely a Garmin rider with a breakway & dash for the line like that) ALSO I'm actually really excited by there being all these young french riders coming through and I'm also glad to see Tejay hasn't vanished out of the top ten yet, at least one rider in my fantasy team isn't failing completely :-P)
So those are my un-ordered and ridiculous thoughts.
On Sunday, after church and then coffee which mostly involved my goddaughter & her brother "ticking" my feet with their tiny but very sharp fingernails *rolls eyes* I headed into London for Aurora Orchestra's Jitterbug concert which I have been looking forwards to for MONTHS.
Before the concert though they had also arranged for Swing Patrol to come in a give anyone who wanted a short lesson in the Lindy Hop *g* Or rather more specifically we learned the 1940s Charleston- both side-by-side and hand-to-hand as well as a couple of linking moves. It was SO much fun and my utter panic just beforehand about going on my own was entirely unnecessary because even though almost everyone was there in a pair they made us switch partners every couple of minutes so there was no chance to fell left out. Even in the break when I was practicing on my own two different people came up to help/practice with me. There were even some of the musicians present too, I'm sure I danced with Dave O'Brian (Man Overbaord's bass player) at one point.
There's even video here (I'm top right, ponytail & dark top) and miraculously it's one of the times I did everything right (and cuts out just at the point I always found almost impossible)
I very much want to have another go at some point either with Swing Patrol or the classes that happen nearer to me ALSO Swing Patrol do evening's at Wilton's Music Hall sometimes starting with a Beginners' Class and then just dancing and that sounds like a thing we should TOTALLY do- any takers?
Jitterbug: Aurora Orchestra @ LSO St Lukes
The concept behind the concert was obviously swing music but they'd also broadened it out to music that made you want to dance and also music that had been inspired across the Atlantic ocean and so they started with some Rameau called Les Indes Galantes which he wrote after seeing Native American dancers at the French court. I hadn't ever heard it before but you could hear the new rhythms coming in and all of the varying characters (it's part of a ballet as far as I could tell- there was a wonderful bit which was a girl being chased by the North wind and then rescued by the West wind which you could really see as you listened to the music).
They didn't quite get to the end though because just as they were heading that way the wonderful members of Man Overboard snuck in and Ewan (clarinet) started straight into a specially written arrangement of Duke Ellington's Jubilee Stomp.
One of the reasons for this concert was that Aurora's lead violin, Thomas Gould, is also the violinist in Man Overboard and so as the Rameau finished he walked across to stand with the band and I just kept thinking it was like one of those parties where you introduce your friends to each other and hope they like each other and they all kept beaming at each other which was rather lovely :D
We had another song with the orchestra & band next and their singer Louisa Jones came out- she had a lovely voice, very Madeline Peyroux! I can't actually remember the name of the song now (fail) but it was another Iain Farrington special arrangement and I'll edit in the name when I'm at home *G*
Then finally in the first half we had some Stravinsky called Dumbarton Oaks which was written after he moved to America and which was lovely only I hit my energy blackout point after all that dancing and lost about 5 minutes in the middle /o\ oops!
Thankfully a little walk, some fresh air and a nice refreshing drink gave me plenty of energy for the second half. Just as it was about to start two people came and sat in the empty seats next to me- Aurora's flautist Jane Mitchell and next to her Nicholas Collon! So no conductor then... *g*
Of course he wasn't needed at first because they opened with Thomas Gould playing Paganini Caprice No 5 in A minor which was STUNNING. There's no other word for it. It's one of those show off pieces and he really did and it all REALLY worked.
On stage with him were the rest of Man Overboard and then Max Bailie (the lead Viola player for Aurora but with a violin) and just a handful of other players (clarinet, drums... something else (sorry!)) and Max came in at the very end of the Paganini before the segued into Tiger Rag.
I don't really understand how half the audience managed to sit through that without tapping their feet, they were just having so much FUN. I need to look up which Aurora clarinetist it was because he was BRILLIANT and they kept switching between Thomas & Ewan (Man Overboard) and then Max and the Aurora clarinet like a sort of tennis match and it was fantastic. Also they were just smiling and laughing and at one point Nicholas Collon up by me also started laughing which made me wonder about inside jokes *g*
Then they did St James Infirmary which I ADORE in almost every version I've ever heard but Louisa's voice really lends itself to that kind of song and the they had a couple of Swing Patrol dancers in for that number as well and I was in 7th heaven.
The final part of the evening was back to all Aurora for a brand new arrangement of Gerswhin's Porgy and Bess Fantasy. I can't praise Iain Farrington enough because every one of his arrangements seemed to show off both the orchestra and the band in equal parts and all of them seemed to be having a great time. (I didn't mention it earlier but in the Ellington he'd even written himself a part on the harpsichord!)
Mostly it made me desperately want to see Porgy & Bess and annoyed at myself that I haven't done anything about it because it's ON at the Regent's Park Theatre this summer!
But it just all worked so well and was SO much fun and I do love a good bit of swing and jazz <3
I never get tired of going to Aurora Orchestra concerts and particularly their New Moves series. Their next New Moves concert is in November and it includes something titled "Music for Two Acoustic Toothbrushes" so... yes.
It did occur to me though that I completely failed to review their LAST New Moves concert which was a collaboration with the counter tenor Iestyn Davies so here's what I remember of that!
How Pure the Sky: Aurora Orchestra @ LSO St Lukes
If you haven't realised already that I adore the Aurora Orchestra and love their experiments then you haven't been paying attention HOWEVER they really didn't need the film & sound effect they used in this one. They kept projecting pictures of various skies and using whistling wind sounds etc. but really I'd have rather they just put the blinds up and let us see the actual sky and trees outside because LSO St Lukes is so beautiful when the blinds are up.
That said the actual concert? Entrancing and delightful and perfect. There was a new orchestration by Nico Muhly based on Howells' King David which was wonderfully full of texture and which was followed by Thomas Adès Three Studies from Couperin which again I didn't know but which included all kinds of contrasts and which I thought was beautiful.
The second half started with Iestyn Davies in the gallery (where I was sitting) singing anotehr Nico Muhly arrangement- this time of some Handel, which just floated over the open space and really set the hairs going on the back of my neck. He then sang Che puro ciel from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (which is where the concert's title came from) followerd by Back's Widerstehe doch der Sünde both of which were brilliant although I have to admit after a few months I can't remember details of either I just remember not really breathing a lot whilst Iestyn was singing.
They finished the second half with some Schubert- hsi Symphony No 5 in B flat- and I always love a bit of Schubert and, as it finished, they switched into Irving Berlin's Blue Skies as Iestyn Davies entered from the back with an umbrella <3 a lovely light hearted ending to a great evening.
So look! Two new reviews and one old (May 1st) review. Yay Monday?