----- Original Message -----
From: "David Bircumshaw" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 4:52 AM
Subject: Re: Bath in Mozart
> I think eccentric might be a better word than dodgy. Saturday last in
> Leicester, at the beautiful and should not exist church of St James the
> Greater (built 1899-1914 and not too many doors away from Larkin's
> favourite
> attic-flat), we heard the Berlioz Te Deum, some songs by Faure, excerpts
> from Vierne, and the Duruffle Requiem (a work which was new to me). The
> performers were the amteur but dedicated City of Leicester choir, fronted
> by
> semi-pro bass, tenor and soprano and supported by the church's organist.
> Things like this go on all the time, and get little publicity, as a friend
> of mine is in the choir I know just how much hard work goes into preparing
> their 6 to 8 concerts a year, you know, rehearsals twice a week, almost
> week
> in week out, they get the odd 'holiday'.
This is what I used to spend my time doing, before I had children and again
after they were old enough to be left in the evenings. Let alone the music,
it's very good for one physically -- to quote William Byrd, "It openeth the
pipes, and doth strengthen all parts of the chest." Then I got seriously
into 'serious' poetry, and spent my time and effort there instead.
Incidentally, it's my belief that choral singing is an excellent training
for reading poetry in public -- gets you into the habit of keeping your head
up so that the voice has room, and instead of watching the conductor you're
free to look at the audience and relate to them, and they can see your face
too.
Musicians being 'on average more au fait with the techniques of their art --
well, they need to be able to read music, at sight, and to be able to sing
in tune and keep in time. How far, I wonder, are these the musician's
equivalent of being able to read at all? Anything further, and they've got
the conductor to sort them out. Also, there are choirs all over the country
ranging from 'let's have a singsong' to the really experienced ones tackling
difficult contemporary music -- it's possible to progress through the
necessary techniques simply by taking part, and have a hell of a lot of fun
doing so.
As for Mapanje, he's now on the staff of Newcastle's School of Creative
Writing (horrible term!), so at some point I really must hop on a train and
go and hear him again. 30 mins journey, so no excuse.
joanna
> It's quite comparable to the amount of work that goes into supporting
> 'serious' poetry in the fact of its unpaidness, though I would suggest
> that
> the musicians on average are more au fait with the techiques of their art.
> I
> didn't report, btw, just how enjoyable Jack Mapanje's reading here the
> other
> week was, one of the interesting things was this was a joint venture with
> De
> Montfort University, which is literally over the road from where I live,
> for
> the first time, after living next door for over seven years, I was able to
> make links with people based there, the irony of our mutual co-existence
> at
> close quarters without mutual awareness was a treat.
> Anyhow the Mapanje reading was a 'success': we had 34 people there! (The
> concert had about 150, a 'smallish' turnout!)
>
> Just read Hamburger's translation of W.G.Sebald's 'After Nature' - anyone
> else know the work - I'd be interested in discussion of aspects of it.
>
> Best
>
> Dave
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