Sarod Legacy: The 7th Generation, Wigmore Hall, 25 July 2014

Mercifully Janie didn’t go off on one of her, “isn’t that basically an Indian theorbo thing” at the sight of a sarod…

…which is a bit odd, really, because I suspect that the sarod is a much closer relative to the theorbo than Janie’s mystery punter outburst about the “basically Chinese theorbo thing” aka the pipa:

William Carter, Theorbist Extraordinaire’s Mystery Punter Outed, 24 September 2010

So how early an instrument is the sarod?

Well, if you accept that it is basically a rubab, very old indeed. And very lute-like.

Amjad Ali Khan believes that the modern form of the instrument was developed by his family in the late 18th or 19th century, seven generations ago. Amjad Ali Khan was our man of the evening (along with his kin) so who are we to argue with that.

Here is a link to the Wigmore Hall stub for this concert.

Below is a vid of a similar concert recorded a few months later, including Amjad Ali Khan with both sons who played that night in July, but I think a different tabla player. This is a truly lovely vid/recording:

We find this type of music incredibly relaxing…

…and assume it is meant to be relaxing…

…so it was not a bad thing to both nod off at times in a late night (22:00 start) gig at The Wig.

We loved this concert. revived, we also stuck around for a while to see the jazz in the bar: Dave O’Higgins Quartet – click here for listing – post bop, apparently, which was cool.

Music for a While, L’ Arpeggiata, Wigmore Hall, 10 July 2014

I could quickly and easily run out of adjectives to describe this concert…it was that good.

Our reluctance to go to Thursday evening concerts at that time (we were both still working full pelt) was mitigated by the promise of baroque music with a jazzy feel.

Also, we were both keen to see Philippe Jaroussky; he had impressed us so much on previous sightings/hearings.

Here is a link to the concert programme for the night.

It was mostly Purcell music from L’Arpeggiata’s then latest album Music For A While.

We ran into Eric Rhode that night, who (like some of the critics,, it turned out) wasn’t so keen on Music For A While. But Eric told us that L’Arpeggiata’s album Los Pajaros Perdidos was exceptional, so I procured both albums…

…and was so pleased with them that I ended up pretty much buying L’Arpeggiata’s back catalogue, all of which sounds delightful and we still listen to those albums a lot – especially Los Pajaros Perdidos, which, unlike the album Music For A While, is all about Philippe Jaroussky, who was on top form for that album.

Here is a short teaser vid which gives you a reasonable idea of the Music For A While album:

As for that concert in July 2014, it truly was a special evening at the Wigmore Hall for me and Janie.

Perseverance Drive by Robin Soans, Bush Theatre, 5 July 2014

This is the sort of play/production that reminds us why we like the Bush so much.

The play is set in Barbados and London; the play is a mature drama, full of insight into Bajan life and culture. Robin Soans has previous of course – not least Life After Scandal…

Life After Scandal by Robin Soans, Hampstead Theatre, 21 September 2007

…but this play is quite different as when we had seen his previous work it had been verbatim theatre before this play.

Here is a link to the Bush’s resource on this play/production.

Excellent cast, excellent production. Janie and I were discussing the issues and the relative merits (and demerits) of the characters deep into the weekend.

Below is a trailer:

More interesting, here is a short interview with Robin Soans and director Madani Younis:

Finally, here is a link to a search term that finds the (mostly excellent) reviews.

 

 

 

 

 

Adler & Gibb by Tim Crouch, Royal Court Theatre, 21 June 2014

Strange play, this one. I recall us both really liking the idea of it and the style of it…

…I even recall that we enjoyed the evening…

…yet afterwards we sensed that there was less substance to the piece than we had imagined…

…a bit like the modern/conceptual art world in many ways, so perhaps the play depicts its subject cunningly well.

Here is a link to the Royal Court’s resource on this production.

Below I have embedded an interview with Tim Crouch and Karl James, who explain the play rather well.

Here is a link to a search term that should find most if not all of the reviews – which were rather mixed.

England v Sri Lanka Day 3 Lord’s Test Match, King Cricket Match Report, 14 June 2014

Janie and I (or should I say Ged and Daisy) went to the Saturday of the Lord’s test against Sri Lanka in 2014.

My King Cricket match report linked here, describing our day, was published on King Cricket in October 2014.

This piece is, in a way, the first part of a trilogy.  It is linked to a couple of other pieces about Ged and Daisy encountering Mr Johnny Friendly, an MCC member, friend of the family and real tennis enthusiast. In reverse order:

This piece inadvertently became the first part of a trilogy because I misspelt Jane Austen as Jane Austin in this piece. King Cricket missed the error when he subbed; both of us metaphorically ate our own livers for the error in private, but I decided to milk the pun when we ran into Mr Johnny Friendly again.

The irony that I myself have subsequently taken up real tennis with gusto is not wasted on me.

To understand my King Cricket match reports you need to know that:

  • Ged and Daisy are nicknames/noms de plume for me and Janie. Friends are all referred to pseudonymously;
  • King Cricket match reports have strict rules: “If it’s a professional match, on no account mention the cricket itself. If it’s an amateur match, feel free to go into excruciating detail.”

If you do want to know about the cricket itself, you might want to have a look at the on-line scorecard – here.

It was not the most exciting day’s cricket we’ve ever seen. Daisy said the match was destined for a draw and of course she was right. Except that a nail-biter of a nine-down squeaky-bum draw is not the sort of draw Daisy probably had in mind. Of course the King Cricket report is silent on such details.

England v Sri Lanka Day 2 Lord’s Test Match, King Cricket Match Report, 13 June 2014

A day at the test match with three friends.

I went for an unusual and foodie menu for this match, partly because Alastair “Big Al DeLarge” Little was originally supposed to be part of our group, partly because I was also catering for the next day, when Daisy attended – click here for that report.

I wrote up this day 2 in a King Cricket stylee, which was published later that year on the King Cricket site – a report which tells you pretty much all you need to know about the day – click here...

…except that that report does not include details about the The Lord’s Throdkin, which was launched that day and which I wrote up separately for King Cricket – published here...

…and also of course King Cricket reports don’t talk about the cricket itself. So unless I insert a few points here you wouldn’t know that:

  • We saw Joe Root take his score from just over 100 to 200 – you don’t get to witness live many double-hundreds in your life. Charley and I were still shaking from the thought of having witnessed Ian Bell’s 199 at the same ground six years earlier;
  • Nigel “Jim Hawkins” Thorpe teased me when I suggested that Liam Plunkett could bat – I think Charley joined in the teasing, so I was very pleased when Plunkett demonstrated his batting skills with a nice cameo;
  • There were two players named Jayawardene playing for Sri Lanka that match. We tried to get a chant of “two Jayawardenes, there are only two Jayawardenes” going, but strangely that idea didn’t take off at Lord’s. Pity, really.

Here’s the scorecard if you are that interested.

I think the King Cricket report is more interesting – certainly more fun – here’s the link again.

Mr Burns by Anne Washburn, Almeida Theatre, 7 June 2014

We really didn’t like this play. I can see from the reviews that it was a “marmite” show.

The problems we had with it were many and varied.

We struggled to suspend belief for the notion that a disaster of the kind described could lead the USA into an autarkic breakdown of society. (Mind you, writing three-and-a-half-years later…)

We struggled to engage with the characters, who were a little too “everyman/no man” for us.

We struggled with the length of the play.

We (or certainly I) found every twist and change predictable and obvious…so much so, that, during the second interval, although we had not looked at a synopsis or review before our visit, I told Janie what the third part was bound to be about…and (by all accounts, we gave it a miss) got it pretty much spot on.

Here is a link to the Almeida’s ever-excellent on-line resource.

The following is the Almeida’s audience response vid:

…and here is a link to a search term that will find the reviews, good and bad.

No Wu Man No Cry, The Journey Of The Chinese Pipa, Wigmore Lates, 6 June 2014

OK, the concert wasn’t really entitled No Wu Man No Cry, perhaps it should have been.

Wu Man is a fine exponent of the pipa…

…aka “that Chinese theorbo thing” to Janie, as she learnt to describe it after accosting a William Carter the theorbist at The Wig a few years earlier:

William Carter, Theorbist Extraordinaire’s Mystery Punter Outed, 24 September 2010

This concert was a fascinating mixture of Chinese early music and modern pieces in a traditional style.

It was one of those Wigmore late jobs, so we struggled to find the energy to go to the hall and then had a terrific time.

Here is a link to the Wigmore Hall resource on that Wu Man concert.

Below is a super vid which shows Wu Man’s virtuosity playing a piece much like some of those we heard that evening:

We retired to the bar afterwards and enjoyed the Tom Green Septet…described here through this link.

Another very pleasurable late evening of music at The Wig.

The Day Charley the Gent & I Didn’t Go To Radlett To Watch Cricket, But Chas & Dot Did Come To Noddyland For Dinner

Most of what needs to be said about this day is summarised in the King Cricket piece about it – click here or below:

Middlesex Second XI v Essex Second XI at Radlett

If by any chance anything ever goes awry with that link, it is scraped to here.

In case you can’t be bothered to click but can be bothered to read my scribblings, the plan was for me and Chas to go to Radlett to watch some cricket, after which we would retire to Noddyland where Dot, Chas’s wife would join Chas, me and Janie for dinner.

In the end it rained such that cricket made no sense but a very pleasant dinner still made sense.

I’ll leave the final word to Chas:

…we had a great time yesterday, the house and garden are both very beautiful, the area is gorgeous, you both have made a very good decision to live there.

I felt a little embarrassed as the food was everything thing I adore, and lovely wine too!

To my amazement Dot enjoyed the Salmon and really enjoyed the hospitality, even the singing and ‘metal’ playing!

Don’t forget the option for you to see cricket at Essex is still very much open – just let me know some possible dates and I will organise.

I took Chas up on that offer – the following season – reported here and below:

Essex v Australians at Chelmsford, Day 2, 2 July 2015

But before that, indeed fewer than 10 days later, Chas and I were together again at Lord’s for Day Two of the Sri Lanka Test:

England v Sri Lanka Day 2 Lord’s Test Match, King Cricket Match Report, 13 June 2014

Those are both events reported more comprehensively on King Cricket than on Ogblog!

Essex v Australians at Chelmsford – match report
England v Sri Lanka at Lord’s, day two match report

Incognito by Nick Payne, Bush Theatre, 31 May 2014

We really liked this play/production.

We had been blown away by Nick Payne’s Constellations, so our expectations were high…

…this piece met those expectations.

It is all well explained on the Bush’s excellent on-line resource – click here.

This search term link will find you independent reviews and resources, although you shouldn’t much need them because the piece was very well received so the above Bush resource covers most of the bases.

Here is a very interesting interview/explanation from Nick Payne:

Below is a tantalising trailer which says little but looks spectacular:

A super evening of theatre. This one really deserves a revival and/or a major theatre run.