Abi Rhodes' Zigzag Wanderings

Eclipsed

Eclipsed

 

Yesterday, I volunteered my help at the concert detailed on the poster. I got myself involved in stage construction and preparing and positioning lighting prior to the event and programme selling and ushering at the start of the concert, then various clearing up activities afterwards. I must say that the atmosphere among those involved in the organisation –  BREMF officers, committee members and volunteers is extremely friendly and co-operative and I can thoroughly recommend joining the team to anyone looking for an activity at this time of year. Not only does one get the satisfaction of making new friends and the rewarding feeling of a  job well done, but one gets to see and hear some jolly good music into the bargain.

Moving on… Eclipse is a thoroughly accomplished group of musicians in their chosen field – which seems to be international secular music of the Baroque Era.

 

As you can tell from the poster they play a variety of folk and popular songs and tunes, which they present in the context of story-telling and dance routines.

 

The band [ http://eclipsefusion.com/ ] is led by 2  virtuosos -  harpist Joy Smith and recorder/viol player Layil Barr, both of whom appeared in stunning evening gowns Zandra Rhodes would have been proud of. The line-up was completed on this occasion by Nicholas Hurndall Smith [tenor] and Steven Player [guitar and baroque/modern dance].

 

For one piece in the programme and for their encore number they welcomed a guest African dancer, who for the duration turned the show into an Afro-Celtic dance fusion.

 

I must say that I was completely enthralled by the show and felt that I and the audience came away feeling we’d had a pleasant and entertaining evening.

 

However, on reflection, I feel that the presentation was a little bit lacking in the polish that is required to make it a truly memorable show.

 

I felt that although the musicianship was unquestionably fine, the links, the story-telling and the humour of the presentation was a little limp. By working on these I feel the band could be so much more well known across the musical spectrum. The baroque label they have given themselves is maybe too much of a niche market. By improving the show in a holistic way – maybe by using a more scripted approach – they would be a great enough act to crossover into the folk market – I was surprised they drew a mainly early music crowd on this occasion. They need to update their website and give themselves an eminent [visible] profile on Facebook.

 

Had these things been in place prior to the concert, I’m sure we would have had a packed sold-out show with a much wider audience who would have gone home thoroughly satisfied from an event that would stick in their memories for many years to come.

OIL GEEV EET FOIV

 OIL GEEV EET FOIV

Krzyszof PENDERECKI: Viola Concerto, Cello Concerto No.2

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit

Grigori Zhislin, Viola  Tatjana Vassiljeva, Cello    NAXOS 8.572211

 http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572211

When I come into contact with a recording of a Penderecki piece I'm not familiar with, I usually stand in awe and put it to one side before I get to give it a listen. This is because I still think of his work as being somewhat inaccessible and difficult. In this case I have lingered even longer because I had it in the back of my mind that if I didn't make a decent fist of reviewing this CD, I'd probably give up reviewing as a bad job for good [if you see what I mean!]

So encouraged by a recent remark by one Mr Daniel Marcus Clark, musician, poet/songwriter and storyteller extraordinaire that he'd missed reading my reviews as they'd given him some enjoyment in the past, I decided to wait for a day when I had satisfied myself that I could write something and be at least half pleased with it and then get out the Penderecki and give it a shot. That day has come......

                                  ...and do you know what? I'm not finding listening to the disc and finding something intelligent [at least I think so] to say too difficult at all. I have taken the easy route. Instead of listening from the start which means tackling the Viola Concerto first, I've kicked off with the Cello Concerto as this is my favourite classical instrument [possibly excluding timpani and gongs] and number the Elgar and Dvorak cello concertos among my favourite works.

The work is almost easy listening by Penderecki standards. Yes it resounds with all sorts of squeaks and honks, and vast sudden differences in volume and intensity, as one might reasonably expect from this composer but the flow of the piece seems to fall into something of an easily identifiable 'narrative' which leaves one feeling empathetic with and uplifted by the writer's intentions even before reading the programme notes to see if it's actually about anything in particular, which I will leave you to find out for yourself.

The Viola Concerto starts off with an altogether darker, I might say even morose, vibe about it. We're in far more familiar Penderecki country here. But even here there is excitement and storytelling - an almost filmic approach to composition, I feel. i'd love to see the short movie of this one - even in a purely abstract form - you know - one of those 50/60s jumpy black and white arthouse things with all squiggles and dots interspersed with underexposed flashes of pervy men in raincoats and trilby hats peering round doors into darkened rooms...

Getting back to some sort of reality - I think this is just about the most instantly accessible Album by Penderecki I've come across - and would recommend it on the strength of this alone - it would make a gentle introduction to a very complex and sometimes downright difficult composer who is well worth the effort getting to know. Further than that, the sound quality is top notch and the performance is great too. If I were the star-awarding type, I'd have no hesitation in giving this one five.

  

A DAY OF ENLIGHTENMENT

I have recently volunteered as a helper for The Brighton Early Music Festival and it was with the usual sort of trepidation I approached my first day, wondering quite what I had let myself in for.......

 

My first BREMF gig was on the morning of Saturday 22nd October and excitingly turned out to be a live broadcast for BBC Radio 3 - The Early Music Show presented by Catherine Bott. The venue was The Sallis Benney Theatre located in Brighton University's College of Art. I helped out  by being a general gofer, bringing in a harpsicord, putting up notices and posters and finally, before the start of the show, I manned the door, greeting and directing members of the audience as they arrived.

These preparations were pleasantly accompanied with random musical sounds coming from the adjoining art gallery where an exhibition of intriguing machines was being held. These contraptions produced electronic responses as hidden microphones and light sensors were set off by passing viewers triggering various sonic and optical devices.

The format of the show was Catherine hosting a panel consisting of the 2 co-directors of BREMF and Alison Bury, leader of The BREMF Players, discussing the history, events and workings of the festival organisation, especially emphasising the mentoring scheme for young musicians.

The make-up of the BREMF Players include regular performers from such noted bands as The Academy of Ancient Music and The Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment. These performers act as mentors for younger players in the band - tutoring them in the skills of their instruments and how to deal with the intricacies involved in getting on in the Music Business. The success of this scheme was impressively proven by the performances within the talk of 2 such bands of young musicians Les Melomanes and The Musicians of London Wall, who both appear in BREMF events in the remaining weeks of the Festival.

I found the show to be both entertaining and informative, and the bands' performances to excel all expectations - they both presented several varied pieces by Enlightenment Composers which perfectlyshowed the music to be far from dry bones being exhibited in a museum, rather full-bodied living dance music capable of getting anyone's feet tapping and body swaying. All in all, it was a brilliant advertisement for the whole festival.

My final task here was to transport various equipment from this show to St George's Church in Kemp Town ready for the evening event ' A Song and Dance With The BREMF Players' - the very same outfit described above. For this performance they were to be joined by noted Soprano Julia Doyle for a programme of dance oriented concertos and arias by Bach, Lully, Handel and Corelli.

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon watching the band rehearse these in preparation for the show.  And this was truly an education - seeing them work out the logistical complexities thrown up by the composers in their various styles demanding great individual skill and cooperative strategies to bring their works to life after centuries in which patterns of  living have changed so dramatically that merely reproducing the notes as they appear on the stave mayn't convey that much - they need knocking into a shape recognisable by a modern audience, and not just the cogniscenti of the early music world.

The evening's performance brought fruition from the seeds sown during the rehearsal - the pieces were displayed in all their magnificence. I found the  works which most impressed were both from the quill of JS Bach - one including the soprano and one without.

The first of these was The Wedding Cantata BWV 202  and the stunning feature of this was the interplay between the singer and the obo during the recitiatives - seldom have I witnessed anything quite as sublime as this.

The other was Bach's Suite no.3 in D major BWV 1068 that features the ever popular Air [on a G-string] - which used to be jokingly referred to as the piece a cultured person could listen to without thinking of Hamlet cigars, no longer the case since the demise of tobacco advertisement. This Work was rousing and displayed the full 22 piece orchestra alone for the first time as it was joined by [valveless] trumpets and percussion and brought the programme to a stunning close.

They players and singer returned for a brief encore when the much deserved applause refused to die - after this we all trooped out into the night convinced that there's still plenty of life left in that old dog Enlightenment Music.

 

Zombie Walk: Not for the likes of me...

I had hoped to go on The Zombie Walk in Brighton on Saturday, but my new relationship with BREMF - the Brighton Early Music Festival - made my participation impossible as I was committed throughout the day.

 However around lunchtime I was stabbed with a few pangs of regret as I saw numerous Zomboids heading for The Town dolled up to the gills in blood and gore and sporting their best ripped bedlinen, excitedly anticipating the day's events. Momentarily I wished I could have been amongst them, doing the Shuffle of the Undead.

 Later in the evening I didn't feel so sad when I saw any number of Doubly Zombified wrecks stumbling homeward doubt feeling the effects of several hours of Undyingly Bad Behaviour.

Abi has been very much amused by reports that Ikea is to build a village in the Olympic area of East London. On behalf of anyone who has ever had the pleasure of constructing one of their flatpacks I hope they are able to follow the instructions which come in the box.

Abi is much saddened by the news that Country Legend and Beach Boys collaborator, Glen Cambell is in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's Disease. I hope very much that his London Performance this weekend went well and those present will have a beautiful lasting memory of a truly legendary gig. I wish Glen and his family every good fortune for their time together in whatever is to come.