A Dutch string orchestra, named after the French translation of a German expression meaning a sickie taken as a result of a weekend hangover. This is the Lundi Bleu orchestra which gave a concert in church as part of a short British tour; I helped out as a steward. <\/p>\n
The orchestra performs unconducted (quite a current trend) though with an important role for the leader, in this concert Johan Olof. The programme combined music by Dutch and British composers; a link was a concerto by Hellendaal, who worked in Britain and died in Cambridge. It was good to hear a piece by him at a normal time of day<\/a>. The British pieces were mostly by or closely connected to Benjamn Britten; his arrangement of Purcell’s Chaconne in G minor, Pärt’s Cantus<\/i> in his memory (which I’d never heard live before – an extra tubular bell was added for this one) and in the second half his Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge<\/i>. I should try to familiarise myself with this last, and in particular listen to it with the names of the movements in front of me.<\/p>\n The orchestra was easily up to the demands of the music and was well received. Visiting ensembles can have a mixed reception in Bath; they have to rely on local publicity to recruit an audience and can find themselves inadvertently programmed against another competing musical event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Dutch string orchestra, named after the French translation of a German expression meaning a sickie taken as a result of a weekend hangover. This is the Lundi Bleu orchestra which gave a concert in church as part of a … Continue reading