26 February 2007
I still treasure the memory of seeing the National Theatre production of 'Guys and Dolls' in the early 1980s (with Lulu as Miss Adelaide) and I'd been really looking forward to the Donmar production which we saw at Milton Keynes Theatre last Friday. Inevitably, coming to it with raised expectations, I was a bit disappointed. There was little to fault in the production and there was some fine singing (particularly from Louise Dearman as Sarah Brown - a great performance of 'If I Were A Bell') but it lacked the special sparkle I'd been hoping for. Having said that I still think 'Guys and Dolls' has some of the best songs of any musical and my head has been filled with the tunes all week. And the evening was substantially redeemed by a fantastic rendition of the show stopper 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' by understudy 'Neil Clench' - very nicely done!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
‘The Last Laugh’ adapted by Richard Harris from a play by Koki Mitani
23 February 2007
I’ve always liked the idea of setting a story in a non-specific location and time without the baggage of current local cultural references – giving it a universality and avoiding the danger of it quickly becoming dated. In practice, however, I have to admit that this approach can make the resulting play, novel etc. feel a bit flat and lifeless. We were at Milton Keynes Theatre last Friday to see ‘The Last Laugh’, a two-hander with Martin Freeman and Roger Lloyd Pack adapted by Richard Harris from a play by Koki Mitani. In an undetermined country during an unspecified war a writer is trying to persuade the military censor to approve his new comedy for performance. The censor is preoccupied with the seriousness of war and cannot understand what role comedy could possibly play at such a time. This sets the scene for a dissection of what comedy is, how it works and why it is important – particularly during such difficult times. There are some lovely set-ups where the two protagonists are discussing an aspect of comedy while inadvertently simultaneously demonstrating it. (I particularly liked the censor’s incredulity at the comedy of catch-phrases: “So you are telling me that people find it funny when a character keeps repeating the same phrase for no apparent reason? I don’t believe it! I do not believe it!”.) But this is essentially a serious play about comedy and I think it suffered a little from the expectations created by its title, cast and venue. The sombre, poignant nature of the story seemed to surprise many in the audience and some of the subtle, clever comic moments fell a bit flat. I wonder whether it would have worked more effectively in a smaller theatre with less well-known actors – or whether the neutrality of the story’s setting made it less accessible than it might have been. Nevertheless it was a thoughtful and interesting work.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
'The Good, The Bad and The Queen'
Damon Albarn has, for many years, been the subject of one of my few claims to fame - namely that I know Damon's Auntie. Admittedly this claim has always been slightly let down by the fact that I've never actually listened to anything by Blur. (The 1990s are my popular music blind-spot.) Even Damon's excursion into West Africa, 'Mali Music' came just before my own discovery of, and enthusiasm for, 'world music'. But finally, last year, I got a copy of 'Demon Days', the second album by Damon's 'cartoon band' Gorillaz. I didn't expect this mixture of laid-back dance music and rap to be my kind of thing but I found it incredibly infectious and was quickly hooked. This week I've been listening to Damon's latest project - the eponymous album from his 'supergroup', 'The Good, The Bad and The Queen'. The line-up includes the bass player from The Clash, Paul Simonon, the guitarist from The Verve, Simon Tong, and Fela Kuti's drummer and Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer, Tony Allen. The result is a diverse, eclectic collection of songs. Much of it sounds very like Gorillaz, though without the rapping (or indeed the wrapping of Jamie Hewlett's cartoons). Damon presents a strong anti-Iraq war message in an extremely laid-back, hip and cool way while managing, bizarrely, to include Beach Boys-style falsetto harmonies, violin harmonics and whistling and backing vocals from Harry Christophers' The Sixteen. It's really growing on me. I understand that Damon is now working on a musical at the National Theatre and writing the score for a Chinese circus-opera. I've also been impressed by the good work he has been doing through his record label, Honest Jon's, particularly the archive compilations, 'London is the Place for Me'. Damon has become an extremely interesting, significant and important creative figure in the music world. His Auntie should be proud.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare
"If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it ..." In 1884 Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' was the first production at the new Royal Theatre in Northampton. 123 years later it is the latest offering from Laurie Sansom in his first season as Artistic Director of the newly refurbished Royal Theatre - now restored to its Victorian splendour. Sansom's 'Twelfth Night' opens the Royal's 'Love & Madness' season, emphasising the fine line between the two by having Malvolio incarcerated in a straitjacket. It is a solid, straightforward production including some well-choreographed physical comedy and movement and some fine performances from the women - Rebecca Grant, Lucy Speed and particularly Natalie Walter as Olivia. But it lacks the stunning innovations we have come to expect from the Royal - especially in the sets and design. "... For the rain it raineth every day."
Monday, February 05, 2007
'Memento' by Christopher Nolan
5 February 2007
Many years ago we went to see the film 'An Awfully Big Adventure' based on the novel by Beryl Bainbridge. After about twenty minutes, what had been a relatively straightforward story became much more intriguing as the plot seemed to suddenly jump forward in time. All was revealed a little later as a character who had just broken his leg walked into the next scene and we realised the cinema had shown two reels in the wrong order! It still amazes me that of all the people in the cinema only four of us stayed behind at the end to get our money back. "Are you sure it wasn't just a flashback?" the manager asked us. We were sure. "Well we've been showing it for a week and you're the first people to complain."
I was reminded of this the other day watching Christopher Nolan's 2000 film 'Memento'. Guy Pearce plays Leonard, an insurance claim investigator who has severe short-term memory loss as the result of the traumatic rape and murder of his wife. His memories before 'the incident' are intact but he has lost the ability to form any new memories since and forgets, within minutes, what people have said to him and even whether he has met them before. Leonard survives by taking Polaroid pictures of significant people and places, which he keeps in his pocket to refer to, and tattooing key facts onto his body. Through these methods he is gradually trying to track down his wife's killer but he is beset by not knowing who he can trust or who might be taking advantage of 'his condition'.
Leonard's story reveals itself to us in reverse, through a series of short scenes with each scene ending at the start of the previous one. As in Pinter's play 'Betrayal' or the reverse recipes of Jack Argener we gradually begin to understand the significance of the earlier (later) scenes but here there is the added complication that the lead character remembers nothing of any of the scenes and could be playing them in any order - the analysis of which could keep film studies students busy for months!
Leonard's sudden 'awakenings' - finding himself in a strange hotel room or being chased down a busy street or in bed with a woman he doesn't remember - reminded me of Henry's similar predicaments in Audrey Niffenegger's 'The Time Traveller's Wife'. Though satisfyingly, in terms of the theme of reverse narratives, Niffenegger's novel was published three years after 'Memento' came out.
The film ends with plenty of ambiguity and many loose ends untied but still manages to create a satisfying final twist. How often can you say that about a film which starts at the end, flashes back to the beginning and finishes in the middle?! A tour-de-force of narrative structure.
Many years ago we went to see the film 'An Awfully Big Adventure' based on the novel by Beryl Bainbridge. After about twenty minutes, what had been a relatively straightforward story became much more intriguing as the plot seemed to suddenly jump forward in time. All was revealed a little later as a character who had just broken his leg walked into the next scene and we realised the cinema had shown two reels in the wrong order! It still amazes me that of all the people in the cinema only four of us stayed behind at the end to get our money back. "Are you sure it wasn't just a flashback?" the manager asked us. We were sure. "Well we've been showing it for a week and you're the first people to complain."
I was reminded of this the other day watching Christopher Nolan's 2000 film 'Memento'. Guy Pearce plays Leonard, an insurance claim investigator who has severe short-term memory loss as the result of the traumatic rape and murder of his wife. His memories before 'the incident' are intact but he has lost the ability to form any new memories since and forgets, within minutes, what people have said to him and even whether he has met them before. Leonard survives by taking Polaroid pictures of significant people and places, which he keeps in his pocket to refer to, and tattooing key facts onto his body. Through these methods he is gradually trying to track down his wife's killer but he is beset by not knowing who he can trust or who might be taking advantage of 'his condition'.
Leonard's story reveals itself to us in reverse, through a series of short scenes with each scene ending at the start of the previous one. As in Pinter's play 'Betrayal' or the reverse recipes of Jack Argener we gradually begin to understand the significance of the earlier (later) scenes but here there is the added complication that the lead character remembers nothing of any of the scenes and could be playing them in any order - the analysis of which could keep film studies students busy for months!
Leonard's sudden 'awakenings' - finding himself in a strange hotel room or being chased down a busy street or in bed with a woman he doesn't remember - reminded me of Henry's similar predicaments in Audrey Niffenegger's 'The Time Traveller's Wife'. Though satisfyingly, in terms of the theme of reverse narratives, Niffenegger's novel was published three years after 'Memento' came out.
The film ends with plenty of ambiguity and many loose ends untied but still manages to create a satisfying final twist. How often can you say that about a film which starts at the end, flashes back to the beginning and finishes in the middle?! A tour-de-force of narrative structure.
Friday, February 02, 2007
'Jarvis' by Jarvis Cocker
2 February 2007
I largely missed 'Britpop' and only discovered Pulp through 'We Love Life', their wonderful 2001 album produced by Scott Walker. A late convert to the cause, I was looking forward to Jarvis Cocker's first solo album, 'Jarvis', and I haven't been disappointed. He seems to have been primarily lauded for his abilities as a wordsmith but I think he writes great tunes - with fantastic choruses. His distinctive resonant baritone voice dominates the album - though there are times when he sounds uncannily like Elvis Costello. Jarvis's lyrics are not as laugh-out-loud funny as Neil Hannon or Jim Halstain but always intelligent and thought-provoking - and, on the gentle ballad 'I will kill again', chillingly menacing. 'Jarvis' is clever, catchy, loveable rock - turn up the volume and enjoy.
I largely missed 'Britpop' and only discovered Pulp through 'We Love Life', their wonderful 2001 album produced by Scott Walker. A late convert to the cause, I was looking forward to Jarvis Cocker's first solo album, 'Jarvis', and I haven't been disappointed. He seems to have been primarily lauded for his abilities as a wordsmith but I think he writes great tunes - with fantastic choruses. His distinctive resonant baritone voice dominates the album - though there are times when he sounds uncannily like Elvis Costello. Jarvis's lyrics are not as laugh-out-loud funny as Neil Hannon or Jim Halstain but always intelligent and thought-provoking - and, on the gentle ballad 'I will kill again', chillingly menacing. 'Jarvis' is clever, catchy, loveable rock - turn up the volume and enjoy.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
'Clare in the Community' by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
25 January 2007
I've really enjoyed the third series of the radio comedy 'Clare in the Community' by Harry Venning and David Ramsden which has just finished on BBC Radio 4. (You can still 'listen again' to the last episode at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/clareinthecommunity.shtml.) I've been a fan of Harry Venning's 'Clare in the Community' strip cartoon in the Guardian's Society section (on Wednesdays) for years (see http://society.guardian.co.uk/clare for recent examples). The radio version has been a really effective translation, retaining plenty of the three-frame format gags (set-up, emphasis, twist) while developing the characters, creating neat, rounded sit-com plots for each 30 minute episode as well as broader story arcs across each series, while keeping it light and very funny. Sally Phillips is great as social worker Clare and Alex Lowe wonderfully put-upon as her long-suffering partner Brian but my favourite is Nina Conti as Clare's former student, Megan (who transmuted from Welsh to Scottish in the radio version!). This is great observational humour which manages to create larger-than-life comic characters whose actions, opinions and behaviours are surprisingly recognisable from real life!
I've really enjoyed the third series of the radio comedy 'Clare in the Community' by Harry Venning and David Ramsden which has just finished on BBC Radio 4. (You can still 'listen again' to the last episode at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/clareinthecommunity.shtml.) I've been a fan of Harry Venning's 'Clare in the Community' strip cartoon in the Guardian's Society section (on Wednesdays) for years (see http://society.guardian.co.uk/clare for recent examples). The radio version has been a really effective translation, retaining plenty of the three-frame format gags (set-up, emphasis, twist) while developing the characters, creating neat, rounded sit-com plots for each 30 minute episode as well as broader story arcs across each series, while keeping it light and very funny. Sally Phillips is great as social worker Clare and Alex Lowe wonderfully put-upon as her long-suffering partner Brian but my favourite is Nina Conti as Clare's former student, Megan (who transmuted from Welsh to Scottish in the radio version!). This is great observational humour which manages to create larger-than-life comic characters whose actions, opinions and behaviours are surprisingly recognisable from real life!
Friday, January 19, 2007
’13 Songs’ by Julie Feeney
19 January 2007
I’ve been listening to ’13 Songs’, the debut album from Irish singer-songwriter Julie Feeney who recently won the Irish equivalent of the Mercury Music prize. Classically trained (and a member of the National Chamber Choir), she has a great voice and writes delicate, quirky melodies with sparse accompaniment including good use of overlaid vocals. With harpsichord and recorders on some tracks she strays in pseudo-medieval territory (not unlike Joanna Newsom) but the mood is more contemporary classical than early music. Gentle, poignant, puzzling songs with more than a hint of Bjork or Laurie Anderson.
I’ve been listening to ’13 Songs’, the debut album from Irish singer-songwriter Julie Feeney who recently won the Irish equivalent of the Mercury Music prize. Classically trained (and a member of the National Chamber Choir), she has a great voice and writes delicate, quirky melodies with sparse accompaniment including good use of overlaid vocals. With harpsichord and recorders on some tracks she strays in pseudo-medieval territory (not unlike Joanna Newsom) but the mood is more contemporary classical than early music. Gentle, poignant, puzzling songs with more than a hint of Bjork or Laurie Anderson.
Friday, January 12, 2007
‘My Father and other Working-Class Football Heroes’ by Gary Imlach
12 January 2007
At three o’clock on Saturday afternoon, just as the teams should have been kicking off, Jeannie and I and Alistair Campbell (plus quite a few other Burnley fans) were beginning to make our way back down the steps of the South Stand at the Madjeski Stadium in Reading. Our 3-hour round trip to Reading had been in vain as Burnley’s FA Cup Third Round match was called off at the last minute because of a water-logged pitch, following a torrential downpour as we were making our way towards the ground. Soaked and despondent we consoled ourselves with the thought that at least Burnley would, rather unexpectedly, feature in the draw for the Fourth Round on Monday! And we were in home in time to hear of Macclesfield’s brave exploits at Chelsea and to see Liverpool’s demise at the hands of Arsenal – as well as Henrik Larsson’s inevitable and predictably brilliant debut goal for Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. I love the FA Cup – particularly the Third Round – always one of the cultural highlights of the year for me.
This week I have been reading ‘My Father and other Working-Class Football Heroes’ by Gary Imlach – the story of his father, Stewart Imlach, a professional footballer who played for Scotland in the 1958 World Cup and won the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest in 1959. Shortly after Stewart’s death, Gary decided to try to fill in the gaps in his knowledge of his father’s life. Through interviews with former playing colleagues, managers and friends and analysis of miles of archive newsprint, he reconstructs a fascinating story. This was an era where the players were often earning less than the factory-working fans who came to cheer them on and were very much part of the local working class community – usually combining their playing careers with part-time jobs as plumbers, builders or, as with Stewart Imlach, joiners.
Gary Imlach has produced a brilliant book that is biography, personal memoir, social history and sporting saga. It is wonderfully written – a non-linear narrative dripping with gorgeous phrases. Chapter Three, about Stewart Imlach’s arrival at Bury Football Club in 1952, starts: “Shortly after the residents of Colindale board the Northern Line for their morning commute south into central London, two groups of people set off the other way, into the past. Turn left out of the tube station for the RAF Museum (don’t forget the Airfix shop on the way back), turn right and cross the road for the British Newspaper Library. We had scrapbooks full of cuttings at home, but they were all highlights and headlines, sort of a director’s cut of my father’s career. Here’s where the rushes were stored.”
And when the working-class Nottingham Forest players are training in London ahead of the 1959 Cup Final, “The wives had to face the Savoy on their own. Plates of asparagus were set in front of them like straightened question marks to which they had no answer. The cutlery was a silver-plated trap set to go off if they dismantled it out of sequence. Waiters hell-bent on humiliating them sprinkled cheese on their soup.”
Like his father weaving past mesmerised defenders on the left wing, Gary Imlach negotiates a slalom around the unreliable memories of the remaining survivors of a black-and-white era. And throughout, the book is laced with poignant regret at the masses of questions he never thought to ask his father until it was too late to do so. This is a wonderful book – I urge you to read it even if you have no interest in football.
(On Tuesday evening Burnley lost the rearranged FA Cup match with Reading 3-2. Oh well, there’s always next year … )
Friday, January 05, 2007
‘Caroline or Change’ by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori
5 January 2007
Last week we saw the new musical ‘Caroline or Change’ at the National Theatre in London. Written by Tony Kushner with music by Jeanine Tesori it was much praised by the critics and won the Evening Standard award for best musical. It is set in Louisiana in 1963 and looks at the civil rights movement through the story of a black maid working for a Jewish family on the day Kennedy was assassinated. The music was great – with plenty of numbers in a Tamla Mowtown style plus some klezmer clarinet – and the performances were very strong, particularly the children. But we found the overall experience a little disappointing. The plot was very subtle with little actually happening directly to the characters. There wasn’t much movement on the stage with most of the songs delivered without any element of dance. And few of the songs were given the chance to breathe – with a glimpse of each melody soon giving way to the next before it had had any opportunity to lodge in the memory.
'Merry Wives The Musical' by Gregory Doran, Paul Englishby and Ranjit Bolt, based on the play by William Shakespeare
5 January 2007
On the Saturday before Christmas we were in Stratford to see ‘Merry Wives The Musical’ – Shakespeare’s play adapted and directed for the RSC by Gregory Doran with new music by Paul Englishby and lyrics by Ranjit Bolt. It was good, silly fun – veering very close to pantomime – with Simon Callow as Falstaff and Judi Dench as Mistress Quickly. There were some great performances – particularly from the comedian/impressionist Alistair McGowan who demonstrated some wonderful physical comedy and a fine singing voice and from Alexandra Gilbreath and Haydn Gwynne as the wives, who both looked as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves! We particularly liked the set with its rotating cottages/haystacks and exaggerated sense of perspective. Overall the show lacked a little spark but it was enjoyable and the three hours flew by.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
'Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra' by Kimmo Hakola
21 December 2006
This week I have been listening to the 'Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra' by the contemporary Finnish composer, Kimmo Hakola (a recording by Kari Kriikku - for whom the work was written - and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo). This is an amazing piece of music: the first movement is fast, spiky, serious, aggressive, contemporary classical music - fine but unremarkable - but then the work gets progressively stranger and more interesting. The second movement has some lovely gentle tunes and strays towards a film music sound. In the third and fourth movements we get a mixture of klezmer, blues, Balkan gypsy music and sounds from the Middle East as well as the orchestra muttering and mumbling to each other to create the sound of a crowd. When I first started to listen to the recording I soon drifted off to do something else leaving the music playing in the background but after a while found myself rushing back to find out what was going on! It must very exciting to it see performed live - and, I suspect, even more so to play it.
This week I have been listening to the 'Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra' by the contemporary Finnish composer, Kimmo Hakola (a recording by Kari Kriikku - for whom the work was written - and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo). This is an amazing piece of music: the first movement is fast, spiky, serious, aggressive, contemporary classical music - fine but unremarkable - but then the work gets progressively stranger and more interesting. The second movement has some lovely gentle tunes and strays towards a film music sound. In the third and fourth movements we get a mixture of klezmer, blues, Balkan gypsy music and sounds from the Middle East as well as the orchestra muttering and mumbling to each other to create the sound of a crowd. When I first started to listen to the recording I soon drifted off to do something else leaving the music playing in the background but after a while found myself rushing back to find out what was going on! It must very exciting to it see performed live - and, I suspect, even more so to play it.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
13 December 2006
Last Sunday I played in the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra 'Christmas Cracker' concert at Spinney Hill Theatre, Northampton. This is always a really enjoyable afternoon with a wide range of festive and film music (including Star Wars and Harry Potter this year), a narrated piece (Howard Blake's 'The Snowman') and carols for the audience to sing - plus the obligatory mulled wine and mince pies. And each year the orchestra seems to be slightly more festooned with tinsel, reindeer antlers and santa hats! The 'Christmas Cracker' is always a popular concert and this year we had an audience of more than 500 - that's a lot of mince pices! Part of the attraction might have been our compere, local actor Arnold Peters - perhaps better known as 'Jack Woolley' from 'The Archers'. As well as introducing the concert he gave a very creditable performance in conducting the orchestra in Walton's 'Popular Song' from 'Facade'. Our encore, somewhat inevitably was the maypole dance 'Barwick Green' from the suite 'My Native Heath' by Arthur Wood - better known as the theme to a certain long-running radio drama serial ("tum-ti-tum-ti-tum-ti-tum, tum-ti-tum-ti tum tum ..."). Billy Connolly once said that this tune should replace "God Save the Queen" as the national anthem. I notice that Archers Addicts can now download it as a ring tone ...
Last Sunday I played in the annual Northampton Symphony Orchestra 'Christmas Cracker' concert at Spinney Hill Theatre, Northampton. This is always a really enjoyable afternoon with a wide range of festive and film music (including Star Wars and Harry Potter this year), a narrated piece (Howard Blake's 'The Snowman') and carols for the audience to sing - plus the obligatory mulled wine and mince pies. And each year the orchestra seems to be slightly more festooned with tinsel, reindeer antlers and santa hats! The 'Christmas Cracker' is always a popular concert and this year we had an audience of more than 500 - that's a lot of mince pices! Part of the attraction might have been our compere, local actor Arnold Peters - perhaps better known as 'Jack Woolley' from 'The Archers'. As well as introducing the concert he gave a very creditable performance in conducting the orchestra in Walton's 'Popular Song' from 'Facade'. Our encore, somewhat inevitably was the maypole dance 'Barwick Green' from the suite 'My Native Heath' by Arthur Wood - better known as the theme to a certain long-running radio drama serial ("tum-ti-tum-ti-tum-ti-tum, tum-ti-tum-ti tum tum ..."). Billy Connolly once said that this tune should replace "God Save the Queen" as the national anthem. I notice that Archers Addicts can now download it as a ring tone ...
Buckinghamshire Chamber Orchestra concert
13 December 2006
On Saturday I was playing with Buckinghamshire Chamber Orchestra at a concert in St Peter and Paul's Church in Buckingham. I last played with the orchestra in its inaugural concert in June 2004 and I think they've made impressive progress (from what was actually a pretty good start). The programme this time included Beethoven's 2nd symphony and the Mozart concerto for flute and harp. I rarely play classical repertoire with such a small orchestra but I always find it extremely rewarding - and surprisingly hard work! Every note becomes immensely important and you need great attention detail and an exhausting degree on concentration. We opened the concert with the 'Siegfried Idyll' by Wagner. This piece was a surprise birthday present for Wagner's wife, Cosima - she awoke on her birthday on Christmas Day 1870 to hear the music she thought she had been dreaming wafting into her bedroom from an orchestra positioned on the stairs. It's a gorgeous work which I haven't played for many years and I really enjoyed rediscovering it.
On Saturday I was playing with Buckinghamshire Chamber Orchestra at a concert in St Peter and Paul's Church in Buckingham. I last played with the orchestra in its inaugural concert in June 2004 and I think they've made impressive progress (from what was actually a pretty good start). The programme this time included Beethoven's 2nd symphony and the Mozart concerto for flute and harp. I rarely play classical repertoire with such a small orchestra but I always find it extremely rewarding - and surprisingly hard work! Every note becomes immensely important and you need great attention detail and an exhausting degree on concentration. We opened the concert with the 'Siegfried Idyll' by Wagner. This piece was a surprise birthday present for Wagner's wife, Cosima - she awoke on her birthday on Christmas Day 1870 to hear the music she thought she had been dreaming wafting into her bedroom from an orchestra positioned on the stairs. It's a gorgeous work which I haven't played for many years and I really enjoyed rediscovering it.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Danesborough Chorus concert
8 December 2006
On Saturday we made the short journey through the deer park to Woburn Church for a carol concert by our local choral society, Danesborough Chorus. The choir was joined by the brass section from the Milton Keynes City Orchestra for a lovely mixture of festive fare. The highlight for me was Monteverdi’s ‘Deus in Adiutorium’, for which the brass were placed behind the audience at the opposite end of the church to the choir – recreating the magnificent effect of 17th century surround sound!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
'Margrave of the Marshes' by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft
30 November 2006
John Peel had only completed the first part of his autobiography before he died suddenly in Peru in October 2004. ‘Margrave of the Marshes’ was completed by his wife, Sheila, and is very much ‘a game of two halves’. After reading the introduction by their four children I was worried I was going to find the whole experience too sad and tearful but once you get into the book it is fascinating, entertaining and very funny. You can really hear Peel’s distinctive voice in his writing and his rambling style and constant digressions mean that, although his part of the narrative finishes in 1964 (as he heads towards a Mexican brothel!), he manages to include many more recent anecdotes. It is actually quite refreshing and revealing to then get Sheila’s perspective – embellished with quotes from John’s diary. There are some great ‘Zelig’ moments – with John standing in the background at various historic events. There are also some very familiar old friends – like the story of the Bay City Rollers on an island in a lake in Mallory Park. This is the story of popular music through the second half of the twentieth century. This is the story of the development of music broadcasting. This is the story of the trials and tribulations of Liverpool Football Club. This is the story of a slightly portly, bearded, balding gentleman in a comfortable pullover. But above all this is the story of an enduring, loving marriage.
John Peel had only completed the first part of his autobiography before he died suddenly in Peru in October 2004. ‘Margrave of the Marshes’ was completed by his wife, Sheila, and is very much ‘a game of two halves’. After reading the introduction by their four children I was worried I was going to find the whole experience too sad and tearful but once you get into the book it is fascinating, entertaining and very funny. You can really hear Peel’s distinctive voice in his writing and his rambling style and constant digressions mean that, although his part of the narrative finishes in 1964 (as he heads towards a Mexican brothel!), he manages to include many more recent anecdotes. It is actually quite refreshing and revealing to then get Sheila’s perspective – embellished with quotes from John’s diary. There are some great ‘Zelig’ moments – with John standing in the background at various historic events. There are also some very familiar old friends – like the story of the Bay City Rollers on an island in a lake in Mallory Park. This is the story of popular music through the second half of the twentieth century. This is the story of the development of music broadcasting. This is the story of the trials and tribulations of Liverpool Football Club. This is the story of a slightly portly, bearded, balding gentleman in a comfortable pullover. But above all this is the story of an enduring, loving marriage.
Monday, November 20, 2006
'Ys' by Joanna Newsom
20 November 2006
There has been a lot of praise in the press for ‘Ys’ – the second album by Joanna Newsom – the 24-year old harpist/singer/songwriter from California. I caught up with her first CD ‘The Milk-Eyed Mender’ earlier this year. It’s a bizarre but strangely uplifting experience. Newsom sings beautiful melodies with incomprehensibly pretentious lyrics with an often squealing, screeching voice, accompanying herself on the harp. Impossible to categorise, she blends elements of folk with the pomposity of prog rock in an atmosphere more like classical chamber music. At first, her music can seem almost completely unlistenable but perseverance opens up a captivating beauty. ‘Ys’ builds on the remarkable experience of ‘The Milk-Eyed Mender’ by lengthening the songs (the CD contains just 5 long tracks) and added gorgeous string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. The result is hard to describe but the word ‘masterpiece’ springs to mind: Joanna Newsom is an acquired taste – but one well worth acquiring!
There has been a lot of praise in the press for ‘Ys’ – the second album by Joanna Newsom – the 24-year old harpist/singer/songwriter from California. I caught up with her first CD ‘The Milk-Eyed Mender’ earlier this year. It’s a bizarre but strangely uplifting experience. Newsom sings beautiful melodies with incomprehensibly pretentious lyrics with an often squealing, screeching voice, accompanying herself on the harp. Impossible to categorise, she blends elements of folk with the pomposity of prog rock in an atmosphere more like classical chamber music. At first, her music can seem almost completely unlistenable but perseverance opens up a captivating beauty. ‘Ys’ builds on the remarkable experience of ‘The Milk-Eyed Mender’ by lengthening the songs (the CD contains just 5 long tracks) and added gorgeous string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. The result is hard to describe but the word ‘masterpiece’ springs to mind: Joanna Newsom is an acquired taste – but one well worth acquiring!
Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert
20 November 2006
Another week, another Shostakovich symphony … On Saturday I was playing with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a concert including Shostakovich’s 9th Symphony – a shorter, lighter and less angry work than the 10th – Shostakovich more in music theatre mode – with wonderful solos in the 2nd and 4th movements for clarinet and bassoon (wonderfully played on this occasion!). But the concert was dominated by an amazing performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto by Bálint Székely. Bálint was born in 1977 in Marosvásárhely (Tg.-Mures), Transylvania and came to London in 1993 to study at the Purcell School of Music and the Royal College of Music. He is a very quiet, bashful young man but a jaw-droppingly brilliant violinist. At our rehearsal last Thursday he played the virtuoso passages of the concerto with ease, effortlessly improvising and trying a host of different approaches as we tried to raise our game to keep up. I have never known a rehearsal where an orchestra applauded a soloist so often and with such fervour! His performance on Saturday was stunning – particularly a mesmerising cadenza in the 1st movement. The Sibelius Violin Concerto was already one of my favourite pieces of music but I’ve fallen in love with it all over again in the last week – the slow movement must be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. It was a real privilege to accompany Bálint Székely – note the name and watch out for him!
Friday, November 17, 2006
'Gulag Orkestar' by Beirut
17 November 2006
I am grateful to reviews of the CD 'Gulag Orkestar' by Beirut that caught my attention in both the Observer and the Guardian. Beirut is 20-year-old Zach Condon from Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 'Gulag Orkestar' he has taken the raucous but controlled mayhem of the Balkan brass sound (a particular favourite of mine), added an odd assortment of instruments including ukulele, accordion and primitive Casio keyboard, and created a great album of pop songs. There are traces of the quirky vocals of David Byrne and the swirling repetitive melodies of The Blue Nile - with the omnipresent Balkan mixture of upbeat dance music tinged with melancholic foreboding. But the sum of these parts is like nothing you've heard before. Wonderful.
I am grateful to reviews of the CD 'Gulag Orkestar' by Beirut that caught my attention in both the Observer and the Guardian. Beirut is 20-year-old Zach Condon from Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 'Gulag Orkestar' he has taken the raucous but controlled mayhem of the Balkan brass sound (a particular favourite of mine), added an odd assortment of instruments including ukulele, accordion and primitive Casio keyboard, and created a great album of pop songs. There are traces of the quirky vocals of David Byrne and the swirling repetitive melodies of The Blue Nile - with the omnipresent Balkan mixture of upbeat dance music tinged with melancholic foreboding. But the sum of these parts is like nothing you've heard before. Wonderful.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
14 November 2006
Our latest Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert on Saturday included the Dvorak Cello Concerto - one of the great romantic concertos - and Symphony No. 10 by Shostakovich - a long, dark and angry work which reflects on the reality of living in Stalinist Russia. I suspect some Shotakovich symphonies are much more fun to play than to listen to - the 10th is certainly not easygoing for an audience - but it is an exciting and impressive work and we had a substantial and enthusiastic audience for it on Saturday.
Our latest Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert on Saturday included the Dvorak Cello Concerto - one of the great romantic concertos - and Symphony No. 10 by Shostakovich - a long, dark and angry work which reflects on the reality of living in Stalinist Russia. I suspect some Shotakovich symphonies are much more fun to play than to listen to - the 10th is certainly not easygoing for an audience - but it is an exciting and impressive work and we had a substantial and enthusiastic audience for it on Saturday.
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