Musical Saturday - update (recording added)

 This morning was the first rehearsal of the season for the chamber orchestra I'm in. I have to admit that I'm disappointed with the choice of rep for this concert. The "big" piece is an arrangement of Debussy's "Children's Corner," which though charming for solo piano is more than a bit weird for orchestra. Then there is Beethoven's overture for "The Ruins of Athens," a double flute concerto by Cimarosa, and Haydn's symphony that is nicknamed "The Bear." Oh, well; at least I don't need to practice much for this concert.

Then this evening, our little neighborhood band had a gig. Our recorder player is friends with someone who works for Hostelling International, and we've played a couple of times at the hostel in Baltimore that he's involved with, which is a 19-century mansion downtown. We've enjoyed playing there because the main room has really great acoustics. Here's a picture of us playing there last year (love those big windows!):

The event tonight was a social part of a meeting of the organization, and they hired us to provide background music during a (nonalcoholic) cocktail hour, with a break in the middle while they made a presentation.

It was generally a good gig, but the room got so noisy we could hardly hear ourselves. However, several people told us afterward that they enjoyed hearing us. One guy staked out a spot next to us and asked us if we had a CD. Well, I did say it was noisy in there. I think it was good for us as a group because it prodded us to put together a nice playlist that seemed to work well -- a combination of slow and fast, folk and jazz-lite -- and we managed to hang together pretty well.

But I am so tired now . . .

Here's a recording (first number, before the noise level went up); there's some room noise at the end that I didn't have a chance to edit out. Also, you may notice that the guitar is loud and the cello is soft (for a change); that's because we put the recording thingy next to the guitarist so it would be out of the way. I was on the other side of the group.

Carolan's Welcome 

Interesting gig

I just got home from playing at an English country dance ball put on by a high school in suburban Virginia where a group of kids of involved something called "Project Enlightenment." My understanding of it (and I really should have talked to some of the people there tonight about it, but I didn't) is that the students choose a person from U.S. history during the Enlightenment era and learn all about him or her, and then once a year they spend a couple of days doing reenactments at Mt. Vernon. So all the high-schoolers at this thing, as well as the caller and most of the adults who were there, were dressed in period outfits. I got the impression that the ball was something they haven't done before, but I could be wrong about that.

It was held at Gadsby's Tavern in Old Town Alexandria. Part of the tavern is a restaurant, and part is a museum/historical site -- that was where the ball was held. The dancing was a pleasant room with a wood floor, and there were refreshments in a separate room. I didn't do a head count, but I'd estimate that maybe 100 or so people were there.

The band consisted of recorder, fiddle, and cello, and I'm sure it sounded elegant (sort of Mozart- or Haydn-esque). My cello has been sounding tight and dry all week, and it just wasn't ringing the way it usually does, so I wasn't happy with how I sounded. All those times when I've played with the little local band for 10 people and the cello sounded great, and then for this, when there was a big audience . . . oh, well, that's how it goes, I guess.

I'm sure the people were mostly concerned about their dancing and weren't paying much attention to the tone of my cello. The other two musicians were very good, particularly the fiddle player. I noticed that if I started using a different rhythm or articulation in the accompaniment, she would immediately start doing it, too. I rarely get a chance to play with someone who can do that. The whole thing was very tiring, though. We played from 7:00 until after 10:00 with one short break. I'm glad it's over.

Etiquette

I play intermittently with a group of amateur folk musicians that has been around for about 30 years. I got involved because several of my neighbors are in the group.  Everyone knows the tunes well, and most have been both dancing to them as well as playing them for many years. For the time I've been involved, the playing has been notable more for enthusiasm than skill. Anyone who fancies playing has been welcomed no matter what their musical ability. There is a core group of accordion, recorder, marimba, and a couple of fiddle players, with a few others who show up occasionally -- concertina, guitar, mandolin, and cello (for the past five years or so, that would be me).

Last night, the group held its annual Christmas dance. I was surprised when another cellist arrived whom I had never seen before and who proceeded to set up with as much authority as if she'd been playing with the group all along, though -- in the typical sign of a clueless string player who thinks it will help hide their bad playing -- she put on her mute.* She hadn't brought a music stand and didn't have any music. I shared mine with her, but throughout the evening, she really didn't look at it but checked the key and just sort of played things at random.

I was kind of steaming about this all evening. It struck me as incredibly rude of someone who obviously has no chops to plunk herself down to perform at a public event that is not an open mic night and that people are actually paying to attend. Now, I admit that I haven't been to any rehearsals of the group in a long time, but in my defense, I have played all of the tunes many times and can play plenty well enough for occasions like these without rehearsing.

I was also steamed at the guy who invited the cellist. He is a violinist who joined earlier this year. He always comes on time with a stand and his music in a neat binder with each piece in a plastic sleeve. He always plays very out of tune and with no musicality. He apparently had no idea that playing the cello in this band required any particular talent. Or maybe he's interested in this woman socially.

So I've been trying to analyze why this bothered me so much and why I couldn't just laugh it off as one more idiocy in this crazy world -- at least until I got home and laughed about it with my husband. I suppose it's been ingrained in me to view any performing seriously -- probably too seriously. Maybe I should not bother with this group anymore. I have often enjoyed it, though, because I like the music and felt appreciated. Last night's situation made me wonder if anyone really cares or can tell the difference between my playing and that of any random cellist off the street.

The de facto leader of this group is the accordion player, who is a typical absent-minded scientist type and doesn't exercise any quality control, either because he doesn't believe in it or is oblivious. And perhaps it's all fine. I don't really quite belong in this environment, and last night made it obvious.

Tonight we are playing a Scandinavian dance that is a somewhat bigger event. We rent a nice hall, provide refreshments, decorate with candles and greenery, and bring in an instructor and caller. I noticed last night that the accordion player handed a flyer to the cellist, smilingly inviting her to join us. I am so not looking forward to it.

I suppose my irritation is compounded by the fact that I am struggling to practice for next month's concert and bring my playing to a higher level, plus I want to practice my piano pieces. Every hour away from both of these projects seems like so much wasted time if I am not at least enjoying myself.

I do not want to discourage any amateur musicians from pursuing playing, but if anyone in that category is reading, I ask you to please consider the big picture. Sensitivity is always a good idea.


*A mute is a little gadget that hooks onto the bridge that is used to change the tone color by quieting some of the vibrations of the bridge. It looks like this:

It does not really "mute" the sound. Even the heavy practice mutes, which look like this,

do not turn an instrument into a "silent" violin or cello. It's still perfectly audible.

Dance music

Last night, I played the cello at an English country dance. One of my friends has described English country dancing as "contra dancing on Quaaludes"; it's definitely not as brisk as contra. If you've ever seen one of those Jane Austen movies, you've seen English country dancing. It's couples dancing, but the couples form lines, circles, or squares, and they follow sometimes intricate patterns as couples move down the line or around the circle or square. The music is from a vast inheritance of tunes from England, Ireland, Scotland, and elsewhere, many of them gorgeous.

I've been playing this type of music for about six years.