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.

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 @ 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!

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 @ Annabel's

We had our second summer music gathering of the holiday last night, this time hosted by Annabel. Again the music was selected at random...here's what we played:

• 'Tirolese' from 'Soirees Musicales' by Benjamin Britten
• 'Promenade' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky
• 'Chanson de Matin' by Elgar
•  'Waltz' by Shostakovich
• 'Sinfonia' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Polka' from 'Jazz Suite No. 1' by Shostakovich
• 'Minuetto' from 'L'Arlesienne' by Bizet
• 'Capriol Suite' by Peter Warlock
• 'Allegro moderato' from 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 3' by J. S. Bach
• 'Peer Gynt Suite No. 1' by Greig

After playing, we enjoyed a delicious feast...I don't have a photo of us this time, but did snap the cakes before they were devoured!

Thanks for a lovely evening Annabel...see (some of) you again next week!

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).

Summer Music @ Polly's

Our summer music sessions came to an end last night, with a most enjoyable evening hosted by Polly - thank you! We played a lovely (and varied!) selection of old (and not so old) favourites, then devoured a delicious feast, but the best thing about the evening was seeing Joan (and George!) up and about, and playing piano again!

Here's what we played:

• 'The Great Gate of Kiev' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition - Mussorgsky (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Serenade' - Bourgeois (Arr. H. Brammer)
• Andantino from 'The Trout Quintet' - Schubert (Arr. H. Brammer)
• Theme from 'Blackadder' - Goodall (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Fiddler on the Roof' Medley - Harnick & Bock (Arr. van der Goot)
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'English Folk Song Suite' - Vaughan Williams (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Rondo' from 'Suite in B Minor' - J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Capriol Suite' - Warlock (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Promenade' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' - Mussorgsky (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - Allegro' - J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)

Just a quick reminder before I go - term starts in two weeks (on September 15th). Looking forward to seeing everyone again...and working on some new music.

Summer Music @ Annabel's

We had another lovely summer music soiree last night, this time hosted by Annabel. Once again there was a feast of delicious food to be enjoyed after some musical fun. We delved into the depths of the music boxes and pulled out some old favourites, some of which hadn't seen the light of day since we performed them in a concert 5 or 6 years ago! There was also discussion of where to promote & advertise our group using the wonderful posters Penny has designed for us...and I'm going to try and make the blog more 'Googlebot' friendly, so you may notice some changes to the layout over the next few days - I promise I'm not doing it to confuse you!

Anyway, here's what we played last night:

• 'Fiddler on the Roof' Medley - Harnick & Bock (Arr. van der Goot)
• Theme from 'Blackadder' - Goodall (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 - Allegro Assai' - J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'English Folk Song Suite' - Vaughan Williams (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Sicilienne' - Faure (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Tirolese' from 'Soirees Musicales' - Britten/Rossini (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Karelia - Suite' - Sibelius (Arr. van der Goot)
• 'Hallelujah Chorus' - Handel (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Capriol Suite' - Warlock (Arr. . Brammer)

Summer Music @ Kath's

A most enjoyable evening was had last night, as we kicked off this year's 'Summer Music' soirees with an evening of music (and delicous food!) at Kath's. Music was chosen by 'Lucky Dip' from a huge selection of old favourites...here's what we played:

• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'English Folk Song Suite' - Vaughan Williams (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Funeral March of a Marionette' - Gounod (Arr. van der Goot)
• 'Serenade' - Derek Bourgeois (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Peter & the Wolf' - Prokofiev (Arr. van der Goot)
• 'Brandenburg Concerto No 3 - Allegro' - J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Chanson de Matin' - Elgar (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Slavonic Dance No 8' - Dvorak (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Overture' from 'Suite in B Minor' - J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Alla Hornpipe' from 'The Water Music' - Handel (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' - Stravinsky (Arr. H. Brammer)

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In other news...

We now have a YouTube Channel! 

At the moment there is only one video - edited highlights of the small group items from our last concert. You may have noticed that video has also been added to the top of our blog, so you can also watch it on here. I now have audio recordings of our full ensemble pieces from that concert (thank you Dermot!), and have turned those into videos too, with some of the photos from the concert. I will be uploading those to our channel over the next couple of days (it's not a quick process!), and will let you know when they're ready for your viewing pleasure!

I've added a new page for 'Term Dates' - hopefully this should make it easier for everyone to find. I've not added dates for the Spring and Summer terms 2012 yet, but will update the page when those have been finalised.