A musical interlude
Actually it was a whole concert: but it made an inspiring and enjoyable interlude in our busy lives. A friend had invited us to accompany her, or maybe we wouldn't have spent the money. Wow, it wasn't half good! Worth every one of Alice's pennies. The main item was
Carmina Burana, by
Carl Orff (that
is his name) - an unusual piece of choral music, some bits loud and angry thumping cacophonies (what a lovely noun that is) some parts soft, flowing and mellow. I didn't understand a word, because it was either in Latin or German, but there was a translation in the program. It's
based on poems by some renegade and lascivious (a gorgeous adjective too) medieval monks, and is all about boozing and love and sex. Really. One part,
O Fortuna, about the
Wheel of Fortune which takes you down as well as up, has been used a lot in films and
even ads.
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| Daniel Taylor |
There were three soloists, as well as a huge orchestra and choir. The guy with the really deep voice and the soprano lady were both excellent. I felt rather sorry, though, for the man with the pure sweet voice, who only sang for a few minutes out of an hour. Apparently he was portraying a swan being roasted. He actually
acted it, with gestures and all. He's
Daniel Taylor, fantastically good, and is called a
Countertenor. Alice told me about that later on. Back in the 16th century, when the Pope forbade women to sing in church or on stage, boys used to be
castrated (shudder) to keep their voices high. Nowadays they don't practice such horrors, and some men can sing these notes with training. But deary me, those popes had a lot to answer for - and still do.
There was
a super film about one of the famous nineteenth century "castrati",
Farinelli, and
Anne Rice (who's mostly known for her
vampire books) wrote a beautiful and serious novel on the subject,
Cry to Heaven. Apparently these men were as celebrated as today's pop stars, and supposedly were much
in demand as lovers, too. Did you ever?
It was freezing cold when it came time to go home again. I was grateful to Alice for so kindly knitting me a scarf like hers to help combat the weather. She did it mostly while watching TV.
But not
Homeland! Far too exciting to miss a second...
P.S. Six-year-old Angelina (remember her from August 2012?) who is learning to knit herself, declared it "awesome"!
It was freezing cold when it came time to go home again. I was grateful to Alice for so kindly knitting me a scarf like hers to help combat the weather. She did it mostly while watching TV.