![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Our time in York is running down, and we've had four more concerts. Two of them, sadly, had no place at all in a series of Early Music. After hearing The Messiah at York Minster on Saturday we went back to the Early Music Center for "Chalmie" on Sunday. We knew this was a performance of the young musicians' group but hoped for a very positive recital. It wasn't. There were four adult sponsors of the group doing Victorian music hall turns that went from ludicrous to kind of cute, but had no place at all in an early music concert. The young musicians played a very few numbers and danced a couple of English Country dances and were dressed a la Kate Greenaway in mostly Regency outfits (while the adults were in slightly worse for wear mid-Victorian). I think we were the only people there who weren't parents, grandparents, or next-door-neighbors of the youngsters. As a fill in, it was pretty poor.
Monday night however was Joglaresa and if you ever get a chance to see or hear this group perform, jump at the opportunity. They have really fun with early music. They sing and play (viol, harp, various drums and tambors) with great skill and draw their repretoire from everything to Latin church music to bawdy Italian and French songs. But clearly, and successfully, their purpose is to entertain. So many early music groups take themselves and their music so seriously that you can't tell a litany from a dirty lyric. Joglaresa shares their joy in all of the music they do - they are magnificent and unique.
But Tuesday brought us to an evening - wildly popular and totally sold out to more seats than the center could comfortably hold - Russian Gypsy violin music. The two violinists were clearly virtuousi, but they had nothing to do with either Christmas or early music. They had been instructed to tell stories and reminisce about Christmas in Russia, but whoever came up with that idea was clearly not thinking correctly. Although both of the artists were classically trained in Russia, they would have had to be well over 100 years old to remember anything about Russian Christmas customs - both were brought up in the mid to late 20th century communist regime that never celebrated a Christmas holiday. So although the music was good, it wasn't at all to our taste. Let's just leave it the7re and hope the tickets helped fill the coffers at the NCEM.
Last night, Wednesday, we taxied out to Sir Jack Lyon Hall at the University of York to hear the UoY Chorus and Baroque Ensemble sing a Charpentier oratorio and some Bach. Seventy-nine young people - surely not one of them over 23 - and a nice chamber orchestra of mostly young musicians with a few grey heads (probably faculty) filling the odd instrumental positions. The singing was excellent, including the solos, and expecially one young man who song counter-tenor in the last performance. I was really amazed and the purity and training of the voices. And now tonight we get Sackbutts and Cornamuses, again at the NCEM venue. Looking forward to that performance, but not to the very cold, foggy, and nasty evening we have to go out in to get there and back again.
Speaking of There and Back Again, we went down to the cinema and saw the opening run of The Hobbit at noon today. So I can tell you that I have seen The Hobbit, and I liked it a lot. I showed up at the theatre here in York 40 minutes early because I was sure there would be a line. No one but no one there, and the doors locked. Doors opened about 20 minutes before and a total of nine people in the theatre to see the non-3D version. The music was good, they used themes (Gollum's theme, the ring theme, Gandalf's theme) from the LotR film and added some dwarf songs and some new music. PJ has added a side story (Dol Goldur and the Necromancer) that was just hinted at in the book, but was told in more detail in other works. But the main story is there and much of it in Tolkien's dialog. I liked it. Even Kent liked it. I might even go see it in 3D over the holidays. I imagine the goblin kingdom is awesome and terrifying in 3D - it was well done just in 2D.
we've had some good meals. A lunch and a dinner at a restaurant on Gillygate called Mamma Mia that is a bright exception to the rule that you should never eat at a place called "Mamma's". Kent has taken me to Drake's Fish and Chips on Low Petergate. The fish was fine, but I found the restaurant (if you can call it that) tawdry, dingy, and a bit dirty. we skipped dinner on Tuesday after a huge lunch at Mamma Mia's, but did have nice mince pie's and hot wine back at The Coach House before we turned in. We had dinner here on Monday as well and some of the best Garlic Mushrooms I've had. They do a nice meal for a good price and it's nice to not have to head out into the cold until time to go to the next concert.
Monday night however was Joglaresa and if you ever get a chance to see or hear this group perform, jump at the opportunity. They have really fun with early music. They sing and play (viol, harp, various drums and tambors) with great skill and draw their repretoire from everything to Latin church music to bawdy Italian and French songs. But clearly, and successfully, their purpose is to entertain. So many early music groups take themselves and their music so seriously that you can't tell a litany from a dirty lyric. Joglaresa shares their joy in all of the music they do - they are magnificent and unique.
But Tuesday brought us to an evening - wildly popular and totally sold out to more seats than the center could comfortably hold - Russian Gypsy violin music. The two violinists were clearly virtuousi, but they had nothing to do with either Christmas or early music. They had been instructed to tell stories and reminisce about Christmas in Russia, but whoever came up with that idea was clearly not thinking correctly. Although both of the artists were classically trained in Russia, they would have had to be well over 100 years old to remember anything about Russian Christmas customs - both were brought up in the mid to late 20th century communist regime that never celebrated a Christmas holiday. So although the music was good, it wasn't at all to our taste. Let's just leave it the7re and hope the tickets helped fill the coffers at the NCEM.
Last night, Wednesday, we taxied out to Sir Jack Lyon Hall at the University of York to hear the UoY Chorus and Baroque Ensemble sing a Charpentier oratorio and some Bach. Seventy-nine young people - surely not one of them over 23 - and a nice chamber orchestra of mostly young musicians with a few grey heads (probably faculty) filling the odd instrumental positions. The singing was excellent, including the solos, and expecially one young man who song counter-tenor in the last performance. I was really amazed and the purity and training of the voices. And now tonight we get Sackbutts and Cornamuses, again at the NCEM venue. Looking forward to that performance, but not to the very cold, foggy, and nasty evening we have to go out in to get there and back again.
Speaking of There and Back Again, we went down to the cinema and saw the opening run of The Hobbit at noon today. So I can tell you that I have seen The Hobbit, and I liked it a lot. I showed up at the theatre here in York 40 minutes early because I was sure there would be a line. No one but no one there, and the doors locked. Doors opened about 20 minutes before and a total of nine people in the theatre to see the non-3D version. The music was good, they used themes (Gollum's theme, the ring theme, Gandalf's theme) from the LotR film and added some dwarf songs and some new music. PJ has added a side story (Dol Goldur and the Necromancer) that was just hinted at in the book, but was told in more detail in other works. But the main story is there and much of it in Tolkien's dialog. I liked it. Even Kent liked it. I might even go see it in 3D over the holidays. I imagine the goblin kingdom is awesome and terrifying in 3D - it was well done just in 2D.
we've had some good meals. A lunch and a dinner at a restaurant on Gillygate called Mamma Mia that is a bright exception to the rule that you should never eat at a place called "Mamma's". Kent has taken me to Drake's Fish and Chips on Low Petergate. The fish was fine, but I found the restaurant (if you can call it that) tawdry, dingy, and a bit dirty. we skipped dinner on Tuesday after a huge lunch at Mamma Mia's, but did have nice mince pie's and hot wine back at The Coach House before we turned in. We had dinner here on Monday as well and some of the best Garlic Mushrooms I've had. They do a nice meal for a good price and it's nice to not have to head out into the cold until time to go to the next concert.
