It feels as though so much time has passed since my last entry on here though I suspect that the interval is no longer than usual. It’s been a busy time at work and play for yours truly.
Sunday’s highlight was a trip the fabulous Bridgwater Hall in Manchester to hear the BBC Philharmonic perform the world premier of a new piece by William Orbit the concert was recorded for Radio 3. The orchestral suite also featured the 18 strong Manchester Chamber Choir. I must admit to not being at all familiar with William Orbit and still have some mixed feelings about the piece though there were some very emotive moments, particularly in the first movement when the choir are in full flow. I couldn’t help feeling that at other moments however, the piece sounded a little like the transposition of a rock tune to orchestra; never a good idea! Other attractive parts appeared to be unmistakably John Adams like and emulated those shimmering string textures like delicate drones layered over a pulsing bass, but these enchanting refrains nearly always jolted into odd and rather awkward sounding resolutions which spoilt the whole effect for me.
Monday morning’s work commitments and the awkward commute home meant that we were unable to stay for the following discussion with Mr Orbit himself but it was all, never the less, a pleasant reengagement with actual cultural events. I seem to have become rather isolated from these activities in recent years even though Manchester is yet again buzzing with significant cultural energy as befitting the ‘Manchester International Festival and the prospect of rejoining a life immersed in the cities multifarious arts and concert venues is definitely appealing.
Other music of the moment.
Donald Byrd Stepping Into Tomorrow and Places and Spaces
A general nostalgia for the good old days of 70s Jazz, R’n’B, Funk etc has lad me to discover (via Roy Ayres) a certain Mr Donald Byrd. Though strangely enough a lot of his stuff is quite familiar again thanks to Mike Chadwick’s erstwhile ‘Cutting Edge’ show, a now fading memory of a the days when Jazz FM was like an Aladdin’s cave of unfamiliar music both old and new and often explored territories where even Giles Peterson would fear to tread. Donald Byrd’s back catalogue has astounding scope literally moving from full-on 60s free form to 70s funk / soul renditions that are just a tad more ‘edgy’ than many of his contemporaries. This transition (I hasten to add) is considerably more adept than say Miles Davis’s awful 80s foray into electro funk or the 70s ‘Bitches Brew’ mess up.