Playing Up!

Third-year cellist and Secretary of this year’s Music Society, Aisha Bové, looks at the start to the orchestral year.

Madam Secretary!

Filling Eliot Hall with music from 7.30, Thursday night is rehearsal time for the University Symphony Orchestra. The newly-formed orchestra is now slowly getting on the way with preparing the pieces for the Grand Gala Opening in December. The third rehearsal of the year took place last week, and it is good to see that the orchestra is starting form a unity, which is always the tricky part of each new academic year.

Following our conductor’s plan, we warmed up with a bit of Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations, playing No.6 and taking it to pieces, then adding No.5, 4 and 3. The rehearsal was without our brass players, which meant that we could concentrate on the strings and woodwind sections, before putting it all back together next week with the complementing Brass and Percussion players. Our main aim was to get the idea of running the different Enigma ‘variations’, playing them without stopping to get an idea of the running of the concert performance. Elgar’s portrayal of his friends means that each variation has got a very specific tone, and moods change rapidly.

To break up the hard work on Enigma Variations, we played through bits of Carmina Burana, which is all about rhythms and percussive sounds. It is very challenging due to its changing of bar values and paces. Nevertheless we are slowly getting to grips with Carl Orff’s piece and the way it’s supposed to sound. Personally, I think it is crucial to listen to recordings in order to get your head around this scenic cantata – and my attending of chorus rehearsals makes me comprehend how it all fits together. In my opinion, the complementing use of the Cellos alongside the sopranos, during Orff’s soprano phrase containing the dreaded top C, is interesting as it creates a blending sound between the high registers of the choir and parts of the lower section of the orchestra.

The orchestra is very much looking forward to being able to finally rehearse in the Colyer-Fergusson Building (especially since every rehearsal this year suffers under the inconsiderate attitude of some students, casually walking through Eliot Hall: Campus Watch, thanks for looking after us!). In the words of our Director of Music: “TTNY” (This Time Next Year). But maybe next week, we’ll risk saying TTNW!

Aisha Bové

Last Sunday, the Symphony Orchestra had its workshop day. Tuba-player, member of the brass section, third-year Architecture student and Society President Chris Gray was there, and had this to say about the day…

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Brass cheek: Chris Gray

It should be criminal for one to be on campus so early on a Sunday morning, but this was for a good reason; our mid-term orchestral workshop.

The University Symphony Orchestra underwent their first day of sectionals, masterclasses and rehearsals as a relatively new group of musicians. With the addition of new first-year and post-grad students and also the loss of students that had moved onto pastures new, the orchestra required a day of bonding as, not only an orchestra, but in their respective sections.

The orchestra was divided up into small sectionals which were led by an extraordinary group of tutors including staff from the university, friends from outside of the University and professional musicians. As a tuba player, and an orchestral musician, sometimes mentioned in separate sentences, it is important to feel part of a not only a large orchestra but your individual section.

Feeling part of a section means you breathe together on tutti sections, blend and play with good intonation. Our sectional began with the iconic opening of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, working on phrasing, dynamics and tuning. Such is Ravel’s orchestration, that tuning is paramount throughout, with rich harmonies and detailed phrasing. As a trumpet player, Alex Caldon, our section leader, has had experience of the opening solo and provided an insight into the correct method of phrasing and dynamic to produce the best sound.

The morning progressed with work on Pictures but also the choral piece Finzi ‘For St Cecilia;’ described as a mini Belshazzar’s Feast, the work again provides challenges for the brass. We worked on the opening 4 bars which are a fanfare of trumpets and trombone introducing this emphatic hymn to the patron saint of music.

Throughout the morning, the emphasis was on playing in a positive manner, producing a good quality sound and more importantly playing as a section. It was also interspersed with witty tales of an orchestral musician dealing with conductors, other musicians and the challenges that are faced in the professional world.

In the afternoon, the orchestra re-formed and rehearsals began; the difference being immediately noticeable. Sections became coherent bodies of musicians, in-tune with each other and playing with great diligence. The confidence from sectionals spilled over into a rehearsal that had developed further in the three hours of sectionals than the previous three weeks. The tutors are an invaluable resource and the students do appreciate them. The workshop days do provide a day away from coursework and deadlines were one can relax and enjoy the music. The confidence from the tutors inspires students and produces sounds that only they can muster, but most of all they are not only helpful but knowledgeable and inspiring. Bring on the concert!