musical things of late
The last 10 days have been very musical. Here’s my accounting of what has passed through my ears:
Quintette by Franz Schubert : I’ve heard a lot of String Quartets in my day, so it was interesting to hear what a pro composer like Schubert could do with an extra cello…more inner melodies for the cello with the other one handling the bass…a richer orchestral sound in block chordal sections…in short, I was impressed.
Several amateur choirs at the festival Les Voix sur Berges…144 choirs sing along the Canal St. Martin….I managed to hear about 5 of them despite the rain that fell the entire time. The most enjoyable of the lot was UMA VOZ: a group of Brazilian vocal jazz.
Prokofiev opera: The Love of Three Oranges (l’Amour de trois oranges). I heard that if you waited in line at the Bastille Opera House 1 hour before an event, you could get standing-room tickets for 5€….I tried it and voilà, it worked! We did have to stand up for the first half but it was well worth it. An amazing production, fun, full orchestra, large cast. Simply hearing the famous march from this opera with orchestra was worth 5€
Tendre est la nuit : An intimate concert at the Pavé d’Orsay of Renaissance music…featuring a soloist accompanied by two lute players. Quite nice. Both the instrumentalists played archilutes, which have extended bass strings…visually and aurally impressive.
And to round things off a little classic gospel from Family One, led by my friend Charles Dumas. (BTW, the evolution of this group is an amazing success story.) They are preparing for a big recording gig this fall in NYC. I was touched by their version of People Get Ready
