April 2002
The ensemble meeting on March 10th suffered I think from the depredations of Mother’s Day (what a devoted lot the BGS membership must be!) as there was a limited attendance but nevertheless we had a thoroughly enjoyable meeting playing music provided by Jeremy Allison.
We started off with the first movement from the 3 movement Palladio by Karl Jenkins, arranged for 4 guitars by Gary Spolding. Apparently this has been used by De Beers diamonds in a TV commercial, although I’ve missed this myself. This was followed by various pieces by Pieter van der Staak from his “Snapshots” for 3 guitars, which were written in the 1970’s - a time when there was relatively little music for guitar ensembles around, so this seems to have been something of a trailblazer.
We finished with what I believe is an old BGS favourite, the minuet from Haydn’s symphony no. 94, the “Surprise”. Jeremy wasn’t sure how this came to obtain its name, but thought it was likely to be an 18th century marketing device, which is pretty much spot on, Jeremy. The work is one of Haydn’s London Symphonies and dates from 1792 and the nickname is derived from the slow movement, which states its theme firstly piano and then pianissimo, before hitting the listener with a wholly unexpected fortissimo stroke from the entire orchestra. Apparently getting the audiences in was a pretty competitive business and clearly in the absence of our recording technology one had to attend the live performance to hear the “surprise”. An alternative explanation is that the “surprise” was inserted in order to wake up any slumbering members of the audience but I know which version sounds more authentic to me.
SHP Transformation
A number of us attended the grand opening the updated South Hill Park Centre on the 2nd March and put on an “exhibit” of our wares, mainly Gary, Steve and Richard playing ensemble music plus a gallery of photos from past meetings. The SHP certainly is transformed, and in its way this was quite an impressive occasion with a good number of people attending, although somehow they seemed to find the jazz band and the bar more enticing than the efforts of the BGS team.
Given some of the traumas of the past year or so while the modernisation has been taking place, it was a pleasure for your editor to turn up to the March meeting, and to be directed straight away to our room for the night, to find chairs neatly available and for the subsequent meeting to take place in a suitable environment, free of audio competition and other distractions. Long may it continue!
Web site of the month
This month’s web site is Richard Yates’ Classical Guitar Transcriptions, which can be found at:
www.yatesguitar.com
The site has a page of free transcriptions mostly by classical composers, for solo guitar and also for duos and trios. Some of these pieces may not be immediately familiar, but are worth looking at.
The site also features a “catalog” page which contains transcriptions works by early masters such as Bach and Vivaldi
All files are available in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat required) and can be heard in a midi version before downloading.
There are other versions of some of these pieces available on the internet (e.g. Bach’s “Air on a G string”) but I think with Richard Yates’ work you are more likely to get a quality transcription.
I think there’s some good material here to add to the repertoire but have a look yourself …
A couple of sites relevant to teaching have been drawn to my attention.
MusicSchool.org.uk is aiming to provide a free service to both musicians and music students by providing a database of teachers which is explorable by location, instrument and skill level. They are currently registering tutors and the search facility for students won’t be available until May, so its early days yet.
Another site which aims at a similar service is MusicTeachers.co.uk. This database is up and running, and the site also includes various resources relevant to music teaching and an on line journal.
Both sites are general in nature and not specific to the guitar.
URLs:
http://www.musicschool.org.uk/
http://www.musicteachers.co.uk
BGS News
As members will probably know by now, James had to have had his leg amputated a couple of weeks ago.
He was given a wheelchair last Sunday, and is now proficiently zooming himself around the ward keeping everyone in order. He is waiting for a prosthetic leg and going to the gym regularly in preparation for this. He is reasonably cheerful and positive and looking forward to getting home.
Our best wishes to James and to June for James’ continued recovery.
NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting is on Sunday 14th April and it’s a members evening – so bring along something to play and join in the fun.
FUTURE EVENTS
The programme for 2002 is enclosed with this Newsletter. Please make sure these dates (including the concerts) are in your diary. A couple of items need to be updated further nearer the time so watch out for further information.
Please note that unless notified otherwise, in addition to the specially arranged events we always meet at 07.30 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at the South Hill Park Centre, Bracknell.
Don’t forget to keep suggestions for web sites to feature and any other potential newsletter content coming forward please!!
Other News
PACO PENA will be appearing at this years Hampton Court Festival on Tuesday 18th June at 7.45. He will be joined for this performance by his company of dancers and musicians. Tickets priced £32.50 and £35 are bookable online at www.hamptoncourtfestival.com or via Ticketmaster on 020 7413 1477.
In April’s Classical Guitar magazine, JOHN MILLS provides a wealth of advice on playing Walton’s Bagatelle no.2 in his series “A Closer Look”.
SIMON DINNIGAN’s tour takes him to the Windsor Art Centre (The Old Court, St Leonards Road) on Saturday 20th April. Tel 01753 859 336 for further details.
And Finally …..
What’s the difference between a guitar and a tuna fish?
You can tune a guitar, you can’t tuna fish.
After that gem, see if you fancy this from Geri Suggett as some advice for healthy living:
The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or the Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
Conclusion: Eat & drink what you like. It's speaking English that kills you.