The isle is full of noises
Aug. 26th, 2009 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pallas_athenaLast night's Proms were quite amazing. First up was the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, whom I love, with Norrington being a tremendous tart at the helm and Joyce DiDonato singing.
For non-classical types: the OAE are Britain's premier period-instruments orchestra, which means that every piece they play they play is played on instruments from the same period it was composed. For an example, check out this Wikipedia page on the violin. Gut strings, rather than modern nylon, make a huge difference: there are few things lovelier than the sound of proper Baroque strings, like silk veils falling through space.
Period brass is a whole different kettle of fish. Valves (those finger keys you get on modern brass instruments) are a nineteenth-century thing; earlier than that, a brass player needed to produce all the notes using only airflow and lip tension (and, for horn players, one hand in the bell.) You're also limited to the specific key your instrument is in; you can only change key by attaching different lengths of tubing, called crooks, to your horn. This can be tiresome, but it has its moments: slide on an extra-long crook, and your Baroque horn becomes an instant tuba!
So basically, early brass is REALLY hard to play well. Watching the OAE perform Handel's Water Music last night, with the natural brass doing all those rapid fanfares in thirds, I was awestruck by how glorious and easy they made it sound. (When they got around to Mendelssohn's Scottish symphony, THAT was when the unholy farting noises began.)
In general, though, it was a truly lovely concert. Purcell, Handel, and Haydn in the first half, with beautiful singing by Joyce DiDonato; the second half was Mendelssohn's Scottish. Norrington conducted most of it scoreless, with moments of extreme silliness (of the kind that are only possible if you're working with one of the finest, most together Baroque bands in the world.) iPlayer link here: go listen.
The late Prom was Michael Nyman. In theory, that should be a great segue, since Nyman is famously inspired by Purcell and Handel. However, after the lightness and intricacy of the OAE, the Michael Nyman Band came as a bit of a rude awakening-- the Nyman sound is strident, and they like to punish their instruments. They saw, they screech, they bang, they're amplified and they don't let up. They went tearing through The Draughtsman's Contract like a bat out of hell, and I caught myself wondering if they knew of any dynamics below forte.
Fortunately, Nyman's newer stuff is really inspired. The Musicologist Scores, commissioned for this Prom, is quite amazing; its twenty minutes passed like ten. Finnish soprano Anu Komsi made fine work of two songs Nyman had written for Ute Lemper; the second, "Psalm", I found especially mindblowing. The songs made me want to hear them in a big, echoing space like a cathedral; I think that would be their ideal place. Afterwards, Nyman played a brief, quiet piano piece as an encore, which was lovely. So I guess you could say that once I'd got used to his idiom, he won me over. It's well worth a listen on iPlayer, anyway (link at the bottom of the page).
In short: Proms rule. Nose back to grindstone now-- this music ain't going to learn itself.
For non-classical types: the OAE are Britain's premier period-instruments orchestra, which means that every piece they play they play is played on instruments from the same period it was composed. For an example, check out this Wikipedia page on the violin. Gut strings, rather than modern nylon, make a huge difference: there are few things lovelier than the sound of proper Baroque strings, like silk veils falling through space.
Period brass is a whole different kettle of fish. Valves (those finger keys you get on modern brass instruments) are a nineteenth-century thing; earlier than that, a brass player needed to produce all the notes using only airflow and lip tension (and, for horn players, one hand in the bell.) You're also limited to the specific key your instrument is in; you can only change key by attaching different lengths of tubing, called crooks, to your horn. This can be tiresome, but it has its moments: slide on an extra-long crook, and your Baroque horn becomes an instant tuba!
So basically, early brass is REALLY hard to play well. Watching the OAE perform Handel's Water Music last night, with the natural brass doing all those rapid fanfares in thirds, I was awestruck by how glorious and easy they made it sound. (When they got around to Mendelssohn's Scottish symphony, THAT was when the unholy farting noises began.)
In general, though, it was a truly lovely concert. Purcell, Handel, and Haydn in the first half, with beautiful singing by Joyce DiDonato; the second half was Mendelssohn's Scottish. Norrington conducted most of it scoreless, with moments of extreme silliness (of the kind that are only possible if you're working with one of the finest, most together Baroque bands in the world.) iPlayer link here: go listen.
The late Prom was Michael Nyman. In theory, that should be a great segue, since Nyman is famously inspired by Purcell and Handel. However, after the lightness and intricacy of the OAE, the Michael Nyman Band came as a bit of a rude awakening-- the Nyman sound is strident, and they like to punish their instruments. They saw, they screech, they bang, they're amplified and they don't let up. They went tearing through The Draughtsman's Contract like a bat out of hell, and I caught myself wondering if they knew of any dynamics below forte.
Fortunately, Nyman's newer stuff is really inspired. The Musicologist Scores, commissioned for this Prom, is quite amazing; its twenty minutes passed like ten. Finnish soprano Anu Komsi made fine work of two songs Nyman had written for Ute Lemper; the second, "Psalm", I found especially mindblowing. The songs made me want to hear them in a big, echoing space like a cathedral; I think that would be their ideal place. Afterwards, Nyman played a brief, quiet piano piece as an encore, which was lovely. So I guess you could say that once I'd got used to his idiom, he won me over. It's well worth a listen on iPlayer, anyway (link at the bottom of the page).
In short: Proms rule. Nose back to grindstone now-- this music ain't going to learn itself.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
period music
on 2009-08-27 11:42 am (UTC)http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6811540.ece
no subject
on 2009-08-27 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-08-28 11:41 am (UTC)http://www.rsamd.ac.uk/news/news_0050.html
and a stab at an interpretation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8222727.stm
(although all the comparisons with jazz are making me think of entirely inappropriate 1960s improvisations flowing on and on)