Yorkshire Music: News and Updates
Music in Bradford, Leeds and the West Yorkshire Region
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Diversity Embraced : Bradford Music Club
As I left the historic Quaker Meeting House in Rawdon (Leeds) this evening, the air and sky were dominated by a huge jet making it's final approach into LBA, landing gear down, engine seemingly groaning with fatigue and headlights slicing beams through the overcast, evening sky. And, while I stood there, awestruck, it occurred to me that this moment also summed up my feelings about the concert I had just attended - a fantastic coming together of the old and the new.
Musicians of all experience and confidence levels are welcomed to perform at the monthly Bradford Music Clubs, organised by Ann Perry and compered by Don Edbury. Naturally, this allows the audience to hear a whole array of music from past and present that perhaps would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the efforts of those involved in putting these evenings together. These days it's a rare pleasure to hear truly live performances made even by many professional musicians, so it is especially worthwhile to note that most performers at the Bradford Music Club give up their evening to entertain for the sheer enjoyment of being involved in musical pursuits.
The evening started and ended with a series of vocal pieces of a rather melancholy nature; compositions that somehow seemed ideally suited to the context of a Sunday evening in a building that has stood watching the seasons change for over 300 years. Remarkable, too, was the similarity in the sentiments expressed in songs written over a comparable expanse of time, from the duet 'A Lover and his Lass' by Thomas Morley to the perhaps more commonly known Rogers & Hammerstein melody 'This nearly was mine'.
Other vocal performances punctuated this evening's concert, including a series of songs performed by Tony and Rahel Otra. Accompanied by Tony on guitar, Rahel's voice was striking : her Northern English accent seeped through a tone that could be likened to that of Joan Baez, complete with downward glissando ornamentation at the ends of phrases.
Another notable performance was that of pianist David Holden who played a self-penned improvisation of sorts. This marvellous piece was clearly produced with the utmost attention on pianistic colour, leaping from delicately arpeggiated sections at the top of the keyboard to moments where David seemed to be physically fighting being dragged into the depth of the keyboard by domineering cluster chords full of unusual rhythm and tonality.
The next Bradford Music Club meeting will take place at the same venue on Sunday 23rd April at 7pm. Please contact me if you want any further information about participating, either as a member of the audience or by contributing a performance, so that I can pass your details onto the organisers.
Musicians of all experience and confidence levels are welcomed to perform at the monthly Bradford Music Clubs, organised by Ann Perry and compered by Don Edbury. Naturally, this allows the audience to hear a whole array of music from past and present that perhaps would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the efforts of those involved in putting these evenings together. These days it's a rare pleasure to hear truly live performances made even by many professional musicians, so it is especially worthwhile to note that most performers at the Bradford Music Club give up their evening to entertain for the sheer enjoyment of being involved in musical pursuits.
The evening started and ended with a series of vocal pieces of a rather melancholy nature; compositions that somehow seemed ideally suited to the context of a Sunday evening in a building that has stood watching the seasons change for over 300 years. Remarkable, too, was the similarity in the sentiments expressed in songs written over a comparable expanse of time, from the duet 'A Lover and his Lass' by Thomas Morley to the perhaps more commonly known Rogers & Hammerstein melody 'This nearly was mine'.
Other vocal performances punctuated this evening's concert, including a series of songs performed by Tony and Rahel Otra. Accompanied by Tony on guitar, Rahel's voice was striking : her Northern English accent seeped through a tone that could be likened to that of Joan Baez, complete with downward glissando ornamentation at the ends of phrases.
Another notable performance was that of pianist David Holden who played a self-penned improvisation of sorts. This marvellous piece was clearly produced with the utmost attention on pianistic colour, leaping from delicately arpeggiated sections at the top of the keyboard to moments where David seemed to be physically fighting being dragged into the depth of the keyboard by domineering cluster chords full of unusual rhythm and tonality.
The next Bradford Music Club meeting will take place at the same venue on Sunday 23rd April at 7pm. Please contact me if you want any further information about participating, either as a member of the audience or by contributing a performance, so that I can pass your details onto the organisers.
