Dull Apples and Bright Handels
I drove down to visit my brother in Philadelphia on Saturday. I had hoped to pick up my photo workstation while there but it wasn't in yet. It should be in tomorrow, though, and if so he's going to deliver it on Wednesday.
I haven't had any new apples since my last report. I did have a Red Delicious from WaWa yesterday, but not sure that counts. It was good though. It must have been fresh, as it was really crunchy and juicy.
Sunday was the purpose of my visit. My brother sings with Vox Ama Deus, and last night was their second performance of Handel's Messiah. They sang the complete piece, not just excerpts. Coming in at just a few minutes over three hours (with 20 minute intermission!) it could have received a speeding ticket!
My brother told me it was going to be fast, but I didn't expect it to be that fast. The conductor has been described as crazy, nuts, insane ... bordering on genius; or perhaps it's the other way around?
Not sure what they were thinking, but the heat wasn't turned on until the concert started, so the room went from freezing at the beginning to very warm by the end. Between that and the period instruments being used, there were some tuning problems. The strings had trouble from the start, with some very "interesting" chords along the way. They managed to fix most of the tuning issues after intermission and, despite the problems, the orchestra sounded great. And the soloist for "The trumpet shall sound," Elin Frazier, was simply amazing!
The church is one of those big, ugly, modern Catholic barns. Definitely not my style, it looked more like a college dining hall. However, sonically, it was gorgeous! Sound carried right through to the back and reverberated throughout the cavern. It was a perfect room for the chorus, who filled it to the rafters! I wonder what Verdi's Requiem would sound like here.
In short, it was a great concert and I will definitely have to see them again in the future.
I haven't had any new apples since my last report. I did have a Red Delicious from WaWa yesterday, but not sure that counts. It was good though. It must have been fresh, as it was really crunchy and juicy.
Sunday was the purpose of my visit. My brother sings with Vox Ama Deus, and last night was their second performance of Handel's Messiah. They sang the complete piece, not just excerpts. Coming in at just a few minutes over three hours (with 20 minute intermission!) it could have received a speeding ticket!
My brother told me it was going to be fast, but I didn't expect it to be that fast. The conductor has been described as crazy, nuts, insane ... bordering on genius; or perhaps it's the other way around?
Not sure what they were thinking, but the heat wasn't turned on until the concert started, so the room went from freezing at the beginning to very warm by the end. Between that and the period instruments being used, there were some tuning problems. The strings had trouble from the start, with some very "interesting" chords along the way. They managed to fix most of the tuning issues after intermission and, despite the problems, the orchestra sounded great. And the soloist for "The trumpet shall sound," Elin Frazier, was simply amazing!
The church is one of those big, ugly, modern Catholic barns. Definitely not my style, it looked more like a college dining hall. However, sonically, it was gorgeous! Sound carried right through to the back and reverberated throughout the cavern. It was a perfect room for the chorus, who filled it to the rafters! I wonder what Verdi's Requiem would sound like here.
In short, it was a great concert and I will definitely have to see them again in the future.