🦋 Corelli, Holst
This afternoon is the first meeting of the chamber music workshop for the spring. In the fall, we played Corelli's Concerto Grosso Opus 6 #7 -- and I've gotta say, I don't think too much of it as a piece of music. It is in 6 movements; and none of the movements individually nor the group of them considered together feels like a song to me. There are interesting bits and pieces but it seems like they could be rearranged in a different order or portions cut out, without materially affecting the experience of the piece. I find this to be true both of playing the concerto and of listening to it on tape. This term we are playing Holst's Brook Green Suite and at least from listening to the tape, I think it is going to be a lot more fun -- its three movements taken together really form an organic whole that I can identify with. The pause between the second and third movements holds as much suspense as the pause in the opening of "The Yip Song". I'm looking forward to playing it. I am playing viola this time! I'm very excited about that. I've been practicing the viola part to the first movement and it seems like it will be within my ability, though the reading is going to be a bit of a stretch. I'm having a hard time hearing the viola part on the tape -- I guess my ears are more used to listening to the melody.  (What I mean, I guess, is that the Holst is definitely something I would recommend to a friend for listening; the Corelli, not. But Mike tells me other songs by Corelli are very good, so I should reserve judgement on the composer.)
posted afternoon of Saturday, January 19th, 2008
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