September 29th - Day 164

This was today's lunchtime entertainment at The Bishopsgate Institute in The City. Countertenor Andrew Radley singing condensed operettas of "cathartic melancholy", accompanied by harpsichord, oboe and cello. I wondered how old Julian Perkins's pastel green floral-decorated harpsichord was. His website revealed that he uses two harpsichords - one was built in 1764 and the other in 1740. I haven't yet managed to discover which one he used today.

The first lunchtime concert here was during World War II in November 1943. Today was concert number 1782. It was fairly well attended, but not quite as well as the "humourous and dramatic lecture by Professor William Miles" delivered one hundred years ago. The photograph below shows the audience immediately after Professor Miles's reknowned "woman with a wooden leg" gag.

October 20th - Day 185

A recital with a difference. Classical accordain. I never knew the accordian could make so many sounds. Most of the pieces Ksenija Sidorova played today were written for the accordian, but she also played a piece by Bach, who died 80 years before the first accordian was made in 1829 in Austria. She makes a particular feature of adapting the keyboard works of Bach and Mozart and there were moments when her accordian sounded more like a church organ. Over the last 185 days, I don't think I've seen anyone as joined to their musical instrument as Ksenija was to her accordian. She was seated, but they danced and swayed together as if they were the last ones left on the floor after everyone had gone home - it almost felt rude to be in the same room. The musical instrument wasn't the accordian, but was the two of them as one entity. I guess one could say that about many musicians and their chosen instruments, but the bond today was...well...remarkable...I feel I've not quite worded this post as I'd like, but I'm tired and need to go to bed, and I'll have another look tomorrow...

I had another look, and bouyed on by Phil's encouraging comment below, left it as it is.

Here's Ksenija on youtube  youtube.com/watch?v=2nuPrX4Umfc

February 9th - Day 297

"No Entry. Concert in Progress" says the sign. I was allowed in between pieces. The concert was listed in Time Out as Harping On, a title which rather belittled the high quality musicianship on show. Multi-award winning harpist (yes, it was a pun) Eleanor Turner treated the audience to a wide-range of music and playing-styles. She spoke about the musical colour of the harp. Before a piece by Argentine Tango composer Astor Piazzolla she explained she'd be playing the instrument low on the strings to better replicate the sounds of guitar and accordian, the instruments on which the composition would have been more usually performed. Other composers included Purcell, Gershwin and Faure.

It's sweet that harpists hug their harps at the end of a piece.