Ripieno

Back to All Saints' Weston Green last weekend for their summer concert, having missed, for one reason or another their last two, making it just about a year since we last saw the Ripieno Choir (see reference 1).

I had forgotten what a good place this church is for a concert of this sort. The illustration gives the idea, but the church is well worth a visit if you happen to be in the vicinity of gmaps 51.3841446, -0.3492391. Failing that I have just discovered that you get a virtual tour of the inside of the church as part of the google maps service. See, for example, the handsome chancel - very plain for a place which describes itself as liberal catholic within the Church of England. The only slightly off note was the large sign hanging over the door advertising their upcoming Wild West themed church fête, for all the world like a sign advertising a car boot sale at Hook Road.

The conductor explained that it was a variety programme, acknowledging that some people liked to get stuck into someone - say Tomás Luis de Victoria - while others liked more variety. Although I incline to the stuck in camp, I was told off, as it were, this morning by the late Charles Rosen in his book 'Piano Notes' - and a pianist whom, as it happened, we were lucky enough to have heard back in 2007 (see reference 2). His point being that tastes & fashions in these matters have changed a great deal over time and so, by inference, it was perhaps better not to get too precious about it. He also mentions the case of some of Bach's music, now regularly played in the concert hall, which was perhaps only intended for private consumption at the time it was written, perhaps something to use for a work-out with one of his pupils; a work-out featuring just score, instrument, pupil and master.

Anyway, we did have a mixed programme, but dominated by the work of Rutter, Taverner and Britten. Added to the mix we also had a large flute, with a 'B' extension at the end (or something), from which we had Debussy's Syrinx and Clarke's Zoom Tube.

In the event I liked it all a lot better than I had thought likely from the programme. But I don't think I need to hear Zoom Tube again, demonstration of Catherine Coulter-Young's oral mastery or not. The only mistake to my mind was having some flute accompaniment to the choir for one of the early pieces, with us being between the choir and the flute, which did not work for me.

Outside we were able to admire what appeared to be a large cherry tree, much higher at least than a standard apple. Trunk getting on for a foot in diameter at the base.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/ripieno.html.

Reference 2: http://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Rosen+Appassionata+Diabelli.