'all we have is what we remember'

horsemouth has acquired a copy of flaubert’s juvenalia memoirs of a madman from outside a charity shop in a remarkably efficient kidnapping operation. (‘may I?’ ‘thank you.’ gone)


he was on his way to see stick in the wheel at the union chapel (together on two tracks with the britten sinfonia)

the britten sinfonia first - young people playing classical music respect, in this case classical music inspired by folk themes- first off milhaud (pronounced me-O not mill-hoed as horsemouth would have imagined) and an excerpt from le bœuf sur le toit, a brazillian flavoured thing (nice and lively - horsemouth’s favourite) originally intended for a jean genet cabaret , next two movements from pelléas et mélisande (fauré) which perfectly made the argument of why romantic impressionistic french music had to die. there were other things but horsemouth forgets them - a piece based on a sea shanty which people sang when they weren’t playing. a piece by percy grainger (mock morris? no relation) and later a newly comissioned piece from josephine stephenson (horsemouth and howard, philistines that they are, bailed before this).

and the two tracks of stick in the wheel with orchestral arrangements - counted off (perhaps a little approximately) by ian from stick in the wheel - (for it was just an ian and nicola gig) these (roving blade and over again -or is horsemouth’s memory failing him) were nice enough but didn’t add that much to what was there.

horsemuth has listened to roving blade through - someone has put up a clip on facebook - and it improves on subsequent listenings.

the problem with folk songs as sources for classical pieces (opines horsemouth) is that they are strophic (if horsemouth has got the term correctly), they have a tune which is repeated with only small variations to accommodate the words, they tend to be modal rather than fitted with all the gears and gubbins of keys and key changes and the like. consequently they do not develop well, it is a real challenge to find an arrangement that does not drown the tune in soup nor simply repeat what is there indiscriminately. this, unless they are ballads with tons of lyrics, makes folk songs short - so a couple of these all in a row can become much of a muchness very quickly.

between these two tracks a stick in the wheel set (with just nicola and ian) - it ended with a piece with an electronic backing track (to no great avail sad to say), witch bottle was great (the best thing in H+H’s opinion, being that strange thing, a folk song about a material item), weaving song, the cruel ship’s captain, me n becky, the blind beggar of bethnal green. ian was making some use of violin bow on guitar (jimmy page style) which was good. horsemouth regrets not liking the electronic piece more but in truth he likes the band set up (though he does admire their attempts to find new things, new ways of doing it).
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thereafter horsemouth and howard adjourned to a nearby pub for two pints of expensive modern beer and then home. horsemouth walked there and back (so the exercise was good), later sean came round to visit, sean thinks theresa may should not be counted out yet - that she’s the narasimha rao of british politics (this is just a wonderfully contrarian opinion).