Yesterday was day one of a very Double Reedy Weekend as it was Orchestra Concert Day. We only do 3 main concerts a year so it is quite a big deal which takes up the whole day as there is a final rehearsal in the afternoon before the final performance in the evening.
As I've probably mentioned before we are an unauditioned, "all comers welcome", amateur community orchestra with a wide range of playing ability. So it is a challenge to bring it all together to make it sound good on the night. I think the standard of the orchestra as a whole has improved even in the 3 years I've been involved and every programme feels like "the hardest we've done yet". There was some very tricky woodwind sections in this one - especially for the flutes in the Vltava and for everybody in the Debussy. But I think we pulled it off again (flutes did brilliantly). I was rather worried on Tuesday as it was sounding quite ropey in places, but some determined practising seemed to have gone in over the last 3 days and it sounded rather good last night. I was very proud of how we played and feel lucky to have the opportunity to be part of it. There really is nothing like playing music with other people.
I absolutely loved this programme, there is usually at least one piece per concert that I've felt ambivalent about, but this time I wouldn't have dropped anything. I had some really lovely oboe bits to play, and I absolutely loved having the opportunity to play the Unfinished Symphony which is an amazing piece of music. Special mention must go to our cellists who played spine tinglingly well in the opening. Just beautiful.
Oh and I also won a box of chocolates in the raffle!
I actually feel quite sad that we are leaving these pieces behind and moving on to the next programme (yet to be announced)
Today I am off to a double reed day at the RNCM. More on that later in the week.
Programme for Winter Concert 2012:
Mozart - Magic Flute overture
Schubert - Unfinished Symphony
Rossini- Barber of Seville
Smetana - Vltava (arrangement)
Debussy - Petite Suite (arrangement)
Showing posts with label Smetana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smetana. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Orchestra progress
We are a few weeks into orchestra rehearsals for our Autumn Concert now. I am really enjoying the music we are playing at the moment so thought it was worth a reflection on how things are going.
1. Debussy Petite Suite - this is 4 movements arranged for orchestra, it was original written as a piano duet. Our clarinettist commented that his part contained a note that he "had never played in public before". The oboe part suffers from similar difficulties- it goes from a bottom B all the way up to a top F#. I have played top F# in my Grade 8 exam as part of a scale but I've never had to play it in public as part of a piece but I'm trying to treat it as any other note and hope it comes out OK. From an oboe point of view this is the trickiest of the pieces we are playing - high notes, awkward note changes requiring alternative fingering, tempo changes and complex rhythms. Having said that, I really like it as a piece of music which makes it less of a chore to work on. Hopefully will come together on the night.
2. Smetena - Vltava (an arrangement). This is a well known piece, even though I wouldn't have known what it was called. Our arrangement includes all the well known themes though is abridged and a little simplified though the flautists may argue that point. The oboe part is generally fun to play and the Peasant's Wedding section is a real ear worm that just seems to loop around my head incessently.
3. Mozart - the Magic Flute. Another well known piece that is coming together very nicely. There are some really lovely exchanges between the oboe and flute that I am enjoying playing.
4. Schubert - Unfinished Symphony. I love this piece of music and there are some gorgeous oboe solo bits in both movements. There is one rather fiendish run of demi semi quavers in the second movement - fortunately not very exposed, they are coming together though.
I find it encouraging to notice in rehearsals how I can now better manage things that were so difficult when I first joined. I am much more confident now in coming in at the right time after multiple bars of rest, being able to pick up again if I momentarily lose my place, having the stamina to play through longer phrases and pieces. I think this year I've managed to move on from worrying about playing the right notes at the right time with roughly the right dynamic to think about how I play the notes, how I manage the micro dynamics and phrasing, how I finish the note, making sure I don't cut short the last note (one of my teacher's repeated reminders last year, I think I've finally got it!) etc. It is nice to feel like I am building skills and improving.
1. Debussy Petite Suite - this is 4 movements arranged for orchestra, it was original written as a piano duet. Our clarinettist commented that his part contained a note that he "had never played in public before". The oboe part suffers from similar difficulties- it goes from a bottom B all the way up to a top F#. I have played top F# in my Grade 8 exam as part of a scale but I've never had to play it in public as part of a piece but I'm trying to treat it as any other note and hope it comes out OK. From an oboe point of view this is the trickiest of the pieces we are playing - high notes, awkward note changes requiring alternative fingering, tempo changes and complex rhythms. Having said that, I really like it as a piece of music which makes it less of a chore to work on. Hopefully will come together on the night.
2. Smetena - Vltava (an arrangement). This is a well known piece, even though I wouldn't have known what it was called. Our arrangement includes all the well known themes though is abridged and a little simplified though the flautists may argue that point. The oboe part is generally fun to play and the Peasant's Wedding section is a real ear worm that just seems to loop around my head incessently.
3. Mozart - the Magic Flute. Another well known piece that is coming together very nicely. There are some really lovely exchanges between the oboe and flute that I am enjoying playing.
4. Schubert - Unfinished Symphony. I love this piece of music and there are some gorgeous oboe solo bits in both movements. There is one rather fiendish run of demi semi quavers in the second movement - fortunately not very exposed, they are coming together though.
I find it encouraging to notice in rehearsals how I can now better manage things that were so difficult when I first joined. I am much more confident now in coming in at the right time after multiple bars of rest, being able to pick up again if I momentarily lose my place, having the stamina to play through longer phrases and pieces. I think this year I've managed to move on from worrying about playing the right notes at the right time with roughly the right dynamic to think about how I play the notes, how I manage the micro dynamics and phrasing, how I finish the note, making sure I don't cut short the last note (one of my teacher's repeated reminders last year, I think I've finally got it!) etc. It is nice to feel like I am building skills and improving.
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