5.25.2005
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Last night, I played in a concert by the Oxford University Sinfonietta. First up was a selection of pieces from Gluck's Orfeo et Euridice. Perhaps it was that we didn't take Gluck seriously. Or perhaps we didn't take any of it seriously. Rehearsals were shoddily planned and poorly executed; music didn't show up at the right time, and with finals and such here, a large number of the orchestra just plain dropped out. So yeah, the Gluck was awful. In my defense, I think I did a pretty good job sight reading the piece in the dress rehearsal. Tuning was, naturally, atrocious.
The second half of the program was Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete. Forgive me, but I left and went for a pint in the pub instead. A nice ale called Waggledance. Though it wasn't as good as other pints of Waggledance I've had - perhaps this one was a little off.
The middle piece was fun. If you have a warped sense of fun. Spaces, by Tim Ewers, was written in 1981 and is, in British terms, "a pile of pants." The following is copyright Tim Ewers, having been printed in the program: "Spaces is written for three instrumental groups: two groups of wind instruments situated on either side of a piano and percussion group. The wind instruments are often used antiphonally, the exploration of the spacial and directional qualities of sound being a feature of this piece. The music is in three sections separated by short solos for piano and percussion. The two outer sections have a timeless quality: the opening part is built entirely from two chords and the closing section from ascending and descending scales. The central part alternates and combines three more dynamic types of music: melodic lines, brass fanfares and wave patterns." Fascinating stuff. If you're a musicologist or stoned.
As for attempting to play it, once we got through the origami nightmare that was the music itself (mine fell off of the stand during the concert), there was the ridiculous mess that was the piece itself. My friends Liz and Catherine were sitting in the audience right in my line of vision, and they were so funny I couldn't help but laugh while I was playing. Liz was obviously having trouble keeping a straight face, and Catherine was obviously displeased at the 'music' itself. Luckily, I didn't have a view of my friend Debbie, who was sitting outside of my field of vision. Evidently, she was being quiet but smirking like crazy. She lost it when, during the applause, the composer Tim Ewers stood up to take a bow. You could hear suddenly in the audience a gasp and then an 'oh no...' when it became obvious that he had heard all of the snickering from the crowd. Serves him right for writing ridiculous pieces of music.
Today is the first day of Eights, or what has been dubbed on one rowing blog as the "Oxford Summer Comedy Rowing Week". Read my last post to see our chances. They don't look pretty, I'll tell you what. I'm getting nervous. We're to report to the boathouse in 1.5 hrs.
The second half of the program was Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete. Forgive me, but I left and went for a pint in the pub instead. A nice ale called Waggledance. Though it wasn't as good as other pints of Waggledance I've had - perhaps this one was a little off.
The middle piece was fun. If you have a warped sense of fun. Spaces, by Tim Ewers, was written in 1981 and is, in British terms, "a pile of pants." The following is copyright Tim Ewers, having been printed in the program: "Spaces is written for three instrumental groups: two groups of wind instruments situated on either side of a piano and percussion group. The wind instruments are often used antiphonally, the exploration of the spacial and directional qualities of sound being a feature of this piece. The music is in three sections separated by short solos for piano and percussion. The two outer sections have a timeless quality: the opening part is built entirely from two chords and the closing section from ascending and descending scales. The central part alternates and combines three more dynamic types of music: melodic lines, brass fanfares and wave patterns." Fascinating stuff. If you're a musicologist or stoned.
As for attempting to play it, once we got through the origami nightmare that was the music itself (mine fell off of the stand during the concert), there was the ridiculous mess that was the piece itself. My friends Liz and Catherine were sitting in the audience right in my line of vision, and they were so funny I couldn't help but laugh while I was playing. Liz was obviously having trouble keeping a straight face, and Catherine was obviously displeased at the 'music' itself. Luckily, I didn't have a view of my friend Debbie, who was sitting outside of my field of vision. Evidently, she was being quiet but smirking like crazy. She lost it when, during the applause, the composer Tim Ewers stood up to take a bow. You could hear suddenly in the audience a gasp and then an 'oh no...' when it became obvious that he had heard all of the snickering from the crowd. Serves him right for writing ridiculous pieces of music.
Today is the first day of Eights, or what has been dubbed on one rowing blog as the "Oxford Summer Comedy Rowing Week". Read my last post to see our chances. They don't look pretty, I'll tell you what. I'm getting nervous. We're to report to the boathouse in 1.5 hrs.
