DISCOVERING
MUSIC GROUP
This friendly
and sociable group meets in members' homes during the third week of each month
at 2.15 pm. The hosts introduce and play
recordings of their own choice, of broadly classical music (including opera),
usually on CD or DVD, of both the better-known repertoire and the lesser-known,
or of exceptional performances. So we
bring items which we enjoy and think others will enjoy too or find intriguing,
and we freely express our views.
On occasions
we may engage with music of a particular country, recently with “Forgotten
Treasures of The Ukraine.” Sometimes our
focus is historical, for example on the world's first piano concertos, or of
the music of the visionary Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (12th century),
or the reconstructed music of Ancient Greece. One of our members had witnessed a funeral on
the Indonesian Island of Bali which was musically accompanied by a Gamelan Orchestra. So we had a part-session on Gamelan. And occasionally we have invited guests to
explain to us about a particular family of instruments.
Concerning
opera, as an example, the composer Donizetti said of Rossini's William Tell,
“Act II was composed by God.” So of
course we listened to Act II! We are
happy to watch and listen to stage works on DVD, for example we experienced a
production of Stravinsky's spectacular
ballet The Firebird in this way. And we
have watched DVDs about the lives and music of famous composers. Also on CD we have listened to outstanding
singers and instrumentalists, not only those of today but also of historic
renown such as Segovia on the guitar, and the singing of Paul Robeson. In the course of all this we have learnt much
and made many delightful discoveries. We often finish our sessions with
something in lighter mood; recently we heard Harry Belafonte singing some of
his famous numbers, finishing with the Banana Boat Song: “Day-O, Day-O,
daylight come and I wanna go home.”
John
Grimshaw, Convener
Potential
new members are invited to contact John by telephone on 01865 861949 or email grimshaw.johnla@btinternet.com
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