The Year

"The Year" was the title of a series of radio programmes broadcast on Radio 3 at the turn of the millennium. There were 100 of them, each covering the music of a single year during the twentieth century, describing significant new pieces of music and setting them in a social and historical context. I recorded quite a few on cassette tapes and still dip into them. I look round in horror to discover that more than ten years have gone by since making those recordings and that cassette tapes are defunct and mp3 downloads, iplayers and Kindles rule.  What will it be like ten years from now?

I've been able to witness a gradual change in the Newent Orchestra over that period of time, particularly in recent years when the membership and concert audiences have grown. The growth in membership has reached a point where a long-standing rehearsal venue at Upleadon has become too small and the orchestra will begin its next season by moving rehearsals to a new venue, the Newent Centre, close to the town's main thoroughfare. The orchestra has played there in years before my time so this is a move that means the orchestra is coming home.

Duck! Eggs

It's taken me months to find out how to make the bass line in my Finale music software programme sound like an electric bass and not like a double bass played pizzicato. The way it all went right was thus: I put a couple of duck eggs on to boil in the kitchen then went back to the sofa to continue working on the problem and forgot about the eggs.  Half an hour later, there was a loud eggsplosion as they exited from the saucepan. At the very moment this occurred I discovered how to get that electric bass sound. The two events must surely be connected.

Newent Orchestra Spring Concert

Just wanted to make a few comments about the Newent Orchestra's concert last weekend. The orchestra seems to have hit the right level of programming (thanks mainly to conductor, George) and the pieces we played went down exceptionally well. The orchestra is on the cusp of playing beyond its normal compass - concerted effort and a couple more quality players joining will push it into becoming a force to be reckoned with. That step may be small but will require much effort by all the members.  One event that could be a  help in this is the move of rehearsal venue from Upleadon, a couple of miles outside Newent, to the "Newent Centre", right in the town.  This will take place in September. The orchestra is coming home by making this move and it should be an inviting proposition for local talent to come along and show their faces.  Going back to the concert, there is a musical slot for cameo pieces from times gone by and our orchestra is making a speciality of them - from Elgar's minor offerings to Mozart's "music for the people". The orchestra played well to an appreciative community audience. I just want it to make that final, short but difficult step... I know that audience members appreciated the music but it surprised me (always does) how much the players enjoyed their concert. Being part of a musical machine is an adrenalin-pumping experience that brings great life-affirming pleasure.

Clapping

I heard the Colin Currie Group perform Steve Reich's piece, "Drumming" at the Colston Hall earlier this week and was not disappointed.  It was thunderously great. However, the show began with a little piece by Reich, also worthy of comment, called, "Clapping Music": two performers simply clap away, one repeating the same pattern throughout, the other, under the direction of Reich's gradually shifting phases, moving the pattern along so that complex compelling rhythms are produced. One effect is to make you aware of the lunacy of clapping. At the end, I wanted the audience to stand and take a bow.