Footspa

Music Just popping in between proms -- I have this interesting feeling that I'm going to end up listening to them all. First of all, thanks to those who Adrian for his help with the first clue last night. Of course it's a bass clef something I should have remember from seven years in the choir at school. I missed the interval of BBC Four's coverage tonight because someone came to collect a footspa I was passing on through the freecycling scheme so I didn't see the second Promundrum clue but the Proms website is to the rescue. Aptly the clue is:

State of Elgar's house after clear out.

I'm wondering if state has a double meaning and has something to do with the place where he lived in a more general sense. Going back to the 3-2-1 analogy, I think I'm going to miss out on the weekend in Paris and end up with Dusty Bin.

Speaking of choirs -- from the comments section of my first post about the Proms:

"Just stumbled across your blog and have to say... nicely written. I sing in the BBC Chorus and knowing that we reach people who just love music without always going on about the theory behind it is great.

Enjoy the rest of the proms... watch out for our acapella prom coming soon!!"

Which made my day and just underlines that you never know who's reading.

Tonight's first concert was probably the most challenging yet for both this listener and the attending orchestra, with the world premiere of the final three movements of Sam Hayden's work Substratum which essentially attempted to capture the essence of decay in orchestral sound and Ives's Symphony No. 4 a musical exploration of the big 'why' question. These untrained ears could certainly hear that questing nature in both works although to be honest the highlight of the concert for me was Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, 'The Age of Anxiety' which was sandwiched in the middle, a stonking riff on Auden's poem with some mesmerizing melodies played dexterously by pianist Orli Shaham.

Anyway must dash, Prom 6 awaits and that includes music that hasn't been performed in four hundred years.