Sunday, May 30, 2010
Let's talk about how much I love the Sabbath, shall we? Yes, let us shall.
It is just such a blessed day! It is so refreshing to focus solely on things that matter. While yes, I am reading Following Christ right now and am studying the skips or Conference talks on a daily basis, focusing on Christ and Heavenly Father for the entire day just doesn't really happen terribly often on non-Sabbath days. But when I do focus on them all day long, how I feel the Spirit so strongly! It is so refreshing.
So today was really great. This morning, roommates Chris and Jonnie and I went to Sung Eucharist, where they did Byrd's Mass for Four Voices at St. Bartholomew's church, actually very close to where we saw Peter Pan on Friday night.
The church was gorgeous. It was built in 1123, so the architecture was not as ornate and fancy was many other churches I've seen over here, but I kind of preferred that because it actually preserved the worshipfulness of the chapel, as opposed to focusing on the ornateness or fanciness, etc (I'm pretty sure I've used some words that don't actually exist in the English language in this paragraph). It was relatively small, but big enough that it was still a “legit” european church.
The service was super nice. The Mass for Four Voices is fantastic. William Byrd wrote it after some monarch (who I don't presently remember) came into power and forced everyone to convert to the Anglican Church, but he wanted to remain Catholic. So he continued having underground Catholic services in covert locations with those who wanted to continue in the Catholic tradition. Therefore, the masses for three, four, and five voices are fairly Catholic-sounding (rather than Anglican-sounding) and they are really great because they are also extremely intimate. Often, there would only be a few people at these services Byrd sponsored, so if there were only going to be three people at church the next week, he would write a Mass for Three Voices. If it was only going to be four, Mass for Four Voices. And then he wrote one more for five. I think my favorite is for three. It is just so intimate, yet, at the same time, Byrd manages to make it a bit intricate and really engaging. It's fantastic stuff.
So the choir was only six voices and it just had that intimate sound that I'm sure Byrd heard when he wrote the piece. I really loved it. It was really quite refreshing to hear. Loved it.
After the service, we rushed to the Singles' Ward at Hyde Park, where we had a super good Sacrament Meeting, mainly about dedication to the Lord and gospel study.
After Sunday School, I overheard some Portuguese from two girls just in front of me, so after a little, I asked where they were from in Portuguese, which took them completely off-guard. It was really funny.
And in true Brasilian form, I was immediately their friend and we started planning things to do together. I had had thoughts to go to Bath tomorrow, and they were possibly having a churrasco (Brasilian barbecue), so they were either going to come with me to Bath or I was going to join them for the churrasco. Anyway, it was super fun to speak Portuguese and be among Brasilians. Gotta love them.
After church, I ate my weight in food, since I hadn't had much for breakfast and it was 4:30 by the time I got home. I then went on a walk through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens with my friend, Heather, which was really quite pleasant. It was the perfect day for a walk—sunny, 68 degrees, slight breeze. Fabulous. I walked most of the way barefoot, which was ever so enjoyable, since we were in the grass most of the time. We enjoyed the weather, the other people in the park, and good conversation. It amounted to a very nice stroll.
And back to the flat for a chill evening of games with friends and some blogging, skyping with the 'rents, and BED. Good night.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Fun day! A group of us (Jessica, Danny, Chris Buttars, Nich Herrick, Robert Mc Clellan, Chris Udall and I) rented a car and headed out to Stonehenge and then Portsmouth.
We woke up pretty early and proceeded to wait for a while while everyone got ready, far past the time when we were supposed to leave. Once we finally did leave, we headed out to the airport and grabbed the car. Since we didn't feel like paying extra to have someone “under age” drive, we only had Chris B. drive. It was definitely entertaining watching him figure out how to drive on the left side of the road, from the right hand side of the car. Listening to him say to himself “left, stay left,” every time he went around a turn really never got old. However, he did quite well, and we returned without incident.
So we headed out to Stonehenge, waiting a ridiculous amount of time in traffic (heaven knows for what—once we got on the road to Stonehenge, it wasn't crowded at all) all the way out there. Once we got there, however, the group found out it would be 6 lbs to take the tour and didn't want to go! Ugh. We waited 2.5 hours to get out there just to take a picture and leave? Kind of lame. But they didn't want to go, so I didn't want to force them. We stayed for a bit, I got some nice photos of the English countryside, which is BEAUTIFUL, and we went on our way to Portsmouth.
Because of the traffic on the way out to Stonehenge, plus the long(ish) drives to our stops, we got to Portsmouth just as everything was closing, so we spent the majority of our time just wandering the city, which I loved, of course.
Portsmouth has a great “English sea town” feel to it. It helped that the weather was kind of chilly, rather billowy, and a little rainy at times. It just felt like a true port city, aided of course by the fact that ships were constantly coming in and out of the harbor. There were a few small rock islands just off the coast, which totally reminded me of the scene in the first Harry Potter when they go out to the random rocky isalnd in the sea in the middle of the night. It was so dead-on that scene.
Anyway, we spent a good long time, going from one ruined, historical fort to another, taking lots of photos (soon to come—facebook), and eventually ending up in a pub, where we had some pretty yummy-but-not fantastic food. After dinner, we continued the wanderage around the harbor, which I really did love. It was just so.....seatownesque! I guess I just really love feeling towns. I love getting the feeling of the town. And the cool thing about Europe is that each town is so unique that they really do have a different feel in each town.
And then on home.
Fun day! A group of us (Jessica, Danny, Chris Buttars, Nich Herrick, Robert Mc Clellan, Chris Udall and I) rented a car and headed out to Stonehenge and then Portsmouth.
We woke up pretty early and proceeded to wait for a while while everyone got ready, far past the time when we were supposed to leave. Once we finally did leave, we headed out to the airport and grabbed the car. Since we didn't feel like paying extra to have someone “under age” drive, we only had Chris B. drive. It was definitely entertaining watching him figure out how to drive on the left side of the road, from the right hand side of the car. Listening to him say to himself “left, stay left,” every time he went around a turn really never got old. However, he did quite well, and we returned without incident.
So we headed out to Stonehenge, waiting a ridiculous amount of time in traffic (heaven knows for what—once we got on the road to Stonehenge, it wasn't crowded at all) all the way out there. Once we got there, however, the group found out it would be 6 lbs to take the tour and didn't want to go! Ugh. We waited 2.5 hours to get out there just to take a picture and leave? Kind of lame. But they didn't want to go, so I didn't want to force them. We stayed for a bit, I got some nice photos of the English countryside, which is BEAUTIFUL, and we went on our way to Portsmouth.
Because of the traffic on the way out to Stonehenge, plus the long(ish) drives to our stops, we got to Portsmouth just as everything was closing, so we spent the majority of our time just wandering the city, which I loved, of course.
Portsmouth has a great “English sea town” feel to it. It helped that the weather was kind of chilly, rather billowy, and a little rainy at times. It just felt like a true port city, aided of course by the fact that ships were constantly coming in and out of the harbor. There were a few small rock islands just off the coast, which totally reminded me of the scene in the first Harry Potter when they go out to the random rocky isalnd in the sea in the middle of the night. It was so dead-on that scene.
Anyway, we spent a good long time, going from one ruined, historical fort to another, taking lots of photos (soon to come—facebook), and eventually ending up in a pub, where we had some pretty yummy-but-not fantastic food. After dinner, we continued the wanderage around the harbor, which I really did love. It was just so.....seatownesque! I guess I just really love feeling towns. I love getting the feeling of the town. And the cool thing about Europe is that each town is so unique that they really do have a different feel in each town.
And then on home.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Chill day today. I seem to be having a lot of those lately....
I woke up exorbitantly late (10:37 to be exact) and then headed out to Barbican (on the other side of the Circle line) to get tickets for a new, completely different adaptation of Peter Pan. I then came back to the flat, determined to get caught up on my life, which I did a mediocre job of doing. I had a bunch of days of blogging to do, which I did, but then I was lazy for the next three or four days and it's now Monday and I have to make up for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Anyway, Friday. I blogged, chilled, read the skips, cooked a super yummy lunch of stir fry, and went to the show with Scott, Annalee, and other theater friends of hers. The show was INCREDIBLE. Like I said, it was totally different than all previous concepts of Peter Pan. It was the touring company from Scotland, where the show originated. Therefore, it was all done in Scotish accents, with a lot of celtic culture thrown in the mix. It wasn't a musical, but it did have a lot of celtic music in it. The script was quite a bit deeper and darker than the original script. It made Peter into more than just the hero of the show; he had more emotion and gave the character much more depth and flaws, actually. Hook wore a kilt and also flew, since he Tinker Bell accidentally sprinkled him with fairy dust. Most of the lighting was fairly dark and there was actually a decent amount of violence.
I think the thing that made it work so well was that the actors were totally committed to their characters, the script, the setting, and their movement. They made it work so well. After the show, I commented to my friends that my doubt has never been suspended so quickly as it was in that show. Within seconds of it starting, I was completely sucked into the show and I believed it. I was truly living in a fairy tale world, but IT WASN'T FAIRY TALE!! It was real. Oh, those actors were so, so good. What a fabulous experience. It was the best theater.....I think I've ever seen.
Oh, one more really cool thing was that Tink was literally a ball of fire. Somehow they used pyrotechnics to have this ball float around in the air and dance all ove stage. And it never burned anything, even when they were holding her in their hands. So odd, yet so awesome. Fantastic show.
Chill day today. I seem to be having a lot of those lately....
I woke up exorbitantly late (10:37 to be exact) and then headed out to Barbican (on the other side of the Circle line) to get tickets for a new, completely different adaptation of Peter Pan. I then came back to the flat, determined to get caught up on my life, which I did a mediocre job of doing. I had a bunch of days of blogging to do, which I did, but then I was lazy for the next three or four days and it's now Monday and I have to make up for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Anyway, Friday. I blogged, chilled, read the skips, cooked a super yummy lunch of stir fry, and went to the show with Scott, Annalee, and other theater friends of hers. The show was INCREDIBLE. Like I said, it was totally different than all previous concepts of Peter Pan. It was the touring company from Scotland, where the show originated. Therefore, it was all done in Scotish accents, with a lot of celtic culture thrown in the mix. It wasn't a musical, but it did have a lot of celtic music in it. The script was quite a bit deeper and darker than the original script. It made Peter into more than just the hero of the show; he had more emotion and gave the character much more depth and flaws, actually. Hook wore a kilt and also flew, since he Tinker Bell accidentally sprinkled him with fairy dust. Most of the lighting was fairly dark and there was actually a decent amount of violence.
I think the thing that made it work so well was that the actors were totally committed to their characters, the script, the setting, and their movement. They made it work so well. After the show, I commented to my friends that my doubt has never been suspended so quickly as it was in that show. Within seconds of it starting, I was completely sucked into the show and I believed it. I was truly living in a fairy tale world, but IT WASN'T FAIRY TALE!! It was real. Oh, those actors were so, so good. What a fabulous experience. It was the best theater.....I think I've ever seen.
Oh, one more really cool thing was that Tink was literally a ball of fire. Somehow they used pyrotechnics to have this ball float around in the air and dance all ove stage. And it never burned anything, even when they were holding her in their hands. So odd, yet so awesome. Fantastic show.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Good day today! We started our five-day weekend today, so I got to sleep in late. We went to see Henry VIII at the Globe for only 5 pounds, which was great. It was a pretty good show. They actually opened the run of the show with our performance, so we were their first audience. I was mostly pleased with the performance. There were some pretty fanastic actors who were big and showy, but still totally emotionally grounded and connected, which made their showiness totally work. It was refreshing to see that after some bad showiness in The Lion King a couple weeks ago.
The show itself was interesting. I had never read or seen it, but enjoyed seeing the story on stage. I am curious to know how Shakespeare got away with writing and performing it back in that day; it was awfully critical of the Court and Church.
After, half of our group went to see John Mayer and Scott and I went to Jersey Boys. We went to the theater, got 5th row seats for a great price and then went to get Chinese food in Chinatown, which was really close (the theater is in Soho). It was really quite good. I enjoyed the dinner a whole lot. I am really glad that Scott and I have gotten to be friends on this trip. He's a different kind of friend than I've had in a long time and I'm really grateful for him. He is super grounded and down-to-earth, but also can get down and have a good time, which is really great. We can have really great conversations, but he also has no problem being light-hearted. He is a really great friend for me to have.
Anyway, Jersey Boys. Talk about a disappointment! Holy cow, it was so half-hearted. The music was good, the singing, good, but the actors did NOT “go there.” I was really irritated. They just never really peeked in terms of energy and never really got to where the show asks them to go. I was really looking forward to seeing the show after having such a good experience in Chicago, but they really let me down. And they definitely had the potential to do it. So I'm only two for four as far as good shows on West End goes. Pretty disappointing, really. I noticed something today, actually: most of the musicals on West End right now are mere crowd-pleasers. The shows themselves have very little heart. Most of them are shows like Jersey Boys, Mama Mia, Lion King, and the like. I certainly think there is a place for those shows, but they also need grounded shows that have real heart.
After the show, we came back to the flate and I dilly dallied about for a while and now I'm here. Pretty enjoyable day.
Good day today! We started our five-day weekend today, so I got to sleep in late. We went to see Henry VIII at the Globe for only 5 pounds, which was great. It was a pretty good show. They actually opened the run of the show with our performance, so we were their first audience. I was mostly pleased with the performance. There were some pretty fanastic actors who were big and showy, but still totally emotionally grounded and connected, which made their showiness totally work. It was refreshing to see that after some bad showiness in The Lion King a couple weeks ago.
The show itself was interesting. I had never read or seen it, but enjoyed seeing the story on stage. I am curious to know how Shakespeare got away with writing and performing it back in that day; it was awfully critical of the Court and Church.
After, half of our group went to see John Mayer and Scott and I went to Jersey Boys. We went to the theater, got 5th row seats for a great price and then went to get Chinese food in Chinatown, which was really close (the theater is in Soho). It was really quite good. I enjoyed the dinner a whole lot. I am really glad that Scott and I have gotten to be friends on this trip. He's a different kind of friend than I've had in a long time and I'm really grateful for him. He is super grounded and down-to-earth, but also can get down and have a good time, which is really great. We can have really great conversations, but he also has no problem being light-hearted. He is a really great friend for me to have.
Anyway, Jersey Boys. Talk about a disappointment! Holy cow, it was so half-hearted. The music was good, the singing, good, but the actors did NOT “go there.” I was really irritated. They just never really peeked in terms of energy and never really got to where the show asks them to go. I was really looking forward to seeing the show after having such a good experience in Chicago, but they really let me down. And they definitely had the potential to do it. So I'm only two for four as far as good shows on West End goes. Pretty disappointing, really. I noticed something today, actually: most of the musicals on West End right now are mere crowd-pleasers. The shows themselves have very little heart. Most of them are shows like Jersey Boys, Mama Mia, Lion King, and the like. I certainly think there is a place for those shows, but they also need grounded shows that have real heart.
After the show, we came back to the flate and I dilly dallied about for a while and now I'm here. Pretty enjoyable day.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Cool day today. Class this morning was really intense. We went through the most notable British composers of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, including CHH Parry, Charles Stanford, Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, and Benjamin Britten.
The most notable composer/piece from the day for me was Elgar's “There is Sweet Music.” It is a piece that is written in one key for the women and another for the men. The effect is absolutely incredible. I was just totally blown away as we listened to it in class. It is a must-have in my opinion. The poetry, by Tennyson, speaks of music bringing sleep and by the end of the piece, the listener is almost guaranteed to be at total piece, and if given the option, would probably nod off.
Another incredible piece was Howells' requiem. Concert Choir did the first movement of it last year, “Salvator Mundi.” It was a really cool piece then and I really enjoyed it, but I had no idea it was such an amazing piece till today. It completely wowed me. Another must-have.
And the last was Finzi's “Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice.” Finzi is an absolute genius. He has such a way with rhythms that it makes it sound like there is no time signature and the choir simply knows when and how to move together at the exact same time. I noticed this in one of the pieces we sang this year in Singers, “Wherefore Tonight, so Full of Care.” He is masterful.
After class, I came home, made some lunch, and headed off to Tate Modern Art Museum. There was some really fantastic stuff there. There was, of course, a lot of stuff I didn't understand, but those things, I feel, give me such an opportunity to discover what the artist was thinking.
Today in class, someone made a comment that he connected emotionally much more easily with the 19th and 20th century composers' music. Dr. Staheli offered the explanation that the reason for that was that as music was becoming more and more contemporary, the composers had many more colors and musical ideas to choose from than earlier composers from the classical and baroque eras, so they could paint emotions much more easily. Perhaps we connect with the pieces because they better mirror modern thinking than older music. Anyway, having had that discussion in class, I think I discovered why I enjoy modern art so much—they have so many more media, ideologies, and colors (figuratively and literally) from which to choose. That makes their art, I feel, much more emotionally connected...or communicative. I feel like they can better express themselves because they have so much more on their palette they can use.
Anyway, I reinforced my affinity for Gerhard Richter, as well as a few other artists I've seen before, but whose names I do not presently remember. It was a really cool experience to go there. I loved going by myself; I think museums (shouldn't the plural of museum be musea? Medium → media, museum--> musea?) should be done alone because everyone has very different interests and preferences and moves at different paces. It's just too hard to please everyone and their likings, etc.
I had to leave the Tate a little early to get to the Holst Singers' concert of the Bach Motets at Temple Church (da Vinci Code). I was disappointed because I didn't get to see the entire museum and was really enjoying myself. I'll most likely go back another day.
The concert was really pretty good. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I meant to write this last week, but Bach is really redeeming the Baroque period for me. His choral stuff is really fantastic. There is tons going on all the time, but I no longer see it as just frills and superfluousness (osity?). Now that we have analyzed his music a bit, it makes much more sense to me and I can now understand what he was trying to do with his music. His cello stuff also is fantastic. The choir had a cellist playing the bass (vocal) line the entire time, in addition to the organ, and they broke up the motets with pieces from the Back Cello Suites, which I absolutely loved. The cellist was fantastic. Such a good Baroque player, though I thought his tempos in his first set made him a bit inarticulate and slightly sloppy.
I am starting to really enjoy the English choral sound. There is just so much color to it. Scott and I were talking about it today and we decided it is because they are so unafraid and are willing to take risks with their sound. In the States, many people in choirs are in choirs not because they are extraordinary musicians or soloists, but because they want to make music in a friendly atmosphere. Scott said today “you know, we are not as good as we think we are. We have the potential to be as good as we think we are, but we are not there yet.” And I agree with him. Many people back off of their own individual sound so they can blend into the choir. Blending is so important—don't get me wrong. But like I wrote about the Tallis Scholars earlier, I think creating a fusion of voices by singing into the blend is more important. And that takes guts to do. You have to really go out onto a limb, with your own sound, to do it. I started doing that toward the end of the year and as I listen to our recordings, I can tell a difference in our sectional sound. And frankly, I like it more!
Anyway, Scott, Michelle, and I stopped on our way home at this fantastic dessert place and got some ridiculously decadent desserts that basically blew my mind.
Then we watched “Stranger than Fiction.” Blessedly good film. Can't help but love Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffmann.
Whoah, that was a long blog entry. Hope you liked it.
Cool day today. Class this morning was really intense. We went through the most notable British composers of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, including CHH Parry, Charles Stanford, Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, and Benjamin Britten.
The most notable composer/piece from the day for me was Elgar's “There is Sweet Music.” It is a piece that is written in one key for the women and another for the men. The effect is absolutely incredible. I was just totally blown away as we listened to it in class. It is a must-have in my opinion. The poetry, by Tennyson, speaks of music bringing sleep and by the end of the piece, the listener is almost guaranteed to be at total piece, and if given the option, would probably nod off.
Another incredible piece was Howells' requiem. Concert Choir did the first movement of it last year, “Salvator Mundi.” It was a really cool piece then and I really enjoyed it, but I had no idea it was such an amazing piece till today. It completely wowed me. Another must-have.
And the last was Finzi's “Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice.” Finzi is an absolute genius. He has such a way with rhythms that it makes it sound like there is no time signature and the choir simply knows when and how to move together at the exact same time. I noticed this in one of the pieces we sang this year in Singers, “Wherefore Tonight, so Full of Care.” He is masterful.
After class, I came home, made some lunch, and headed off to Tate Modern Art Museum. There was some really fantastic stuff there. There was, of course, a lot of stuff I didn't understand, but those things, I feel, give me such an opportunity to discover what the artist was thinking.
Today in class, someone made a comment that he connected emotionally much more easily with the 19th and 20th century composers' music. Dr. Staheli offered the explanation that the reason for that was that as music was becoming more and more contemporary, the composers had many more colors and musical ideas to choose from than earlier composers from the classical and baroque eras, so they could paint emotions much more easily. Perhaps we connect with the pieces because they better mirror modern thinking than older music. Anyway, having had that discussion in class, I think I discovered why I enjoy modern art so much—they have so many more media, ideologies, and colors (figuratively and literally) from which to choose. That makes their art, I feel, much more emotionally connected...or communicative. I feel like they can better express themselves because they have so much more on their palette they can use.
Anyway, I reinforced my affinity for Gerhard Richter, as well as a few other artists I've seen before, but whose names I do not presently remember. It was a really cool experience to go there. I loved going by myself; I think museums (shouldn't the plural of museum be musea? Medium → media, museum--> musea?) should be done alone because everyone has very different interests and preferences and moves at different paces. It's just too hard to please everyone and their likings, etc.
I had to leave the Tate a little early to get to the Holst Singers' concert of the Bach Motets at Temple Church (da Vinci Code). I was disappointed because I didn't get to see the entire museum and was really enjoying myself. I'll most likely go back another day.
The concert was really pretty good. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I meant to write this last week, but Bach is really redeeming the Baroque period for me. His choral stuff is really fantastic. There is tons going on all the time, but I no longer see it as just frills and superfluousness (osity?). Now that we have analyzed his music a bit, it makes much more sense to me and I can now understand what he was trying to do with his music. His cello stuff also is fantastic. The choir had a cellist playing the bass (vocal) line the entire time, in addition to the organ, and they broke up the motets with pieces from the Back Cello Suites, which I absolutely loved. The cellist was fantastic. Such a good Baroque player, though I thought his tempos in his first set made him a bit inarticulate and slightly sloppy.
I am starting to really enjoy the English choral sound. There is just so much color to it. Scott and I were talking about it today and we decided it is because they are so unafraid and are willing to take risks with their sound. In the States, many people in choirs are in choirs not because they are extraordinary musicians or soloists, but because they want to make music in a friendly atmosphere. Scott said today “you know, we are not as good as we think we are. We have the potential to be as good as we think we are, but we are not there yet.” And I agree with him. Many people back off of their own individual sound so they can blend into the choir. Blending is so important—don't get me wrong. But like I wrote about the Tallis Scholars earlier, I think creating a fusion of voices by singing into the blend is more important. And that takes guts to do. You have to really go out onto a limb, with your own sound, to do it. I started doing that toward the end of the year and as I listen to our recordings, I can tell a difference in our sectional sound. And frankly, I like it more!
Anyway, Scott, Michelle, and I stopped on our way home at this fantastic dessert place and got some ridiculously decadent desserts that basically blew my mind.
Then we watched “Stranger than Fiction.” Blessedly good film. Can't help but love Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffmann.
Whoah, that was a long blog entry. Hope you liked it.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 26, 2010
Great day today!
We were supposed to go to Canterbury today, but as we were about to pull out on the bus, the driver realized that the bus was overheating, so we had to deboard.
Here is where the day got great: our program directors, Sister Hall, Dr. Staheli, and their assistant, Nathan, immediately went to work on what we could do to make sure the day wasn't wasted. Luckily, we were actually right next to the London eye, so they paid in total for all 40ish of us to go on the eye, while they saw about the possibility of us seeing a play called “War Horse,” which is apparently a fantastic show. So we did the Eye, which was pretty cool. Not mind-blowing, but fairly interesting. Perhaps I was distracted by the fact that my stomach was really hurting. But is was cool nonetheless. And the fact that it was free made it worth it.
Anyway, while we were up on the Eye (the Eye is a giant ferriswheel-like thing (135 m high) that sits on the other side of the Thames River from Parliament and Big Ben and it gives you a super good view of the city), the program directors found out there were only four tickets available for “War Horse,” so they bagged the idea and instead gave us 40lbs to see any show of our liking! What?! SO cool!
I was so impressed with our directors selflessness in our situation today. They so easily could have said “ok, bag the day; go have fun,” but instead they went to great lengths to ensure we had a blastedly wonderful day. I am sure they were eager to have a bit of a break, but instead worked through the temptation to make sure we could still have a great day. So awesome. It's no surprise that they do these kind of things—they show their care for us so readily in class and in everyday situations, but their kindness and thoughtfulness still amaze me. Truly blessed people.
So everyone went off to their respective adventures, while I came home to sleep, hoping that would get rid of my tummy ache. I slept for a while, but it didn't really help all that much. So after lying around a while, I decided I could feel cruddy at home or I could feel cruddy while having fun.
I had made plans with Scott, Michelle, and Kim to go back to Cellar Door (musical theater open mic bar) and before that I was going to meet roommate Chris and friend Haley to see Legally Blonde the musical. So I went to get sheet music for singing later tonight and then while I was wandering around the Covent Garden area, I ran into roommate Matt, who accompanied me to Legally Blonde theater, when we promptly found out that the theater was having an irregular black night. Matt and I were late there, so we missed Chris and Haley. So we made our way instead to the “Billy Elliot” theater.
“Billy Elliot” was a super good show. I was really impressed with quite a bit of it. I felt like the show had a lot of heart and a lot of the performers were really in it to truly give of themselves. I was really happy with that. I felt like at times the show sold out to the fact that it was a musical and that many musical-attending audiences just want a pretty, fun song and a dance and they'll be happy. But that wasn't true to the rest of the show or the story. It bugs me that so many musical-attending audiences just want happy-go-lucky crap. That's not life; sorry, folks. I think that may be why I don't like so many of the classic shows—they portray some life that really is not true to reality and I just have a really hard time connecting with them emotionally because they aren't grounded. And frankly, I believe those are the shows that give musical theater a bad name.
Alas, I digress. Back to Billy Elliot. Really great show. I was SO impressed with Billy's teacher. She was a FANTASTIC actress and performer. Yeah, she was a great singer and dancer, but her acting is really what got me. I think just about anyone can learn to dance and sing, but to go where she went with her acting takes not only skill and training, but it takes a certain type of person. She was so in-control of her emotions and was so well-acquainted with them that she could truly bare her soul on stage and it such a beautiful thing. I absolutely loved watching her do it; it was extraordinary. And oddly enough, she looked DEAD ON one of the acting faculty at BYU—Stephanie Breinholt. It was actually kind of uncanny, really. There were a few other actors that were really quite good, including Billy's brother. He was really awesome. I guess it was simply rare for me to see real vulnerability out of the characters, but the few who did go there emotionally really made the rest of the show pretty great. And frankly, the show can stand on its own two feet with just the singing and dancing, but the vulnerability of the characters just gives it so much more depth.
After the show, Matt and I parted ways. I headed to Cellar Door, only to find none of my friends, so I walked down the bank of the Thames, taking night photos of the Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament. I got some really cool ones about which I am pretty excited. And then home.
Great day today!
We were supposed to go to Canterbury today, but as we were about to pull out on the bus, the driver realized that the bus was overheating, so we had to deboard.
Here is where the day got great: our program directors, Sister Hall, Dr. Staheli, and their assistant, Nathan, immediately went to work on what we could do to make sure the day wasn't wasted. Luckily, we were actually right next to the London eye, so they paid in total for all 40ish of us to go on the eye, while they saw about the possibility of us seeing a play called “War Horse,” which is apparently a fantastic show. So we did the Eye, which was pretty cool. Not mind-blowing, but fairly interesting. Perhaps I was distracted by the fact that my stomach was really hurting. But is was cool nonetheless. And the fact that it was free made it worth it.
Anyway, while we were up on the Eye (the Eye is a giant ferriswheel-like thing (135 m high) that sits on the other side of the Thames River from Parliament and Big Ben and it gives you a super good view of the city), the program directors found out there were only four tickets available for “War Horse,” so they bagged the idea and instead gave us 40lbs to see any show of our liking! What?! SO cool!
I was so impressed with our directors selflessness in our situation today. They so easily could have said “ok, bag the day; go have fun,” but instead they went to great lengths to ensure we had a blastedly wonderful day. I am sure they were eager to have a bit of a break, but instead worked through the temptation to make sure we could still have a great day. So awesome. It's no surprise that they do these kind of things—they show their care for us so readily in class and in everyday situations, but their kindness and thoughtfulness still amaze me. Truly blessed people.
So everyone went off to their respective adventures, while I came home to sleep, hoping that would get rid of my tummy ache. I slept for a while, but it didn't really help all that much. So after lying around a while, I decided I could feel cruddy at home or I could feel cruddy while having fun.
I had made plans with Scott, Michelle, and Kim to go back to Cellar Door (musical theater open mic bar) and before that I was going to meet roommate Chris and friend Haley to see Legally Blonde the musical. So I went to get sheet music for singing later tonight and then while I was wandering around the Covent Garden area, I ran into roommate Matt, who accompanied me to Legally Blonde theater, when we promptly found out that the theater was having an irregular black night. Matt and I were late there, so we missed Chris and Haley. So we made our way instead to the “Billy Elliot” theater.
“Billy Elliot” was a super good show. I was really impressed with quite a bit of it. I felt like the show had a lot of heart and a lot of the performers were really in it to truly give of themselves. I was really happy with that. I felt like at times the show sold out to the fact that it was a musical and that many musical-attending audiences just want a pretty, fun song and a dance and they'll be happy. But that wasn't true to the rest of the show or the story. It bugs me that so many musical-attending audiences just want happy-go-lucky crap. That's not life; sorry, folks. I think that may be why I don't like so many of the classic shows—they portray some life that really is not true to reality and I just have a really hard time connecting with them emotionally because they aren't grounded. And frankly, I believe those are the shows that give musical theater a bad name.
Alas, I digress. Back to Billy Elliot. Really great show. I was SO impressed with Billy's teacher. She was a FANTASTIC actress and performer. Yeah, she was a great singer and dancer, but her acting is really what got me. I think just about anyone can learn to dance and sing, but to go where she went with her acting takes not only skill and training, but it takes a certain type of person. She was so in-control of her emotions and was so well-acquainted with them that she could truly bare her soul on stage and it such a beautiful thing. I absolutely loved watching her do it; it was extraordinary. And oddly enough, she looked DEAD ON one of the acting faculty at BYU—Stephanie Breinholt. It was actually kind of uncanny, really. There were a few other actors that were really quite good, including Billy's brother. He was really awesome. I guess it was simply rare for me to see real vulnerability out of the characters, but the few who did go there emotionally really made the rest of the show pretty great. And frankly, the show can stand on its own two feet with just the singing and dancing, but the vulnerability of the characters just gives it so much more depth.
After the show, Matt and I parted ways. I headed to Cellar Door, only to find none of my friends, so I walked down the bank of the Thames, taking night photos of the Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament. I got some really cool ones about which I am pretty excited. And then home.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Can I just say that I love this? Because I do, dangit! This is GREAT.
This morning, we went to another rehearsal of the BBC Singers. This time they were doing a piece that fit them much better than the other day. It was a 16 part piece by a Scottish composer named James McMillan. It was extremely dissonant and extremely beautiful. I wish I knew real terms to describe it. It was contemporary and dissonant and beautiful.
We had a Q&A session with the producer of the Singers, which was really informative and fun. I enoyed it quite a bit. The rest of the Singers came in after a while and they rehearsed a few more pieces. I really enjoyed the rehearsal far more than I did last week's because this time, the Singers used a much different timbre in their voices, which was actually conducive to the pieces they were singing. It was pleasantly refreshing and surprising. Loved it.
After the rehearsal, we ate lunch at the BBC cafe, there in the studio where they were rehearsing and then headed to the Science museum, which was a pretty fun, interactive museum. I've discovered that I learn by doing. Reading to learn, except for when it's about the gospel, is maily boring. I find myself not caring about much of what I read, unfortunately. But when I do it, it clicks and makes sense and I love it. Anyway, that's why I like interactive museums; because I can do in the learning and it makes it come alive to me.
After the science museum, Heidi and I went grocery shopping, brought our things back to the flats and headed off to a rehearsal by the London Philharmonic Choir. It was....mediocre. What I did love about it was that they invited us to sing with them. There is a surprising lack of singing on this study abroad and I really miss it. Every once in a while, I'll break out into song on the street and it just feels so good! Anyway, singing with the choir was just great fun, even if it wasn't great music or great singers around me.
After the rehearsal, Michelle, Scott, the two Roberts and I all went to a Dutch pancake house, where they have a 5 pound any pancake on Mondays deal. It was fantastic. I got a chicken curry with mango chutney pancake, followed by a cinnamon pear desert pancake. Yummy stuff.
Then back home to skyp with mom. It was SUPER good to talk to her. I've missed her. Love her tons. She's about the best mom anyone could ever hope for. I'm super grateful for her.
Off.
Can I just say that I love this? Because I do, dangit! This is GREAT.
This morning, we went to another rehearsal of the BBC Singers. This time they were doing a piece that fit them much better than the other day. It was a 16 part piece by a Scottish composer named James McMillan. It was extremely dissonant and extremely beautiful. I wish I knew real terms to describe it. It was contemporary and dissonant and beautiful.
We had a Q&A session with the producer of the Singers, which was really informative and fun. I enoyed it quite a bit. The rest of the Singers came in after a while and they rehearsed a few more pieces. I really enjoyed the rehearsal far more than I did last week's because this time, the Singers used a much different timbre in their voices, which was actually conducive to the pieces they were singing. It was pleasantly refreshing and surprising. Loved it.
After the rehearsal, we ate lunch at the BBC cafe, there in the studio where they were rehearsing and then headed to the Science museum, which was a pretty fun, interactive museum. I've discovered that I learn by doing. Reading to learn, except for when it's about the gospel, is maily boring. I find myself not caring about much of what I read, unfortunately. But when I do it, it clicks and makes sense and I love it. Anyway, that's why I like interactive museums; because I can do in the learning and it makes it come alive to me.
After the science museum, Heidi and I went grocery shopping, brought our things back to the flats and headed off to a rehearsal by the London Philharmonic Choir. It was....mediocre. What I did love about it was that they invited us to sing with them. There is a surprising lack of singing on this study abroad and I really miss it. Every once in a while, I'll break out into song on the street and it just feels so good! Anyway, singing with the choir was just great fun, even if it wasn't great music or great singers around me.
After the rehearsal, Michelle, Scott, the two Roberts and I all went to a Dutch pancake house, where they have a 5 pound any pancake on Mondays deal. It was fantastic. I got a chicken curry with mango chutney pancake, followed by a cinnamon pear desert pancake. Yummy stuff.
Then back home to skyp with mom. It was SUPER good to talk to her. I've missed her. Love her tons. She's about the best mom anyone could ever hope for. I'm super grateful for her.
Off.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Restful day today. Love those. I woke up around 9ish and went with some of the students, along with the program directors, to the sung Eucharist at St. Paul's Cathedral, which was supposed to start at 11:00AM, but started at 11:30 instead. We had planned on going to Sacrament meeting at 1:00PM at the singles' ward, but that didn't quite work out, since it ended at 1:25. So, I decided I could either go to Sunday School....orrrrrrrr.....go home and rest and catch up on blogging. I chose the latter. And did not regret it.
The Eucharist was interesting. It was a brand new mass by Francis Grier, so it was uber contemporary. I mostly enjoy contemporary music, but this mass went a little too far for my liking. Emily Workman said, “it was like he said, 'hey let's make something that could be pretty beautiful and make it the most digusting thing in the world.'” While I didn't totally agree with her, and actually thought there were moments that were pretty amazing, I did see her point. I was later talking with Jonathan Evans (who reminds me so much of Loren Thomas it's not even funny) about the piece and he described a discussion he had in one of his classes about the definition of “good music,” all musical elements put aside. They came to the conclusion that “good music” is music that fulfills the purpose of its creation (remiscent of some other text we know?). Anyway, he purpose of a mass is worship, from the points of view of the composer, the performers, and most importantly, the congregation members. This mass, I felt, went beyond the mark. Even we, as choral nerds, had a hard time connecting with the music of the mass. We couldn't even imagine what the other people, who were just wanting to attend some kind of Sunday service at St. Paul's were thinking. It was just so disjunct and dissonant, without much direction to the dissonance. I have nothing against dissonance, and even enjoy it quite a bit, but like I said, this dissonance wasn't really going anywhere. It was interesting that the choir would have a part where it seemed to be going a certain direction and then some combination of one to four of the soloists would come in and halt their chord progression. It was a tough mass to connect with. However, I did really like the Agnus Dei a lot. The rest of the mass was.....meh.
One absolute highlight to the mass was a big black guy about 3 rows ahead of us who was so into the mass that no one could stop or interrupt his thought pattern. It was especially evident in the congrationally sung hymns, when he would sing the entire last verse, full voice, operatically, in the treble octave, and would finish it by singing the last note fortississimo. I especially loved it when the piece would end on an 'a' and he would end on an 'f.' I swear, it was his favorite note. And I have never heard such oscillating, forced vibratto in my life. My favorite was the last hymn we sang, when it ended on the word “Lord.” I could see him preparing for that ending consonant from 10 miles away; first, he was actually on the 'a'; he had that vibratto going like a fat kid eating chocolate cake; his eyes were cutting diamonds in some far distant universe; jaw tense; lips forming some awesomely fantastic funnel shape; that guy was going for broke, man. It was fantastic. And then that 'd' consonant—whoah dang, child, WATCH OUT! I'm pretty sure the choir got the specks of spit coming from his mouth. That guy was not kidding about praising his Lord.
As Steve put it “you know, I wish people could tell as clearly that I was so devout and concetrated in my worship.” He said, “you know, during some Sacrament meetings, you've got your grocery list going through your mind: 'Oh crap, I forgot to buy mustard.' Well, that guy does NOT have mustard on his mind!” And it was true—no doubt about that; that guy was clearly in the moment and his mind was on the Lord, snagdabbit. Pretty dang good entertainment. Emily and I were dying nearly the entire service and were glad to have been there. Good, good stuff.
The rest of the day was chill. We came home and I blogged for Friday and Saturday and hung out with people the rest of the day. Super pleasant.
Restful day today. Love those. I woke up around 9ish and went with some of the students, along with the program directors, to the sung Eucharist at St. Paul's Cathedral, which was supposed to start at 11:00AM, but started at 11:30 instead. We had planned on going to Sacrament meeting at 1:00PM at the singles' ward, but that didn't quite work out, since it ended at 1:25. So, I decided I could either go to Sunday School....orrrrrrrr.....go home and rest and catch up on blogging. I chose the latter. And did not regret it.
The Eucharist was interesting. It was a brand new mass by Francis Grier, so it was uber contemporary. I mostly enjoy contemporary music, but this mass went a little too far for my liking. Emily Workman said, “it was like he said, 'hey let's make something that could be pretty beautiful and make it the most digusting thing in the world.'” While I didn't totally agree with her, and actually thought there were moments that were pretty amazing, I did see her point. I was later talking with Jonathan Evans (who reminds me so much of Loren Thomas it's not even funny) about the piece and he described a discussion he had in one of his classes about the definition of “good music,” all musical elements put aside. They came to the conclusion that “good music” is music that fulfills the purpose of its creation (remiscent of some other text we know?). Anyway, he purpose of a mass is worship, from the points of view of the composer, the performers, and most importantly, the congregation members. This mass, I felt, went beyond the mark. Even we, as choral nerds, had a hard time connecting with the music of the mass. We couldn't even imagine what the other people, who were just wanting to attend some kind of Sunday service at St. Paul's were thinking. It was just so disjunct and dissonant, without much direction to the dissonance. I have nothing against dissonance, and even enjoy it quite a bit, but like I said, this dissonance wasn't really going anywhere. It was interesting that the choir would have a part where it seemed to be going a certain direction and then some combination of one to four of the soloists would come in and halt their chord progression. It was a tough mass to connect with. However, I did really like the Agnus Dei a lot. The rest of the mass was.....meh.
One absolute highlight to the mass was a big black guy about 3 rows ahead of us who was so into the mass that no one could stop or interrupt his thought pattern. It was especially evident in the congrationally sung hymns, when he would sing the entire last verse, full voice, operatically, in the treble octave, and would finish it by singing the last note fortississimo. I especially loved it when the piece would end on an 'a' and he would end on an 'f.' I swear, it was his favorite note. And I have never heard such oscillating, forced vibratto in my life. My favorite was the last hymn we sang, when it ended on the word “Lord.” I could see him preparing for that ending consonant from 10 miles away; first, he was actually on the 'a'; he had that vibratto going like a fat kid eating chocolate cake; his eyes were cutting diamonds in some far distant universe; jaw tense; lips forming some awesomely fantastic funnel shape; that guy was going for broke, man. It was fantastic. And then that 'd' consonant—whoah dang, child, WATCH OUT! I'm pretty sure the choir got the specks of spit coming from his mouth. That guy was not kidding about praising his Lord.
As Steve put it “you know, I wish people could tell as clearly that I was so devout and concetrated in my worship.” He said, “you know, during some Sacrament meetings, you've got your grocery list going through your mind: 'Oh crap, I forgot to buy mustard.' Well, that guy does NOT have mustard on his mind!” And it was true—no doubt about that; that guy was clearly in the moment and his mind was on the Lord, snagdabbit. Pretty dang good entertainment. Emily and I were dying nearly the entire service and were glad to have been there. Good, good stuff.
The rest of the day was chill. We came home and I blogged for Friday and Saturday and hung out with people the rest of the day. Super pleasant.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
London day today. After a fairly sleepless night last night (eight of us in a hostel room), I slept most of the way to London and then hit the sack for a while before meeting up with my friend, Kim, from the singles ward here. We went to Camden, this huge street market, which actually reminded me a bit of 25 de Marco, for you people who know what that is in Sao Paulo. It was really a HUGE place with SO much STUFF. It had regular stores, but also had a ton of small street vendors and small shops in crazy warehouse building-like structures. Tons of people, tons of stuff.
Then off to a really awesome part of London whose name I totally forget. It reminded me a lot of Hyde Park in Cincinnati quite a bit, actually. It was just super classy and quaint. It took quite a while to get there, but we walked and were active, so we felt pretty good about ourselves. It was a pretty dang hot day yesterday, so I was sweating most of the day. That, combined with walking, made me feel like a missionary again. We went through a park from which we could see the entire city. It was pretty extraordinary; I want to go there one day for the sunset. Too bad that all my evenings are taken up with attending rehearsals, concerts, or some other show of my own choosing (there is so much I want to see here!). Anyway, because it was such a beautiful, sunny day, the park was PACKED. There were probably upwards of four or five thousand people at this park where we were, which was probably about the size of Julifs Park (for you Cincinnatians) or Kiwanas Park (for you Provites).
After seeing that for a while we walked for a LONG time to some tube station to go to Brick Lane for Indian food. On this one street in Brick Lane, there are about 20 or 30 Indian restaurants, so you simply walk down the street and see what kind of deal you can get, and eventually go with the best one. Pretty cool stuff. We ended up at some place that was pretty good. Not a super fancy venue, but good food. I got shrimp chichinga. Chichinga is a green, squash-like plant from India that is prepared in a pretty spicy way. I liked it a lot.
We then tried to go to a musical theater sheet music shop in Covent Garden, which was unfortunately closed by the time we got there, much to our dismay. But I looked in and they seemed to have anything and everything musical theater ever created. I'm excited to go back.
Then I went off and met up with our group at a concert by the Ealing Choral Society. It was...lackluster. They were simply a very unprofessional group and they were quite sloppy. I was amazed at how little they filled up the space, compared with how the Tallis Scholars did a couple weeks ago (it was in the same venue—Cadogan Hall). I really don't feel like writing about all the things that bugged me, so I don't think I will. I will say this though: when someone really uses their voice, it truly is arresting. One of the soloists was really quite good and she kept me awake during the second half pretty well. I attribute that in large part to the fact that she was singing on the breath and was really using all the voice she had in her. It was fantastically refreshing after listening to the choir behind her. Even the orchestra wasn't playing “on the breath.” I remember when I played the cello the day I learned how to really play the instrument and get the true, rich, beautiful sound out of the cello. It was thrilling. The same thing happened last year in my singing. All of the sudden, using those instruments was just so thrilling because of the beautiful sound I could produce.
Anway, then back to here for the rest of the evening. I'm tuckered.
London day today. After a fairly sleepless night last night (eight of us in a hostel room), I slept most of the way to London and then hit the sack for a while before meeting up with my friend, Kim, from the singles ward here. We went to Camden, this huge street market, which actually reminded me a bit of 25 de Marco, for you people who know what that is in Sao Paulo. It was really a HUGE place with SO much STUFF. It had regular stores, but also had a ton of small street vendors and small shops in crazy warehouse building-like structures. Tons of people, tons of stuff.
Then off to a really awesome part of London whose name I totally forget. It reminded me a lot of Hyde Park in Cincinnati quite a bit, actually. It was just super classy and quaint. It took quite a while to get there, but we walked and were active, so we felt pretty good about ourselves. It was a pretty dang hot day yesterday, so I was sweating most of the day. That, combined with walking, made me feel like a missionary again. We went through a park from which we could see the entire city. It was pretty extraordinary; I want to go there one day for the sunset. Too bad that all my evenings are taken up with attending rehearsals, concerts, or some other show of my own choosing (there is so much I want to see here!). Anyway, because it was such a beautiful, sunny day, the park was PACKED. There were probably upwards of four or five thousand people at this park where we were, which was probably about the size of Julifs Park (for you Cincinnatians) or Kiwanas Park (for you Provites).
After seeing that for a while we walked for a LONG time to some tube station to go to Brick Lane for Indian food. On this one street in Brick Lane, there are about 20 or 30 Indian restaurants, so you simply walk down the street and see what kind of deal you can get, and eventually go with the best one. Pretty cool stuff. We ended up at some place that was pretty good. Not a super fancy venue, but good food. I got shrimp chichinga. Chichinga is a green, squash-like plant from India that is prepared in a pretty spicy way. I liked it a lot.
We then tried to go to a musical theater sheet music shop in Covent Garden, which was unfortunately closed by the time we got there, much to our dismay. But I looked in and they seemed to have anything and everything musical theater ever created. I'm excited to go back.
Then I went off and met up with our group at a concert by the Ealing Choral Society. It was...lackluster. They were simply a very unprofessional group and they were quite sloppy. I was amazed at how little they filled up the space, compared with how the Tallis Scholars did a couple weeks ago (it was in the same venue—Cadogan Hall). I really don't feel like writing about all the things that bugged me, so I don't think I will. I will say this though: when someone really uses their voice, it truly is arresting. One of the soloists was really quite good and she kept me awake during the second half pretty well. I attribute that in large part to the fact that she was singing on the breath and was really using all the voice she had in her. It was fantastically refreshing after listening to the choir behind her. Even the orchestra wasn't playing “on the breath.” I remember when I played the cello the day I learned how to really play the instrument and get the true, rich, beautiful sound out of the cello. It was thrilling. The same thing happened last year in my singing. All of the sudden, using those instruments was just so thrilling because of the beautiful sound I could produce.
Anway, then back to here for the rest of the evening. I'm tuckered.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 21,2010
Wow. I tell you what sir, wow.
Well, here we are in Brighton, southern England. We don't have class today and we only have a concert tomorrow evening back in London, so we thought we would take a little trip down here to Brighton and see what it is all about. Scott and Michelle came down here in the week they had before the study abroad started.
The weather today is absolutely gorgeous—75 degrees and sunny. Quite the rarity for England. We (Danny Gray, Chris Buttars, Michelle, Scott, Jessica Jardine, Jonny Litster, Robert McClellan, and I) left this morning from the flats at about 7:20 and caught a bus down here to Brighton. Upon arriving here, we went looking for a bathing suit for Jessica. I got the basic feel for the town while we were doing that. I really liked it, actually. Well, I suppose that “actually” is not necessarily the right word, since I've been in love with pretty much every town I've seen on this trip.
Anyway, the town is situated on hills descending down to the sea, separating France and England and reminds me of most European beach towns I've seen in films and the like. Tight alleyways meander from street to street, most of them packed with stores, cafes, restaurants, pubs, etc. The streets have little rhyme or reason to the way they are set up (or at least not that I could tell). People, mostly tourists, from what I could tell, litter the streets and shops, eating food, buying clothes and souvenirs, large quantities of alcohol and cigarettes, and probably drugs, given the night life we later saw. In spite of all those last few purchases, Brighton was really quite a quaint beach town. I really liked it.
After shopping around a bit, we headed to the beach to meet up with Jonnie, Scott, and Robert. The beach actually didn't have any sand—rocks instead—but I liked it no less. Luckily, the rocks were mostly small, so when we lay down on them, they conformed to our body shape and it was actually pretty comfortable. We spent a good four or five hours lying around on the beach, talking, playing games, hopping briefly into the water (oh my cold! I just looked up the water temperature and the average for the month of May is 52 degrees), and people watching. It was super pleasant and relaxing. I often play pretty hard, so it was pretty refreshing to kick back a bit. After a while, we packed up our things and hit the town. We were going to tour a palace of a prince who had entirely too much money, but decided it didn't look worth our money.
So we went off to wander the town, exploring all those alleyways we had previously seen. Among them was a REALLY cool armor shop that had armor and weapons from just about any period of wartime imaginable. It was really cool.
Today was Scott and Michelle's six month mark of being together, so they wanted some alone time. We split up for a bit and got dinner separately. Chris, Danny, Jessica, and I went to a cheap little pub and had really fun, pleasant conversation for a good two hours before heading out to find a hostel to sleep in and meet up with the rest of the group. Scott and Michelle wanted to go to the pier and do carnival-like activities and we wanted to see Robin Hood, so we split up for a while with plans to meet up after the film.
And I am happy to report that it was quite a good film! It was about all the story leading up to Robin Hood being....Robin Hood. But no actual robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. It was pretty long, but packed with action and drama and I believe a promise of at least a sequel, perhaps two.
Anyway, upon leaving the theater, I came out alone because I had to use the bathroom (or “toilet” as they say here) and came out at the entrance of a club. That's where the beginning line of this blog comes from (“Wow. I tell you what, sir—wow.”). Let's just say that Babylon is alive and well. Suddenly, night life in Brighton had just exploded and it was no longer a quaint, pleasant beach town, but rather a buzz of late teens and young adults heading to clubs. I was amazed to find very few people above the age of 25 wandering the streets. Anyway, the immodesty of the girls was incredible. Most were drunk as they wandered from club to club, and I'm guessing some were high as well, given what we had heard of Brighon when we were in Cambridge yesterday.
Seeing all of them was pretty dang humorous. There were quite a few shouting matches between couples, followed quickly by make-up (make-out) sessions. Writing about it now actually makes me pretty sad for them and the state of the world, but at the time, it was pretty funny. We decided the enterainment was good, so we went wandering about the town for a while, people watching. We wandered around on the streets, making sure the girls were close to us at all times and then headed down to the beach, where two girls from Essex overheard us speaking and immediately became obsessed with us, by virtue of our being American.
So we talked with them for a while and then headed back out on the town for more entertainment. We decided to go to a pub just to see what it was like and it was basically as we had expected: loud music, lots of alcohol (heavens, it smelled in there), but without all the nasty dancing, actually. I guess if we had gone to a proper club, we would have seen some of that.
Anyway, after wandering around a bit, we finally found a place to sleep and called it a night. And here I am now.
Wow. I tell you what sir, wow.
Well, here we are in Brighton, southern England. We don't have class today and we only have a concert tomorrow evening back in London, so we thought we would take a little trip down here to Brighton and see what it is all about. Scott and Michelle came down here in the week they had before the study abroad started.
The weather today is absolutely gorgeous—75 degrees and sunny. Quite the rarity for England. We (Danny Gray, Chris Buttars, Michelle, Scott, Jessica Jardine, Jonny Litster, Robert McClellan, and I) left this morning from the flats at about 7:20 and caught a bus down here to Brighton. Upon arriving here, we went looking for a bathing suit for Jessica. I got the basic feel for the town while we were doing that. I really liked it, actually. Well, I suppose that “actually” is not necessarily the right word, since I've been in love with pretty much every town I've seen on this trip.
Anyway, the town is situated on hills descending down to the sea, separating France and England and reminds me of most European beach towns I've seen in films and the like. Tight alleyways meander from street to street, most of them packed with stores, cafes, restaurants, pubs, etc. The streets have little rhyme or reason to the way they are set up (or at least not that I could tell). People, mostly tourists, from what I could tell, litter the streets and shops, eating food, buying clothes and souvenirs, large quantities of alcohol and cigarettes, and probably drugs, given the night life we later saw. In spite of all those last few purchases, Brighton was really quite a quaint beach town. I really liked it.
After shopping around a bit, we headed to the beach to meet up with Jonnie, Scott, and Robert. The beach actually didn't have any sand—rocks instead—but I liked it no less. Luckily, the rocks were mostly small, so when we lay down on them, they conformed to our body shape and it was actually pretty comfortable. We spent a good four or five hours lying around on the beach, talking, playing games, hopping briefly into the water (oh my cold! I just looked up the water temperature and the average for the month of May is 52 degrees), and people watching. It was super pleasant and relaxing. I often play pretty hard, so it was pretty refreshing to kick back a bit. After a while, we packed up our things and hit the town. We were going to tour a palace of a prince who had entirely too much money, but decided it didn't look worth our money.
So we went off to wander the town, exploring all those alleyways we had previously seen. Among them was a REALLY cool armor shop that had armor and weapons from just about any period of wartime imaginable. It was really cool.
Today was Scott and Michelle's six month mark of being together, so they wanted some alone time. We split up for a bit and got dinner separately. Chris, Danny, Jessica, and I went to a cheap little pub and had really fun, pleasant conversation for a good two hours before heading out to find a hostel to sleep in and meet up with the rest of the group. Scott and Michelle wanted to go to the pier and do carnival-like activities and we wanted to see Robin Hood, so we split up for a while with plans to meet up after the film.
And I am happy to report that it was quite a good film! It was about all the story leading up to Robin Hood being....Robin Hood. But no actual robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. It was pretty long, but packed with action and drama and I believe a promise of at least a sequel, perhaps two.
Anyway, upon leaving the theater, I came out alone because I had to use the bathroom (or “toilet” as they say here) and came out at the entrance of a club. That's where the beginning line of this blog comes from (“Wow. I tell you what, sir—wow.”). Let's just say that Babylon is alive and well. Suddenly, night life in Brighton had just exploded and it was no longer a quaint, pleasant beach town, but rather a buzz of late teens and young adults heading to clubs. I was amazed to find very few people above the age of 25 wandering the streets. Anyway, the immodesty of the girls was incredible. Most were drunk as they wandered from club to club, and I'm guessing some were high as well, given what we had heard of Brighon when we were in Cambridge yesterday.
Seeing all of them was pretty dang humorous. There were quite a few shouting matches between couples, followed quickly by make-up (make-out) sessions. Writing about it now actually makes me pretty sad for them and the state of the world, but at the time, it was pretty funny. We decided the enterainment was good, so we went wandering about the town for a while, people watching. We wandered around on the streets, making sure the girls were close to us at all times and then headed down to the beach, where two girls from Essex overheard us speaking and immediately became obsessed with us, by virtue of our being American.
So we talked with them for a while and then headed back out on the town for more entertainment. We decided to go to a pub just to see what it was like and it was basically as we had expected: loud music, lots of alcohol (heavens, it smelled in there), but without all the nasty dancing, actually. I guess if we had gone to a proper club, we would have seen some of that.
Anyway, after wandering around a bit, we finally found a place to sleep and called it a night. And here I am now.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Cambridge today. Oh, it was fantastic!! I loved it so, so much. Yet another place I could live. I maybe even liked it even more than I did Oxford. Things in Cambridge seemed a bit more spread out, which I really liked. I also thought the architecture had a bit more diversity—in structure, materials, and color.
We started our visit to the town by punting on the Cam River. We were really pretty pathetic punters, but it was really fun and totally relaxing. The river was narrow and slow, with trees canopying it most of the way down, with the exception of a few openings, where there were lusciously green grass lawns leading up to the quadrangles of Cambridge's respective colleges. The colleges' architecture was so purely historical and beautiful. Simply put, it was the most romantic place I've ever seen.
After punting, Michelle, Scott, Jessica, Robert, Nick and I went wandering about the city, which has turned into our (Michelle, Scott, and my) favorite thing to do when we're in new cities.
After the wandering, we went to the Trinity College's rehearsal and Evensong. I LOVED that choir. They had that colorful, ringy British sound, but no murkiness. They had a lightness and brightness to them, while still maintaining the grounding in the sound. They of course were not flawless, but they were my favorite choir thus far, aside from Tallis and Sixteen.
The first piece they did was Arvo Part's Nunc Dimitus, which totally blew me away. I had never heard it (though I have heard a ton of other pieces by him) and it was one of the most exquisite pieces I've heard in a long time. It may have had something to do with the fact that I have been hearing mainly Renaissance and Baroque period pieces, but it sure was incredible stuff. I asked Dr. Staheli the other day if there would be any chance of us doing Part this year and he said it wouldn't be likely. Sad day. I had really hoped I would get a crack at some of his pieces, but it looks like it won't be the case.
I also really enjoyed a Paulus piece they did as well. I had never head of him, but am excited to get to know him.
Alright, off to get the laundry and get ready to go to Brighton in the morning.
Cambridge today. Oh, it was fantastic!! I loved it so, so much. Yet another place I could live. I maybe even liked it even more than I did Oxford. Things in Cambridge seemed a bit more spread out, which I really liked. I also thought the architecture had a bit more diversity—in structure, materials, and color.
We started our visit to the town by punting on the Cam River. We were really pretty pathetic punters, but it was really fun and totally relaxing. The river was narrow and slow, with trees canopying it most of the way down, with the exception of a few openings, where there were lusciously green grass lawns leading up to the quadrangles of Cambridge's respective colleges. The colleges' architecture was so purely historical and beautiful. Simply put, it was the most romantic place I've ever seen.
After punting, Michelle, Scott, Jessica, Robert, Nick and I went wandering about the city, which has turned into our (Michelle, Scott, and my) favorite thing to do when we're in new cities.
After the wandering, we went to the Trinity College's rehearsal and Evensong. I LOVED that choir. They had that colorful, ringy British sound, but no murkiness. They had a lightness and brightness to them, while still maintaining the grounding in the sound. They of course were not flawless, but they were my favorite choir thus far, aside from Tallis and Sixteen.
The first piece they did was Arvo Part's Nunc Dimitus, which totally blew me away. I had never heard it (though I have heard a ton of other pieces by him) and it was one of the most exquisite pieces I've heard in a long time. It may have had something to do with the fact that I have been hearing mainly Renaissance and Baroque period pieces, but it sure was incredible stuff. I asked Dr. Staheli the other day if there would be any chance of us doing Part this year and he said it wouldn't be likely. Sad day. I had really hoped I would get a crack at some of his pieces, but it looks like it won't be the case.
I also really enjoyed a Paulus piece they did as well. I had never head of him, but am excited to get to know him.
Alright, off to get the laundry and get ready to go to Brighton in the morning.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 19 2010
Wednesday. May 19, 2010
Great day today. We had class, where we discussed and analyzed a bit of the Bach motets very quickly. It was a bit of a whirlwind, since I'm not terribly advanced musically. We did that because tonight, we went to a rehearsal of the Holst Singers. More on that later.
After class, we rushed off to a matinee for Les Mis. The theatre was a bit harder to find than we would have liked it to be, but that may have been due to our own stupidity more than any kind of complicated route to arrive there.
The show was great. I was really quite impressed with most of the cast, except for Marius. He literally sounded like a goat at times. Whenever he got angsty, he clenched down his jaw, produced some false vibratto, and nasalized the sound. It was ugly. Eponine was especially fantastic. She had an incredibly open resonance and was just so relaxed. It was an incredibly healthy belt. And she was just so emotionally connected. All of her vocals were super good, except for “On My Own,” ironically enough. She got a little too angsty and it was more like yelling than belting. However, the only reason I could excuse her faulty vocals on that song was that she was literally crying at the end of the song. She turned into a totally different character for me. Eponine had always been a whiny, “feel bad for me” character, but with this actress, she became a real person with feelings on the offensive, rather than the victim. It was really a great piece of acting. And she was really cute. That had no influence on my liking her....
The last time I saw the show, I think I was 15 or 16 and while I appreciated it then, both for the theatrical and musical elements and the storyline, I definitely didn't appreciate it at the level I did today. In the program, there was a quote from Victor Hugo about the people in the world—who are so many—who are alone, destitute, hopeless, and how they can still change their lives. The characters' stories were each so gripping as we watched them change and grow: Valjean, Fantine, Javert, Eponine. I loved watching Valjean's journey and how he infused hope into all those around him simply by loving them. Such a powerful lesson.
After some dinner, we headed over to a church for the Holst Singers' rehearsal of the Bach motets. I actually really liked the Holst Singers' sound. In fact, I liked them more than I did the BBC Singers, which is a fully professional choir. Holst had a much lighter, brighter sound, yet still grounded. They had a lot of height and loft to their sound, in addition to the ringy, pingy sound. It was quite the lively sound. Loved it. And the Bach motets were thrilling! Especially Komm, Jesu, Komm. I highly recommend you check it out on youtube, if not on a professional recording. The choir was about 30-40 people in total, and their balance was pretty good. However, like so many of these British choirs, I once again found the alto section lacking. Often, it was like a three-part choir. Altos of the world, man-up and blasted sing. You are not second-class citizens; you have beautiful instruments and you should use them proudly. No overkill, but play your part.
And then back here for a chill evening.
Great day today. We had class, where we discussed and analyzed a bit of the Bach motets very quickly. It was a bit of a whirlwind, since I'm not terribly advanced musically. We did that because tonight, we went to a rehearsal of the Holst Singers. More on that later.
After class, we rushed off to a matinee for Les Mis. The theatre was a bit harder to find than we would have liked it to be, but that may have been due to our own stupidity more than any kind of complicated route to arrive there.
The show was great. I was really quite impressed with most of the cast, except for Marius. He literally sounded like a goat at times. Whenever he got angsty, he clenched down his jaw, produced some false vibratto, and nasalized the sound. It was ugly. Eponine was especially fantastic. She had an incredibly open resonance and was just so relaxed. It was an incredibly healthy belt. And she was just so emotionally connected. All of her vocals were super good, except for “On My Own,” ironically enough. She got a little too angsty and it was more like yelling than belting. However, the only reason I could excuse her faulty vocals on that song was that she was literally crying at the end of the song. She turned into a totally different character for me. Eponine had always been a whiny, “feel bad for me” character, but with this actress, she became a real person with feelings on the offensive, rather than the victim. It was really a great piece of acting. And she was really cute. That had no influence on my liking her....
The last time I saw the show, I think I was 15 or 16 and while I appreciated it then, both for the theatrical and musical elements and the storyline, I definitely didn't appreciate it at the level I did today. In the program, there was a quote from Victor Hugo about the people in the world—who are so many—who are alone, destitute, hopeless, and how they can still change their lives. The characters' stories were each so gripping as we watched them change and grow: Valjean, Fantine, Javert, Eponine. I loved watching Valjean's journey and how he infused hope into all those around him simply by loving them. Such a powerful lesson.
After some dinner, we headed over to a church for the Holst Singers' rehearsal of the Bach motets. I actually really liked the Holst Singers' sound. In fact, I liked them more than I did the BBC Singers, which is a fully professional choir. Holst had a much lighter, brighter sound, yet still grounded. They had a lot of height and loft to their sound, in addition to the ringy, pingy sound. It was quite the lively sound. Loved it. And the Bach motets were thrilling! Especially Komm, Jesu, Komm. I highly recommend you check it out on youtube, if not on a professional recording. The choir was about 30-40 people in total, and their balance was pretty good. However, like so many of these British choirs, I once again found the alto section lacking. Often, it was like a three-part choir. Altos of the world, man-up and blasted sing. You are not second-class citizens; you have beautiful instruments and you should use them proudly. No overkill, but play your part.
And then back here for a chill evening.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Fabulous day! We went to a rehearsal of the BBC Singers, directed by Bob Chilcott (member of the original King's Singers). They were rehearsing for their recording session later this week, when they will record a bunch of stuff by Samuel Barber. Oh yeah, and this was their only rehearsal for the session. That's just how they do things here in the choral world here! It's unbelievable. They are just incredible sight readers. And the fact is that it shows on their recordings. Very few recordings of British choirs are nice and polished. If you listen to Polyphony's recording of Eric Whitacre's choral stuff and then listen to the BYU Singers' recordings of the same pieces, not only will you notice a difference in sound (which is a HUGE one), you will also notice a difference in the...cleanliness of the recording. We spend so much more time perfecting and polishing things, whereas if they simply get the notes right (they automatically include the dynamics written in the music), they are pretty much set to go. Yeah, there are some dynamic contrasts, but they mostly happen only as written in the music. Anyway, it is really incredible the level at which they sight read. I only wish I could do half as well as they do in the sight reading world. I have focused so much of my training on tone that much of the rest of my musicality has suffered. It's now catching up, but it is surely a slow process.
Anyway, here are some of my notes from the rehearsal:
- TONS of vibratto - makes the sections more separate and distinct, instead of homogeneous and blended.
- Sure on this Shining Night (Barber) - While there is too much vibratto, I really like the basic sound the choir makes for this piece.
- The Monk and his Cat (Barber) - too dark, heavy of a sound for this piece.
- if they lightened/brightened, chords would come to life, but because of the weight, the chords become murky and cloudy (see Polyphony's recording of Whitacre's stuff).
- it's not bad right now, but it's simple not as lively as it could be.
- I like the alto sound - not enough volume, but it is much better blended with the sopranos than other professional choirs.
- they get bored if they have more than a couple rehearsals on a piece?! Craziness.
- Unlike other British directors, Bob Chilcott actually has real icti! Oh the art of conducting!
- "Under the Willowtree" - fun operatic part; sweet rhythms. Singers did it a couple years ago--I want to check it out.
- "Praise Him" - has to have HUGE "p" on "praise" or it literally sounds like "raise."
- I love that Bob Chilcott took the time to inform us about a few of the things having to do with the pieces. It helped us connect more more to the choir and the pieces. In fact, I am SUPER impressed with the warmth and openness of the British people in general. They are incredibly friendly and haven't got the slightest bit of a problem striking a conversation with just about anyone. It's really refreshing and I feel like we Americans have a great deal to learn from them.
After the rehearsal, I headed out with roommate Chris, Heidi (dear, wonderful friend to whom I've grown pretty close on this trip), Caitlin, Heather, and Emily to take the audio tour of Westminster Abbey. It was great. There is just so much history that has happened in that building. Everybody who's been anybody in British history is either buried or honored by a sculpture of sorts in the abbey. It is an amazing piece of architecture. I really loved it. We went into one area of the abbey, off in a wind called the Chapel House, I believe, where there were the most incredible acoustics I think I've ever heard. I have never been in a more ALIVE place in all my life. It was AMAZING. Just humming, you could hear the note resonating for about 3 seconds after you hummed it. We decided we would “ooo” a few hymns in there and it just sounded so GOOD!! It was such simple music, but the harmonies really sprang to life and the sound was so full, even though we were singing as quietly as we possibly could. It was funny—after we stopped, a woman who had walked in after had started approached us after we had finished and told us she thought the music was some recording to add to the ambience of the chapel. Another funny thing that happened there was that we kept on telling each other we needed to leave, but it took us three or four hymns to finally get out of there because we were so addicted to the lively sound the chapel could produce. We were sad we were all in different choirs and didn't have any real pieces we could sing together. Perhaps at some future date, I'll head there with some renaissance group and do some fun stuff. I really don't think I've loved singing in a space so much as I did in there.
After the Abbey, Christ and I wandered a bit and got some dinner at a Portuguese restaurant before heading back to the Abbey for a concert by the Abbey choir. They did Vivaldi's Gloria, as well as Handel's Dixit Dominus. I enjoyed the Gloria, but once again, it was more of the Baroque. There were parts, however, that were simply exquisite. And those boy sopranos and altos....GAH. They are SO good. Man, when they are good, they are GOOD. Wow. I found the the Dixit a bit more pleasing to my ear—it was a bit more down-to-earth, so I liked that a bit more. It was a bit frustrating because we were actually behind the choir, behind a screen, so we could neither hear, nor see very well. Oh well.
After the concert, Michelle, Scott and I went to a musical theater open-mic bar, where we met up with a friend from the singles ward here, as well as a friend who is on the theatre study abroad here. The bar really had a FUN atmosphere and I really liked how positive everyone was. I sang two songs-- “Moving too Fast,” from L5Y and “The Old Red Hills of Home,” from Parade—both by Jason Robert Brown. It was a really great place, so we'll probably go back next week and jam it up a bit more.
Ok, I made up for yesterday today, so I have written about four pages double-spaced. I'm now starting to write everything twice because apparently my hands are falling asleep and can now no longer hit the correct keys. To the bed.
Fabulous day! We went to a rehearsal of the BBC Singers, directed by Bob Chilcott (member of the original King's Singers). They were rehearsing for their recording session later this week, when they will record a bunch of stuff by Samuel Barber. Oh yeah, and this was their only rehearsal for the session. That's just how they do things here in the choral world here! It's unbelievable. They are just incredible sight readers. And the fact is that it shows on their recordings. Very few recordings of British choirs are nice and polished. If you listen to Polyphony's recording of Eric Whitacre's choral stuff and then listen to the BYU Singers' recordings of the same pieces, not only will you notice a difference in sound (which is a HUGE one), you will also notice a difference in the...cleanliness of the recording. We spend so much more time perfecting and polishing things, whereas if they simply get the notes right (they automatically include the dynamics written in the music), they are pretty much set to go. Yeah, there are some dynamic contrasts, but they mostly happen only as written in the music. Anyway, it is really incredible the level at which they sight read. I only wish I could do half as well as they do in the sight reading world. I have focused so much of my training on tone that much of the rest of my musicality has suffered. It's now catching up, but it is surely a slow process.
Anyway, here are some of my notes from the rehearsal:
- TONS of vibratto - makes the sections more separate and distinct, instead of homogeneous and blended.
- Sure on this Shining Night (Barber) - While there is too much vibratto, I really like the basic sound the choir makes for this piece.
- The Monk and his Cat (Barber) - too dark, heavy of a sound for this piece.
- if they lightened/brightened, chords would come to life, but because of the weight, the chords become murky and cloudy (see Polyphony's recording of Whitacre's stuff).
- it's not bad right now, but it's simple not as lively as it could be.
- I like the alto sound - not enough volume, but it is much better blended with the sopranos than other professional choirs.
- they get bored if they have more than a couple rehearsals on a piece?! Craziness.
- Unlike other British directors, Bob Chilcott actually has real icti! Oh the art of conducting!
- "Under the Willowtree" - fun operatic part; sweet rhythms. Singers did it a couple years ago--I want to check it out.
- "Praise Him" - has to have HUGE "p" on "praise" or it literally sounds like "raise."
- I love that Bob Chilcott took the time to inform us about a few of the things having to do with the pieces. It helped us connect more more to the choir and the pieces. In fact, I am SUPER impressed with the warmth and openness of the British people in general. They are incredibly friendly and haven't got the slightest bit of a problem striking a conversation with just about anyone. It's really refreshing and I feel like we Americans have a great deal to learn from them.
After the rehearsal, I headed out with roommate Chris, Heidi (dear, wonderful friend to whom I've grown pretty close on this trip), Caitlin, Heather, and Emily to take the audio tour of Westminster Abbey. It was great. There is just so much history that has happened in that building. Everybody who's been anybody in British history is either buried or honored by a sculpture of sorts in the abbey. It is an amazing piece of architecture. I really loved it. We went into one area of the abbey, off in a wind called the Chapel House, I believe, where there were the most incredible acoustics I think I've ever heard. I have never been in a more ALIVE place in all my life. It was AMAZING. Just humming, you could hear the note resonating for about 3 seconds after you hummed it. We decided we would “ooo” a few hymns in there and it just sounded so GOOD!! It was such simple music, but the harmonies really sprang to life and the sound was so full, even though we were singing as quietly as we possibly could. It was funny—after we stopped, a woman who had walked in after had started approached us after we had finished and told us she thought the music was some recording to add to the ambience of the chapel. Another funny thing that happened there was that we kept on telling each other we needed to leave, but it took us three or four hymns to finally get out of there because we were so addicted to the lively sound the chapel could produce. We were sad we were all in different choirs and didn't have any real pieces we could sing together. Perhaps at some future date, I'll head there with some renaissance group and do some fun stuff. I really don't think I've loved singing in a space so much as I did in there.
After the Abbey, Christ and I wandered a bit and got some dinner at a Portuguese restaurant before heading back to the Abbey for a concert by the Abbey choir. They did Vivaldi's Gloria, as well as Handel's Dixit Dominus. I enjoyed the Gloria, but once again, it was more of the Baroque. There were parts, however, that were simply exquisite. And those boy sopranos and altos....GAH. They are SO good. Man, when they are good, they are GOOD. Wow. I found the the Dixit a bit more pleasing to my ear—it was a bit more down-to-earth, so I liked that a bit more. It was a bit frustrating because we were actually behind the choir, behind a screen, so we could neither hear, nor see very well. Oh well.
After the concert, Michelle, Scott and I went to a musical theater open-mic bar, where we met up with a friend from the singles ward here, as well as a friend who is on the theatre study abroad here. The bar really had a FUN atmosphere and I really liked how positive everyone was. I sang two songs-- “Moving too Fast,” from L5Y and “The Old Red Hills of Home,” from Parade—both by Jason Robert Brown. It was a really great place, so we'll probably go back next week and jam it up a bit more.
Ok, I made up for yesterday today, so I have written about four pages double-spaced. I'm now starting to write everything twice because apparently my hands are falling asleep and can now no longer hit the correct keys. To the bed.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Coming off of a week when we saw the Sixteen and Tallis Scholars AND went to Oxford all in a seven day period of time, it's a little bit of a let-down going back to class. Class is really fun and I love learning about the music we are hearing, but I'm pretty sure I'm a bit ADD and therefore have a pretty hard time sitting still for about three hours. But Dr. Staheli and Sister Hall are quite good at lecturing and they keep it pretty interactive, so I really like it almost all the time. I also really like analyzing and learning the history behind all the pieces.
There is SO much history behind choral music in England! I loved learning last week about William Byrd and how he wrote mainly for the Catholic Church, but when Henry VIII shut down that whole operation, Byrd still wanted to write music in the Catholic tradition, so he wrote masses for as many people as would be in their underground meetings that week. So we ended up with a Mass for 3 voices, one for four voices, and one for 5 voices. And actually his mass for three voices is one of my favorite pieces out there. It's so simple, but it has some gorgeous lines to it.
So today was a chill, recovery day. I've been a tourist for about two and a half weeks now, and I decided I needed a break. So after class, I just came back to the flat, made a simple lunch and hit the sack for about an hour and a half, after which I read the skips (can I tell you how much I love 2 Nephi 28?!?!) and edited some photos. More photos on facebook to come soon.
Overall, the afternoon was really wonderful and it felt great to just recup(erate) a bit.
We went to a rehearsal of the London Bach Choir tonight, directed by David Hill, where they were doing Bach's B Minor Mass, as well as a bit of Brahms' Requiem. There are parts of the B Minor Mass that I like, but speaking in general, Baroque is a bit too....frilly for me. Even most of the architecture from that era is a bit “too much” for me. Everything is just so blasted ornate and excessive in my opinion. Don't get me wrong—I think there are plenty of beautiful things from that period, but in a general sense, that is my opinion. So, when they started doing Brahams' romantic era stuff, it was much easier to take in.
Today was a really great day for a bit simple recuperation and regrouping. I am convinced that there are not many things in life that cannot be solved by some good scripture study and sleep. And today was proof. Life is good.
Coming off of a week when we saw the Sixteen and Tallis Scholars AND went to Oxford all in a seven day period of time, it's a little bit of a let-down going back to class. Class is really fun and I love learning about the music we are hearing, but I'm pretty sure I'm a bit ADD and therefore have a pretty hard time sitting still for about three hours. But Dr. Staheli and Sister Hall are quite good at lecturing and they keep it pretty interactive, so I really like it almost all the time. I also really like analyzing and learning the history behind all the pieces.
There is SO much history behind choral music in England! I loved learning last week about William Byrd and how he wrote mainly for the Catholic Church, but when Henry VIII shut down that whole operation, Byrd still wanted to write music in the Catholic tradition, so he wrote masses for as many people as would be in their underground meetings that week. So we ended up with a Mass for 3 voices, one for four voices, and one for 5 voices. And actually his mass for three voices is one of my favorite pieces out there. It's so simple, but it has some gorgeous lines to it.
So today was a chill, recovery day. I've been a tourist for about two and a half weeks now, and I decided I needed a break. So after class, I just came back to the flat, made a simple lunch and hit the sack for about an hour and a half, after which I read the skips (can I tell you how much I love 2 Nephi 28?!?!) and edited some photos. More photos on facebook to come soon.
Overall, the afternoon was really wonderful and it felt great to just recup(erate) a bit.
We went to a rehearsal of the London Bach Choir tonight, directed by David Hill, where they were doing Bach's B Minor Mass, as well as a bit of Brahms' Requiem. There are parts of the B Minor Mass that I like, but speaking in general, Baroque is a bit too....frilly for me. Even most of the architecture from that era is a bit “too much” for me. Everything is just so blasted ornate and excessive in my opinion. Don't get me wrong—I think there are plenty of beautiful things from that period, but in a general sense, that is my opinion. So, when they started doing Brahams' romantic era stuff, it was much easier to take in.
Today was a really great day for a bit simple recuperation and regrouping. I am convinced that there are not many things in life that cannot be solved by some good scripture study and sleep. And today was proof. Life is good.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Good Sabbath today. A packed Sabbath. Great scott. They certainly make sure we have enough to do around here. We headed out to Oxford for Church pretty early, where we met with the Oxford Ward and sang in their Sacrament Meeting. We sang the text of “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” to an arrangement of the tune of “If you Could Hie to Kolob” and an arrangement of “I Stand All Amazed.” It brought a really nice spirit to the meeting and the ward was really so appreciative of our singing. It was a really great experience. We then had a pleasant munch 'n mingle with the ward, where we got to know the ward a bit more. They were really just so warm, hospitable and welcoming to us. I really loved it. There was a Brazillian family from Rio who has lived there for six years, so it was really fun to speak to them in Portuguese. I love Brazillians. They are just so fun.
We then rehearsed a bit and then headed to Evensong. It was as we expected—not terribly wonderful, but still a good experience. We had drinks (sherry for them, orange juice for us) with them and ate with them. They were really warm and welcoming as well. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
On the ride back, I sat next to one of my new friends who got me talking and I came to the realization that I am scared to seek out help. I am scared of being dependent on other people, so I distract myself from my difficulties and tell myself I'll figure things out on my own instead of facing them and figuring them out. And usually things do work themselves out on their own in the back of my head—most of the time because it's simply not that big of a deal and if I just let it cool down or work itself out or whatever the case may be, things get to a stable point on their own. But this week was one of those times when I was feeling particularly lonely and should have sought out help of some sort. However, because I have gotten in this habit of not seeking out that help when I need it, I still didn't.
I have always been so independent that most people don't ever really worry about taking care of me, and 99% of the time, I don't really need it, but I actually did need it this week. I have been having a hard time feeling like I have really good, true friends lately because I haven't been able to really connect with too many people since Ashley and that has led to a bit of loneliness. I fear I am now at the point that I am too prideful to realize that I need help and if I do, I am not sure I would ask for that help. So, I think I am going to do some hard praying and thinking and see what I can do to humble myself a bit and better diagnose when I need that help.
And then there is another part of me that says that perfect love overcometh all fear. Insecurities, I think, arise from fear, ultimately. And if I can love God with all I have and love those around me with real charity, then all of those things can be overcome.
It's late. I'm mostly past the point of coherence. Good night.
We then rehearsed a bit and then headed to Evensong. It was as we expected—not terribly wonderful, but still a good experience. We had drinks (sherry for them, orange juice for us) with them and ate with them. They were really warm and welcoming as well. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
On the ride back, I sat next to one of my new friends who got me talking and I came to the realization that I am scared to seek out help. I am scared of being dependent on other people, so I distract myself from my difficulties and tell myself I'll figure things out on my own instead of facing them and figuring them out. And usually things do work themselves out on their own in the back of my head—most of the time because it's simply not that big of a deal and if I just let it cool down or work itself out or whatever the case may be, things get to a stable point on their own. But this week was one of those times when I was feeling particularly lonely and should have sought out help of some sort. However, because I have gotten in this habit of not seeking out that help when I need it, I still didn't.
I have always been so independent that most people don't ever really worry about taking care of me, and 99% of the time, I don't really need it, but I actually did need it this week. I have been having a hard time feeling like I have really good, true friends lately because I haven't been able to really connect with too many people since Ashley and that has led to a bit of loneliness. I fear I am now at the point that I am too prideful to realize that I need help and if I do, I am not sure I would ask for that help. So, I think I am going to do some hard praying and thinking and see what I can do to humble myself a bit and better diagnose when I need that help.
And then there is another part of me that says that perfect love overcometh all fear. Insecurities, I think, arise from fear, ultimately. And if I can love God with all I have and love those around me with real charity, then all of those things can be overcome.
It's late. I'm mostly past the point of coherence. Good night.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Our second day at Oxford. We started the day off with a little rehearsal for our Sacrament meeting performance tomorrow before heading off to Oxford. It felt SO good to sing in a real ensemble! I have been missing it so much and it was such a release to produce good, healthy sound that could fuse with other's beauty to create something entirely beautiful and uplifting. Singing just feels so wonderful! As we use our God-given instruments in the correct way, it is is astounding the things we can produce.
Then out to Oxford we went. We were pretty much free the entire day, so Scott, Michelle and I went off on our own and wandered the town. I have been needing some new headshots, so as we wandered, we would stop at random places we felt had good backgrounds and lighting, we would stop and snap a few photos. If you want to see them, go on facebook and check them out.
I am totally in love with that city! Everywhere I walked there it was like I was walking through some 19th century university town. Some of the things that amazed me most were (1) how incredibly clean it was and (2) how GORGEOUS it was. It totally blew me away. I was beside myself. I loved the narrow passageways and tall, OLD buildings; the green, luscious grass outside the buildings; the immaculate courtyards in all of the buildings; the quaint shops; that 15,000 of the 150,000-person city commutes by bike to work and school—everything! It is just such a wonderful place.
We went to Evensong at New College, which is a boys choir that won a Grammy a couple of years ago for their recording of the Bach Cantatas. Those boys were fantastic singers. It struck me particularly amazing that little 8 and 9 year-old boys could concentrate for such extended periods of time and remain well-behaved through all the rehearsal. Their voices, as everyone says, had such such a pure and effortless sound to them. They just soared in their ranges and could stay up in the rafters or hours on end. It really was amazing to hear them do it.
And they were so musical! They were doing advanced tuning things with their voices and were making some extraordinary music. They did some very tough repertoire and really nailed it pretty dang well. I was highly impressed. One of the things I really like about the choir was that there weren't any parts sticking out. Earlier in the week, I wrote about the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen and how I was a bit irritated that the sopranoes stuck out a bit from the texture. But in this choir, the balance was there. And I loved hearing the well-balanced choir because they sang and moved as if they were one body. It was really quite refreshing.
Then back on to the buses and headed back to London.
Our second day at Oxford. We started the day off with a little rehearsal for our Sacrament meeting performance tomorrow before heading off to Oxford. It felt SO good to sing in a real ensemble! I have been missing it so much and it was such a release to produce good, healthy sound that could fuse with other's beauty to create something entirely beautiful and uplifting. Singing just feels so wonderful! As we use our God-given instruments in the correct way, it is is astounding the things we can produce.
Then out to Oxford we went. We were pretty much free the entire day, so Scott, Michelle and I went off on our own and wandered the town. I have been needing some new headshots, so as we wandered, we would stop at random places we felt had good backgrounds and lighting, we would stop and snap a few photos. If you want to see them, go on facebook and check them out.
I am totally in love with that city! Everywhere I walked there it was like I was walking through some 19th century university town. Some of the things that amazed me most were (1) how incredibly clean it was and (2) how GORGEOUS it was. It totally blew me away. I was beside myself. I loved the narrow passageways and tall, OLD buildings; the green, luscious grass outside the buildings; the immaculate courtyards in all of the buildings; the quaint shops; that 15,000 of the 150,000-person city commutes by bike to work and school—everything! It is just such a wonderful place.
We went to Evensong at New College, which is a boys choir that won a Grammy a couple of years ago for their recording of the Bach Cantatas. Those boys were fantastic singers. It struck me particularly amazing that little 8 and 9 year-old boys could concentrate for such extended periods of time and remain well-behaved through all the rehearsal. Their voices, as everyone says, had such such a pure and effortless sound to them. They just soared in their ranges and could stay up in the rafters or hours on end. It really was amazing to hear them do it.
And they were so musical! They were doing advanced tuning things with their voices and were making some extraordinary music. They did some very tough repertoire and really nailed it pretty dang well. I was highly impressed. One of the things I really like about the choir was that there weren't any parts sticking out. Earlier in the week, I wrote about the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen and how I was a bit irritated that the sopranoes stuck out a bit from the texture. But in this choir, the balance was there. And I loved hearing the well-balanced choir because they sang and moved as if they were one body. It was really quite refreshing.
Then back on to the buses and headed back to London.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
So we headed out to Oxford on a motorcoach today for an opportunity to observe the private schools in their music teaching. We went to a POSH school where there was some really amazing teaching going on. Those kids have got some incredible equipment and facilities. Their parents pay a pretty penny for their education too, so that at least partially explains it.
We then went to rehearse with our respective choirs for Sunday's Evensong services. Our choir was not terribly prepared. In fact, we were far more prepared than they were. Dr. Staheli and Sister Hall were pretty concerned that we wouldn't be prepared enough. However, after the rehearsal, Dr. Staheli commented to Sister Hall, “we have nothing to fear.” It was good, however, to lead the section by and large. It taught me a lot about taking risks and really being a leader in the section. I really liked it and so did the guys I was singing with.
Oxford is so beautiful! I want to live there. Literally every street there is just fabulously beautiful and quaint. And everything there is so old! Holy cow, it was such a pleasure to simply walk about the streets and see all the ancient buildings. Apparently JK Rowling took much of the culture she set up in Harry Potter from the Oxbridge schooling system. And apparently on a tour we are taking of the school tomorrow, we will even see the great hall from Harry Potter. That'll be cool.
So we are heading back out there tomorrow and Sunday. I'm really excited to explore more of the city.
I've been thinking a lot about friendships today. This year has been really tough for me as far as freindships go. Because I was dating someone and was already fairly busy as it was, many of my friends stopped contacting me; if I wanted something to happen, I had to make absolutely certain that it happened because they had basically given up on me. So I spent much of the year without friends who were really, truly loyal to me. I've come on the study abroad in that basic state and I've found that people who I thought were my friends weren't really my friends and people who I never would have thought I would get close to have become some of my really good friends. Because they were willing to put themselves out there and love someone else. I see some people who are very selective about whom they love and sometimes I feel like I have to earn their love. That frustrates me. And then I think about the things I do that limit the amount of love I give to those around me and how I don't reach out to absolutely everyone around me. It is so hard to make sure every single person is feeling our love and is feeling appreciated and valued. It is so blastedly important to do that and it is a neverending process. And you have to be totally untiring in it in order to get it done—and frankly, it never really is done.
So my source of wonder right now has to do with what we should do when we give and give and give our love, but the person to whom we are giving simply does not seem to accept the love we give them. It is really hard for me when that happens. I think I too often expect to receive some reward for the things I do. And I think I expect too much. I hope I can get to the place where I can simply give and give without any expectation of something in return for that which I give. One day....
So we headed out to Oxford on a motorcoach today for an opportunity to observe the private schools in their music teaching. We went to a POSH school where there was some really amazing teaching going on. Those kids have got some incredible equipment and facilities. Their parents pay a pretty penny for their education too, so that at least partially explains it.
We then went to rehearse with our respective choirs for Sunday's Evensong services. Our choir was not terribly prepared. In fact, we were far more prepared than they were. Dr. Staheli and Sister Hall were pretty concerned that we wouldn't be prepared enough. However, after the rehearsal, Dr. Staheli commented to Sister Hall, “we have nothing to fear.” It was good, however, to lead the section by and large. It taught me a lot about taking risks and really being a leader in the section. I really liked it and so did the guys I was singing with.
Oxford is so beautiful! I want to live there. Literally every street there is just fabulously beautiful and quaint. And everything there is so old! Holy cow, it was such a pleasure to simply walk about the streets and see all the ancient buildings. Apparently JK Rowling took much of the culture she set up in Harry Potter from the Oxbridge schooling system. And apparently on a tour we are taking of the school tomorrow, we will even see the great hall from Harry Potter. That'll be cool.
So we are heading back out there tomorrow and Sunday. I'm really excited to explore more of the city.
I've been thinking a lot about friendships today. This year has been really tough for me as far as freindships go. Because I was dating someone and was already fairly busy as it was, many of my friends stopped contacting me; if I wanted something to happen, I had to make absolutely certain that it happened because they had basically given up on me. So I spent much of the year without friends who were really, truly loyal to me. I've come on the study abroad in that basic state and I've found that people who I thought were my friends weren't really my friends and people who I never would have thought I would get close to have become some of my really good friends. Because they were willing to put themselves out there and love someone else. I see some people who are very selective about whom they love and sometimes I feel like I have to earn their love. That frustrates me. And then I think about the things I do that limit the amount of love I give to those around me and how I don't reach out to absolutely everyone around me. It is so hard to make sure every single person is feeling our love and is feeling appreciated and valued. It is so blastedly important to do that and it is a neverending process. And you have to be totally untiring in it in order to get it done—and frankly, it never really is done.
So my source of wonder right now has to do with what we should do when we give and give and give our love, but the person to whom we are giving simply does not seem to accept the love we give them. It is really hard for me when that happens. I think I too often expect to receive some reward for the things I do. And I think I expect too much. I hope I can get to the place where I can simply give and give without any expectation of something in return for that which I give. One day....
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Today was great on almost all accounts. We started the day out with some rehearsal for our evensong groups, which was...kind of good. I made some ok progress on our pieces, but neither I nor Dr. Staheli was terribly pleased with how far I had come. And better yet, he let me know by pulling me aside from everyone else and talking to me briefly. I felt like I had let down my mission president. My psyche took a pretty hard hit for a little while today because of it. It was hard. And I was/am a little concerned that he won't let me back into Singers after that. But I worked really hard on it tonight with Jonnie and Matt, my roommates here, so hopefully that will do the trick. I feel pretty good about what we did—we'll see.
After rehearsal we took the tube to the Westminster pier and took a boat up the Thames to Greenwich for our concert tonight with The Sixteen. We toured around the charming little town of small, winding streets of Greenwhich, including the Prime Meridian and sea, time, and astrology museums near there. It was yet another experience that furthered my frustration for going places in large groups.
And then we went off to listen to a rehearsal with The Sixteen. First we had a little discussion with the director, Harry Christophers, who spoke mainly about the ensemble's reppetiore and history. Rehearsal followed and then we had another small discussion with one of the choir members. All pretty thrilling stuff.
After a cheap, good Chinese dinner with some friends at a local diner the concert started with an incredible chant by the men outside in the lobby, resonating throughout the entire hall.
Here are some of my notes from the rehearsal and performance:
- the tenors have a low, full breath, which creates a beautiful sound, even on the pianos and when they are high, but I noticed on a different piece that when the sopranos came in with their full sound, they effectively belittled the tenors with their sound. More on the sopranos in a second.
- Everytime I try to breathe like that, I get too much meat on my sound and it sounds a bit too manly, unlike these tenors, who, because of their high placement, blend incredibly well with the altos.
- I noticed there is a bit of closing down in the back of the mouth, which puts a bit more ping in the sound, which I really like, but I am often afraid of not blending if I were to do it in Singers. Perhaps I'll try it in the fall. We'll see.
- I really liked that they put countertenors on the alto part; it beefens up the sound in terms of volume, but it also makes it a bit too masculine for my ear. This leaves the sopranos out to dry a bit with their feminine color. However, the balance is SO much better because I finally have enough alto (if I could have more of anything in my life, it would be more alto). But with the countertenors on the alto, I lost the tenor. And even with the countertenors there, the sopranos still went to town a bit too much for my liking. I would take one soprano off the list to make it a bit better balanced. So often choirs are too blasted top-heavy and the only thing you end up hearing is the sopranos. And these sopranos are positively gorgeous, but I want to hear the other parts that go with it. Both with the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen, it almost seemed like the concert was featuring the sopranos and the rest of the choir was their back-up vocalists.
- I remember one day in Singers when we only had 6 sopranos in rehearsal and the balance I wanted was FINALLY there. I wish we could have one soprano for every two altos. That would be ideal.
- What would happen if Singers totally let loose on the breath like these choirs are doing? Wow.
- If the sopranos are high, they are forte. Does it have to be like that?
- When the baritones went up into the tenor range (above middle C), I could finally hear the notes clearly, even among the rest of the choir blasting away at their own notes. Perhaps it does take the big, grounded, connected sound I am so wary to produce.
So there are some of my notes from the concert. What a THRILLING concert. Many people walked away from the concert as I did from the Tallis Scholars. They liked the sound of the Sixteen more than the Scholars because of the roundness and softness of their voices. However, I think I ascertained why I enjoyed the Scholars more: there were fewer people in the ensemble, so they each had their own, individual, unique sounds, but in order to really make the blend happen, they had to sing into the blend, as opposed to backing off, like we are so tempted to do so often. When the Scholars did that, there was an electric fusion that would happen and it really rocked my world. The Sixteen had that ping of the Scholars in the sopranos, but it was lost in the other parts. I wanted the other parts to bring up the ping and really fuse together on the blend as opposed to simply mixing their voices. Fusion vs. mixing. That's what I'm getting at here.
They did some incredible rep at the concert. I discovered a piece I'd never heard before, which I LOVED—Miserere Nostri, by Thomas Tallis. I am working on finding a recording of the Sixteen singing it so I can have it. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever taken in. I was blown away.
Just another INCREDIBLE, AMAZING day. This stuff feeds my soul.
Happy birthday to my dear mother! Oh, she is so fantastic. So many prayers of gratitude for her.
Today was great on almost all accounts. We started the day out with some rehearsal for our evensong groups, which was...kind of good. I made some ok progress on our pieces, but neither I nor Dr. Staheli was terribly pleased with how far I had come. And better yet, he let me know by pulling me aside from everyone else and talking to me briefly. I felt like I had let down my mission president. My psyche took a pretty hard hit for a little while today because of it. It was hard. And I was/am a little concerned that he won't let me back into Singers after that. But I worked really hard on it tonight with Jonnie and Matt, my roommates here, so hopefully that will do the trick. I feel pretty good about what we did—we'll see.
After rehearsal we took the tube to the Westminster pier and took a boat up the Thames to Greenwich for our concert tonight with The Sixteen. We toured around the charming little town of small, winding streets of Greenwhich, including the Prime Meridian and sea, time, and astrology museums near there. It was yet another experience that furthered my frustration for going places in large groups.
And then we went off to listen to a rehearsal with The Sixteen. First we had a little discussion with the director, Harry Christophers, who spoke mainly about the ensemble's reppetiore and history. Rehearsal followed and then we had another small discussion with one of the choir members. All pretty thrilling stuff.
After a cheap, good Chinese dinner with some friends at a local diner the concert started with an incredible chant by the men outside in the lobby, resonating throughout the entire hall.
Here are some of my notes from the rehearsal and performance:
- the tenors have a low, full breath, which creates a beautiful sound, even on the pianos and when they are high, but I noticed on a different piece that when the sopranos came in with their full sound, they effectively belittled the tenors with their sound. More on the sopranos in a second.
- Everytime I try to breathe like that, I get too much meat on my sound and it sounds a bit too manly, unlike these tenors, who, because of their high placement, blend incredibly well with the altos.
- I noticed there is a bit of closing down in the back of the mouth, which puts a bit more ping in the sound, which I really like, but I am often afraid of not blending if I were to do it in Singers. Perhaps I'll try it in the fall. We'll see.
- I really liked that they put countertenors on the alto part; it beefens up the sound in terms of volume, but it also makes it a bit too masculine for my ear. This leaves the sopranos out to dry a bit with their feminine color. However, the balance is SO much better because I finally have enough alto (if I could have more of anything in my life, it would be more alto). But with the countertenors on the alto, I lost the tenor. And even with the countertenors there, the sopranos still went to town a bit too much for my liking. I would take one soprano off the list to make it a bit better balanced. So often choirs are too blasted top-heavy and the only thing you end up hearing is the sopranos. And these sopranos are positively gorgeous, but I want to hear the other parts that go with it. Both with the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen, it almost seemed like the concert was featuring the sopranos and the rest of the choir was their back-up vocalists.
- I remember one day in Singers when we only had 6 sopranos in rehearsal and the balance I wanted was FINALLY there. I wish we could have one soprano for every two altos. That would be ideal.
- What would happen if Singers totally let loose on the breath like these choirs are doing? Wow.
- If the sopranos are high, they are forte. Does it have to be like that?
- When the baritones went up into the tenor range (above middle C), I could finally hear the notes clearly, even among the rest of the choir blasting away at their own notes. Perhaps it does take the big, grounded, connected sound I am so wary to produce.
So there are some of my notes from the concert. What a THRILLING concert. Many people walked away from the concert as I did from the Tallis Scholars. They liked the sound of the Sixteen more than the Scholars because of the roundness and softness of their voices. However, I think I ascertained why I enjoyed the Scholars more: there were fewer people in the ensemble, so they each had their own, individual, unique sounds, but in order to really make the blend happen, they had to sing into the blend, as opposed to backing off, like we are so tempted to do so often. When the Scholars did that, there was an electric fusion that would happen and it really rocked my world. The Sixteen had that ping of the Scholars in the sopranos, but it was lost in the other parts. I wanted the other parts to bring up the ping and really fuse together on the blend as opposed to simply mixing their voices. Fusion vs. mixing. That's what I'm getting at here.
They did some incredible rep at the concert. I discovered a piece I'd never heard before, which I LOVED—Miserere Nostri, by Thomas Tallis. I am working on finding a recording of the Sixteen singing it so I can have it. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever taken in. I was blown away.
Just another INCREDIBLE, AMAZING day. This stuff feeds my soul.
Happy birthday to my dear mother! Oh, she is so fantastic. So many prayers of gratitude for her.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Today was basically an “off” day, so we only had a bit of lecture, followed by a bit of rehearsal. We've been split up into small groups and we're going to join separate colleges for Evensong on Sunday in Oxford. My group is doing Palestrina's Exsultate Deo, which is a spritely Italian motet with some pretty tricky rhythms (I am the only tenor in the rehearsal). The notes themselves aren't terribly difficult, but I'm having to work quite a bit on my Caucasian Rhythm Disorder, which, I am happy to report, is coming along pretty well. Being in Singers this past year has been really good for me musically. I have become a much better reader, both for rhythms and notes. I still am not where I want to be, but I feel like I am making good progress.
After rehearsal, my friend, Annalee, who is on the theatre study abroad, and I went to see The Lion King. The show was quite the spectacle, and there were certainly some great moments, but I felt the production overall was fairly lackluster. I noticed I found my doubt suspended very few times, probably because the actors didn't fully believe what they were doing, and if a performer doesn't believe what he or she is doing, then of course an audience member won't believe it either. I really didn't like either of the Simbas. The younger Simba was pretty awkward and fairly....indicative—the way he acted was very “actory” and showy, as opposed to just “being” on stage. Sorry for all the quotes. The older Simba had a really whiny voice. If you're a hero in a show, you need to sound like a man and not a 14 year-old kid. There were other things that were really good in the show, but overall, I didn't find the ensemble or leads really believable or committed. However, Nala was the star of the show. She was absolutely fantastic. In my opinion, she totally stole the show. “Shadowland” was completely amazing. In fact, during that song, I had the thought that she would be an excellent Aida.
After the show, we came back to the flat and I went out on the town alone, which was pretty refreshing. I hadn't done it since I was in Paris and I really liked it. I love being able to make the calls without worrying about how they will affect other people. I realize that is really selfish of me, but sometimes I get grouped with other people who are really into being quite touristy and that is just about the last thing I am interested in. Yeah sure, I want to do and see all the tourist things, but I want to avoid looking like one at all costs. My proudest moment in Paris was when I was asked directions in French three or four times in one day.
I really enjoy London. Paris may have been more of a fairy tale land for me, but London seems a bit more homey to me. Perhaps it's the English thing. Don't know.
Tomorrow is The Sixteen, right on the same level as The Tallis Scholars. My world will once again be altered. I am really excited.
Today was basically an “off” day, so we only had a bit of lecture, followed by a bit of rehearsal. We've been split up into small groups and we're going to join separate colleges for Evensong on Sunday in Oxford. My group is doing Palestrina's Exsultate Deo, which is a spritely Italian motet with some pretty tricky rhythms (I am the only tenor in the rehearsal). The notes themselves aren't terribly difficult, but I'm having to work quite a bit on my Caucasian Rhythm Disorder, which, I am happy to report, is coming along pretty well. Being in Singers this past year has been really good for me musically. I have become a much better reader, both for rhythms and notes. I still am not where I want to be, but I feel like I am making good progress.
After rehearsal, my friend, Annalee, who is on the theatre study abroad, and I went to see The Lion King. The show was quite the spectacle, and there were certainly some great moments, but I felt the production overall was fairly lackluster. I noticed I found my doubt suspended very few times, probably because the actors didn't fully believe what they were doing, and if a performer doesn't believe what he or she is doing, then of course an audience member won't believe it either. I really didn't like either of the Simbas. The younger Simba was pretty awkward and fairly....indicative—the way he acted was very “actory” and showy, as opposed to just “being” on stage. Sorry for all the quotes. The older Simba had a really whiny voice. If you're a hero in a show, you need to sound like a man and not a 14 year-old kid. There were other things that were really good in the show, but overall, I didn't find the ensemble or leads really believable or committed. However, Nala was the star of the show. She was absolutely fantastic. In my opinion, she totally stole the show. “Shadowland” was completely amazing. In fact, during that song, I had the thought that she would be an excellent Aida.
After the show, we came back to the flat and I went out on the town alone, which was pretty refreshing. I hadn't done it since I was in Paris and I really liked it. I love being able to make the calls without worrying about how they will affect other people. I realize that is really selfish of me, but sometimes I get grouped with other people who are really into being quite touristy and that is just about the last thing I am interested in. Yeah sure, I want to do and see all the tourist things, but I want to avoid looking like one at all costs. My proudest moment in Paris was when I was asked directions in French three or four times in one day.
I really enjoy London. Paris may have been more of a fairy tale land for me, but London seems a bit more homey to me. Perhaps it's the English thing. Don't know.
Tomorrow is The Sixteen, right on the same level as The Tallis Scholars. My world will once again be altered. I am really excited.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
And today was the Tallis Scholars. Wow. What an INCREDIBLE experience. I have NEVER felt so uplifted as I did during that concert. There has only been one other concert that had even close to the effect this one had on me. Oddly enough, it was actually a folk rock concert by a band called “The Swell Season.” You may know them from the movie “Once” - they did the soundtrack for it and won an Emmy for best original song from a film. Anyway, I saw them in November in SLC and they were terrific. Best show I'd ever been to. I left feeling SO good! It was just such a great time and the music they write and play is simply wonderful. It was really fantastic.
This concert was beyond words. There were only ten people in the ensemble and I've never heard a more in-tune, in-synch, together ensemble in all my life. They were simply extraordinary. They sang the Pope Marcellis Mass by Palestrina, as well as some other pieces, but that was the main piece on the program.
Each member of the ensemble knew exactly where he or she fit in the group and filled his or her part so very well. The two high sopranos impressed me most. There was one who had a HUGE voice, but blended it well most of the time. She was a bit overpowering at times, but her control was incredible. I loved hearing her soar on her high notes. However, I think her partner impressed me more. She was so very free and open, yet matched the color of the rest of the ensemble just a bit better. I was also quite impressed with the high tenor of the group. He had a certain sweetness to his voice and had a sonority to his voice that comes only when everything is completely open. However, there was a time in the concert when he sang with three other women and he closed down a bit too much for my liking and consequently, did not blend as well as I had hoped he would; it sounded just a little too manly, so to speak.
What overtones! There were times when I had to remind myself that the notes I was hearing could not possibly be sung by a human and that the group obviously wasn't singing them.
Gah. What an AMAZNG concert. It is at THE top of my list. If you EVER have a chance to see this ensemble, DO IT. You won't find anything better in the choral world.
We had a really wonderful afternoon. Jessica Jardine, Scott and Michelle and I went to the National Army Museum over by Sloane Square (close to the venue for the concert, which had INCREDIBLE acoustics, by the way). It was great! I loved reading all about the different wars G.B. Has been in and especially what it was like for the people here during World War II. They had a totally different experience than our country and it was so intriguing to learn how they dealt with their challenges and other such situations that naturally accompany war. And beside that, it was a really great museum. And it was free.
We then went to a quaint cafe where they had really wonderful, uniquely flavored food. I got a pesto pasta dish that had pistachios, spinach, and a whole lot of herbs I couldn't identify. It as DELICIOUS. And best of all was the dessert we shared amongst the four of us. It was a crepe with some really famous English whipped cream, toffee, bananas, strawberries, some DELECTABLE chocolate drizzle and Swiss chocolate ice cream. We thought we were going to die.
And then we went to see the Tallis Scholars and did die. We all feel like we've been translated.
I love this.
And today was the Tallis Scholars. Wow. What an INCREDIBLE experience. I have NEVER felt so uplifted as I did during that concert. There has only been one other concert that had even close to the effect this one had on me. Oddly enough, it was actually a folk rock concert by a band called “The Swell Season.” You may know them from the movie “Once” - they did the soundtrack for it and won an Emmy for best original song from a film. Anyway, I saw them in November in SLC and they were terrific. Best show I'd ever been to. I left feeling SO good! It was just such a great time and the music they write and play is simply wonderful. It was really fantastic.
This concert was beyond words. There were only ten people in the ensemble and I've never heard a more in-tune, in-synch, together ensemble in all my life. They were simply extraordinary. They sang the Pope Marcellis Mass by Palestrina, as well as some other pieces, but that was the main piece on the program.
Each member of the ensemble knew exactly where he or she fit in the group and filled his or her part so very well. The two high sopranos impressed me most. There was one who had a HUGE voice, but blended it well most of the time. She was a bit overpowering at times, but her control was incredible. I loved hearing her soar on her high notes. However, I think her partner impressed me more. She was so very free and open, yet matched the color of the rest of the ensemble just a bit better. I was also quite impressed with the high tenor of the group. He had a certain sweetness to his voice and had a sonority to his voice that comes only when everything is completely open. However, there was a time in the concert when he sang with three other women and he closed down a bit too much for my liking and consequently, did not blend as well as I had hoped he would; it sounded just a little too manly, so to speak.
What overtones! There were times when I had to remind myself that the notes I was hearing could not possibly be sung by a human and that the group obviously wasn't singing them.
Gah. What an AMAZNG concert. It is at THE top of my list. If you EVER have a chance to see this ensemble, DO IT. You won't find anything better in the choral world.
We had a really wonderful afternoon. Jessica Jardine, Scott and Michelle and I went to the National Army Museum over by Sloane Square (close to the venue for the concert, which had INCREDIBLE acoustics, by the way). It was great! I loved reading all about the different wars G.B. Has been in and especially what it was like for the people here during World War II. They had a totally different experience than our country and it was so intriguing to learn how they dealt with their challenges and other such situations that naturally accompany war. And beside that, it was a really great museum. And it was free.
We then went to a quaint cafe where they had really wonderful, uniquely flavored food. I got a pesto pasta dish that had pistachios, spinach, and a whole lot of herbs I couldn't identify. It as DELICIOUS. And best of all was the dessert we shared amongst the four of us. It was a crepe with some really famous English whipped cream, toffee, bananas, strawberries, some DELECTABLE chocolate drizzle and Swiss chocolate ice cream. We thought we were going to die.
And then we went to see the Tallis Scholars and did die. We all feel like we've been translated.
I love this.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Class today was the beginning of the study I had hoped we would have here. I loved our bit of form analysis we did on Mozart's Requiem. While no, I did not understand every bit of the theory we covered, but I am definitely making progress and I really like that. I think this study here will make me a much better musician—or so I hope. I enjoyed the theory and form analysis much more than the discussion about our responses to the pieces. The emotional, spiritual and psychological responses of listeners to pieces is surely extremely important, but I think the things—the music, including its form, chordal structure, etc—that create those feelings or affects, are almost more important than the responses to the music. If a composer or musician can understand those constructs, then he or she will be able to best convey those things to his or her audiences.
I've thought a bit more about my comment about the effect of live music on listeners and have come up with a few other ideas:
When people use their resonators to the fullest extent, they produce many overtones, which are, for some reason, arresting to the attention. Sister Hall calls it “making our endorphins dance.” But there is really a physiological, spiritual, psychological response to those overtones produced which makes us devote our full attention to what's going on musically.
Unfortunately, even with the recording technology being as advanced as it is, it still can not capture those overtones and when we hear recorded music, we simply can not achieve the same effect as when we hear it live. This really interests me, even after writing a 20 page paper on it two years ago. I still want to know what is happening mentally when those things happen—when music locks “air-tight,” if you will.
We went to Evensong tonight at Southwark (pronounced “Suthik”). I was fairly underwhelmed with it, but whatevs. I think it may have been the tuning or maybe the underdeveloped children's voices. But whatever it was (or wasn't, as the case was), it didn't really strike the chord for me.
We're seeing the Tallis Scholars tomorrow night. I think I might wet myself.
Class today was the beginning of the study I had hoped we would have here. I loved our bit of form analysis we did on Mozart's Requiem. While no, I did not understand every bit of the theory we covered, but I am definitely making progress and I really like that. I think this study here will make me a much better musician—or so I hope. I enjoyed the theory and form analysis much more than the discussion about our responses to the pieces. The emotional, spiritual and psychological responses of listeners to pieces is surely extremely important, but I think the things—the music, including its form, chordal structure, etc—that create those feelings or affects, are almost more important than the responses to the music. If a composer or musician can understand those constructs, then he or she will be able to best convey those things to his or her audiences.
I've thought a bit more about my comment about the effect of live music on listeners and have come up with a few other ideas:
When people use their resonators to the fullest extent, they produce many overtones, which are, for some reason, arresting to the attention. Sister Hall calls it “making our endorphins dance.” But there is really a physiological, spiritual, psychological response to those overtones produced which makes us devote our full attention to what's going on musically.
Unfortunately, even with the recording technology being as advanced as it is, it still can not capture those overtones and when we hear recorded music, we simply can not achieve the same effect as when we hear it live. This really interests me, even after writing a 20 page paper on it two years ago. I still want to know what is happening mentally when those things happen—when music locks “air-tight,” if you will.
We went to Evensong tonight at Southwark (pronounced “Suthik”). I was fairly underwhelmed with it, but whatevs. I think it may have been the tuning or maybe the underdeveloped children's voices. But whatever it was (or wasn't, as the case was), it didn't really strike the chord for me.
We're seeing the Tallis Scholars tomorrow night. I think I might wet myself.
Sunday, May 9, 2010. London.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Sung Eucharist service at Westminster Abbey this morning was really quite extraordinary. I loved finding the parallels between their service and some of our most sacred services in our Church. I am constantly amazed at how many similarities there are between our Church and others, but I never find one single church that is similar to ours. It's just further proof that each of the other religions has so much truth, but none of them have a totality of the truth. I was deeply touched, however, by some of the things that were said at the service—even some of the set text that is a part of each service.
It's actually pretty interesting that I have had some really powerful spiritual experiences in going to other religions' services, especially Catholic services. There is a lot of reverence and silence that creates an atmosphere that is so conducive to the Spirit, which I fear eludes our own meetings. And I believe that if you attend others' services with an attitude of learning and appreciating and understanding, God can teach you what you will need to know simply by you being open. And while it may not all be true, there are, like I said, many truths that are taught in those services. In fact, in the program, which I don't currently have with me, there were a few phrases that had some deep, deep doctrine.
The choir at Westminster was fabulous. It was a boys choir, with boys singing the soprano and alto lines and men singing the tenor and bass lines. Although I do appreciate so much the fullness and grounding of women, there is something to be said about the boys' purity in their sound. They really can soar on those high notes and hit them so effortlessly. I was so impressed with their musicality and intonation at such a young age! Heavens, I have been singing for....who knows how long, and have not achieved that level of intonation. Quite impressive.
It's Mother's Day today. What a fabulous mother I have. I often think about all she did for me as I was growing up. She sacrificed so much for us and did so much to make us feel her love through the way she served us. And serves us! She has such a wonderful, good, tender and caring heart. I feel her love every day. I only hope she feels mine as well. I know at times she gets frustrated with how little time I have to talk on the phone, and I feel badly for it, but sometimes it really isn't possible for me to talk at that specific moment when she calls. Anyway, I am so grateful for her and her love. I am one lucky chap to have a mother such as her.
The Sung Eucharist service at Westminster Abbey this morning was really quite extraordinary. I loved finding the parallels between their service and some of our most sacred services in our Church. I am constantly amazed at how many similarities there are between our Church and others, but I never find one single church that is similar to ours. It's just further proof that each of the other religions has so much truth, but none of them have a totality of the truth. I was deeply touched, however, by some of the things that were said at the service—even some of the set text that is a part of each service.
It's actually pretty interesting that I have had some really powerful spiritual experiences in going to other religions' services, especially Catholic services. There is a lot of reverence and silence that creates an atmosphere that is so conducive to the Spirit, which I fear eludes our own meetings. And I believe that if you attend others' services with an attitude of learning and appreciating and understanding, God can teach you what you will need to know simply by you being open. And while it may not all be true, there are, like I said, many truths that are taught in those services. In fact, in the program, which I don't currently have with me, there were a few phrases that had some deep, deep doctrine.
The choir at Westminster was fabulous. It was a boys choir, with boys singing the soprano and alto lines and men singing the tenor and bass lines. Although I do appreciate so much the fullness and grounding of women, there is something to be said about the boys' purity in their sound. They really can soar on those high notes and hit them so effortlessly. I was so impressed with their musicality and intonation at such a young age! Heavens, I have been singing for....who knows how long, and have not achieved that level of intonation. Quite impressive.
It's Mother's Day today. What a fabulous mother I have. I often think about all she did for me as I was growing up. She sacrificed so much for us and did so much to make us feel her love through the way she served us. And serves us! She has such a wonderful, good, tender and caring heart. I feel her love every day. I only hope she feels mine as well. I know at times she gets frustrated with how little time I have to talk on the phone, and I feel badly for it, but sometimes it really isn't possible for me to talk at that specific moment when she calls. Anyway, I am so grateful for her and her love. I am one lucky chap to have a mother such as her.
London. Saturday, May 9, 2010
Saturday. May 8th, 2010
What a wonderfully refreshing day today! This past week has been pretty tiring because I was in Paris and I wanted to see everything, so I spent everyday wandering the city and seeing the city, probably walking a total of about 10 – 15 miles daily. So when everybody was blastedly tired from jetlag last night and went to bed early, I figured I would join the club and hit the sack at a reasonable hour. Having slept about 10 hours, I felt absolutely wonderful in the morning, as opposed to fantastically exhausted, compared to the rest of the week.
After a group meeting, during which we went over a bunch of program logistics, we were set loose to go on the town. We have a couple with us named the Whimmers who have spent a lot of time in London and they are more or less serving as resident tour guides for us. They gave us a walking tour, which would take us down by Trafalgar Square and the Parliament, Big Ben, etc. However, I decided I wanted some produce, so I went with my friends, Michelle and Scott, who are dating and are wonderful as well, to Portobello Road. It actually reminded me of 25 de Marco, from Sao Paulo, but actually quite toned down. You can find a lot of pretty cool things there on Portobello, but the prices aren't nearly as good as at 25 de Marco. But it was a really fun atmosphere and we saw some fantastic stuff. There are a whole lot of really cool vintage shops, wonderful produce venders (L4.50 for about 2 wks' worth of vegetables—also, can we pause and just contemplate how delectable carrots are in the UK?! Great scott!), and tons of little knick knack stores with lots of odds and ends. Seriously a really fun and awesome atmosphere. I loved it.
After getting back, I made some food, ironed my newly acquired shirts, INLCUDING a beautiful white and purple checked shirt I bought at H&M this morning for L10, and got ready for our concert tonight at St. Martin's at the Fields.
They did some really nice Purcell pieces, including one of my very favorite choral pieces in the world, “With Drooping Wings,” from “Dido and Aenaeas.” We sang it earlier in the year for our fall concert and that was when I first fell in love with it. It is at the end of the opera when Dido has died and the chorus is imploring the cupids to “scatter roses on her tomb” and to keep their watch and “never, never part.” It is an absolutely beautiful and stunning piece, which really cuts to your soul as you both sing and hear it. The writing is really quite amazing, especially considering the time when Purcell composed the opera. As I remember it, there are quite a few 7ths and 9ths between the interwieving parts and can be fairly dissonant at times. It is a fantastic piece though.
The second half was first Mozart's Gloria, I believe, which I don't think I'd ever heard, but REALLY liked. Following that was his Requiem Mass, which I had never heard performed live. Oh my gosh, I LOVED it. It really is an amazing piece of work and it has some exquisite parts. I remember a specific part when the choir repeated multiple times the lyrics “salva-ma.” I could feel and hear Mozart crying and weeping to the Lord “Save me, Jesus!” And it wasn't necessarily that he was pleading with the Lord to save him from sin, but rather from the depths of dispair and depression in which he spent much of his life. It was amazing to hear his voice through his music and feel his raw emotion. I think it was partly due to the performers, but I believe it was mostly Mozart's doing. I think I first fell in love with this piece after watching “Amadeus.” I know the story portrayed in the movie isn't necessarily true, but it still gave me access to the piece and now I totally love it.
It was interesting how hearing live music for the first time in about 3 weeks had an effect on me. I've been listening to good, intelligent music for the past couple weeks, but LIVE music had a real impact on me. I almost felt like I was being purged of impurity as I sat there. I am interested to see how this develops during this study. Suffice it to say that I am THRILLED to be here and am SO excited to get going on this.
Out.
What a wonderfully refreshing day today! This past week has been pretty tiring because I was in Paris and I wanted to see everything, so I spent everyday wandering the city and seeing the city, probably walking a total of about 10 – 15 miles daily. So when everybody was blastedly tired from jetlag last night and went to bed early, I figured I would join the club and hit the sack at a reasonable hour. Having slept about 10 hours, I felt absolutely wonderful in the morning, as opposed to fantastically exhausted, compared to the rest of the week.
After a group meeting, during which we went over a bunch of program logistics, we were set loose to go on the town. We have a couple with us named the Whimmers who have spent a lot of time in London and they are more or less serving as resident tour guides for us. They gave us a walking tour, which would take us down by Trafalgar Square and the Parliament, Big Ben, etc. However, I decided I wanted some produce, so I went with my friends, Michelle and Scott, who are dating and are wonderful as well, to Portobello Road. It actually reminded me of 25 de Marco, from Sao Paulo, but actually quite toned down. You can find a lot of pretty cool things there on Portobello, but the prices aren't nearly as good as at 25 de Marco. But it was a really fun atmosphere and we saw some fantastic stuff. There are a whole lot of really cool vintage shops, wonderful produce venders (L4.50 for about 2 wks' worth of vegetables—also, can we pause and just contemplate how delectable carrots are in the UK?! Great scott!), and tons of little knick knack stores with lots of odds and ends. Seriously a really fun and awesome atmosphere. I loved it.
After getting back, I made some food, ironed my newly acquired shirts, INLCUDING a beautiful white and purple checked shirt I bought at H&M this morning for L10, and got ready for our concert tonight at St. Martin's at the Fields.
They did some really nice Purcell pieces, including one of my very favorite choral pieces in the world, “With Drooping Wings,” from “Dido and Aenaeas.” We sang it earlier in the year for our fall concert and that was when I first fell in love with it. It is at the end of the opera when Dido has died and the chorus is imploring the cupids to “scatter roses on her tomb” and to keep their watch and “never, never part.” It is an absolutely beautiful and stunning piece, which really cuts to your soul as you both sing and hear it. The writing is really quite amazing, especially considering the time when Purcell composed the opera. As I remember it, there are quite a few 7ths and 9ths between the interwieving parts and can be fairly dissonant at times. It is a fantastic piece though.
The second half was first Mozart's Gloria, I believe, which I don't think I'd ever heard, but REALLY liked. Following that was his Requiem Mass, which I had never heard performed live. Oh my gosh, I LOVED it. It really is an amazing piece of work and it has some exquisite parts. I remember a specific part when the choir repeated multiple times the lyrics “salva-ma.” I could feel and hear Mozart crying and weeping to the Lord “Save me, Jesus!” And it wasn't necessarily that he was pleading with the Lord to save him from sin, but rather from the depths of dispair and depression in which he spent much of his life. It was amazing to hear his voice through his music and feel his raw emotion. I think it was partly due to the performers, but I believe it was mostly Mozart's doing. I think I first fell in love with this piece after watching “Amadeus.” I know the story portrayed in the movie isn't necessarily true, but it still gave me access to the piece and now I totally love it.
It was interesting how hearing live music for the first time in about 3 weeks had an effect on me. I've been listening to good, intelligent music for the past couple weeks, but LIVE music had a real impact on me. I almost felt like I was being purged of impurity as I sat there. I am interested to see how this develops during this study. Suffice it to say that I am THRILLED to be here and am SO excited to get going on this.
Out.
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