If any of you have ever done ear training you have almost certainly encountered the method for recognising intervals which is based on memorising the first couple of notes from songs you know. For example, first two notes of: Isn't She Lovely - Minor 2nd Frères Jacques- Major 2nd Greensleeves - Minor 3rd Oh, when the... Continue Reading →
Halfpenny thoughts no.2 – What does the Queen sing in the shower?
If you have watched any royal ceremonies involving the Queen of England, you may have noticed that she is the only person who doesn’t join in when “God Save the Queen” is sung. She can’t, of course. It would make no sense. But I am sure that there have been times when she has sung it... Continue Reading →
Rossini’s little train
When I look at of the books in my library, the only thing I can remember in most cases is whether I have read them or not. Books in the second-largest category trigger one single anecdote or image and nothing else. One image which has been in my head for decades now comes from a book by Alberto... Continue Reading →
Arise! An imaginary film scene
Recently, I came across an article published in 1945 in the New Yorker entitled “Return to Place Pigalle”, where Joseph Wechsberg, originally from Czechoslovakia, describes returning to Paris as a US soldier and meeting the musicians he used to play with there in the 1920’s. The musicians describe the experience of playing in Nazi-occupied Paris and leds to... Continue Reading →
If Beethoven had been Mozart
Like many people who love Mozart’s music I have often wondered what he would have given us if he had not died before he was 36. Even if he had lived just one more year, there is no telling what he might have produced, given that his last three symphonies - 39,40 and 41 -... Continue Reading →
More bitter still
Listen to this (Dinah Washington- This Bitter Earth as she sang it in 1960 )for thirty seconds https://youtu.be/DKV2zYv1h9g?list=RDDKV2zYv1h9g Now listen to a few bars of Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight". Now hear how Max Richter combined them. I think you will listen all the way to the end.
Kora, Griot, Diabate, Sissoko, Kairaba Jabi
I met a guy playing the kora on the street last night. It is such a beautiful instrument to look at and to listen to. Here's a description. I asked the musician whether he was a griot. He pointed to the card in front of him with his name and said "My father was a... Continue Reading →
Giant Steps, Steps by Step
Here is a step-by-step depiction of John Coltrane's amazing playing on "Giant Steps" as he relentlessly races through chord and key changes. If you watch carefully you'll feel that you are the one playing. I found this on a Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/dancohen?feature=watch which also has an animated transcription of Miles Davis's "So What" and two or three... Continue Reading →
Mozart’s starling sang G sharp. An invasive story.
I can't say I ever appreciated starlings much before I discovered that Mozart kept one as a pet for three years. My impression of starlings was formed by the experience of having multitudes of them descend on Rome in autumn behaving like a million drunken football fans. Their formation flying is pretty impressive, you can't... Continue Reading →
Duck and crystal
Just to remind myself that there are at least two ways of doing things, here are a couple of clips I came across some time ago, both of outstanding performances. The first one is Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli playing Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in B Minor K 27 in 1949. What this feels like to me is... Continue Reading →