Words and Music

In an attempt to make up for my lack of focus in actively listening to music I've been piling it on this weekend. We enjoyed ourselves more than a little last night at the symphonic band's concert in school. The programme was full of toe-tapping crowd-pleasers and we agreed it was a bit of a pity we didn't take Fa Fa and FI Fi along - especially for the Abba medley which kicked off the proceedings. The percussion section played a couple of pieces on their own in the middle of the concert and this was the highlight for me. The senior band finished things off and managed to inject some real swing into a big band medley, a quality rare in school bands here. We closed the evening with mutton soup at the Adam Road hawker centre after munching something (sardine puffs for me) at Dadi's on the way down. A kind of perfection all told.

This morning I've been soaking myself in Ralph Vaughn Williams, my music of choice when the old ears need refreshing. I gave Dona Nobis Pacem and Sancta Civitas a spin. The latter has a mystical power that connects it to the fifth symphony and the shorter swooney stuff; the former a sense of unease perfect for a time of approaching war. (It was first performed in 1936.) Not exactly toe-tapping, but a kind of release. I also read Alan Bennett's The Madness of King George which I picked up at the library yesterday. I must get to see the movie. Its run at the cinema here was exceedingly brief, as is the case with most films of note, and I've foolishly been expecting it to appear some time on cable - which it hasn't. It was a pleasure to read the play but I'm painfully aware I'm missing a lot not seeing it performed.

This afternoon we went down to Bussorah Street for the cup that cheers and bumped into Adrian with his family who are over from Ireland. I got a sense they loved the place, and rightly. On a hot, lazy Sunday afternoon the area functions as a ante-room to paradise.