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 @ Judy's

At our second summer music gathering of the season, we had a marathon music-making session...here's what we played:

• 'Tahiti- Trot (Tea for Two)' by Shostakovich
• 'Marche Militaire' by Schubert
• 'Alle Hornpipe' from 'The Water Music' by Handel
• 'Sinfonia' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Rondo' from the 'Suite in B Minor' by J. S. Bach
• 'Sicilienne' by Faure
• 'I Feel Pretty' from 'West Side Story' by Bernstein
• 'Bouree' from 'The Water Music' by Handel
• Overture to 'The Mastersingers of Nurenberg' by Wagner
• 'Allegro moderato' from Brandenburg Concerto No. 3' by J. S. Bach
• 'Elizabethan Serenade' by Ronald Binge

Thanks to everyone for the delicious food, and to Judy for being a wonderful host.

Class - 17th October

Large ensemble pieces:

• 'Overture Miniature' & 'Waltz of the Flowers' from 'The Nutcracker' by Tchaikovsky (Arr. H. Brammer) 
• 'Chanson de Matin' & 'Chanson de Nuit' by Elgar (Arr. H. Brammer)

Small group items:

• 'Sonata IV' by Corelli - Emily, Kath, John, Helen & Angela
• 'Sonata in D Minor' by Schickhardt - Heather, George, Imogen, Mike & Joan
• 'Three movements of Handel' - Penny, Maureen, Annabel, Theresa, Nicola & Diana

Class - 3rd October

We started work on our final ensemble piece this week ('Overture Miniature' from 'The Nutcracker')...speed may be the challenge with this one!...and continued with the other pieces too.

Small group items:

• J. C. Bach 'Quintet in D Major' - Heather, Annabel, Polly, Mike & Angela
• 'Three Movements from Mr Handel' - Alison, Judy, Theresa & Diana
• Haydn 'London Trios' - Penny, Imogen & Helen
• Keller 'Sonata in C' - George, Maureen, Kath, John, Rod & Joan

Summer Music @ Diana's

We had another Summer Music gathering last Thursday...it was a rather large group this time and was hosted by Diana, who spent the evening with her double bass in the 'minstrel's gallery'! We selected the music using our usual system...here's what we played:

• 'Bouree' from 'The Water Music' by Handel
• Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 'Allegro assai' by J. S. Bach
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams
• 'Promenade' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky
• 'Capriol Suite' by Peter Warlock
• 'Olympic Fanfare & Theme' by John Williams
• 'Chanson de Matin' Elgar
• 'Sinfonia' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
•  'Rondo' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart
• 'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• Theme from 'Blackadder' by Howard Goodall
• 'Overture' from 'Suite in B Minor' by J. S. Bach

Well, I think you'll agree that we had earned our refreshments after all that! Thank you to Diana for a lovely evening!

We have one more Summer gathering before term starts...at Imogen's on September 5th.

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!

Concert - 11th July

We had a lovely summer's evening for our end of term concert,and a rather 'select' audience...although it did seem to grow during the course of the concert! If you weren't there, here's what you missed:

 

Programme

'Overture' to 'The Mastersingers of Nurenburg' – Richard Wagner (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Largo & Allegro' from Trio Sonata in G Minor – G. F. Handel

George Goodall & Imogen Locke (Treble Recorders); Margaret Willson ('Cello); & Joan Goodall (Piano)

'Variations on the theme “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart's “Don Giovanni” - Beethoven

Heather Loebl (Flute); Helen Brammer (Clarinet); & Mike Winterburn (Bassoon)

'A Musical Joke' – W. A. Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer)

Theresa Hitching, Nicola Thompson & Helen Brammer (Clarinets)

'Allegro moderato' from 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 3' – J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Send in the Clowns' – Stephen Sondheim (Arr. H. Brammer)

Theresa Hitching, Nicola Thompson (Clarinets); Kath Russell, Rod Lackey, John Marshall (Violins); Polly Kaufmann (Viola); Diana Locke (Double Bass); & Angela Ayton (Piano)

'Largo & Allegro molto' from Concerto in C Major – Vivaldi

Heather Loebl, Judy Skelton (Flutes); Polly Kaufmann (Viola); Mike Winterburn (Bassoon); & Angela Ayton (Piano)

'March, Canzonetta & Tirolese' from 'Soirees Musicales' – Rossini/Britten (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

We of course enjoyed an 'after party' hosted once again by Mike and Angela (thank you!), with delicious food and drinks.

I filmed the concert, and the videos have been uploaded to our YouTube channel, so if you fancy having a look (or re-living the occasion!) click the link in the sidebar to watch them.

We will be having some 'Summer Music' gatherings over the course of the summer break, starting with a visit to Nicola's on the 1st of August.

Class - 4th July

It was the last class before our concert this week, so despite the fact we were missing a few players, we put the finishing touches to our laarge ensemble pieces, and also managed to get through most of the small group pieces too!

Small group items:

• 'Variations on "La ci darem la mano" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni"' by Beethoven - Heather, Helen & Mike
• 'Send in the Clowns' by Stephen Sondheim - Kath, John, Polly, Diana & Angela
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Handel - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• Sonatas for Two Flutes by Telemann - Judy & Maureen
• Concerto in C Major by Vivaldi - Heather, Judy, Polly, Mike & Angela
• 'Rondeau' by Mouret - Maureen, Diana, Kath & John

Class - 27th June

We're getting to the 'sharp end' of term, with only one more class to go after this week before our concert, so there was much to do this evening! 

Small group items:

• Concerto in C Major by Vivaldi - Heather, Judy, Polly, Mike & Angela
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Handel - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'A Musical Joke' by Mozart - Theresa, Nicola & Helen
• Concerto for Four Flutes by Telemann - Alison, Maureen, Kath, John & Diana

Class - 13th June

We had a visitor this evening...a composer who may be comissioned to write a piece especially for us! He listened (and offered some constructive feedback) to all of our large ensemble pieces, then worked with one of the small groups - and seemed very positive about working with us.

Small group items:

• Concerto in C Major by Vivaldi - Heather, Judy, Alison, Polly, Mike & Angela
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Handel - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Greensleeves' (Arr. H. Brammer) - Theresa, Nicola, Rod & John

Class - 14th March

Ok, it was all systems go...it was our last chance to rehearse our concert pieces, and we had a deadline...the Songbyrds were arriving at 8.30pm...so we had to whizz through everything else before they arrived! Our joint pieces with the Songyrds sounded great - it was good to know that we hadn't forgotten all the things we talked about the last time!

Small group items:

• 'Rondeau' from 'Abdelazer' by Purcell (Arr. H. Brammer) - Penny, Judy, Theresa, Nicola, Mike, Kath, John & Rod 
• 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' by Bach (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Imogen, Maureen, Margaret & Angela
• 'Sentimental Journey' by Brown, Green & Homer & 'Music for the Royal Fireworks' by Handel (Arr. van der Goot) - Alison, Dermot, Polly & Helen
• 'Promenade - Walking the Dog' by Gershwin (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Alison, Polly, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• Trio Sonata in F Major by Telemann - Penny, Imogen, Margaret & Maureen
• 'Music for the Royal Fireworks' by Handel & 'Fiddler on the Roof by Harnick & Bock (Arr. van der Goot) - Annabel, Dermot, Nicola, Kath, John, Rod, Diana & Angela

Class - 28th February

Our first joint rehearsal with the Songbyrds was a huge success - the two joint pieces ('Cantique de Jean Racine' & 'I feel pretty') sounded great together! Having a conductor was a new experience for some members of the Broken Consort...and we're all really looking forward to our next joint rehearsal when hopefully everyone will be there. We still found some time to whizz through our other large ensemble pieces, and even managed to get some of the other concert pieces rehearsed too!

Small group items:

• 'Promenade - Walking the Dog' by Gershwin (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Alison, Polly, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• Trio Sonata in F by Telemann - George, Penny, Margaret & Imogen
• 'Music for the Royal Fireworks' by Handel & 'Carnival of the Animals' by Saint-Saens (Arr. J van der Goot) - Maureen, Kath, John, Rod, Joan & Angela

Concert 6th December

Our winter concert was a great success...we had a small, but very appreciative, audience including some new faces...and enjoyed a wonderful evening of music-making. If you weren't there...here's what you missed:

Programme

'Mack the Knife' from 'The Threepenny Opera' – Kurt Weill (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Tango Ballad' from 'The Threepenny Opera' – Kurt Weill (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Plaisir d'Amour' – Martini (Arr. H. Brammer)

Penny (Flute); Margaret ('Cello) & Imogen (Piano)

'Vivace & Allemande Allegro' from Sonata in F major – Schickhardt

Heather (Flute); Imogen (Treble Recorder); Annabel (Oboe); Margaret ('Cello) & Joan (Piano)

'Sarabande' (from '11^th Suite') – Handel (Arr. H. Brammer)

Judy (Flute); George, Maureen (Treble Recorders); Theresa, Dermot (Clarinets); Kath, John (Violins); & Mike (Bassoon)

 'Adagio ma non tanto & Allegro' from Sonata in F – J. S. Bach

George (Treble Recorder) & Joan (Piano)

'1920's Ragtime Bassoons' – Mike Walton

Mike (Bassoon); Helen (Bass Clarinet); Margaret ('Cello); & Diana (Double Bass)

'Rondeaux – Allegretto' from 'Kegelstatt Trio' – Mozart

Helen (Clarinet); Polly (Viola); & Angela (Piano)

'Let It Snow!/Winter Wonderland' (Arr. James Hayes)

Heather (Flute); Annabel (Oboe); Theresa, Dermot (Clarinets); & Mike (Bassoon)

'Les Patineurs (The Skaters)' – Waldteufel (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

I've been uploading all of the videos of the performances to our YouTube Channel...in fact that's the reason for the delay in posting this...I was waiting until I'd done them all, but had rather a lot of problems uploading the last couple of files, but I think that's fixed now, and I shall be uploading the last video tonight...click here to go stright to our channel.

Of course there was an after-concert party, hosted by Angela & Mike (thank you!), where much delicious food (and drink!) was consumed...and most exciting of all...I was presented with the most fabulous gift for us all:
 

Broken Consort pencils!

I shall be handing these out to everyone at the start of next term...now there'll be no excuse for not having a pencil handy!  

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all of you...I'll be back after our first class of next term on January 10th 2013.

Class - November 29th

This was the last class before our end of term concert, so there was lots to do! We put the finishing touches to our full ensemble pieces ('Mack the Knife', 'Tango Ballad' and 'Les Patineurs'), then whizzed through the small group items...we even had time for a few 'just for fun' pieces too!

Here's what we played:

• 'Kegelstatt Trio' by Mozart - Helen, Polly & Angela 
• 'Plaisir d'amour' by Martini - Penny, Margaret & Imogen 
• Sonata in F major by Schickhardt - Heather, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Sarabande' from 'Suite 11' by Handel - Judy, George, Maureen, Dermot, Kath, John & Mike
• 'Let it Snow/Winter Wonderland' (Arr. James Hayes) - Heather, Annabel, Theresa, Dermot & Mike
• 'Orpheus Fantasy' by Offenbach (Arr. Jan van der Goot) - George, Maureen, Judy, Helen, Kath, John, Polly & Angela
• 'Sleigh Ride' by Leroy Anderson (Arr. Jan van der Goot) - George, Maureen, Judy, Helen, Kath, John, Polly & Angela
• ;Let It Snow' by Sammy Cahn (Arr. Jan van der Goot) - George, Maureen, Judy, Helen, Kath, John, Polly & Angela

Class - 15th November

Ooops...totally forgot to do this (again!).
With the concert only a couple of weeks away, everything is coming together nicely...and we even managed to get through the opening section of 'Les Patineurs' without me stamping my foot to keep us in time! 

Small group items:

• '1920's Ragtime Bassoons' by Mike Walton - Mike, Helen, Margaret & Diana
• Sonata in F major by Schickhardt - Heather, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Sarabande' from 'Suite 11' by Handel - Judy, George, Maureen, Dermot, Kath, John & Mike
• 'Allegro molto' by Beethoven (Arr. H. Brammer) - Penny, Polly, Theresa & Angela

Class & AGM - 8th November

We were at full capacity at last week's class...we even had another prospective new member (Maureen on treble recorder) too! So, we were able to make good progress with our full group pieces...and also managed to whizz through lots of the small ensemble items for next month's concert before a record-breaking AGM - all done in 15 minutes...perhaps aided by some yummy belgium chocolates!

Small group items:

• 'Kegelstatt Trio' by Mozart - Helen, Polly & Angela
• 'Five Gershwin Melodies for Four Woodwinds' (Arr. Denwood ) - Heather, Diana, Theresa & Mike
• 'Sarabande' from 'Suite 11' by Handel - Judy, George, Maureen, Dermot, Kath, John & Mike
•  Sonata in F major by Schickhardt - Heather, Imogen, Annabel & Joan
• 'Plaisir d'amour' by Martini - Penny, Margaret & Imogen

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.

Summer Music @ Heather's

We had our first 'Summer Music' session of the holiday last night, hosted by Heather. It was a lovely evening, and we entertained Heather's neighbours with a selection of some of our old favourites...picked at random. Here's what we played:

• 'Allegro Assai' from 'Brandenburg Concerto No.2' by J S Bach
• 'Hallelujah Chorus' from 'The Messiah' by Handel
• 'Folksongs from Somerset' from 'English Folksong Suite by Vaughan Williams
• 'Wedding Day at Troldhaugen' by Grieg
• 'Sicilienne' by Faure
• 'Romance' from 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'by Mozart
• 'Chanson de Nuit' by Elgar
• 'Overture' to Suite in B minor by J S Bach
• 'Alla hornpipe' from 'The Water Music' by Handel
• Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart

After the music making, there was of course some food and drink to be enjoyed...a most delicious spread! You can see the aftermath in this panoramic photo below:

(Click the photo for a better view)

Thank you to Heather for a wonderful evening...I can confirm that you will recieve a 5* rating!

PS - I have updated the dates for next term on the 'Term Dates' page (click the tab at the top of the page to view).

Class - 24th November

We had another 'whistle stop tour' through our pieces for next week's concert at our class last night. In addition to working on our large ensemble pieces...which I filmed and will be adding to our YouTube channel as soon as I find the time...we managed to get through most of the small group items too.

Here's what we played:

• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa & Dermot
• 'Subjects Obey Army Farm' by Donaldson & Kahn (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Polly, Diana & Imogen
• Woodwind Trio by M. Hedien - Penny, Judy & Mike
• 'Serenade for Seven' (with 6 players this week) by Ronald Hanmer - Penny, Judy, Annabel, Theresa, Dermot & Mike
• 'Chants sans paroles' by Tchaikovsky (Arr. Sobrielo) - George, Margaret & Angela
• Trio in D minor by Boismortier - Emily, Diana & Kath
• Quartet in D minor 'Tafelmusik' by Telemann - George, Imogen, Heather, Margaret & Joan
• Something by Handel that I didn't catch the name of... - Annabel, Polly & Angela

Class - 10th November

Tonight's class was a little bit different...with the Church being used for a rehearsal for the licensing of their new vicar, we decamped to two of our members' houses to rehearse some small chamber group pieces. It worked quite well...although I needed to run back and forth to hear what was going on everywhere...thankfully the houses were quite close together!

Here's what we played at Kath's:

• Quartet in D minor 'Tafelmusik' by Telemann - George, Imogen, Heather*, Margaret & Joan
• Trio in D minor by Boismortier - Emily, Diana & Kath
• Trio Sonata in G minor by Pepusch - George, Diana & Imogen 
• Trio Sonatas by Corelli - Emily, Kath, Margaret & Joan
• And apparently something by Handel that I didn't hear...

And at Angela & Mikes:

• Woodwind Trio by M. Hedien - Penny, Judy & Mike
• 'Vocalise' by Rachmaninov - Theresa, Dermot & Angela
• 'Fantasy' by Faure - Heather*, Helen & Angela
• 'Serenade for Seven' (with only 5 players!) by Ronald Hanmer - Penny, Judy, Theresa, Dermot & Mike

 * I don't know how Heather managed to be in two places at once?!

Thank you to our hosts for a most enjoyable evening!