'valses nobles et sentimentales'

Mar 17, 2010

'...le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile...'
(Henri de Regnier)

horsemouth is listening to valses nobles et sentimentales by ravel as we speak in a concert of french piano music (his favourite source for thievery) on the wireless (arf!).

piano pieces  - they may be complicated but they're short - that at least is a blessing. he has the sheet music that he bought for 20p in a library sale. horsemouth doesn't so much read music as barks at dots laboriously transcribing them into a's, b's,c's etc. and is frankly a bit tone deaf but like the counting horse little hans you can learn a lot from watching the reactions of your audience. horsemouth recalls a recent programme offering advice on buying a recording of debussy's  preludes - it pointed out the many misprints in the scores (little things like double sharpenings of notes that had often confused horsemouth).

the pianist (jean phillipe collard) thinks of debussy's preludes  as being like a digestif - an eclairage  - with debussy one goes outside into the light - you can play just one at the end of the concert. horsemouth must have a look at satie's  gnossienes again soon and debussy's general lavine.

he's been practicing humming the theme from la chanson d'orphee  while picking the backing chords in a habanera style (think bizet's carmen) its a little tricky but he's getting there -he's not thought of anything smart to do with the 6/8 section yet. there are probably french lyrics. other than that he's been doing some work on charles trenet's la mer - once he's got the chords and words learnt there's a whole second line to worry about. if that's not enough there's always maple leaf rag, he still hasn't recorded (or in fact learnt all of) pagodes, he wants to go back and re-learn bizet's agnus dei because it is in fact chopped out of his l'arlesienne (the girl from arles) which horsemouth now wants to attempt as a guitar instrumental. if that's not enough there are also a couple more faure songs he'd like to have a go at.

horsemouth listened to the book of the week about chopin and george sand visiting mallorca- he doesn't like the guy who's reading its' voice. banning eyre (author of in griot time a book on the troubles of life as a musician in mali that makes one glad to live in a fully developed capitalism) tours round north georgia including a visit to a shape note singing convention.

today horsemouth worked at the writers colony for a bit (less fun than usual - the course is finishing and a mild air of discontentment haunts the place) but he did bump into a number of friends on the way home - they are academics and are looking tired. work is being slightly vexatious. horsemouth should probably put a bit more effort into sorting himself out other work elsewhere but his mind is really on a holiday.