Broken Consort

A 'broken consort' is an ensemble made up of instruments from more than one family, for example, a group featuring both string and wind instruments.

Monday 13 December 2010

Christmas Fun!

We had a wonderfully entertaining musical gathering at Margaret's last Friday night...with lovely company & music making. We played through some of our old favourites, and after a break for refreshments (thank you Margaret for providing such a delicious spread!), got into the Christmas spirit with some festive pieces...and even had some impromptu entertainment from Heather & her sister Ruth on piano...with Emily on vocals!


Apologies for the awful quality of the photograph...I didn't go prepared, so had to use my phone...and they were much better than Judy's expression suggests!

Thanks so much Margaret for being a wonderful host!

Sunday 5 December 2010

Concert Success!

I think I speak on behalf of everyone present when I say that our first concert as an 'independent music society' was a success! We had a most enjoyable evening in the warm (and light!) surroundings of Kew College in front of an appreciative audience - a huge thank you to those who ventured out to support us on such a cold and icy evening!

For those of you not able to be there, here's what you missed:

Concert Programme


'Promenade' & 'The Old Castle' (from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky)
The Broken Consort

Telemann Concerto for 4 Flutes – Adagio & Allegro
George, Annie, Imogen & Emily

Wagner 'Siegfried Idyll'
Heather, Helen, Judy, Annabel, Kath, Theresa, Polly, Dermot, Mike & Margaret

Mozart Sonata in D for Piano Duet – Allegro & Andante
Angela & Imogen

Fasch Sonata in G Major – Andante & Allegro
George, Imogen, Heather, Margaret & Joan

JS Bach Trio for Two Recorders – Adagio & Allegro
Penny, Diana & Joan

Snow White (by Churchill, Arr. D Sobrielo)
George, Heather, Judy, Kath, Dermot, Theresa, Margaret & Imogen

JC Bach Quintet in A - Menuetto
Annie, Annabel, Emily, Polly, Mike & Angela

The Great Gate of Kiev (from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky)
The Broken Consort

As always, a varied programme...culminating in a truly triumphant rendition of 'The Great Gate of Kiev' - well done everyone!

And...I even have photographic evidence (thanks Martin!):





 
Thank you also to Mike & Angela, our hosts for the 'after party'...as always we appreciate your hospitality.

And finally...I'd like to wish all our followers a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy 2011!

Thursday 25 November 2010

Class - 25th November

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....it was chilly in the Church this evening!
Not surprising really, seeing as the temperature outside was barely above freezing!

It was our last rehearsal before the concert this evening, so we had lots to do! We started with the 'Pictures'...which have definitely improved in the last couple of weeks...they really sounded good this evening..we appear to have finally mastered threes against twos!

Small group items:
  • 'Snow White' - Heather, Judy, George, Kath, Theresa, Dermot, Margaret & Imogen
  • JC Bach Quintet in A - Annie, Annabel, Emily, Polly, Mike & Angela
  • JS Bach Trio - Penny, Diana & Joan
  • Wagner 'Seigfried Idyll' - Heather, Helen, Judy, Annabel, Kath, Theresa, Dermot, Polly, Mike & Margaret
  • Telemann Concerto for Four Flutes - George, Annie, Imogen & Emily
  • Fasch  Sonata in G  - George, Imogen, Heather, Margaret & Joan

Thursday 18 November 2010

Class - 18th November

We had a lovely (warm) evening at St Thomas the Apostle Church in Hanwell...after a last minute cancellation of our booking for our regular venue. With more space (and better lighting!) we were able to seat ourselves in a more familiar arrangement...and I have to say it nice to be able to see some faces...rather than just the backs of heads! The accoustic created a really big sound, and it was reported that we sounded like a "symphony orchestra"!
With only one more rehearsal before our concert, the 'Pictures' are beginning to come together at last.

Small group items:
  • Wagner 'Seigfried Idyll' - Heather, Helen, Judy, Annabel, Kath, Theresa, Dermot, Polly, Margaret & Mike
  • JS Bach Trio - Penny, Diana & Joan
  • Telemann Concerto for Four Flutes - George, Annie, Imogen & Emily

Monday 15 November 2010

News Flash!!!

Due to the cancellation of our booking at All Saint's Church for this Thursday (18th November), the class will now be held at St Thomas' Church, Boston Road, Hanwell, London W7 2AD this week.


View Larger Map

Please remember to bring your music stands.
See you Thursday!

Thursday 11 November 2010

Class - 11th November

We had a full house for the first time this term which was lovely...a bit scary to hear how some of the large ensemble items sound with us all though! It's a good job we still have a couple of rehearsals before the concert!

Small group items:
  • Snow White - Heather, Judy, George, Kath, Theresa, Dermot, Margaret & Imogen
  • JC Bach Quintet in A - Annie, Annabel, Emily, Polly, Mike & Angela
  • JS Bach Trio - Penny, Diana & Joan

Wednesday 10 November 2010

End of Term Concert News

We finally have a venue booked for our end of term concert on December 2nd:

The Sedum,
Kew College,
Leybourne Park,
Kew
TW9 3HB


The venue is on the corner of Leybourne Park and Mortlake Road and is easily accessible by bus (65 and 391), train (Kew Gardens Station), and car (parking is unrestricted, but please note that it is on a one way street, and must be accessed by the Kew Gardens Road end).

The concert will start at 7.30pm, and admission is...as usual...free.

Thursday 4 November 2010

Class - 4th November

At last...we have heat! It felt positively balmy in the Church this evening...there were even complaints from some members of the class of being too hot!

We continued working on the 'Pictures', and it's really beginning to come together.

Small group items:
  • JC Bach Quintet in A - Annie, Annabel, Emily, Polly, Mike & Angela
  • Telemann Concerto in A minor - Imogen, Penny, Judy, Thersa, Diana, Kath, Margaret & Joan

Thursday 21 October 2010

Class - 21st October

Hurrah! I think we've finally cracked the tricky cross-rhythms in the 'Great Gate of Kiev'...perhaps it was the arctic conditions in the Church this evening! I'm pleased to say that the other 'Pictures' are also coming along nicely, but we're yet to have a 'full house' at a rehearsal.

Small group items:
  • Wagner 'Siegfried Idyll' - Heather, Judy, Helen, Kath, Theresa, Polly, Dermot, Margaret & Mike
  • Loeillet Sonata in D minor - Imogen, Penny, Annie, Diana & Angela

Thursday 14 October 2010

Class - 14th October

We're still working away at the 'Great Gate of Kiev'...and it's not 'great' yet...but hopefully we'll be able to do it justice by the end of term! The ''Promenade' and 'The Old Castle' are sounding much better, and we're even beginning to get to grips with all the sharps (or flats for the clarinets)!

Small group items:
  • J. C. Bach Quintet in D major (Op. 11 No. 6)  - Penny, Diana, Kath, Polly, Margaret & Angela
  • 'Santis' by Chris Barron (Arr. H. Brammer) - Judy, Theresa, Dermot & Imogen
  • J. C. Bach Quartet in C major (Op. 19 No. 4) - Heather, Annie, Helen & Mike

Thursday 7 October 2010

Class - 7th October

Well, 'The Great Gate of Kiev' was definitely sounding more together (in places!)  this evening, although we're still finding it difficult to get our heads around all of the threes against twos...and changes in time signatures, but I'm sure it will all make sense eventually! The other 'Pictures' are coming along nicely, but it would be so much easier if they were all in the same key!

Small group items:
  • Wagner 'Siegfried Idyll' - Heather, Helen, Annabel, Judy, Kath, Theresa, Polly, Dermot, Margaret & Mike
  • Molter Three Concertos for Four Flutes & Continuo - Annie, Penny, Imogen, Diana & Angela

Friday 1 October 2010

Class - 30th September

We had nearly a full house last night, and made the most of it by working hard on the large ensemble items, starting with the final installment of the Mussorgsky 'Pictures', 'The Great Gate of Kiev'. Although it's not quite finished, there was certainly enough to be getting on with, including some deceptively difficult cross rhythms! The 'Promenade' and 'The Old Castle' are also beginning to take shape.

We also had our Inaugral General Meeting during the class, where we adopted the constitution, and elected a committee...so we are now officially a society!

Thursday 23 September 2010

Class - 23rd September

This evening we continued with the 'Promenade' and 'Old Castle' (from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky)...and they're beginning to take shape - Imogen even noticed contrasts in dynamics in the 'Promenade'!

Small group items:
  • 'Snow White' (Arr. Denis Sobrielo) - Heather, Judy, George, Diana, Dermot, Theresa, Margaret & Imogen
  • Telemann Trio Sonata in D Minor (93) - Penny, Annabel & Joan
  • Mozart Serenade No. 4 - Helen, Kath & Polly

Thursday 16 September 2010

The First Class!

We had the first class in our new home this evening...and, although we were somewhat diminished in number, I think that we can say that it was successful!

We began with one of the large ensemble pieces that we'll be working on this term, 'Pictures at an Exhibition' (by Mussorgsky). We're only going to be doing a few of the 'Pictures', and started with the 'Promenade' (with it's challenging changes in time signatures), before braving the 5 sharps (or 5 flats for the clarinets) of 'The Old Castle'! We will also be tackling 'The Great Gate of Kiev'...but that's still work in progress!

This evening's small group items were:
  • J. C. Bach Quintet in A (Op. 11 No. 5) - Heather, Annabel, Diana, Helen, Polly & Angela
  • Five Gershwin Melodies for Four Woodwinds - Imogen, Penny, Annie, Theresa & Mike 

We're pleased to report that the accoustics of the Church are great - it's just a shame we'll have to hold our concerts elsewhere.

Looking forward to next week!

Saturday 28 August 2010

How to become a follower

Here's a video I found on Youtube, which I thought would be easier to follow than me writing instructions on here, for how to follow our blog for those of you new to blogging:



*Edit*
If you're having problems with the follower gadget on the right, please try using the 'follow' at the top left of the blog. You'll need to have a Google account (don't worry...you're not signing up for anything that will bombard you with junk emails or anything), and be signed in to it to be able to see the word 'Follow' at the top left of the blog (next to the Search box). I've been having some problems becoming a follower at some blogs for the last week, but I am able to do it this way when the follower gadget doesn't work. Hope that helps!

Friday 27 August 2010

Our New Blog

Hello everyone - welcome to our new blog!
I know I mentioned starting a blog for us at the summer music gathering at Polly's last night as a joke...but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be a good way of keeping all of the important info together for us. We can also add the concert info for our 'groupies' (they may like to become followers to help keep them up-to-date)...and we could possibly use it as a way of attracting new members.
I've only added some basic info at the moment (term dates, venue address, and a map), and I'll also add a little info 'about us' and our 'mission statement'...when we get one! I will also use it to keep a record of the pieces we play each week.
Please feel free to add yourselves as followers (just click on the 'follow'  button on the right-hand side--->) and leave a comment (by clicking on the '# comments' button below) to suggest other things you'd like to see on here.

*Edited*

If anybody has any photos of our concerts that they'd like me to add...please email them to me (click the little birdie on the right). I have a few that my Mum took before the last concert started...but no 'action' shots!