The weather has been spotty as always. No pictures. I only have two things to report. On Tuesday I saw a production of "Romeo and Juliet" in Roselyn Chapel. Absolutely gorgeous, and the first production of that Shakespeare play that I have liked. I tend to find Romeo and Juliet overwrought. There were only three actors, which was quite impressive, with a harp accompanist. Additionally, the stage wasn't traditional. We sat in a circle in the very small nave of the church and they played in the middle. There were four entrances and exits, and the actors were close enough to touch. Fantastic venue, also.
Then, yesterday, I went to Greyfriar's Kirk to watch a production called "Chant Wars". It was an hour and a half of Gregorian Chant. Beautiful and haunting. Again, the venue was beautiful. They tracked the differences between Carolingian chant methods, with their intent on the purity of Roman Chant, and the regional European methods they supplanted. This all happened in the 9th century with Charlemagne, and was sort of like East Coast vs. West Coast rap (but not quite). Hard to describe the emotions that those beautiful polyphonic chords evoked. My favorite part was when two of the chanters "hummed" below a soloist, and the effect was like that of an organ.
The next few days will be very busy, packing, farewell party, etc. May not post until Friday night.
2 comments:
Didn't you like Gregorian chanting in high school?
Yeah, I did. Listened to some then, but never really got a historical grounding. That is what made the show so interesting, was its historical connections.
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