Saturday, May 03, 2014

Intermezzo

After such a hectic week my mental processes are taking time to catch up and words are proving elusive.  Instead, here is music for a spring Saturday on an instrument I love more every time I pick it up and try to play. Ragtime always makes me think of my father, who introduced me to it when I was very young, and the fact that this is played by an amateur ensemble gives me hope that one day, if I go on practising hard enough, I too may be able to play like this…




44 comments:

  1. Makes me kind of want to get my old clarinet out too.........

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    1. Why not have a go, Bonnie? Music is good for body and soul and I find practising really lifts my spirits, even on the greyest of days. After all you wouldn't be starting from scratch...

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  2. Hari OM
    Love Joplin, used to tinkle a few of his ditties on the ivories... Hope that your trip down and few days since have not taken too much of a toll on you. Enjoy your weekend now with lots of rest and recoup. YAM xx

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    1. So do I, Yam. Wonderful toe-tapping yet intricate music which always makes me feel good. We were very tired indeed by the time we got home and it's taken us a couple of days to recover physically (not as young as we were...) But as always we bounce back and music certainly helps there.

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  3. Hello Perpetua:

    And why not? We can readily see you as part of your own Silverwood Clarinet Choir playing a whole repertoire of pieces which could well include Scott Joplin numbers.

    Meanwhile, you have such splendidly isolated places, in Wales, Scotland and France, in which to practise in the great outdoors, weather permitting, without disturbing a soul. Go for it, as 'they' say nowadays!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement, Jane and Lance. I've some way to go before I could even think of being part of an ensemble, if I could find one in Mid-Wales, but the prospect is a wonderful incentive to practise.

      We're certainly wonderfully isolated here in Wales, but have neighbours close by in France who might feel rather differently about the prospect of clarinet practice al fresco. :-) As yet I'm rather shy about anyone else hearing me, so will continue to practise in the privacy of my study. :-)

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  4. Thanks for the video Perpetua. I've only ever previously heard the piece played on the piano but it certainly also goes with swing when played on the clarinet. I look forward to reading more when words become less elusive :-)

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    1. Until I listened to one of my birthday CDs for the first time this afternoon, so had I, Ricky, but it sounded so good that I immediately started to hunt for the same piece on YouTube. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :-) On second thoughts, it's not so much that words are elusive, but that my poor old brain can't organise them well enough...

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  5. That was fun to hear played on clarinets!
    Ragtime is the original toe-tapping music.

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    1. I loved it as soon as I heard it. It makes even a poor dancer like me want to get up and shake it all about. :-)

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  6. Lovely version Perpetua. I love the delicate precision of Ragtime. It has perfect rhythm but none of the raucoussness (can't spell it), of other swing music.

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    1. Hearing it on my new CD this morning was a revelation, Ray. I'm used to the clarinet as a solo instrument or in an orchestra or band with a mix of instruments. To hear an clarinet ensemble play it so beautifully is pure joy. :-)

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  7. Helen Devries3 May 2014 at 20:25

    In respect of bothering the neighbours...as Flanders and Swann have it:

    'I'll soon make them wish they were dead
    I'll take up the tuba instead...'

    So have no hesitation in taking your clarinet to France.

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    1. LOL, Helen! I will certainly have no hesitation in taking the clarinet with me - try making me leave it behind - but I'll probably practise indoors to save my own blushes. You haven't heard me yet.... :-)

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  8. They play very well and the clarinet is just perfect for Ragtime! I think I've played a version of this before...Axxx

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    1. I think so too, Annie, and agree completely with you about how well the clarinet's sound suits ragtime. I must find a copy of the music as something to aim for. :-)

      PS Lovely to see you out and about in blogland again. xx

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  9. Love it. When I was a kid, a guest speaker/performer came to our school in character as Scott Joplin. He played piano and did a whole presentation about the music and the culture of the time period. It was fun and very memorable.

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    1. It's great, isn't it, Jennifer. I envy you the visit of that performer and speaker, as I'm very interested in both the period and the music. It must have been really excellent for you still to remember it so well all these years later.

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  10. Lovely - look forward to hearing YOU in the years to come.

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    1. It's such appealing music, Susan. I've played a very simple theme from Joplin and look forward to tackling the more complex things in time. One day.I may even have the courage to let DH record my playing. :-)

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  11. Of course you will.
    One of these days you will show a clip of yourself playing. Beautifully.

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    1. Thank you for the vote of encouragement, Friko. The clip may be a little while coming as I really am still a beginner, though progress is being made. :-)

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  12. Never could get anything other than a squeak out of a clarinet. On the other hand, I picked up the Native American flute last winter and love its simplicity. Good luck to you!

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    1. Your flute sounds wonderful, Linda. Unfortunately I manged to get a proper note out of the clarinet the first time I tried and that was it. I was hooked and now my fingers are having to cope with increasingly complexity. :-)

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  13. I don't recall ever witnessing an all-clarinet choir, Perpetua. They are very good, and I really hope that you find an outlet for some ensemble playing sometime in your future. You have such enthusiasm for the instrument and with your practice, I would think your time would come. I hope the service for your elderly neighbor was a special time of family and friends drawing together for support and happy remembrances. It was a shame you had to rush away from your lovely home to get back, but it touched me that you were so ready to go and be with the family. I hope this is a restful week…and your words will come back. :-) Sometimes we really need to relish the quiet, even our own silence. ox

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    1. I've never seen one either, Debra, but really like this one, with all the members of the clarinet family represented. When I eventually reach a joining-in standard I'll have to see what I can find within reasonable distance. The service was totally fitting and DH and I were very glad we were able to be there. But it was a very long drive and it takes us longer to recover from it as we get older, hence the tiredness and inability to string words together very well. Still, we have a quiet week ahead, which we will both enjoy.

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  14. I'm glad you made it safely back to your home in Wales. As for the clarinet, remember the joy is in the journey. :-)

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    1. Stiff and tired by the end of the long drive, but yes we made it, thanks. I'm glad to hear the joy is in the clarinet journey as I have a feeling it will be rather a long one. :-)

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  15. Thank you, I rather enjoyed that!

    I do hope life will calm down a bit for you now x

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    1. Yes, it's great fun, isn't it? Life is much quieter now, though today has been happily occupied with family visitors. :-)

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  16. I love ragtime. It just makes you feel good somehow.

    Victoria in Indiana

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    1. So do I, Vic. It brings a smile to my face every time. :-)

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  17. I enjoy ragtime (every since watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and found this so uplifting as I end a lovely weekend here, Perpetua. Keep practicing - can't wait to someday hear you too!

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    1. It's such feel-good music, Penny, and of course was a central part of another Newman/Redford hit "The Sting", which actually had this tune in it, as well as the better-known ^The Entertainer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmruHc4S9Q

      The trouble with ragtime is that it sounds superficially straightforward because of the repetition, but actually needs great rhythm and manual dexterity. One day perhaps....

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  18. I've got a book of ragtime music - I bought it some years ago thinking it would be fun to play them - but found them extremely difficult, much more than I'd anticipated. So the book lies on the piano (possibly - but it may be inside the stool!), virtually unopened!! Sad - they're such fun to listen to, and years ago I went to Covent Garden to see the ballet 'Elite Syncopations' which was choreographed to some of the Scott Joplin rags (enormous fun, particularly with Wayne Sleep at about 5' 4" or so partnering Vergie Derman who must have been at least
    5' 10"!) Wonderful memories. The music will be much easier on the clarinet - only one line of music to contend with!!

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    1. A shame your book is lying unused, but I'm not surprised. Ragtime has always seemed very complex to me under that surface simplicity and liveliness. The most I've managed so far is a short and simplified excerpt from The Entertainer and I can't imagine playing anything as complex as the one in my clip for a very long time.

      Lucky you having seen Elite Syncopations live. I saw it on TV in black and white a very long time ago, probably not that long after it was first performed on stage. A quick search on Google has turned up the fact that it's being performed as part of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's south spring tour this year: http://www.brb.org.uk/masque/index.htm?act=WhatsOn&urn=30940&tsk=show So we both may get a chance to see it again some day.

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  19. I agree how uplifting playing an instrument is, and it's even better to play in a group.

    I played the viola for many years but gave it up when I had my kids. One day I may dig it out again. Actually, I was hoping my boys would take to playing an instrument and we could all play together. Some hope! They are not interested at all! Another wishful thinking bubble popped. :)

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    1. Yes, it is, Sarah, and I played violin in the school orchestra over 50 years ago. :-) So far I'm just learning on my own this time. The viola is a lovely instrument and my younger sister played it, though she later changed to playing folk fiddle.

      Some children are just not interested in learning to play an instrument and there's no point trying to make them. I'm sure they find plenty of other ways of filling their days. :-)

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  20. I hope you're enjoying a restful interlude with music, Perpetua! I watched The Young Musician of the Year Competition on television recently - wind instruments - and admired the playing and talent shown by each young person.

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    1. It's been good to have a few quieter days, thanks,. Linda and I'm enjoying listening to my birthday CDs too. Unfortunately we were away when this part of the Young Musician of the Year was on , so I'll have to check on iPlayer

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  21. This was great. It put a little zip in my morning. I envy that you can play a musical instrument. I never had much talent in that area. Perhaps, practice would have helped. Well, of course, practice would have helped a lot.

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    1. Yes, it's great fun, Sally. I'm gad you enjoyed it. I wouldn't say I play a musical instrument at any but the most basic level as yet. I've long forgotten almost everything I once knew about the violin and am still very much a beginner with the clarinet, but I do find learning and practising very satisfying so far. watch this space....

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  22. Dear Perpetua, I so enjoyed listening to that Scott Joplin melody--The Easy Winners. And I think that you--with your deep desire to learn and your persistence--are going to be a winner also. You'll be up on the stage entertaining us! Peace.

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    1. Dee, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I love Joplin and his music always gets my toes tapping. I'd love to think I could one day play like this, but unfortunately elderly fingers are a bit reluctant to learn new skills very quickly. But I will persevere....

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