And sometime voices

[pallas_athena]

Since so many of my recent nights out have been plagued by the Demons of Wrongness, it is a relief to report that tonight, for once, everything went right.

I'm on an email list that lets people know about chamber concerts in a big, beautiful old house in Marylebone. The owners' son died sadly young, and the concerts are in aid of a charitable trust set up in his name. Tonight's was I Fagiolini, a small vocal group who do early and modern music. [Yes, their name means "The Beans." No, I don't know why.]

It was the perfect group for this venue (an upstairs drawing-room full of interesting paintings and ad hoc chairs.) The concert began with the musicians simply standing up in various places around the room and beginning a Monteverdi madrigal. The voices coming from every side created a beautiful effect. The cool thing about I Fagiolini is that they don't just sing: they use the music to tell stories. So when they sang a song about playing the Game of the Goose, they brought out a board and some dice and played it; when they sang a song with an obscene echo-chorus, half the singers sang from outside the door. There was a lot of Italian Renaissance loveliness in the first half of the programme, including a set of extremely silly Venetian carnival songs. When they turned to modern music, I was delighted to hear Britten's Sacred and Profane. Composed in the last year of his life for the small group led by Peter Pears, it's a series of settings of Middle English lyrics. Those who know me know that I'm an enormous geek for Middle English lyrics; Britten's settings turn out to be sweet and silly and beautiful. I Fagiolini warmed my icy heart by singing in damn-near-perfect Middle English. The guy who leads them must be a fanatical obsessive, but he's my kind of fanatical obsessive. They're singing again tonight at Cadogan Hall, and if you're free, definitely try and catch them.

After a few folksong settings and an encore in Xhosa, my music-college friend Pete and I sought a drink at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. "A drink" => "maybe a meze or two" => "ohmygods these meze are AWESOME and they just brought us free baclava." So if you're near Bond Street, definitely head to Levant for interesting food in a room full of cushions and Moroccan lanterns. It's such a relaxed place they didn't even flinch when Pete did his impersonation of that guy from Pan's Labyrinth with two of the date balls. Just when I thought the evening couldn't get any more awesome...

So it's 2.30 in the morning and I'm still smiling. Furthermore, I've just sent the first draft of the first scene of my first attempt at writing an opera libretto off to the composer. We'll see what he says.

Comments

[upasaka.livejournal.com]

That sounds perfectly lovely. The Britten is wonderful. I think I've heard that group somewhere.

I have a song cycle of Middle English and early Tudor lyrics underway which happens to be for Mezzo, Oboe and Strings. It's for Christmas and for moodywho, but I'll be sure to send you a copy when it's done.

I have a thought about a possible opera based on a short story by Dostoyevsky which has been made into a very good Bollywood film. I need a libretto though...

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Hmm-- intriguing! What's the title of the story?

That sounds like a lovely song cycle, and when it's done, I'd love to see it.

[laurell.livejournal.com]

Dostoyevsky made into a Bollywood film????
Is this true???

[speedlime.livejournal.com]

That does it, I'm throwing over my job and coming back to London RIGHT THE FUCK NOW :)

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I'll alert the BBC and put the kettle on.

[wolfinthewood.livejournal.com]

Best of luck with your libretto.

And thanks for the info about the chamber concerts. I know one or two people who might enjoy those: I'll pass on the link.

[breltard95.livejournal.com]

OK, your night was good enough to qualify as a good night for the both of us.

[justpolina.livejournal.com]

I may have been drunk when this was explained, so if it's bollocks I apologise. But at the time I Fag were being formed, early music was being described as Beany owing to the tendency of the experts to have vegetarian wholewheat home knitted sandals and eat much beans. Rob Hollingsworth therefore became Beany Bob and when he formed the ensemble it was christened I Fagiolini or The Little Beans.

There you are, pointless musical pseudofact of the day!