cacophony

was listening to Saint-Saens' danse macabre while making my way through the morning traffic. yep, the symphonic poem describing a graveyard of skeletons dancing a spectral waltz. and before you cry "you weird, weird woman, you!" and denounce me from your circle of acquaintances forever, it's (strangely) a favourite not because of the theme, but (1) how deftly the composer depicts the twelve strokes of the witching hour and all the eerieness that goes with an early-morning other-worldly party, and the spectacle and commotion that the music conjures, and (2) i was first introduced to the spectacle and commotion at one of ann's music appreciation classes many many moons ago, at a time when my ultimate ambition was to be a violinist with an orchestra - orchestral works just blew me away, there was something about the grandeur of it all that generated exhilaration beyond words, and for some reason, danse macabre became a piece that would remind me of the excitement of performing with an amalgamation of wood, strings and metal that produced amazing sounds. i never did practice the violin enough after stopping lessons to gain much confidence in attempting to join any ensemble, but i did become a chorister, and the experience of singing with various groups in merry ole england and here has brought with it quite some satisfaction (and war stories - see side rambling below on a particular incident during a university choir performance) so far. and it was good to hear danse macabre performed by the university philharmonia during one of our concerts!

and my point here? nothing much, really. except that maybe, in my next life, i'd like to find myself playing in an orchestra.

[side rambling - a chorister's war story]

disclaimer:
in case you're expecting something spectacular like the roof of the hall falling down on us, it was really a routine boo-boo, actually. my life ain't THAT happening..

the piece:
Constant Lambert's "The Rio Grande".

the story:
'twas the climax of the piece, where the choir's words were basically "by the Rio Grande, they dance no Sarabande". "By the Ri-o Grande" is the beginning of the end of a major upheaval in orchestral sounds, and then to end it all was "they DANCE.. NO.. SA-RA..." [then there is some element of climax, can't remember whether it was a timpani crash or a huge pause].. and then we were to all hail "-BANDE!!!!", together with some brass and percussion. of course, due to the orchestral entropy leading up to it, everyone was totally lost (you know how it is - you think it's a piece of cake when the repetiteur tickles the ivories during rehearsals but it's totally different when you add the actual cacophony of instruments far more powerful than the hammers and keys, blasting away in their full glory), and the people who shouldn't have been lost were eventually led into the wilderness due to the insecurity of nobody around them singing what they were supposed to be singing (sigh, herd instinct). it happened very quickly - there was not much pain - "they DANCE.. NO.. SA-RA-..... [silence from the choir. Maestro's eyes pop out. singers gape and after the sounds from the orchestra trailed away someone whispers, very audibly, "shit."]. you could sense that morale had suddenly shot down to record-low levels but we managed to meander through the rest of the Rio Grande without much catastrophe. even kind Maestro, who was normally full of encouragement even if we completely messed up a piece, was a little aghast after the show.

the aftermath:
thereafter, the infamous "no Sarabande experience" was repeatedly quoted by our conductor for the next few seasons, to remind us all (well, of course, only the Rio Grande survivors who had first-hand experience of the incident would know the significance of the label) to keep our eyes on the conductor at all times, and also, to do one's best to refrain from cursing when a mistake has been made during a performance, cos, well, it wouldn't be very nice for the audience to hear you blaspheming in the middle of melodious strains of gloria in excelsis deo, would it?