An unashamed bit of self-promotion

My businesses in Gloucester are up for sale, so if you fancy purchasing a couple of great little property/retail investments, let me know.  I feel justified in mentioning this as it will mean that I can lend more of my time to music with, hopefully, some benefit to the orchestra. The orchestra has been alternately a source of frustration (lack of time) and inspiration over the years and I'm truly grateful for the companionship and music that I've been a part of.  Long may it continue.

I'll be devoting myself full time to music from the end of January and will be able to do what I've been struggling to do, but enjoying, for years. I've been putting time into writing music and writing about music, to the extent that I know this, for me, is worth pursuing. You can imagine that writing is time consuming and needs unbroken attention. I'll be able to give it this at last. I'll also be able to increase my teaching, and in addition have been working with an excellent early Baroque trio in preparation for playing at various functions next year.

Is Music Difficult?

"This is a difficult piece of music to play" is a a cry that I often hear, though perhaps not so much in the summer with orchestra rehearsals on hold, musical colleagues away on holiday or busy with other things. I take this time of year to focus on my own musical development, practice and learning and on determining my aims for the future. A little musical luxury that I experienced recently was taking part in a strings group for a few days of solid music-making at an education centre called Jackdaws in Great Elm, near Frome. The luxury of this experience was (apart from great food and company) the opportunity to dissect in detail three short pieces of music, taking three whole days from dawn til dusk to do this. The course was mainly about ensemble playing but involved perennial basics, particularly tuning, which require the ability to listen and hear as well as play.

Baroque Bows and the Bearded Lady

On a CD that I've recently received for review is a symphony by Peter Maxwell Davies but of more interest to me on the same disc is a piece by Davies called "Cross Lane Fair" which, written in 1994, was inspired by memories of a childhood fairground.

This composer is notorious for his dislike of pop music and will quickly leave places that pump out wallpaper musak. Minimalist music he dismisses as repetitive and having no interesting musical development. I'm afraid I always steered clear of his music, finding it too cerebral and difficult for me. I've changed my mind.

The old rebel of contemporary music is up to his ninth symphony which will be performed at this year's Proms for the first time on 23rd August. Nine is a particularly important number for the major symphonists, as you may well know. "Cross Lane Fair", an admittedly comparatively much lighter work than the symphonies, is scored for chamber orchestra, Northumbrian pipes and an Irish drum, the bodhrán. The pipes consist of one chanter, usually with keys, and four drones. Each note is played by lifting only one finger or by opening one key and the effect which is comparatively staccato combines with the small bore of the pipes to create a much quieter instrument than the full-blown bagpipes, hence they are less primitive in effect. The bodhrán is the most basic of drums. It consists of a circular frame on which is mounted a single skin. The player is usually seated with the drum held vertically and one hand placed inside the frame on the skin. This hand is then used to control both the volume and the pitch of the sound while the other hand beats the skin, either directly or with a "cipin" or "tipper".

The Art of Choking

My musical month has revolved around events common to many of us, not least the Jubilee celebrations. There have also been the usual assortment of more personal experiences, one or two of which I'd like to share now. A couple of radio items caught my ear. The first was a "Thought For The Day" considering the amount of training and concentrated effort that goes into making a top athlete. Even with everything in place, it sometimes happens that an athlete will then "choke" on the day, will lose focus, rhythm, concentration. The reason may be simply trying too hard, allowing the chattering uncertainties of the mind to get in the way of the body's instinctive ability, programmed in by long months of training.  Now simply substitute "music" for "athletics" and "practice" for "training" and the equivalence is complete. The solution to choking, according to "Thought For The Day", is to let go and allow an inner grace to hold sway.

The athletic theme was taken up by another R4 programme describing how athletes use music as an integral part of training, for warming up, for working out and for event preparation. Rhythm plays a major part in this, the magic 120-140 beats per minute holding the key.  Red Bull have this year sponsored the composition of a piece of music written, or should I say designed, for all the different components in the training and performance potential of one of our top Olympic athletes.