Summer Music @ Maureen's

Our final summer music session of the year was hosted by Maureen...here's what we played:

• 'Scottish Dance No. 3' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Elizabethan Serenade' by Ronald Binge
• 'Alla Hornpipe' from 'The Water Music' by Handel
• 'Allegro assai' from 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 2' by J. S. Bach
• Overture to 'The Mastersingers of Nurenburg' by Wagner
• 'Mack the Knife' from 'The Threepenny Opera' by Kurt Weill
• 'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Serenade' by Derek Bourgeios
• 'Crown Imperial' by William Walton
• 'The Old Castle' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky
• 'Overture Miniature' from 'The Nutcracker' by Tchaikovsky

Once again we enjoyed some delicious food (and drinks) after our exertions...many thanks to Maureen for having us!

Summer Music @ Polly's

We had our summer music of the holidays a couple of weeks ago, hosted by Polly. There was quite a large group of us, and using our usual 'lucky dip' method of selecting the music for the evening, this is what we played:

• Theme from Blackadder' by Howard Goodall
• 'Tango Ballad' from 'The Threepenny Opera' by Kurt Weill
• 'Polka' from 'Jazz Suite No. 1' by Shostakovich
• 'English Dance No. IV' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Crown Imperial' by William Walton
• 'Elizabethan Serenade' by Ronald Binge
• 'Scottish Dance No. 3' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Sinfonia' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Cantique de Jean Racine' by Faure
• 'Overture Miniature' from 'The Nutcracker' by Tchaikovsky
• 'Menuetto' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart
• 'Shepherd's Hey' by Percy Grainger

Phew! Once we'd played that lot we had really earned our feast! Thanks to Polly for a wonderful evening...next up is Judy!

Summer Music @ Imogen's

We had our last summer music gathering of the holiday last Thursday, and this time it was hosted by Imogen. We selected the music using our usual method, and here's what we played:

• 'Andante' from the Surprise Symphony' by Haydn 
• 'English Dance No. IV' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Chanson de Nuit' by Elgar
• 'The Great Gate of Kiev' from Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky 
• 'Romance' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart
• 'Badinerie' from 'Suite in B Minor' by J. S. Bach
• 'Seventeen come Sunday' from 'English Folksong Suite' by Vaughan Williams
• 'March - For the Love of Three Satsumas (Oranges)' by Prokofiev
• 'Rondo' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart

We concluded the evening with some delicious food & drink and fabulously entertaining story-telling from Joan!

The new term starts in a couple of weeks (September 19th), so I'll be back again then.

Summer Music @ Nicola's

We had our first Summer Music gathering of the holiday last Thursday...hosted by one of our newest members, Nicola. There were several other Summer Music 'first-timers' too...and I'm not sure that they knew what they were letting themselves in for! The music was selected by lucky dip (as always), and we played a wide variety of composers' works, although Vaughan Williams made several appearances!

Here's what we played:

• 'The Old Castle' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky 
• 'English Dance No. 1' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Pavane pour une infante defunte' by Ravel
• 'Hallelujah Chorus' from 'The Messiah' by Handel
• 'Hebrides Overture' by Mendelssohn
• 'Fantasia on Greensleeves' by Vaughan Williams
• 'Folk Songs from Somerset' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams
•  'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Sicilienne' by Faure
• Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams

We of course enjoyed some delicious food & drink afterwards...I think we'd earned it after playing all of that in the sweltering heat! Thank you to Nicola for a lovely evening!

Our next gathering is in on the 22nd at Diana's...looking forward to seeing you there!

Summer Music @ Judy's

We had our last summer music session of the year last night, at Judy's new house. I think she must have chosen it for the lovely large room we had to play in, which was just as well as there was rather a lot of us to accommodate! In keeping with tradition, we each selected a piece to play at random, from our ever-increasing libray!

Here's what we played:

• 'Allegro Assai' from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by J.S. Bach
• 'Andante' from Symphony No. 94  ('Surprise') by Haydn
• 'Hallelujah Chorus' from 'The Messiah' by Handel
• 'Romance' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams
• 'Mesto' from 'English Dances' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Marche Militaire' by Schubert
• 'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Rondo' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart
• 'Scilienne' by Faure
• 'The Ashokan Farewell' by Jay Ungar
• 'Allegro risoluto' from 'English Dances' by Malcolm Arnold
• Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart

And after all that lot, we had earned our feast! Thank you to Judy for hosting a most enjoyable evening!

A quick reminder before I go, that our new term begins on Thursday 20th September.

Concert - 22nd March

What a lovely evening we had last night...the weather was warm...the music was good...and the audience was large - perhaps swelled by those coming to support the Songbyrds, with whom we shared the concert.

If you weren't there...here's what you missed:

Programme

'Fantasia on Greensleeves' - Vaughan Williams (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Scottish Dance No. 3' – Malcolm Arnold (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'It Don't Mean a Thing' – Duke Ellington

'California Dreamin'' – The Mamas & The Papas

'Fields of Gold' - Sting

The Songbyrds

Directed by Benjamin Cox, accompanied by Jonathan Pease (Piano)

'Grave, Largo & Allegro' from Trio Sonata in G minor – Telemann

Imogen Locke (Treble Recorder); Diana Locke (Tenor Recorder); Margaret Willson ('Cello); & Joan Goodall (Piano)

'Scherzo & Trio in G minor' – Schubert (Arr. Emerson)

Heather Loebl, Penny Layland (Flutes); Polly Kaufmann (Oboe); Helen Brammer, Theresa Hitching (Clarinets); & Mike Winterburn (Bassoon)

'Andante & Allegro Moderato' from 'London Trio No. 1 – Haydn

Heather Loebl, Judy Skelton (Flutes); & Margaret Willson ('Cello)

 

'42^nd Street' – Harry Warren

'Hallelujah' – Leonard Cohen

'Close to You' – Burt Bacharach

The Songbyrds

Directed by Benjamin Cox, accompanied by Jonathan Pease (Piano)

'Largo, Adagio & Allegro' from Quintet in F – Pepusch

Judy Skelton, Penny Layland (Flutes); George Goodall (Treble Recorder); Diana Locke (Tenor Recorder); Margaret Willson ('Cello); & Imogen Locke (Piano)

Concerto in D minor – Telemann

Emily Johnson, Kath Russell (Violins); Polly Kaufmann (Viola); Margaret Willson ('Cello); & Angela Ayton (Piano)

'Golden Slumbers' & 'Charlie is my Darling' from 'Four Old Tunes – Gordon Jacob

Heather Loebl (Flute); Annabel Crowe (Oboe); Theresa Hitching (Clarinet); & Mike Winterburn (Bassoon)

'Chariots Comin'!'

'Moon River' – Henry Mancini

'If My Friends Could See Me Now' – Cy Coleman

The Songbyrds

Directed by Benjamin Cox, accompanied by Jonathan Pease (Piano)

'Irish Tune from County Derry' & 'Shepherd's Hey' – Percy Grainger (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

I will be uploading the footage to our YouTube Channel as soon as I can...please bear with me - it's not a quick process! 

I'll be back to let you all know when the videos are all uploaded, but for now I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for your hard work again this term and making the concert such a success!

Class - 15th March

Last night's class was the last rehearsal before our concert next week...so we were busy, busy, busy! As well as rehearsing all of our small group pieces, I filmed our large group items for our Youtube channel...although I had a bit of a fail with that...my camera turned itself off, so I didn't get everything, so will have to record the rest, along with the chamber pieces, at the concert.

Small group items:

• 'Four Old Tunes' by Gordon Jacob - Heather, Annabel, Theresa & Mike
• Telemann Concerto in D minor - Emily, Kath, Polly, Margaret & Angela
• Quintet in F by Pepusch - Judy, Penny, George, Diana & Imogen
• Telemann Trio Sonata in G minor - Imogen, Diana, Margaret & Joan
• 'Scherzo & Trio in G minor' by Schubert - Heather, Penny, Polly, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• Haydn 'London Trio No. 1' - Heather, Judy & Margaret
• Boismortier Quartet in A minor - George, Emily, Kath & Angela

Class - 8th March

Normal service has resumed...the piano was no longer wedged in the doorway this evening, and it was good to be able to arrange ourselves in our usual positions again! We had almost a full house...we're yet to have everyone in attendance...the first time that happens this term may well be at the concert! Everything sounded really good tonight ...although it did take us a couple of attempts to all finish 'Shepherd's Hey' together...and here's only one more week to get that right - eeeek!

Small group items:

• 'London Trio' (No. 1) by Haydn - Heather, Judy & Margaret
• Trio Sonata in G minor by Telemann - Imogen, Diana, Margaret & Joan
• 'Scherzo & Trio in G minor' by Schubert - Heather, Penny, Polly, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• 'Sonata da Camera' by Janitsch - George, Judy, Emily, Kath & Angela

Class - 1st March

We were again confronted by a piano wedged in the doorway when we arrived at the Church this evening...but as you can see, we carried on regardless! It's not really practical for us all to crowd around the piano, so we again set up in our usual position and used the two keyboards instead, to rehearse our large ensemble pieces. We almost had a 'full house' tonight...and although there's a little more 'tweaking' to do in places, the pieces are all sounding good.

Small group items:

• 'Four Old Tunes' by Gordon Jacob - Heather, Annabel, Theresa & Mike
• Concerto in D minor by Telemann - Emily, Kath, Polly, Margaret & Angela
• Trio Sonata in G minor by Finger - George, Judy & Joan
• Trio Sonata in D minor by Telemann - Penny, Diana & Imogen

Class - 23rd February

We've had an interesting evening. When we arrived at the Church, our usual entrance displayed a sign stating it was closed...no problem...we have the key...but no...it was bolted on the inside...thankfully, the other door, (which is usually bolted) was not, so we were able to get in. Upon entering the building, it became obvious why the door was not to be used...there was a grand piano wedged in front of it! Apparently, some work had been done to the floor, and the piano was not to be moved back into it's usual position until the floor had hardened...so it had to remain in the doorway, which made for some interesting ensemble work!
We were all delighted to welcome George back this evening...although we did rather throw him in at the deep-end with some of our large ensemble pieces!

Small group items:

• Quintet in F major by Pepusch - Judy, Penny, Diana, George, Theresa & Imogen 
• Concerto in D minor by Telemann - Emily, Kath, Polly & Angela
• Trio Sonata in D major by Boismortier - Annabel, Mike & Joan

Class - 9th February

It was marginally warmer than last week inside the Church last night...despite the falling snow outside...and we continued to work on our large ensemble items...which are coming along nicely...although I'm expecting even more improvement next time, after all the furious half-term practising!

Small group items:

• 'Scherzo & Trio in G minor' by Schubert (arr. Emerson) - Heather, Penny, Polly, Helen, Anya, Theresa & Mike
• Concerto for Four Flutes by Telemann - Judy, Emily, Annabel & Kath
• Trio Sonata in G minor by Telemann - Imogen, Diana & Joan

Class - 2nd February

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr...it was a bit brass monkeys in the Church at last night's rehearsal! With only a couple of the heaters producing any heat, the Church's heating was no match for the sub-zero temperature outside...but we bravely carried on despite our frozen fingers! Our large ensemble pieces are all improving...we even attempted the accelerando at the end of 'Shepherd's Hey'!

Small group items:

• Quintet in F by J. C. Pepusch - Judy, Penny, Diana, Helen, Dermot & Imogen
• 'Flower Duet' from 'Lakme' by Delibes (Arr. H. Brammer) - Annabel, Theresa & Mike
• Suite in A minor by Telemann - Heather, Emily, Kath, Margaret & Angela

Class - 26th January

We seemed to have got over the shock of the key signature with five flats (and then five sharps for the clarinets), and made good progress this evening with our large ensemble pieces...adding dynamics (ranging from pp to fff!) in the 'Irish Tune from County Derry'...and picking up speed in 'Shepherd's Hey'...although we have yet to try it with an accelerando at the end!

Small group items:

• 'Marie Antoinette' by Scott Joplin (Arr. H. Brammer) - Polly, Dermot & Mike
• Trio Sonata in E minor by Telemann - Diana, Kath & Joan
• Sonata in Bb major by Fasch - Imogen, Judy, Emily, Margaret & Angela
• 'Cuckoo Quartet' by Ronald Hanmer - Heather, Penny, Theresa & Helen

Class - 19th January

This expression...accompanied by audible gasps...was the reaction to the discovery that tonight's new piece ('Scottish Dance No. 3' by Malcolm Arnold) had a key signature of five flats in the middle! By the third time through it didn't seem so bad though! We made good progress with our other large ensemble pieces...negotiating the tricky changes in tempi and time signatures in 'Fantasia on Greensleeves'...and we even managed to finish 'Shepherd's Hey' (more or less) together...and at a faster speed!

Small group items:

• 'Air on a G String' by J. S. Bach (Arr. Karen Evans) - Heather, Polly & Dermot
• Divertimento no. 1 in Bb Major by Mozart - Penny, Theresa & Mike
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Telemann - Imogen, Diana & Joan
• Concerto in G Minor by Vivaldi - Emily, Kath, Margaret & Angela