I have so many movies to review, I'm going to lose sleep if I think about it too much. I'll just have to do what I always do - park my worries and anxieties and enjoy a good night's sleep! I think my secret is To-Do Lists - I have one for work things, one for home things, one for art ideas, and even one with ten songs to play at my funeral! I can't remember how that one started! I'm in good health and not one bit morbid. But it's a useful thing to have, don't you think?
So, back to Wagner - on the occasion of Wagner's 200th birthday celebration, there was a concert in the National Concert Hall on Friday 4th January, with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Matthias Bamert, with Irish soprano Miriam Murphy.
I had been invited by a friend. Let's call her V. And along with a friend of hers, let's call her A, we had a wonderful evening of food and music.
We started the evening in the NCH restaurant - beautiful surroundings, great buzz. I had the fish and chips. Gorgeous fish, with a hint of curry flavour in the batter I think. The chips were a bit small and dry for my Belgian palate, but I ate them anyway! A good start to the evening.
We then moved upstairs to the lecture - it was an interview of the conductor, Matthias Bamert. The room was full and we had to stand, but thankfully, the "conversation", as they call it, wasn't overly long. I found it interesting to hear about a conductor's career, a subject I knew nothing about.
But of course, when it comes to it, it's all about the music. And what a treat! It's a few years since I've been to a live concert, and I had forgotten how I find it fascinating to watch an orchestra at work - the visual impact, to my mind, really adds to the impression made by the music.There was one piece, was it the Ride of the Valkyries?, where the bows of one set of violins were going in one direction while the other set was going in the opposite way. Powerful! V & A didn't like the pace of the Ride of the Valkyries too much - they found it too heavy. And I have to agree that it was slower than what I had expected, but I got engrossed in the power of it, all the same! The Tannhauser Overture and the Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg were beautiful beautiful pieces. As was the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde.
And of course, Miriam Murphy enchanted us with the Wesendonck Lieder and the Liebestod. A fantastic voice, soft and delicate and full of power all at the same time! A voice to die for!
Speaking of which, I've just added the Liebestod to my "ten songs to play at my funeral" (actually, it's eighteen songs long already - it won't be a short affair, be warned!)
So, back to Wagner - on the occasion of Wagner's 200th birthday celebration, there was a concert in the National Concert Hall on Friday 4th January, with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Matthias Bamert, with Irish soprano Miriam Murphy.
I had been invited by a friend. Let's call her V. And along with a friend of hers, let's call her A, we had a wonderful evening of food and music.
We started the evening in the NCH restaurant - beautiful surroundings, great buzz. I had the fish and chips. Gorgeous fish, with a hint of curry flavour in the batter I think. The chips were a bit small and dry for my Belgian palate, but I ate them anyway! A good start to the evening.
We then moved upstairs to the lecture - it was an interview of the conductor, Matthias Bamert. The room was full and we had to stand, but thankfully, the "conversation", as they call it, wasn't overly long. I found it interesting to hear about a conductor's career, a subject I knew nothing about.
But of course, when it comes to it, it's all about the music. And what a treat! It's a few years since I've been to a live concert, and I had forgotten how I find it fascinating to watch an orchestra at work - the visual impact, to my mind, really adds to the impression made by the music.There was one piece, was it the Ride of the Valkyries?, where the bows of one set of violins were going in one direction while the other set was going in the opposite way. Powerful! V & A didn't like the pace of the Ride of the Valkyries too much - they found it too heavy. And I have to agree that it was slower than what I had expected, but I got engrossed in the power of it, all the same! The Tannhauser Overture and the Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg were beautiful beautiful pieces. As was the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde.And of course, Miriam Murphy enchanted us with the Wesendonck Lieder and the Liebestod. A fantastic voice, soft and delicate and full of power all at the same time! A voice to die for!
Speaking of which, I've just added the Liebestod to my "ten songs to play at my funeral" (actually, it's eighteen songs long already - it won't be a short affair, be warned!)
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