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Musical Brain Power
I have been unable to play the violin for 11 weeks now. People ask me, ‘Are you going crazy?’ Well, I have to admit, sometimes I wonder. I haven’t been bored for one minute, but I have had more than one moment that feels like madness. Time is one problematic area for me. Its not just a question of having trouble remembering what day it is. Time sometimes seems to kaleidoscope so that, for example, I won’t be able to remember whether something happened yesterday or last week. Perhaps you will tell me that is just due to lack of routine. Maybe. But there are other things. I had to phone a shop 3 times in a row, because I kept giving them the wrong phone number. I just couldn’t remember my own number. That’s not normal, for me.
So I am left wondering, what does this tell me about how my brain works - or rather, doesn’t work? I was particularly excited to hear a lecture from Dr Katie Overy (from the Institute for Music in Human and Social Development) on ‘Music and the Brain’ during the ‘Arts in Prison’ conference that I attended in Edinburgh last week. (Or was it last month?) Research shows that music can facilitate the learning of verbal language, memory and motor skills - and that’s just for starters. One of the reasons that music is so powerful is because it seems to involve more parts of the brain than any other human activity. Another point that came glaring out of the lecture at me was that musicians brains seem to differ from non-musicians brains, [would SCO Management have anything to add to that?] possibly because musical training changes the brain function and structure.
But I think the most important thing that I heard in the lecture was that the most powerful musical experience is to be found in hearing it performed live . That’s because hearing someone’s music is to hear another’s presence. Playing music together - synchronized group music activity - is said to enhance co-operative social behaviour within the group. So that’s why I am off this evening to hear my colleagues presence in Beethoven 8 - because they are fantastic, I miss them, and the experience of hearing them play will, as I now know, literally do me some good.
Subscriber concerts and the Bahamas
SCO Principal Flute Alison Mitchell talks about the enjoyment of the SCO's Subscriber concerts and how they will lead to performances in the Bahamas.
This is it, my first ever blog, so here goes!
Have you ever been offered an unexpected trip to the Caribbean? Probably not, and neither had I until an email, in February 2009, popped up in my mailbox asking me if I was interested in organising a wind group to perform a couple of concerts in Nassau, Bahamas. As you can imagine, an opportunity like this is very motivating and I immediately set about forming the Scottish Chamber Soloists, a group of wind players from SCO namely myself on flute, Maxi on Clarinet, Pete on Bassoon and the wonderful pianist Scott Mitchell (no relation) also a familiar face to SCO audiences.
We wanted our launch concerts as an ensemble to be in Scotland and the perfect platform for these would be the SCO Subscribers' concerts where we knew how much the audience would appreciate hearing some more unusual and rarely performed works, even a world premiere!
As we set about putting together a programme we discovered, rather surprisingly, that there was nothing much of note written for flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano. Oh dear, this was a considerable stumbling block! However this opened up the perfect opportunity to develop new repertoire and support a Scottish composer by commissioning a new work especially for the ensemble. With the generous support of both the SCO and the Scottish Arts Council we were able to commission our first work specifically for our unusual ensemble.
Our composer of choice was Rory Boyle, and he composed Dance MacAber! Here are his programme notes from the front of the score which will give you an idea about the music.
This piece was commissioned by flautist Alison Mitchell on behalf of the Scottish Chamber Soloists who gave the first performance in the Strathclyde Suite of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in December 2009.
The players wanted something that felt Scottish but without any obvious pastiche and, for some reason, I started to think about the title "Danse macabre" and how I might use it to draw together a suite of movements inspired by Scottish dances which seemed to me to be the best way of meeting the players request. The word "macabre" can also be spelt "macaber" so it seemed reasonable to invent the Scots sounding surname "MacAber", change the noun to a verb and add an exclamation mark to stisfy what I had in mind.
The work falls into 3 sections played without a break, which are: Gigue, Interlude with Sarabande and Strathspey, and Reel.
I have tried to capture the spirit of the Scottish dances in the music as well as hinting at the macabre element although, hopefully, a sense of manic fun pervades the whole work." © Rory Boyle
Our last Subscriber concert, in Edinburgh later this month, will be our farewell concert before we head off to the Bahamas for concerts on the 26th and 27th March. ( A wee bit of warm weather will be very much appreciated after the long winter) This will be our fourth performance of Rory's Dance MacAber! and we are finally getting to grips with its intricacies and very complicated rhythms!!
As well as Dance MacAber! we're playing two very contrasting works. To start the performance we'll play an early Beethoven opus, WoO37, Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano and Maxi, Pete and Scott will end the programme with the gorgeous Trio Pathetique by Glinka for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano.
It's been a fantastic project to develop and commissioning a new work was a first for me. We've had a brilliant time playing together and are looking forward to further projects and maybe another new commission!
We look forward to the performance for our Edinburgh Subscribers.
Scrapers & Tooters Edinburgh
Last weekend was a very busy weekend for SCO Education. Scrapers & Tooters returned to Edinburgh with 63 enthusiastic amateur musicians from across the country. Dedicated scrapers travelled from as far a field as Nairn and Jedburgh. We were lucky to have David Watkin, SCO principal cellist, conducting an adventurous programme for the weekend. Since it was Valentine's weekend, we had to play something with a love theme, we chose the Love Scene from Berlioz's Romeo & Juliet. A very hard piece, but the orchestra managed to play most of the tricky passages! Also in the programme was Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, a great favourite of the SCO.
A fantastic team of SCO musicians were on hand all weekend to take sectionals and help with all those tricky bits. With a few hours of sectionals each day, there was more than enough time to master those difficult passages. On valentine's day one tutor even got bunch of flowers from an admirer!
The only thing to keep this huge orchestra going for the weekend was copius amounts of tea and biscuits. We take our tea very seriously here at SCO Education! An estimated 337 cups of tea were drunk and 422 biscuits eaten over the weekend. I put this amount down to the huge number of accidentals in the Berlioz!
The weekend was rounded off with an informal concert to family and friends to show off everyone's hard work over the weekend. The orchestra received very enthusiastic applause from a supportive audience.
Thanks to all the tutors and David for their hard work over the weekend. Well done to everyone who struggled through those horrible key signatures and counted their many bars rest!
Scrapers visits Glasgow in March, we'll see many of you there.....
Berlioz Bus
Dr Michael Downes, Director of Music at the University of St Andrews shares the thoughts of some of the passengers aboard the SCO's Berlioz Bus to Edinburgh last week.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra's five visits each year to St Andrews are always strongly supported, but the relatively modest size of the Younger Hall inevitably means that there are many attractive programmes that the Orchestra is unable to bring to Fife, particularly those involving the SCO Chorus or large numbers of soloists.
The SCO and the University of St Andrews recently teamed up to provide an innovative response to this, by offering St Andrews concert-goers the chance to pick up a bus from the Younger Hall to attend the Orchestra's Edinburgh performance of Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ, conducted by Robin Ticciati with soloists Karen Cargill, Yann Beuron, Ronan Collett and Matthew Rose and the SCO Chorus prepared by its new Chorusmaster Gregory Batsleer. The initiative was warmly welcomed by regular members of SCO's St Andrews audience.
Kerry Tavakoli, who teaches English Language Teaching for the University, said that the Berlioz Bus was "a wonderful idea, because it made it so easy for St Andrews people to go to the Usher Hall to hear music they were keen to hear but may not have been able to without the bus. It is the perfect solution for those who love good music and appreciate the SCO."
Graeme Scott, a former member of the University's Court commented on how well organised the arrangements were: "We arrived in good time for a snack and David Cairns' fascinating pre-concert talk, and returned well before the coach turned into a pumpkin!"
The Orchestra's superb performance in the refurbished Usher Hall was warmly appreciated by everyone present: Judy Gillespie wrote to the SCO and said: "I wasn't the only one with a stray tear to be wiped at the end. I hope all the soloists, chorus and musicians, chorus master and conductor could feel the audience's concentration."
Everyone on the bus hoped that this was an experiment that would be repeated, allowing St Andrews music-lovers still more opportunity to benefit from the SCO's unique relationship with the University as its Orchestra in Residence.
Ariadne on Chandos
Not a bad recording studio? © Su-a Lee
The final recording session felt somewhat emotional. The end of a musical voyage. Nobody really seemed to want it to end...we had all been so intent on getting the recording to feel right, that when it came to that final take when we realised that there was nothing further to correct, it felt like a slightly premature, yet fond, farewell.
Last minute preparations. © Su-a Lee
The music itself is largely to blame for these feelings, as it is truly sublime and such a joy to play. Not to mention that most of us didn't previously know the opera very well and loved getting to know it. Plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat at all times! We also have Sir Richard Armstrong to thank, as he knew the score inside out and guided us through it with expertise and obvious affection.
Producer Brian Pidgeon gives Sir Richard some conducting tips! © Su-a Lee
The team from the Chandos record label was also a joy to work with....extremely efficient and brilliantly acute on the playbacks. They also proved themselves to have a healthy dose of humour, by gently teasing the violas with a small practical joke on the final playback. On more than one occasion, the opera, became referred to as "Ariadne on Chandos" rather than the official "Ariadne auf Naxos", often by the singers substituting their lines!
Bradley and Ruth compete highest position on the violin © Su-a Lee
There is never a dull moment in the violin section © Su-a Lee
Despite the obvious joy surrounding the project, there is no doubt that we all missed Sir Charles tremendously, who, as I mentioned in the earlier blogs, had very reluctantly felt obliged to pull out of the recordings due to ill-health. A personal message from him was passed around the whole orchestra. We were all greatly moved.
Maxi, Nikita and Alison certainly enjoyed themselves! © Su-a Lee
But all things considered, we were very lucky. A top-notch, fabulous cast of singers, singing an amazing Strauss opera, conducted by the superb Sir Richard Armstrong, with a wonderful recording company. All we need now, is for you, the public, to buy it when it's released this autumn!
Producer Brian, feeling jubliant at the end of the recording sessions, and the Control Room! © Su-a Lee
Berlioz Study Day
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It’s Sunday evening, and I’ve just got home from the first ever study day organised by SCO Education. We were delighted to welcome David Cairns, well-known Berlioz expert, to talk to us about L’Enfance du Christ which is being performed later this week. Not only that, but Robin Ticciati came along too and it was a privilege to be able to hear what these two think about Berlioz the person, the composer, and his music. |
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We were in the lovely surroundings of the newly refurbished Usher Hall, and with plenty of tea, coffee and sandwiches to keep us going we spent the day in the company of Berlioz. David talked about many of Berlioz’s compositions, and told us lots of great stories about the resurgence of performances of this music during the 1950s and 60s, and the group of people that really championed it, including of course, Sir Colin Davis. David is giving two pre-concert talks this week in Edinburgh and Glasgow, so you still have a chance to see and hear him in person. |
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It was such a great day with lovely enthusiastic music-lovers attending, that I’m really delighted we’ve introduced study days into our education programme, and can’t wait for the next ones on Schumann in March. We’ll definitely do more next season!
A VIOLINIST SLEEPS
I have been playing the violin since I was three years old. I attended my first violin class in the womb, and I gave my first concert when I was four. As I lay on the sofa after my recent operation, my sister pointed out that I was due a sabbatical. People have asked me whether I am worried that I might forget how to play, while I’m in plaster, through lack of practice. Well, I don’t want to tempt fate, but the way I see it, I’m as likely to forget how to count, or how to speak English. The violin, I have to assume, is hard-wired into my brain. And my brain has been up to some tricks, during this injury.
If you will excuse the indulgence, I’d like to tell you about my dreams. The only other time I have been so thoroughly separated from my instrument is when I have been on holiday. When I am on holiday I do not dream about my violin. At least for a week. After about 10 days, the violin starts to appear in my dreams. No matter how nice a holiday I am having, once I start dreaming about it, I start to miss the violin. I long to play it, to hear it, to feel it.
But now, during this break-of-breaks, the longest time away from the instrument in 3 decades, what do I find? I think, perhaps, my brain has done something extraordinary. After the accident, right from the first night, I dreamt about the violin. Every single night for a whole week, I dreamt I was performing - sometimes without and sometimes with the plaster cast! Then for a few nights the violin would just appear - abstract, and not necessarily in my hands. And since then? Nothing - the dreams stopped completely.
And so, when my friends and colleagues ask, ‘Isn’t it awful for you? So frustrating not to be able to play?’ Well my answer is, it’s not great, but it’s not like you imagine. I’m not fretting over the closed violin case. At some level, I have accepted that I am not a violinist at the moment - for two months or so. Just as my body knows and accepts instinctively that my left arm is not available for use - I do not find myself reaching out to do things with my left hand when I’m not concentrating - so my mind does not reach for the violin, not even in my dreams. That first week, I sweated out the fever of violin-playing as I slept. At a level of which I am only dimly aware, something else struggled with the shock of not playing for me - my subconscious seemed to confront my temporary but prolonged separation from my instrument. It has put the violin away somewhere, somewhere it won’t trouble me - for now.
Music Factory
Our exciting Music Factory project is now in its final stage. Budding young composers from Moray, Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, Fife, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire have been working diligently since November on their new compositions. Composers Alasdair Nicolson and Stephen Deazley have been overseeing their progress, along with small groups of our SCO musicians.
Pupils have not only had the unique opportunity to hear their musical ideas played back to them, but some have also had the bright idea to include themselves in the ensemble and rehearse alongside the professional musicians! Next week we begin the final process of recording their ‘World Premiere’ pieces, and we’re all really looking forward to hearing the final products of the project.
Strauss Recordings
I am just back from our fourth recording session of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Sir Richard Armstrong is doing a wonderful job of piecing together this glorious work with an amazing cast of singers. It is sublime music and I know we all feel very lucky to be playing it! I don't think the orchestra has played it for nearly twenty years! Though, the string section is much smaller than usual: only using six of our fourteen violins.
Sir Richard Armstrong talking to the 'box' © Su-a Lee
Recording a CD is an interesting exercise. Every single time that red light goes on, you are on full performance mode. But you've also got to get it exact! There's a very fine balance in achieving the spirit of performance and atmosphere at the same time as being secure each time! I suppose it's a little like the tennis serves at Wimbledon matches: you give it your best shot on the first serve and if it hits the net, your second serve may be just that bit more 'safe'.
David, happy after a particularly good take! © Su-a Lee
Recording a CD when we haven't actually performed the piece before in concert, is even more of an interesting exercise! We are making discoveries about misprints and corrections at lightning speed. And however much we have all prepared our own individual parts, there are still a lot of fast adjustments that have to be made! We are very lucky to have Sir Richard, who knows the work intimately and is very efficient indeed.
We will also be recording Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme this week. I am hoping that, despite its fiendish difficulty, it will feel like a homecoming after having performed it twice last week!
Our newest addition to the orchestra, Eric (left).And notice, I'm
not the only one taking photos! © Su-a Lee
Concerts with Sir Charles Mackerras
We had all been looking forward to the week with Sir Charles Mackerras performing the mainly Strauss programme with great anticipation. This week was to be followed by a CD recording of Strauss' opera, Ariadne auf Naxos and Le Bourgeouis Gentilhomme, also conducted by Sir Charles. Alas, due to ill health, Sir Charles had to pull out of the recordings, though thankfully he was still able to perform the concerts with us. He has handed over the reins of the recording to Sir Richard Armstrong, who will continue the project as planned.
The performance week itself was wonderful. Sir Charles is much loved by the SCO and the feeling is thoroughly mutual! We had a great time with Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, which was brought to vivid life by Sir Charles along with his colourful verbal descriptions of the unfolding events. Right now I am actually listening to the piece on the BBC iPlayer Listen Again transmission of our Glasgow concert, and I can recall how he described the passage that I just heard, during our rehearsals. It is a passage in the final movement "Das Diner", a presentation of delectable dishes, where he thought that the harp's contribution " is possibly supposed to depict the burps!"
A special mention should be made for our Guest Leader, Bradley Creswick, and our own Cello Principal, David Watkin, for their exquisite solos throughout Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Although to be fair, the whole piece was full of beautiful solos from players throughout the orchestra.
The rest of the programme was equally enjoyable with a welcome revisit to Mozart's 'Haffner' Symphony, having recorded it onto CD with Sir Charles just a few months ago. And a joyous performance of Strauss Horn Concerto, played by the most wonderful Radovan Vlatkovic. It was great to see our newly-appointed Principal Horn, Alec, chatting with his mentor during the breaks.
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