I promised to review my opinion of Carmina Burana after the performance. I realise I’ve been unfair on the piece in at least one respect. I alleged it was unvocal and it isn’t – even that top C is well placed and the lines I had to sing sit well. Maybe the reason is Orff’s involvement with pedagogy so that he knew what amateur singers were capable of. An incidentally interesting feature of the score is the wide vocabulary of Italian terms in this most Germanic of works. I think Leighton is the only other composer I’ve seen use the verb cullare.
And there were some parts of Carmina I genuinely enjoyed. Unfortunately they didn’t really overlap with the bits I had to sing, as they were on the whole instrumental or for men only. Yet again only men get the fun drinking songs, even though the words of one made it clear that women do a fair bit of bending the elbow too!
So my position is now that I’d be willing to sing in another performance of Carmina Burana, provided that it didn’t involve too much note-learning, as I suspect that once the notes are learnt for this piece you can’t unlearn them.
The curse of Gloucester 2016 struck again as our soprano soloist was replaced by Ilona Domnich, who joined Russell Painter. The programme also included the premiere of Memento Musica by Joseph Phibbs. I’m afraid that too much time has now elapsed for me to recall much about this except that I enjoyed watching the percussion section who were near me. Not sure what language the title is meant to be in. Adrian Partington also conducted the Enigma Variations, dispensing with a baton (those who were at The Kingdom might have some idea why), and Walton’s Spitfire prelude and fugue. I didn’t know the latter pieces; as an aviator’s daughter I ought to approve of the subject matter, although as with most film music it didn’t really work for me in a concert setting.