Being community

Sunday was NCO's Community Play Day 2024 and it seems ot me to be something like a jazz jam.  NCO players join with players of orchestral instruments to prepare then perform a few tunes.  It's all done in one day, with several hours in two rehearsal sessions and an afternoon concert.  AMEB5 is the recommended level for visitors.  In the end, about 100 players performed with 44 non-NCO.  The works were Sally Greenaway Worlds within worlds and Mussorgsky Pictures at an exhibition.  Neither were romps in the park.  Sally's looked pretty readable but had some tricky twists that required some tiem.  Pictures at an exhibition (the Ravel arrangement, of course) also has its readable sections (Are they movements?  If so, they are short) but some mightily tricky passages too.  We got caught out on one change of tempo right at the end but otherwise got through the works, if sometimes a little touchy on timing and intonation.  But the day was a wonderful experience, great for lunchtime chatter, friendly and challenging to boot and the NCO practice the next night was much bigger than usual.  Much enjoyed.

National Capital Orchestra ran its second annual Community Play Day at Albert Hall.  Louis Sharpe (musical director) conducted.

This is CJBlog post no. 2,850

Flight

Flight was the theme of the latest Oriana Choir concert and it's an apt theme for a choir, it seems to me.  it's light, flightly, swooping high and low, playful like birds, intelligent and intriguing like Leonardo and even reaches to the stars like the final tune of this concert.  The tunes were all manner, from Swans and Magpies, from calm to frenzy; Leonardo dreaming of his high flying machine by Eric Whitaker, noted as a choral tour-do-force and obviously a massively complex choral outing.  We heard various bird noises amongst the words and all manner of bird-like movements and swooshes and tweets and the like, amongst all the words with their own more obvious meanings.  I still love words for their meanings, so choirs are a huge pleasure, even if you often need to follow the program to comprehend them.  Sally Whitwell is a long-time friend and came on for several pieces and her composition Flying and a last minute world premiere that led into it.  Then a final Elton John Rocket man which spoke of space while musically and lyrically bringing us down to earth: such a clear indication of the relative simplicity of the pop tune.  All, so lovely, so well sung and managed, so interestingly programmed.  Much enjoyed.

Oriana Chorale performed with Sally Whitwell (piano) under Dan Walker (musical director) at Wesley Church.

Stars in eyes

It's not every Tilt gig that gets on to CJ.  We have some secrets!  But this was a great gig and we had an appreciative audience that hung around until we finished then left which is a good sign for the band and we played really well and I played the second set with my newish Japanese Fender P-Bass 1985 with lovely aftermarket Motown-styled pickup and I was renewing my feel for the diminutive e-bass and we even did a funk jam with Rhodes tones.  That's not our normal way but it was nicely firm all round.  And the ceiling was interesting thus the pic.  Thanks to James and Mark for a great night.

Tilt played at Old Canberra Inn.  Tilt was James Woodman (piano), Mark Levers (drums) and Eric Pozza (bass).

Puck dances

Sam Row played Debussy preludes book 1 at Wesley.  Twelve preludes, all manner of styles and themes, presumably in 12 keys.  The themes were especially interesting, so we had Delphic dancers and winds and hills and snow and a girl with flaxen hair and Puck and minstrels and an interrupted serenade and even a flooded cathedral.  Several were mild but at least Puck and Minstrels were busy and louder.  It was just a little uncomfortable early on being a single large work and an audience unsure whether to clap between the individual preludes.  In the end, Sam and audience settled into no applause until the end  and the final audience response was generous.  Sam was impressive, not least with this whole played form memory and this fascinating collection of stories and many keys was a great pleasure, and interestingly, with introductions to each preludes following the work.  Lovely and intriguing.

Sam Row performed Debussy preludes at Wesley.

Long time coming

Funny to drive for 2 days to attend and record a concert but that's what I just did.  I'd been in Adelaide visiting family and other than the rain, the 2-day trip was pretty comfy.  The concert was Kompactus Youth Choir celebrating their 15th anniversary at Wesley.  The first  numbers were by the current youth choir under MD and conductor Olivia Swift and the last 5 tunes included older alumni and variously  David Yardley, once Kompactus MD, and Olivia conducting.  Olivia also provided two songs, David one, and Kompactus  alumnus Patrick Baker another.  It was hard not to notice how varied were the songs presented, as well as how challenging and well performed.  This was seriously satisfying a cappella singing.  Olivia was beautifully in control of a choir that responded with delicacy and care and joy at times.  Especially for a few amusing pieces, like time with its tongue clicks for clock beats and I'm a train with all manner of trainy noises and of course a more complex take of the well known What shall we do with the drunken sailor.  There was a song on Turing which referenced his sexuality and well as thinking machines, and a song that was all the world like an instrumental, with foot taps and thumb clicks (Olivia called it body percussion) laying down a groove and singing providing a synth-like overlay.  And the two tunes by Olivia, something touching and complex called Soldier's grave, and another on creativity from hard work called Sleepless.  Interestingly, the lyrics for many tunes were poems; I guess that's the/a way in many choral works.  David Yardley led an early Kompactus tune called Butterfly, on the short life of the animal, and one of his original musical overlays for mediaeval lyrics missing music, A doomsday we schull ysee.  Then something that seems local, Rachel by Idea of North singer Trish Delaney-Brown, which seemed to be a call to Rachel, slow and pensive, then another amusing number called How to reach the Sun which detailed paper folding kites ultimately to the distance of the Sun (?!?), I think, and a final contemporary madrigal, Orange from Mounts of more soft ascent.  The tunes and lyrics were from all manner of countries and local and from some Kompacti.  The singing was dreamily good or amusingly playful.  I went away realising how much I love the human voice, at least when well done like this.  OK not perfect, but so bloody good.  So glad too that I could record this and worthy of the 12-hour drive to the gig.

Kompactus Youth Choir and Kompactus alumni celebrated the Kompactus 15th anniversary with a concert at Wesley.  Olivia Swift (musical director) and David Yardley (past musical director) conducted and Patrick Baker (alumnus), Olivia Swift, David Yardley and many others provided the compositions.

Exhilaration and fear

My outing with NCO and choir in Llewellyn Hall is a highlight of my year and this was a doozy: Beethoven Missa Solemnis.  Not at all easy but with plenty of mates to tackle it with.  Not just one but two choirs.  I counted 148 listed in the program, 86 choristers, 57 instrumentalists, 4 solo singers and Louis as conductor but I know of one who had to pull out so perhaps 147 total for the afternoon performance.  Whatever, it was big and exciting and hugely demanding to boot.  Everyone agreed to that.  A scary-fast Gloria with unisons and fugues to melt over, and a few other fugues throughout.  Many notes on dense pages, even for our relatively clumsy bottom enders.  Exhilarating despite trepidation and occasional terror.  It's probably the most demanding part I've known for preparation and where fingering  and string choice was of the essence.  The fast lines were often twisted not scalar and basses had two octave jumps and sudden semiquaver lines at speed and all manner of tempo changes and demanding confidence on first-up quiet, long notes and then that odd whimper to end.  There were spots to relax, but always the awareness of coming demands.  But we did it and it was well done.  Apparently this was the first performance of this piece in Canberra since 1990.  One of the choir had sung in that!  Missa Solemnis was written after Symphony no. 9, so after Beethoven's magnum opus.  He was deaf by then and exploring religion through doubt and the words of the Catholic Mass.  All fascinating.  For the performers it was exhilarating, demanding, scary, all those things as well as an impressive performance and something worthy to remember.  Amusingly, I was down at Manuka today, the day after, hearing the bells of St Christopher's, honestly able to say I'd attended 3 masses in the last two days (2 rehearsals and one performance).  As for now, I'm looking forward to Tim's recording and a listen.  Thanks to all and especially our leader Louis.

Beethoven Missa Solemnis was performed at Llewellyn Hall by National Capital Orchestra with Canberra Choral Society and the Llewellyn Choir and singers Sarah Darnley-Stuart (soprano), Emma Mauch (alto), Ryan O'Donnell (tenor) and Stivenu Talei (bass).  Louis Sharpe (Director) conducted and Dan Walker (chorus master) prepared the vocals.

Colossus

Bottesini is by tradition the bassist who towers over the craft.  I've heard Kyle Ramsay -Daniel play his music before but a full concert of just Bottesini is worthy of Kyle's title, Paradigm Shift, even if it sounds rather C20th sci-fi rather than virtuosic C19th contrabass.  The paradigm shift was the thought that the bass had a solo, lead, melodic role and Bottesini pretty much created that role himself.  It's a mighty task to take on but Kyle does it justice: all high harmonics, occasional drops to low notes, flighty sequences and loads of thumb position, even lower on the neck.  I was also fascinated by the lines played up and down the neck on the G-string.  Apparently it's a thing, common although not ubiquitous.  So we had variations on "Nel cor piu non mi sento", Elegy no.1 Dmaj, Concerto no.2 Bmin and Fantasia of "La sonnambula".  Some huge demands and capable responses.  Not something I would even think of approaching but I freely admire someone who does.  Kyle played with piano accompaniment from Edward Neeman, called in just days before due to last minute sickness.  You wouldn't know the change without being told.  So a concert of ridiculous demands and hugely worthy responses.  I remain in awe of Bottesini, of course, but also of Kyle for taking this on.  I guess I quote Giovanni B himself by saying "Bravo ... bravo ... bravissimo".

Kyle Ramsay-Daniel (bass) performed Bottesini with accompaniment by Edward Neeman (piano) at Wesley.

Grammy

Well that's a first: my first time to record a Grammy-award winning artist.  It was just the evening of our MdCC concert and I threw the recording gear in my car and in the end I got the gig.  The group was a touring boys' choir out of Silicon Valley called Ragazzi Boys Chorus.  They tour regularly; they total ~250 students in SF and toured with ~100: the pizza boxes on the way in just confirmed numbers.  They had just played St Patrick's, the huge Catholic Cathedral in Melbourne and they are due to perform in the Opera House in a few days.  So our diminutive Wesley Church seems a throwaway but they performed with verve and pleasure.  They sang in three combinations, the whole, the trebles, another, then a few songs from our own marvelous Oriana Chorale and an all-in.  Ragazzi had sung a range from de Victoria to Bridge over troubled water under Kent Jue with a notable number of Australian compositions.  Impressive.  One group had a series of soloists; another was presumably TTBB or maybe higher; an Ave Maria had a section in the organ loft behind; introductions were by the students.  There was a piano accompanist for most pieces and once a student conductor and djembe.  And some seriously effective singing.  (BTW, their Grammy was for a recording by the SF Symph and Chorus with Ragazzi and SF Girls' Chorus of Persephone, Best classical album 2000: impressive).  But equally impressive was our own Oriana, singing the best I've heard them, singing three quintessentially Aussie songs a capella (truly in Wesley Church) with Olivia Swift directing for this outing.  Then an all-in with boys arrayed against walls and on the altar with Oriana, singing Pemulwuy,  How Ausie can you get?  A great pleasure.

Ragazzi Boys Chorus performed under Kent Jue (MD) with Oriana Chorale under Olivia Swift (conductor) at Wesley Church.