As promised/threatened…Shorts Day…no, you didn’t miss anything spectacular; apart, that is, from the spectacular flop that was the Mabbett “piece” – “aimless and clueless” doesn’t even begin to cover it!
It was a privilege to hear up-and-coming vocal star Héloïse Werner for diddly-squat at lunchtime, although she didn’t exactly have the best material to work with – the best piece, involving all four ensemble members manipulating Marianne Schofield’s double bass simulaneously, didn’t involve her singing, and I do find Meredith Monk’s stuff something that I already have to be in the mood for not to find simply annoying (thankfully, I was in the mood on that occasion).
Beyond that mini-concert, the Moroz piece had some gorgeous sounds in it…and making my own small contribution to the Rosani installation in the covered market was fun! Thirdly, who in their right mind would diss Philip Thomas performing Feldman dance and film music? Too many of the rest of the day’s pieces fell into the I-can-take-or-leave-this, ultimately unmemorable category, though.
Much the same might be said of this year’s Mixtape, IMHO, Evan Parker et al.‘s mindblowing improv and Isadore Isou’s glorious exercises in splenetic gobbledygook aside. But that’s already on BBC Sounds, so you can judge for yourself!
Thanks Chris – it did feel strange not to be there! i know it’s a weirdly hit and miss experience, but i’m so glad that HCMF has persisted with Shorts day – i don’t know of another festival that features a whole day of free music, it’s definitely something to be proud of.
i’ll be checking out some of the things i missed online, though it would take a miracle for me to enjoy Evan Parker – don’t believe i’ve ever heard a single performance by him that hasn’t bored me to tears. But then, at HCMF miracles can and often do happen…
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As promised/threatened…Shorts Day…no, you didn’t miss anything spectacular; apart, that is, from the spectacular flop that was the Mabbett “piece” – “aimless and clueless” doesn’t even begin to cover it!
It was a privilege to hear up-and-coming vocal star Héloïse Werner for diddly-squat at lunchtime, although she didn’t exactly have the best material to work with – the best piece, involving all four ensemble members manipulating Marianne Schofield’s double bass simulaneously, didn’t involve her singing, and I do find Meredith Monk’s stuff something that I already have to be in the mood for not to find simply annoying (thankfully, I was in the mood on that occasion).
Beyond that mini-concert, the Moroz piece had some gorgeous sounds in it…and making my own small contribution to the Rosani installation in the covered market was fun! Thirdly, who in their right mind would diss Philip Thomas performing Feldman dance and film music? Too many of the rest of the day’s pieces fell into the I-can-take-or-leave-this, ultimately unmemorable category, though.
Much the same might be said of this year’s Mixtape, IMHO, Evan Parker et al.‘s mindblowing improv and Isadore Isou’s glorious exercises in splenetic gobbledygook aside. But that’s already on BBC Sounds, so you can judge for yourself!
Thanks Chris – it did feel strange not to be there! i know it’s a weirdly hit and miss experience, but i’m so glad that HCMF has persisted with Shorts day – i don’t know of another festival that features a whole day of free music, it’s definitely something to be proud of.
i’ll be checking out some of the things i missed online, though it would take a miracle for me to enjoy Evan Parker – don’t believe i’ve ever heard a single performance by him that hasn’t bored me to tears. But then, at HCMF miracles can and often do happen…