It looks as though the Big Hollywood Movie about the life and (contested) suicide of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of glum-grunge-rockers Nirvana, may be looming ever closer.
Since Cobain’s death in 1994, his life and iconic status have seemed suitable fodder for the big Hollywood biopic also afforded to singers like The Doors’ Jim Morrison by Oliver Stone in the eponymous film from 1991.
The Chorus piece for this year’s ArtsFest Prom is nearly finished.
With the arrangement for Chamber Choir now all but completed, I was left with no displacement-activity excuse to avoid getting to grips with what has turned out to be something of a monster. There’ll even be an array of Latin percussion as well, if I can organise it.
Herewith a sneak preview of the first few pages: if you’re singing with the Chorus in the Prom concert, this is a little taste of what you’re letting yourself in for…
Legendary Canadian songstress Joni Mitchell has had a pop at equally legendary musician Bob Dylan for being a fake.
As revealed in the media yesterday, Mitchell has declared Dylan ‘a plagiarist’ and says ‘Everything about Bob is a deception.’
Of course, those who live in the glare of publicity always have an element of deception about them, creating a public persona behind which to shelter themselves from the media’s remorseless stare. As the great French poet Jean Cocteau famously declared, ‘I am a lie who always speaks the truth.’
Dylan, it seems, has been accused of plagiarism before, connected with his 2006 album Modern Times.
Both Mitchell and Dylan have changed their names, but obviously Mitchell did not take kindly to the comparison in her interview with the Los Angeles Times.
However, Mitchell also pours scorn on Madonna, whom, she says, marks a turning-point in American culture which has been ‘stupid and shallow since 1980.’ Bear in mind, however, that this was the decade that gave film Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986), and literature Tom Wolfe’s classic Bonfire of the Vanities, (1987), as well as the photography of Cindy Sherman, to name but a few redeeming cultural icons.
There was blood on Mitchell’s career tracks in the 1980s, when her career took something of a dive after her success in the 70s: it was only with Night Ride Home in 1991 that her career surged back to critical acclaim. Perhaps that’s what it’s all about, really….
Although anyone who can list Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira amongst their back catalogue deserves our respect.
A series profiling musical alumni of the University of Kent. This week, Jo Pearsall.
On song: Jo Pearsall.
—————-
When were you at Kent ?
1989 to 1992 to study – from 2002 as a member of staff
What subject did you study ?
History
What occupation are you now engaged in ?
Administrative Assistant, Central Secretariat, University of Kent
If music is not your profession, do you participate in any musical experiences now ?
Yes: I am a member of the University of Kent Symphony Orchestra, strategically placed at the back of the first violins. I also sing with the Cecilian Choir, a small group of staff, students and alumni that’s a new venture this year, and I’ve also sung at Jazz @ 5. I am a member of a chamber choir in Canterbury called Cantemus. I also do other bits of singing and playing here and there.
How were you involved in music whilst at Kent ?
I was President of the Music Society! Actually I couldn’t begin to list all of the music that I was involved in whilst at Kent, even if my poor old memory could remember it all, but highlights were singing in summer opera projects, playing in the Symphony Orchestra, singing with the Chamber Choir including a particularly memorable trip to Prague, playing in the orchestra pit of The Pyjama Game at the Marlowe Theatre, playing for various other dramatic performances and singing at ad hoc occasions including in local churches and at high table dinners.
What did you gain from your University music experience, and has this helped you in any way since leaving Kent ?
A huge amount of experience both musically and organisationally that has stood me in good stead to this day and probably led to my getting my first proper job.
What was your most memorable musical experience at Kent ?
Probably having a small solo part in the opera Die Fledermaus in 1992 at the Gulbenkian Theatre. A gorgeous dress was made specially for me to wear which was too exciting! I have been mercilessly mocked about my “acting” skills ever since.
What would you say to current musical students at the University ?
Enjoy yourselves, take part in lots of musical activities and organise some too and remember that the friends that you are making whilst making music now are probably the ones you will still have in twenty years’ time, so make sure you look after each other.
—-
If you’re a musical alumnus and would like to be featured, please get in touch via the Music Department website: we’d love to hear from you!
The guide to the BBC Proms season is now available on-line here.
Of note: John Adams, James Macmillan, Jonathan Dove, Graham Fitkin, Jonathan Harvey, Gabriel Jackson, Arvo Pärt, Toru Takemitsu, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Judith Weir all have works being performed.
And, of course, each concert will be broadcast live on Radio 3.
Exciting times for music at the University: in more ways than one.
Artist's impression of the proposed building hall: courtesy Tim Ronalds Architects
The project for the new Colyer-Fergusson Centre for Music Performance is developing apace, in conjunction with the award-winning firm of Tim Ronalds Architects: we’ll be keeping you posted (literally) as to how the project is unfolding right here on ‘Music Matters,’ from clod to concert-hall.
The brochure for the new building is also now available, and I’m delighted to be able to present it here in what is a first for the Music Department: literature in an e-zine format.
This year, the University presented another eclectic range of music in its annual Lunchtime Concert series, with enthusiastic audiences averaging around two hundred for each performance in the Gulbenkian Theatre.
Mambo Jambo – October
Mambo Jambo!
The series was launched in style by Mambo Jambo, a two-piece group who between them played more instruments that you would have thought possible. Using all acoustic instruments and drawing on musical styles from around the world, their repertoire included music from Latin America, Africa, Brazil and bluegrass.
The English Muse – November
In contrast, the second concert explored Baroque music from Purcell to Handel with a trio of renowned early music performers: Terence Charleston (harpsichord), Anna Crookes (soprano) and Penelope Spencer (violin). The programme included Purcell’s Sound The Trumpet and a Handel cantata of outrageous musical inventiveness.
Carnival of the Animals – November
Seeing Double: Charles Darwin ?
The influence of the Darwin centenary celebrations was apparent in the last lunchtime concert of the Autumn term, a performance of Saint-Saens’ enduringly popular Carnival of the Animals by the University Camerata. Playing to a packed theatre, the ensemble featured musical staff of the University, ranging from a Deputy Vice-Chancellor to the Director of the Unit for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, as well as various visiting music teachers. The concert was a part of the University-wide Darwin celebrations, and even featured a guest appearance by Darwin himself, who bore a rather uncanny resemblence to the Drama department’s Dr. Olly Double…
which included several of the visiting Music Department staff. An enthusiastic audience were treated to a vivacious mixture of songs from the 1940’s to combat ‘Blue Monday’s’ blues. Saxophonist and singer Peter Cook didn’t allow himself to be incovenienced by a cold, as he had handily brought a megaphone for that authentic sound. Some solid support from sousaphone player Steve Wassall was matched by some light-footed improvisation from Ian Swatman.
Gofannon Brass – March
Gofannon Brass
The concert series was brought to a close in heraldic fashion by Gofannon Brass, founded by trumpeter and visiting teacher Alex Caldon. The five-piece ensemble comprises players from major London orchestras and West End theatre productions. The group is named after the ancient Celtic god of metal-workers who, with all the fine brass instruments on display, must surely have been delighted.
As ever, our thanks to the firm of Furley Page Solicitors, who generously continue to sponsor the Lunchtime Concert series and allow the University to bring such an array of professional talent into the community.
