Concerts and events reviews.
And as I type, the new Watch This Space series of informal gigs on the foyer stage is in full swing, with live jazz from the Colossus Quartet, including some if the Music Scholars.
We’ve been treated to a rich mix of Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Gillespie and styles from swing to bossa.
There’ll be more in the series throughout the term: keep an eye on the website and Twitter for details.
Now back to the jazz…
Via The Guardian, here’s conductor Antonio Pappano giving a masterclass on a Verdi aria: a short lesson in the importance of singing consonants in Italian, the continuity of line, and pacing dynamic change; filmed as part of a behind-the-scenes day in the life of Covent Garden.
Fascinating for singers and conductors alike.
It’s been an action-packed final week; from Thursday through to Sunday, many of the University’s musicians were involved in rehearsing for, and performing in, the Gala opening concerts on Saturday and Sunday; the University Carol Service took place in Canterbury Cathedral on Monday night; there was a ‘Winter Wonderland’ lunchtime concert at which the Estates Team Choir made its debut yesterday; and finally Carols Round the Christmas Tree yesterday night.
We’re still recovering, both from the number of events in so short a time, but also from the heady success of the formal opening of the wonderful Colyer-Fergusson music building. You can see extensive photographs from the entire weekend on our special Pinterest board here.
The weekend saw two works premièred: one with the Chamber Choir by your loyal correspondent, the other with Concert Band in James Rae’s Platform One, which you can read about on their blog, ‘On The Beat’ here.
The Chamber Choir sang at the University Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral on Monday night; find out how they got on in a feature over on the choral blog, Cantus Firmus, here.
Wednesday’s festive lunchtime concert saw music from the Cecilian Choir, the Canterberries, and the debut performance from the Estates Team Choir; read about how it went (and there’s even some footage too…) on Cantus Firmus here.
And finally, members of the University community and friends gathered in the chilly night to bid a musical farewell to the term at ‘Carols Round The Tree.’
We’re taking a break for Christmas, but will be back again in the New Year to report on all the events we’re lining up for next term through to the week-long Summer Music in June; it’s going to be an exciting period. Festive good wishes to all our readers: see you in January.
Bravo to everyone involved.
See all the buzz over the entire forty-eight hour period on the Twitter trend #cfbgala here, with tweets and photos galore.
Last Friday night’s visit from the Brodsky Quartet was eagerly awaited for two very special reasons; not only was it their chance-driven ‘Wheel of 4-Tunes’ concert celebrating the group’s fortieth birthday, it was also the first formal concert in the new Colyer-Fergusson concert hall.
The programme, chosen on the night by the spin of the wheel, included turns (no pun intended!) from Professor Keith Mander, a member of the public, Music Society Secretary and cellist Aisha Bové, and our very own Sophie Meikle. The pieces the wheel chose were by Piazzolla, Barber, Golijov, and Ravel, and displayed the quartet in their customary eclectic form, whether tango-ing in idiomatic style with Piazolla or exquisitely painting the famous ‘Adagio’ from Barber’s String Quartet.
The final piece in the concert was Ravel’s String Quartet, and it was here that the Brodsky’s revealed their final masterstroke; equally robust and rainbow-hued, Ravel’s piece was shown, in the wider context of the other pieces which had appeared in the programme, to be a modernist piece, bristling with harmonic dissonances, spiky textures, sudden changes of mood and pace, and bold gestures that are often obscured by performance that prefer to embrace Ravel’s Impressionist tendencies. Whilst the quartet was fully alive to the rich and exotic harmonies and sinuous melodic lines that give Ravel this label, they also brought out Ravel’s more striking characteristics in a performance that drew fierce applause from a delighted audience.
Yesterday’s Open View event, hosted by architects Tim Ronalds, saw the new Colyer-Fergusson Building come alive with music, visitors and guests, as musicians performed in all the available spaces throughout the building.
Between 3-8pm, the entire place was abuzz with jazz, choral music, solo percussion and piano, acoustic guitar and string quartet music, an aural backdrop as invited guests toured the new facilities, and saw (and heard!) it in action. It was also the first opportunity to test-drive the new performance stage in the foyer, which proved to be a fantastic space with terrific acoustics, ranging from the delicate close-harmony singing of vocal trio ‘The Canterberries’ to the liquid soprano-sax improvisations from sax teacher, Peter Cook. There was even a guest appearance from Ned, the acoustic consultant from the firm Arup Acoustics, on sax (and congas) as well; truly an occasion in which music could be made by many.
With thanks to all the musicians who took part, and brought the entire building to life.
Courtesy of KentTV, here’s footage of the Children in Need events from last Thursday, with your loyal correspondent conducting the scratch Ringtone Orchestra in Three Movements in Ring-Tonality, followed by an awful lot of people doing the ‘Time Warp’ next door in the Gulbenkian Theatre.
Thanks to everyone who took part, and to KTV.
The new concert-hall played host to a certain Yellow Bear and members of the University community and friends earlier today, as a scratch ‘orchestra’ of performers wielded their mobile-phones in aid of Children in Need.
Marking sixty years of John Cage’s notorious 4′ 33”, a band of willing volunteers flocked to the new concert-hall to give the premiere of Three Movements in Ring-Tonality by your loyal correspondent, aided in conducting duties by none other than Pudsey Bear himself.
After a brief rehearsal of each movement, the baton was brandished and a delicate tapestry of ring-tones rose to the roof in a texture of which we feel Cage would have been proud.
With thanks to everyone who turned up either to participate or to listen, to Pudsey, and to the staff of the Gulbenkian who were on hand to help with the smooth running of what was a unique occasion. The BBC were on hand to film the proceedings, keep an eye out on the round-up of local events on BBC South East tomorrow night for a glimpse of what went on…
And what will next year bring ?
