AfroReggae

30 March 2010

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are desperate places – shanty towns where the rule of law is absent, dominated by drug traffickers and gangs, made even more shocking by their proximity to some of the most opulent parts of the city. In 1993 police killed 21 innocent people from Vigário Geral, one of the poorest favelas, in retaliation for the shooting dead of 4 policemen. In response to this tragic event, Grupo Cultural AfroReggae was created to offer young people from the favelas an alternative to a life of drugs and violence. AfroReggae began as a newspaper but soon started offering workshops in dance, percussion, circus skills and a host of other cultural disciplines. Controversially working with some of the major drug traffickers while also attracting major commercial sponsorship from companies including Santander and Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, AfroReggae has grown into a large and extremely successful organisation. We visited three of Rio’s favelas as guests of AfroReggae, being met and escorted at the entrances to each favela by some of the most brilliant samba drummers I have seen. We saw performances of dance, circus skills, percussion, drama, reggae, rock and orchestral music and had a question and answer session with AfroReggae founder Jose Junior. But the climax was undoubtedly a performance by the original Banda AfroReggae – now an internationally acclaimed group making a rare appearance back in the Vigário Geral favela. Banda AfroReggae are a mighty band – big, loud, funky and incredibly cool. Their music incorporates pop, rock, reggae, hip-hop and rap with Brazilian percussion: it’s fast, catchy and irresistible. Hearing Banda AfroReggae for the first time in a private performance in a small studio in the AfroReggae centre was an amazing experience – I’m a fan! You can see a report and photos on our visit to AfroReggae at http://www.afroreggae.org.br/2010/03/25/nucleos-de-vigario-complexo-e-lucas-recebem-visita-de-diretores-britanicos/, listen to AfroReggae on Spotify and see their remarkable story in the 2005 film ‘Favela Rising’.

Jards Macalé and Jorge Mautner

30 March 2010

The best known protagonists of the Tropicália movement are the musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil – both exiled to London in the late 1960s by the Brazilian military dictatorship. While we were in Sao Paulo we were lucky enough to catch a concert by two of their contemporaries Jards Macalé and Jorge Mautner at Sesc Pompéia. Both singers are now about 70 years old and are clearly revered by what was a packed and enthusiastic audience. The Tropicália movement was based on ‘antropofagia’ – cultural cannibalism, taking in influences from a range of genres and creating something new and unique. Though undoubtedly revolutionary at the time I’m afraid that, to me, the music now sounds a little tame – gentle, beautiful and soothing like bossa nova without the beat. Not being able to understand the Portuguese lyrics is clearly a major hindrance in listening to songs with a strong political message. But it was fascinating to watch the rapturous reaction of the crowd who were mouthing the words to many of the songs and quick to their feet to give a standing ovation to these two legendary performers.

Hélio Oticica exhibition

30 March 2010

I arrived in Sao Paulo just in time to attend the opening of an exhibition on Hélio Oticica at Centro Cultural. Hélio Oticica’s installation ‘Tropicália’, recreated in this exhibition (complete with live parrots!), gave its name to the famous Brazilian art movement of the late 1960s. Entering the packed crowd of paulistas observing and engaging with the works of art was an exciting, intriguing and slightly intimidating experience. It was hard, at times, to distinguish between performers and audience, particularly as many of the pieces by, or about, Hélio Oticica were intended to be worn. Like much conceptual art it was easy to dismiss some pieces as pretentious or provocative, particularly without being able to read the (Portuguese) explanatory text, but it was an entertaining and intriguing afternoon.

'Hobo' by Charlie Winston

18 March 2010

I saw Charlie Winston, the troubadour from Suffolk, perform at Womad last July but I’ve only just managed to get hold of his excellent album ‘Hobo’. Winston sings catchy tunes with a confident swagger and tongue firmly in cheek. His voice reminds me in its occasional mock-opera moments both of Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy (reviewed here in September 2005 and July 2006) and David Byrne. These are upbeat, rhythmic and wryly amusing songs: I particularly like ‘My Life As A Duck’ but there are plenty of memorable tracks on the album.

‘Daughter of Fortune’ by Isabel Allende

18 March 2010

I’ve been reading ‘Daughter of Fortune’ by Isabel Allende, a family saga/epic thriller which starts in Chile in the 1830s before telling the story of the California gold rush. It’s a broad canvas which is historically fascinating and filmic in scope but I’m afraid it didn’t grab me and it’s taken me an age to finish it. Isabel Allende has a tendency to undercut the tension by suddenly flashing forward to the characters reminiscing about the current events many years later. I also felt there were odd changes in pace throughout the novel. I enjoyed the well-drawn characters and the settings but I feel I may have missed something.

Orchestra of St John's concert

8 March 2010

We were at Kings Place in London on Saturday for a concert by the Orchestra of St John's. The programme included 'Cantata No 51' by J S Bach, featuring the excellent young soprano Louise Wayman, and Haydn's 'Symphony No.44 - Trauer'. And it was very interesting to hear Handel's 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' contrasted with Alec Roth's 'Departure of the Queen of Sheba'. Written in 1999, Roth's work uses material from the familiar Handel piece to create a beautifully moving wordless dialogue between the Queen (oboe) and King Solomon (cor anglais). It's a lovely, gently romantic piece of music and it was great to see the composer in the audience on Saturday. The small Orchestra of St John's (featuring only 19 players at this concert) were very impressive: tight, clear and precise, demonstrating how exciting classical music can be.

Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert

3 March 2010

For the past few weeks my personal soundtrack has consisted of Rachmaninov’s gorgeous 3^rd Piano Concerto playing almost continuously in my head in preparation for last Saturday’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert. It’s a fantastic and fiendishly difficult piece of music and it was very exciting to be accompanying the amazing young Italian pianist, Marco Fatichenti, who gave an incredible performance on Saturday at the Spinney Hill Theatre in Northampton. Marco played many of the most challenging passages of the concerto incredibly fast and his thrilling unpredictability gave the orchestra and our conductor, Alexander Walker, some nerve-wracking moments. But it was a wonderful performance and Marco’s cadenza at the end of the first movement deserved a standing ovation on its own. Tchaikowsky’s ‘Symphony No. 1, Winter Daydreams’ seemed a little tame by comparison but, having conquered the challenge of the Rachmaninov concerto, I felt the orchestra relaxed a little in the second half of the concert and gave a very good account of the symphony.

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ byTennessee Williams

23 February 2010

We were at the Novello Theatre in London’s West End on Saturday to see ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ by Tennessee Williams. This was a great production, directed by Debbie Allen, with an excellent cast including Adrian Lester, Sanaa Lathan and Phylicia Rashad (Allen’s sister). But even amongst such impressive company it was undoubtedly James Earl Jones as Big Daddy who stole the show. Jones is a compelling physical performer, appearing to change body shape with the moods of the character. It was fascinating, for example, just to watch how he used his arms. And it was wonderful to hear his iconic, deep, booming voice fill the theatre.

Victoria & Albert Museum Medieval and Renaissance galleries

23 February 2010

On Saturday we visited the new Medieval and Renaissance galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The exhibits are beautifully presented – there’s lots of space and light much like the refurbished Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (reviewed here in November 2009). I felt there was less of a coherent narrative than at the Ashmolean: the V&A tends to present historic objects as art. But the new galleries are visually stunning and there are some real gems to discover.

Five Star Swing

23 February 2010

Last Friday we were at Toddington Village Hall to see ‘Five Star Swing’ – an excellent five-piece jazz band including former members of the Herb Miller Orchestra and the Ivy Benson band. They played a mixed menu of swing and jazz standards including helpings of Sinatra, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and much more. The band had a good line in banter and it was a very entertaining evening.

Tess May Tribute Concert

17 February 2010

Tess May was a French horn teacher who worked in the Milton Keynes area for more than 30 years. Tess died suddenly last year as a result of a stroke and last Saturday her friends, family, colleagues and pupils, past and present, gathered at Ousedale School in Newport Pagnell for a tribute concert to celebrate and remember Tess and to raise funds for the charity Headway and for a Milton Keynes Music Service Horn Scholarship. I played in a choir of massed French horns, including just about every horn player in the area. The concert also featured the Tess May Olney Brass Band and a full orchestral brass ensemble. Tess’s sons Tim and Peter played trumpet and euphonium solos and joined their father, Laurence, for an emotional encore. The climax of the evening was a performance of ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ by Mussorgsky with everyone who had taken part in the concert playing ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ – one of the loudest musical experiences you will ever hear! It was a wonderful evening – entertaining, eclectic and very moving: a great way to remember Tess. It was a privilege to be involved.

‘Roam’ by the Tom Dale Company

17 February 2010

Last Friday we were at the Trestle Arts Base in St Albans to see ‘Roam’ – a new piece by the Tom Dale Company. Choreographed by Tom Dale with specially commissioned tracks from maverick producer/composer Shackleton and drum&bass outfit Sion (“a captivating journey into a world of swinging sub bass and complex percussion”) and incorporating the work of poet Rick Holland, ‘Roam’ was a serious, impressive performance. The five young dancers demonstrated truly amazing athleticism. Not being fluent in the language of modern dance, I don’t really have the vocabulary to do the piece justice but it was clearly of a very high standard. As a musician, I found those sections that were more obviously rhythmic and related directly to the music easier to appreciate though I was impressed that even the slower, more abstract movements contained tiny muscular twitches that acknowledged the music’s beats. I’m not sure I fully grasped all the references to the desire to roam, which (according to the programme) explored the relationship between “intellectual roaming and more animalistic roaming for food and shelter”. But it was great to see something so different, thought-provoking and cool. You can see an extract at: http://vimeo.com/6879374

'Cello recital by Robert Foster at Toddington Music Society

12 February 2010

On Saturday evening we made the short journey to our neighbouring village for a concert presented by the Toddington Music Society. Robert Foster is a young ‘cellist (currently doing his GCSEs at a school in Dunstable) who won the Toddington Music Society Young Musician Competition in 2009. His prize was a solo recital in the Wilkinson Church Hall in Toddington – though the phrase solo recital is slightly misleading as Robert brought with him a host of friends to create an eclectic evening of high quality music-making. We heard piano and guitar solos and Robert played several pieces with a group of young string players as well as a variety of pieces for solo ‘cello and piano accompaniment. As well as the inevitable ‘cello perennials (‘The Swan’ from Saint-Saens’ ‘The Carnival Of Animals’ and the ‘Prelude’ from the first ‘Cello Suite’ by J.S. Bach) it was great to discover some more unusual offerings such as a piano piece by the Japanese film and video-game composer Nobuo Uematsu. But the highlight for me was a ‘cello duet by Friedrich August Kummer (a contemporary of Schubert) which Robert Foster played with his elder brother David, himself a former winner of the Toddington Young Musician Competition. It was a really enjoyable evening and wonderful to see such a high standard of young musical talent so close to home.

'Far' by Regina Spektor

5 February 2010

Regina Spektor is a singer who tends to get filed under ‘acquired taste’ but is definitely a taste worth acquiring. Moscow-born Regina Spektor grew up in New York where she studied classical piano. Her piano-backed pop/rock ballads remind me of Nerina Pallot (reviewed her in May 2006) with similarly clever lyrics. But Regina Spektor’s childlike voice is very much in the Kate Bush/ Joanna Newsom vein. Her latest album ‘Far’ is less earnest and more upbeat than Joanna Newsom (reviewed here in November 2006): jaunty but wistful.

‘Light a Candle’ by Forró in the Dark

29 January 2010

Forró in the Dark are a band formed by four New York-based Brazilian ex-pats who have taken forró (“the hip-swiveling, dancefloor-filling, rural party music of Brazil’s northeastern states”) and created from it a cool, modern, urban, infectiously catchy sound. Their album ‘Light a Candle’ is a varied set of songs in a number of languages (including English) which are cheery, upbeat and very danceable. Electric guitar, saxophone and flute are to the fore, accompanied by the ever-present syncopated tingle of the triangle. It’s music with a smile – easy to like if a bit indeterminately ‘international’ rather than distinctively Brazilian. At times Forró in the Dark sound remarkably like the German world music fusionists 17 Hippies (reviewed here in October 2007). Cheer-yourself-up music.

'Ed Reardon's Week' by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds

22 January 2010

I was a late convert to the joys of 'Ed Reardon's Week', the wonderful BBC Radio 4 comedy by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds which has just started its sixth series, but like many late converts I'm now zealously enthusiastic. These thirty minute tales of the life of the eponymous curmudgeonly writer (played by Douglas) and Elgar, his faithful feline companion, are beautifully crafted with a host of subtle literary references and running jokes. Each episode manages to give the impression that nothing has happened while actually carrying the listener through a nicely rounded plot with a satisfying comic twist. I can relate to the local references, being not too far from Berkhamsted, and increasingly to Ed's constant railing against the '12-year-olds' in charge of running the modern world (badly). The show has a great cast including Stephanie Cole, John Fortune, Philip Jackson and Geoffrey Whitehead - though the best character is definitely Ed's literary agent's dippy Sloane Ranger assistant Ping (now played by Barunka O'Shaughnessy). 'Ed Reardon's Week' is currently on Radio 4 on Monday morning's at 11.30 am (and available on iPlayer). And in the best Ed Reardon tradition I'm grateful to Wikipedia for its help in writing this review.

‘The Life of Lilly’ by Ruth Notman

15 January 2010

As I’ve struggled to get in and out of Eversholt through the severe wintry weather this week, I’ve been keeping my spirits up by listening to the wonderful second album by my favourite young English folk singer, Ruth Notman (reviewed here in February 2007, April 2009 and August 2009). ‘The Life of Lilly’ continues the mix of traditional songs and original compositions that characterised her debut album ‘Threads’. There’s a similar variety of arrangements and moods: I particularly like the beautifully moving title track and the cheeky jollity of ‘Johnny Be Fair’. ‘The Life of Lilly’ is another classy album dominated by Ruth Notman’s gorgeous and distinctive voice. If you haven’t discovered her yet make, it your New Year resolution to do so!

Lea Singers Christmas Concert

8 January 2009

The Lea Singers Christmas Concert in Harpenden was the perfect way to start our Christmas break. This excellent amateur chamber choir (of just 21 singers) entertained a packed audience with a mixture of carols and Christmas songs from around the world including a fiendish arrangement of 'Jingle Bells' by Ben Parry which shaves a quaver off the length of a bar each time the chorus comes round. This was the first Lea Singers Christmas Concert for the choir's impressive new conductor, James Sherlock, and his enthusiastic contribution, together with the return of the wonderful young tenor soloist, Nicky Spence, made for a light-hearted, cheeky and extremely high-quality performance.

Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert

17 December 2009

This year’s Northampton Symphony Orchestra ‘Christmas Cracker Concert’ was the first for our new conductor, Alexander Walker, and had a slightly different focus from recent years. An all-Russian, festive programme included part of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Christmas Eve Suite’, the ‘Rose Adagio’ from ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Tchaikovsky and the whole of Prokofiev’s ‘Lieutenant Kije Suite’. We were also joined by the Russian singer and multi-instrumentalist Serge Pachnine & the amazing balalaika player Bibs Ekkel for a series of traditional Russian folk songs, arranged for orchestra and soloists by Alexander Walker. What at first appeared to be a more serious programme than our previous Christmas Cracker Concerts, turned out to be huge fun with fantastically entertaining performances by Serge and Bibs much appreciated by a large, enthusiastic and appreciative audience. You can see Bibs in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&feature=player_embedded&v=AYN17QvR6P0

'Piano Concerto No 1' by Wilhelm Stenhammar

11 December 2009

I had never heard of the Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871 – 1927) until I read a newspaper review of a new recording of his two piano concertos a few weeks ago, but I’m now a big fan. I’ve been listening, in particular, to his epic Piano Concerto No. 1, written in 1893. It’s a gloriously romantic work with more than a hint of Brahms: anyone who likes the piano concertos of Rachmaninov would find much to admire here. It’s tuneful, passionate and very moving. It also reminded me of the two wonderful, but similarly neglected, piano concertos by Herbert Howells. You can judge for yourself by exploring quite a few recordings of Stenhammar’s works (for free) on Spotify. I’m now looking forward to getting to know his three symphonies.