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.