3.14.2005
what a day
Had a productive day today: I had to spend the majority of my morning fixing my bike, which went so much better than I had expected that it would. The brakes weren't doing quite well - my front brake was far too loose, such that I'd have to pull the lever all the way down in order to stop the wheel. And the back brake was much the same, except then it also wouldn't open back out, so it would just stick to the wheel unless opened up manually using the lever again. Basically, I tightened a few of the brake cables, but the real fix when I decided to drench basically anything that moved in WD-40. That stuff is awesome. :)
Unfortunately, one of the byproducts was that I also happened to grease up the brakepads with the WD-40, but it wore off eventually and now my brakes work! I also took the time to oil the chain, which made a huge difference in how hard I had to pedal and also how dirty my trouser leg got while I was biking. It was excellent.
I also had thhis really weird music rehearsal today. It's brand new music by composers from Oxford Brookes University, performed by singers from The Sixteen and Magdala. The music is bizarre - I'm not sure what the assignment was, but it's really messed up.
Piece number one: Paradise, Purgatory and Pandemonium. According to the composer, "the score is entirely based around the tune l'homme arme, an inspiration to the writers of beautiful Renaissance polyphony which in its lyric expresses the genocidal and hysterical shadow of the time. I hope, through this piece, to capture my ambivalence towards the religious music of the Renaissance, which I have always found deeply moving in its intensity and spirituality, but equally disturbing in its support of a religion which was so violent and intolerant." I happen to disagree on the sociological and spiritual levels. I also happen to disagree with his choices in composition, which seem not to be based on the l'homme arme tune, but on stuff I can't see. I don't get it. And I don't like it. Which is not to say that I don't like it because I don't get it. Rather, I just don't understand what he's doing here, and I also happen not to think that it sounds any good. For a part of the piece, the choir is asked to make loud feral animal noises.
Piece number two: The Secret of the Universe. At least this one's tonal in nature. It's got a certain playfulness to it, but I'm a little confused by the lyrics, which read "I spin, I spin around and close my eyes, I view sky blue land green round, stop, stay, sleep, spin, Gaining the universal, no stay, no stop, like any top" etc... It's all pretty wierd, but like I said, it's got a certain tonality which I found lacking in Paradise, etc.
Piece number three; Star Cross'd Lovers. This one's a simplistic setting of the prologue from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. But then we start to chant "Verona" over and over and over again, which gets tedious. It's also flirting with two different tonalities a half-step apart, which makes it pretty difficult to sing.
I've never barked during a concert - the show on Wednesday might be kind of fun... :)
Sad news: My friend Jenny was dumped by her boyfriend today. In fact, she had gone to Cambridge to see him this past weekend and then arrived back in Oxford yesterday evening. He came on the bus to Oxford this afternoon with the sole purpose of dumping her. Then he jumped back on the bus and left town. I'll take the opportunity now to say that while I am exceedingly sorry for Jenny's situation, I never liked him and often said as much among other friends. She's so much better off.
So I'm going to Paris the week after Easter. If anyone has tips, I'd love to hear 'em. :)
Unfortunately, one of the byproducts was that I also happened to grease up the brakepads with the WD-40, but it wore off eventually and now my brakes work! I also took the time to oil the chain, which made a huge difference in how hard I had to pedal and also how dirty my trouser leg got while I was biking. It was excellent.
I also had thhis really weird music rehearsal today. It's brand new music by composers from Oxford Brookes University, performed by singers from The Sixteen and Magdala. The music is bizarre - I'm not sure what the assignment was, but it's really messed up.
Piece number one: Paradise, Purgatory and Pandemonium. According to the composer, "the score is entirely based around the tune l'homme arme, an inspiration to the writers of beautiful Renaissance polyphony which in its lyric expresses the genocidal and hysterical shadow of the time. I hope, through this piece, to capture my ambivalence towards the religious music of the Renaissance, which I have always found deeply moving in its intensity and spirituality, but equally disturbing in its support of a religion which was so violent and intolerant." I happen to disagree on the sociological and spiritual levels. I also happen to disagree with his choices in composition, which seem not to be based on the l'homme arme tune, but on stuff I can't see. I don't get it. And I don't like it. Which is not to say that I don't like it because I don't get it. Rather, I just don't understand what he's doing here, and I also happen not to think that it sounds any good. For a part of the piece, the choir is asked to make loud feral animal noises.
Piece number two: The Secret of the Universe. At least this one's tonal in nature. It's got a certain playfulness to it, but I'm a little confused by the lyrics, which read "I spin, I spin around and close my eyes, I view sky blue land green round, stop, stay, sleep, spin, Gaining the universal, no stay, no stop, like any top" etc... It's all pretty wierd, but like I said, it's got a certain tonality which I found lacking in Paradise, etc.
Piece number three; Star Cross'd Lovers. This one's a simplistic setting of the prologue from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. But then we start to chant "Verona" over and over and over again, which gets tedious. It's also flirting with two different tonalities a half-step apart, which makes it pretty difficult to sing.
I've never barked during a concert - the show on Wednesday might be kind of fun... :)
Sad news: My friend Jenny was dumped by her boyfriend today. In fact, she had gone to Cambridge to see him this past weekend and then arrived back in Oxford yesterday evening. He came on the bus to Oxford this afternoon with the sole purpose of dumping her. Then he jumped back on the bus and left town. I'll take the opportunity now to say that while I am exceedingly sorry for Jenny's situation, I never liked him and often said as much among other friends. She's so much better off.
So I'm going to Paris the week after Easter. If anyone has tips, I'd love to hear 'em. :)
