Meta tags:
Headings (most frequently used words):
2026, july, festival, june, munich, opera, blog, of, thursday, monteverdi, et, die, staatsoper, unter, den, linden, 28, boulezian, friday, 17, sunday, 12, wednesday, tuesday, saturday, monday, 29, about, me, search, this, total, pageviews, archive, popular, posts, my, list, broken, branches, sulayman, shibe, purcell, dowland, caccini, traditional, darwish, fairuz, harvey, chaker, takemitsu, and, britten, 14, spitalfields, choir, the, chapels, royal, hm, tower, london, carey, palestrina, soriano, al, entführung, aus, dem, serail, pelléas, mélisande, walküre, turandot, 30, one, blood, borgioni, continuo, ensemble, heumann, la, morte, orfeo,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (487), and (275), was (105), that (98), not (79), one (72), with (71), from (70), for (64), more (61), this (58), but (57), have (53), its (49), his (45), opera (44), than (39), may (36), well (35), all (35), what (34), july (33), music (32), perhaps (32), been (31), there (30), were (28), their (27), might (27), june (26), had (26), even (25), work (25), share (24), only (24), here (23), much (23), 2026 (22), yet (22), least (21), too (21), they (21), april (20), august (20), #monteverdi (20), new (20), september (19), october (19), november (19), december (19), january (19), february (19), march (19), director (19), such (19), would (19), wagner (19), has (18), when (18), dramatic (17), first (17), could (17), any (17), which (17), munich (16), both (16), her (16), shibe (15), itself (15), performance (15), like (15), did (15), berlin (14), you (14), something (14), festival (14), again (14), also (14), other (14), anything (14), sulayman (13), chorus (13), before (13), michael (13), two (13), who (13), though (13), then (13), rather (13), can (13), palestrina (13), later (12), andrea (12), without (12), many (12), between (12), far (12), very (12), will (12), less (12), staatsoper (11), hear (11), turandot (11), about (11), orfeo (11), should (11), musical (11), words (11), still (11), out (11), time (11), are (11), most (11), now (11), little (11), mark (10), berry (10), die (10), think (10), heard (10), orchestra (10), ensemble (10), act (10), course (10), some (10), quite (10), point (10), way (10), sense (10), them (10), see (10), another (10), offered (10), certainly (10), seen (9), pelléas (9), choir (9), proved (9), world (9), those (9), our (9), concert (9), being (9), close (9), excellent (9), albeit (9), often (9), gods (9), tower (9), through (8), mélisande (8), labels (8), pinterest (8), facebook (8), blogthis (8), email (8), posted (8), once (8), second (8), style (8), century (8), better (8), composer (8), into (8), state (8), consort (8), ever (8), never (8), place (8), although (8), beyond (8), down (8), hunding (8), german (8), feuerbach (8), almost (8), moses (8), mozart (7), great (7), conductor (7), unter (7), entführung (7), landi (7), borgioni (7), rossi (7), him (7), having (7), programme (7), death (7), jurowski (7), von (7), bavarian (7), designs (7), role (7), drama (7), own (7), enough (7), after (7), chapel (7), production (7), kratzer (7), she (7), wotan (7), fricka (7), worse (7), house (7), religion (7), thomas (7), berghaus (7), staatskapelle (7), different (7), ceylan (7), soriano (7), anne (6), blood (6), walküre (6), den (6), linden (6), chapels (6), royal (6), broken (6), history (6), orchestral (6), maria (6), david (6), line (6), always (6), outset (6), indeed (6), whole (6), performed (6), made (6), founded (6), idea (6), end (6), vladimir (6), betts (6), male (6), set (6), applause (6), put (6), stage (6), present (6), ultimately (6), element (6), direction (6), say (6), onstage (6), old (6), third (6), staging (6), important (6), seemed (6), must (6), images (6), particular (6), ring (6), playing (6), audience (6), just (6), roth (6), let (6), london (6), theme (5), rest (5), hall (5), voices (5), purcell (5), continuo (5), solo (5), orpheus (5), occasion (5), against (5), form (5), response (5), stood (5), opening (5), come (5), setting (5), theatre (5), primo (5), life (5), three (5), lack (5), titles (5), song (5), know (5), city (5), lotte (5), guth (5), lee (5), costumes (5), lighting (5), especially (5), fine (5), seems (5), contrast (5), subsequent (5), under (5), done (5), thus (5), same (5), visual (5), terms (5), english (5), revival (5), recall (5), thought (5), nationaltheater (5), experience (5), early (5), singing (5), sounded (5), hardly (5), things (5), every (5), nothing (5), speaking (5), sieglinde (5), times (5), merely (5), brünnhilde (5), moreover (5), barenboim (5), nature (5), daniel (5), however (5), plainchant (5), ave (5), arr (5), chaker (5), dowland (5), guitar (5), india (4), premiere (4), aus (4), dem (4), serail (4), allegri (4), peri (4), heumann (4), expressive (4), ears (4), immediately (4), heart (4), interesting (4), reminded (4), instruments (4), began (4), sometimes (4), dance (4), else (4), instance (4), sound (4), came (4), evening (4), following (4), power (4), celebrated (4), around (4), acts (4), revealing (4), turn (4), dean (4), queen (4), dramaturgy (4), queens (4), cast (4), throughout (4), future (4), sure (4), liturgical (4), librettist (4), relationship (4), few (4), libretto (4), certain (4), case (4), contemporary (4), command (4), good (4), hint (4), reflection (4), reading (4), off (4), slightly (4), felt (4), suppose (4), led (4), strange (4), fura (4), dels (4), baus (4), christian (4), video (4), structural (4), otherwise (4), respect (4), presented (4), alas (4), until (4), upon (4), post (4), joachim (4), irene (4), anger (4), siegmund (4), revealed (4), character (4), hope (4), given (4), human (4), dresden (4), surely (4), read (4), within (4), rate (4), while (4), suspect (4), does (4), shrine (4), christianity (4), love (4), unusual (4), thoughts (4), blondelle (4), simon (4), kožená (4), golaud (4), period (4), alike (4), brechtian (4), berliner (4), conducted (4), bülent (4), version (4), whilst (4), alone (4), greenaway (4), carey (4), tournemire (4), takemitsu (4), harvey (4), caccini (4), britten (4), butterfly (4), since (3), china (3), deutsche (3), oper (3), international (3), literary (3), wagnerian (3), six (3), blog (3), popular (3), posts (3), spitalfields (3), branches (3), home (3), stefano (3), sigismondo (3), mauro (3), luigi (3), lorenzo (3), jacopo (3), friederike (3), falconiero (3), excerpts (3), cetra (3), mia (3), concept (3), genre (3), treated (3), splendidly (3), artistry (3), twenty (3), previous (3), gone (3), found (3), arguably (3), giovanni (3), action (3), worked (3), guise (3), prior (3), theatrical (3), nicely (3), varied (3), voice (3), why (3), operatic (3), understanding (3), context (3), returning (3), dialogue (3), instrument (3), delle (3), euridice (3), beginning (3), informed (3), various (3), text (3), morte (3), operas (3), written (3), fascinating (3), real (3), vividly (3), communicative (3), performances (3), productions (3), loss (3), above (3), vera (3), boecker (3), pawel (3), horodyski (3), butler (3), johanni (3), oostrum (3), claus (3), elizabeth (3), england (3), mary (3), lord (3), esfahani (3), design (3), bauer (3), emphatically (3), harmonic (3), themselves (3), knew (3), equally (3), apparent (3), westminster (3), abbey (3), whether (3), question (3), likewise (3), tombs (3), electronic (3), sounds (3), conflict (3), material (3), purely (3), left (3), rheingold (3), puzzled (3), musically (3), opposed (3), takes (3), features (3), simply (3), used (3), including (3), country (3), whose (3), anyone (3), solution (3), problem (3), figures (3), met (3), welcome (3), highly (3), reactionary (3), aesthetics (3), strongly (3), garden (3), student (3), loud (3), attempt (3), nor (3), afraid (3), yonghoon (3), sondra (3), radvanovsky (3), golda (3), schultz (3), horn (3), battistoni (3), calaf (3), pedrussa (3), rainer (3), considerably (3), nonetheless (3), difficult (3), elsewhere (3), wish (3), original (3), expect (3), save (3), how (3), peter (3), appeared (3), doing (3), final (3), characters (3), cause (3), europe (3), chinese (3), back (3), tobias (3), nicholas (3), brownlee (3), miina (3), lisa (3), värelä (3), bäckström (3), roberts (3), ekaterina (3), gubanova (3), ain (3), heroes (3), increasingly (3), religious (3), known (3), already (3), sadness (3), intelligence (3), general (3), self (3), mere (3), immortality (3), feuerbachian (3), political (3), begin (3), unlikely (3), outstanding (3), ride (3), odd (3), latter (3), past (3), loved (3), aspects (3), turned (3), events (3), play (3), shall (3), appear (3), during (3), fellow (3), young (3), hegelian (3), critique (3), hegel (3), modern (3), fancy (3), church (3), clear (3), whom (3), offer (3), united (3), quasi (3), mostly (3), earth (3), inspired (3), near (3), long (3), revolutionary (3), activity (3), single (3), reality (3), leipzig (3), others (3), stephen (3), milling (3), keenlyside (3), ruth (3), magdalena (3), henrik (3), brandstetter (3), françois (3), xavier (3), debussy (3), sofie (3), otter (3), yniold (3), terrifying (3), alert (3), vivid (3), similar (3), arkel (3), barber (3), involved (3), directly (3), walk (3), motion (3), insofar (3), stands (3), part (3), guggeis (3), siyabonga (3), maqungo (3), serafina (3), starke (3), laurenz (3), steffens (3), adela (3), zaharia (3), bassa (3), selim (3), konstanze (3), höppner (3), joseph (3), whatever (3), live (3), current (3), interest (3), dramaturge (3), comedy (3), francesco (3), flor (3), peeters (3), colm (3), charles (3), eight (3), orgue (3), mystique (3), assumpta (3), est (3), organ (3), mass (3), offering (3), maris (3), stella (3), readily (3), wigmore (3), sean (3), layale (3), karim (3), jonathan (3), fairuz (3), care (3), branch (3), control (2), classical (2), years (2), manoj (2), quatuor (2), beethoven (2), borodine (2), korngold (2), successful (2), path (2), 2025 (2), castle (2), symphony (2), older (2), interspersed (2), sonata (2), toccata (2), battaglia (2), oblivion (2), soave (2), baritone (2), lira (2), gamba (2), encore (2), happy (2), ending (2), players (2), where (2), apt (2), curtain (2), mood (2), narration (2), showed (2), effect (2), harp (2), lyre (2), halves (2), trabaci (2), soul (2), doubt (2), change (2), charon (2), beva (2), secure (2), strophic (2), incoronazione (2), poppea (2), chitarrone (2), window (2), joined (2), sinfonia (2), consider (2), manifold (2), rending (2), rightly (2), baroque (2), approach (2), libro (2), canzone (2), overture (2), served (2), reflecting (2), contributed (2), lutenist (2), body (2), harmony (2), fashion (2), seventeenth (2), earlier (2), per (2), ballo (2), della (2), notte (2), amore (2), surviving (2), somewhere (2), cavil (2), enable (2), closer (2), tribute (2), mysterious (2), historically (2), members (2), contribution (2), devised (2), small (2), assembled (2), texts (2), four (2), seventh (2), monday (2), heather (2), brett (2), tudor (2), stuart (2), scots (2), female (2), jane (2), darnley (2), scottish (2), executioner (2), mahan (2), choreography (2), christoph (2), hell (2), geoffroy (2), schied (2), inevitable (2), coincidence (2), coloratura (2), lines (2), brought (2), word (2), maybe (2), hecklers (2), swept (2), away (2), straws (2), suggested (2), making (2), equal (2), matter (2), changing (2), comment (2), wozzeck (2), collaboration (2), comes (2), complement (2), return (2), unlike (2), noises (2), large (2), bayerische (2), staatsorchester (2), wise (2), worlds (2), engage (2), tellingly (2), union (2), inconsistencies (2), language (2), points (2), add (2), palace (2), phrase (2), letter (2), historical (2), island (2), sources (2), lie (2), manner (2), artist (2), scene (2), henry (2), mutual (2), successor (2), elements (2), perennial (2), because (2), repertoire (2), appearance (2), people (2), sat (2), neither (2), avant (2), directed (2), none (2), concern (2), gawain (2), monika (2), rittershaus (2), thursday (2), puccini (2), kevin (2), conners (2), van (2), timur (2), liù (2), carlus (2), children (2), extras (2), conducting (2), inheritance (2), disappointment (2), subtle (2), characterisation (2), cold (2), imperious (2), sincere (2), star (2), trying (2), similarly (2), adding (2), absent (2), included (2), singers (2), extended (2), franco (2), quote (2), website (2), curious (2), subtlety (2), thing (2), saw (2), hold (2), attention (2), man (2), circus (2), someone (2), remained (2), wondered (2), tell (2), red (2), blue (2), towards (2), commedia (2), dell (2), arte (2), learned (2), honest (2), rule (2), debt (2), order (2), pay (2), parents (2), bit (2), siegfried (2), disturbing (2), watch (2), follow (2), incest (2), each (2), revelation (2), film (2), instalment (2), projected (2), portrayal (2), score (2), losing (2), valkyries (2), virtues (2), conception (2), socialist (2), social (2), event (2), needed (2), pointing (2), bayreuth (2), vienna (2), played (2), strings (2), dark (2), boulez (2), movement (2), taking (2), became (2), ease (2), flowed (2), accomplished (2), strangely (2), took (2), host (2), numerous (2), actual (2), ludwig (2), admire (2), thereafter (2), god (2), loge (2), unless (2), saxony (2), youth (2), seem (2), alberich (2), hooded (2), problems (2), sunday (2), monologue (2), passes (2), ran (2), assumed (2), unquestionably (2), spared (2), direct (2), sellmaier (2), strong (2), states (2), possibly (2), need (2), marian (2), reference (2), clearly (2), member (2), initially (2), abandon (2), newly (2), right (2), considered (2), remain (2), aloof (2), among (2), purer (2), related (2), crucially (2), revolution (2), year (2), university (2), lectures (2), philosophy (2), friedrich (2), development (2), pre (2), rendered (2), revolutions (2), next (2), rock (2), tristan (2), moving (2), posed (2), stagings (2), try (2), hamburg (2), doctor (2), shepherd (2), oštrek (2), typically (2), intelligent (2), french (2), geneviève (2), occasional (2), compelling (2), hearing (2), cannot (2), anywhere (2), make (2), becomes (2), perfect (2), directorial (2), craft (2), soon (2), offers (2), take (2), rare (2), lightness (2), directors (2), dorotheenstädtischer (2), friedhof (2), adoptive (2), felsenstein (2), survive (2), enduring (2), complex (2), qualities (2), prove (2), lived (2), mid (2), buried (2), paul (2), properly (2), cemetery (2), brecht (2), looked (2), saved (2), ruling (2), unity (2), followed (2), gielen (2), sadly (2), mannheim (2), 1991 (2), over (2), depth (2), refusal (2), sections (2), dated (2), hartmut (2), meyer (2), staatsopernchor (2), blonde (2), pedrillo (2), osmin (2), presentation (2), rooted (2), sonnenfels (2), items (2), want (2), permitted (2), twin (2), virtue (2), toned (2), balance (2), dramatically (2), said (2), truly (2), exquisite (2), erroneously (2), sustained (2), advance (2), harris (2), public (2), buildings (2), congratulation (2), enabling (2), strikingly (2), non (2), aesthetic (2), encounter (2), went (2), forget (2), according (2), encounters (2), show (2), recent (2), busoni (2), conclusion (2), aspect (2), memory (2), works (2), plainsong (2), vincula (2), double (2), assumptio (2), bmv (2), flowing (2), keen (2), building (2), agnus (2), dei (2), rise (2), greater (2), counterpoint (2), admirable (2), shaded (2), intelligibility (2), arrangement (2), tenor (2), structure (2), fugue (2), hymne (2), regina (2), coelorum (2), opportunity (2), legend (2), polyphony (2), excellence (2), fits (2), missa (2), papae (2), marcelli (2), truth (2), associated (2), imagination (2), hands (2), ziad (2), rahbani (2), tomás (2), mendez (2), fantasia (2), dolce (2), tormento (2), turca (2), che (2), amor (2), wainscot (2), pond (2), flow (2), darwish (2), holding (2), songs (2), sufi (2), beirut (2), helwa (2), lamma (2), bada (2), yatathanna (2), sephardic (2), prima (2), vez (2), dalla (2), porta (2), oriente (2), musicians (2), musician (2), york (2), trad (2), boulezian (2), copyright, simple, powered, blogger, dante, paradise, obsession, hannover, zauberflöte, fatal, conclusions, gig, economy, bride, likely, impossibilities, fake, quotes, gun, attributed, national, socialists, 100, birth, galina, ustvolskaya, devil, trill, radio, kunststof, kamps, dover, ullmann, chostakovitch, philharmonie, petit, concertorialiste, macau, burma, hong, kong, portuguse, chindits, ozorio, iconoclast, authentic, raise, proms, roof, jdcmb, lahti, alex, ross, noise, goodbye, rambler, violanta, leaves, wanting, kovachevitsa, opus, klassik, awards, kaufmann, brings, heft, schubert, tchaikovsky, maid, orleans, amsterdam, operajournal, separating, medium, message, overgrown, blomstedt, iron, tongue, midnight, roger, norrington, parterre, box, bartok, bluebeard, tokyo, metropolitan, suntory, jennie, richie, list, 2007, 120, 2008, 137, 2009, 159, 2010, 240, 2011, 206, 2012, 187, 2013, 179, 2014, 170, 2015, 191, 2016, 121, 2017, 134, 2018, 128, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 105, 2023, 102, 2024, dowla, archive, total, pageviews, search, view, complete, profile, subscribe, atom, prinzregententheater, tempro, sopra, fuggi, dolente, core, musiche, cara, barabaso, yerno, satanas, viola, thwarted, returned, emblematic, key, rendition, closing, vanne, felice, pieno, reborn, shorter, passacaglia, contrasting, raiser, yes, importantly, volge, gli, occhi, individually, excerpt, 1619, conditioned, simpler, writing, allied, company, soothed, furthered, farewell, rose, magnificently, entertained, happening, happen, trio, instrumental, treatment, lullaby, cornetist, gebhard, rocking, atop, magic, winning, caronte, onda, festive, mode, ornamentation, tragicommedia, pastorale, probably, coincidentally, centrepoint, freimuth, confreres, ensuing, recalled, masterpiece, remains, rewards, paths, rosa, del, ciel, lament, ornate, wrongly, echoed, fuller, sacro, consiglio, generic, gently, slipped, notions, travelled, hades, humans, musicking, join, sympathy, hors, concours, gathering, momentum, interchange, lands, north, south, alps, medici, court, florence, referred, lorenzino, tedesco, spirit, array, genres, styles, proceeded, feed, pulled, poles, descriptive, prescriptive, proscriptive, madrigalian, registered, richly, seriously, draw, straight, conventional, restricted, modes, expression, compared, dramma, musica, ersatz, orphic, oldest, 1600, poised, comprehension, sung, ulisse, several, mitigated, alchemy, pasticcio, thirtieth, anniversary, commemorated, founding, fred, jacobs, annual, gambist, creating, ish, rejecting, retellings, exploring, protagonists, variously, represented, narrator, ferryman, legrenzi, intavolaturo, liuto, alessando, piccinini, ogni, sorte, strumento, musicale, biagio, marini, book, madrigals, durezze, ligature, consorts, seonwoo, mirjam, mesak, meg, brilleslyper, kennedy, freya, apfellstaedt, joel, williams, iii, rizzio, andrew, hamilton, armand, rabot, harpsichord, etienne, pluss, ursula, kudrna, bob, scott, sven, eckhoff, sommer, ulrickson, yvonne, gebauer, lukas, leipfinger, nod, donizetti, featured, sympathetically, amongst, feckless, warring, stylish, suggestive, disliked, black, coals, ruin, occupied, restoration, workers, grasping, knows, cares, similarities, berg, chord, broader, fields, influence, fundamentally, expertise, roughly, length, planned, realised, striking, become, greek, participate, acclamation, rebellion, husband, wife, daughter, fruitfully, chronologically, aesthetically, fraught, obvious, signs, tension, extraction, cleaning, aforementioned, framing, contradiction, low, pedal, acoustic, scraping, dental, implement, writ, partaking, ushering, invigorating, collided, coincided, ways, multidimensional, bilateral, further, layered, elizabethan, scenes, harpsichordist, harpsichordists, bridged, divides, inciting, deceive, prefigured, possibilities, travel, necessarily, resolve, ponder, active, participants, separately, appearing, partly, retinues, realising, intended, maritally, react, deeds, coming, tantalisingly, meeting, duet, offstage, oddities, understand, archaic, eth, person, singular, employed, wilt, thou, serves, purpose, reflections, convey, indication, richmond, holyrood, fotheringhay, refers, cousin, antagonist, communications, sixteenth, seeds, constructed, confrontation, vii, lady, opposite, ends, james, commissioned, struck, visiting, dramaturgically, focusing, plays, thereby, influencing, providing, concerning, entwined, lives, central, contriving, common, alternative, fold, intriguingly, clinical, white, beneath, perpendicular, gothic, tilted, fortunes, danger, remember, schoolboy, newspaper, pair, composers, objected, harrison, birtwistle, protested, covent, feet, protest, houses, overloaded, modernist, patently, absurd, booing, quarters, unexpected, contentedly, bellow, farmyard, drown, liked, considerable, criticisms, fair, display, mindlessly, vigorously, garde, crafted, refraining, wiser, unsettling, continued, sharp, bullying, altoum, ping, vitor, bispo, pang, tansel, akzeybek, pong, prince, persia, samuel, stopford, mandarin, bálint, szabó, roland, olbeter, chu, oruz, franc, aleu, urs, schönebaum, schönhofer, karlitschek, lejila, selfried, extra, ballet, proverbial, curate, egg, tremendous, stravinskian, precision, hammering, frustrating, listlessness, lost, sight, gorgeousness, tapestry, relative, doubtless, tone, ear, splitting, unrelieved, shouting, subtler, questa, reggia, feel, additional, lovelorn, verbally, attentive, impressed, bar, quality, massed, choral, forces, benefited, school, zeffirelli, default, rite, spring, petrushka, decision, strictly, pure, mighty, suggest, productive, hyperactivity, exception, ultra, says, liú, poesía, discover, plausibly, argued, entirely, satisfactory, berio, alfano, odds, oddly, muted, winding, priority, tonal, dramaturgic, strategy, stops, closes, unnecessary, sort, republican, utter, octogenarian, baby, president, going, evocation, engagement, vacuous, cirque, soleil, breakdancers, acrobats, rollerskaters, obscure, overload, relation, hazard, calmed, instructed, 90s, glasses, promised, delivered, apart, turning, enabled, objects, flying, spectacle, postdramatic, tool, tended, denunciation, meyerbeer, consulting, quotation, 2046, completely, rescued, financial, crisis, buying, ownership, natural, resources, princess, ice, big, brother, european, last, penny, generation, lot, paranoid, western, sinophobia, knock, tamer, racism, perspective, depicted, describe, saturday, der, des, nibelungen, chemistry, ecstatic, foretelling, thrilling, these, twins, positively, excited, prospect, loving, mattering, backstory, mirroring, disappointing, fireside, siblings, mothers, multivalent, sum, day, starting, haughty, assured, thug, violence, beliefs, patriarchal, rights, willing, fight, journey, brink, absorbed, gesture, acting, highest, celebration, expansion, vision, cooperation, achieve, potential, species, godlike, helped, truest, wherever, incisive, furtwängler, recognised, showpiece, symphonic, moments, senses, conduct, miniaturist, nietzsche, jibe, effortful, credit, tried, get, fewer, impositions, rhine, isar, delphic, oracle, unbidden, eternal, riddle
Text of the page (random words):
watch them in silence that i live like a broken branch in sinan antoon s poem a butterfly in new york translated by the author from the original arabic and set to music by layale chaker memory of a butterfly chased so often in our baghdad garden contrasts with the new reality of the broken branch which pluralised gives its name to this programme of cultural encounters and mystical unity of human experience from karim sulayman and sean shibe in chaker s song sulayman s almost unending yet endlessly varied melismata flowed with dark ease until tellingly it the music rather than performance got stuck unstuck itself and so on in a vivid quasi scena whose progress thus similarly acted as a metaphor for the broken branches of the recital as a whole we had begun with purcell music for a while given at a gorgeously slow tempo sustained and beautifully shaded by both musicians sulayman dwelling playfully on the twin sibilants of snakes throughout shibe s substitution of guitar for lute oud and other instruments was always accomplished with care and imagination neither attempting to render it merely as it would have been nor ignoring the necessity or at least advisability of modification but then the same care was devoted to occasions when it appeared as itself too there was never from either musician the slightest sense of one size or sound fits all such was clear from the very outset three dowland items a prelude a fantasia and the song time stands still ran into one another that flow or if you prefer the course of a branch not yet broken compelling yet never quite expected holding our attention through words and music alike in the song as so often one felt almost as if this were a single musician singing and playing so close was the partnership yet the visual element both musicians seated offered a welcome reminder this was not identity but collaboration we moved from england to the mediterranean at more or less the same time caccini s dalla porta d oriente opened a gate to the east of its own to much of the rest of the programme however clichéd the idea it was difficult not to think of greater italian immediacy rock solid rhythm underpinning all strophic structure used to express the words and shibe s guitar interlude here and in the following song splendidly inventive for monteverdi s si dolce è l tormento we went deeper reflecting the nature of words and music here in indissoluble union suggesting however erroneously mutual conception the same composer s la mia turca che d amor was lighter humorous and highly characterful excellent programming as well as performance also offering both a bridge to and contrast with the sephardic near suspended motion of la prima vez that was followed by another solo for shibe lamma bada yatathanna very different from dowland yet perhaps also united or at least kindred in a keen sense of flow it led directly into sayed darwish s el helwa di its more popular style captured with just as much care and skill as anything preceding here was another vividly communicative performance sulayman and shibe holding the wigmore hall audience in their hands li beirut could hardly fail to be an emotional tribute to the city from which sulayman s parents emigrated to the united states we felt sadness pride ardour and defiance jonathan harvey s sufi dance was a fascinating solo for shibe it summoned forth all manner of sounds from the guitar in a single unbroken line mysticism in motion as if a prepared guitar after cage met stockhausen and the inexorability of dance takemitsu s wainscot pond offered a typically exquisite and entrancing garden walk shibe s command of line and expressive content revealing a depth that can all too readily be missed albeit worn with proper lightness of touch as for britten s songs from the chinese well there was no gainsaying the excellence of the performances but the composer s typical archness stood out a little too readily for me here the mexican composer tomás mendez s cucurrucucú paloma given as an encore may have been less overtly clever but it sounded more sincere posted by mark berry at 1 20 pm email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels britten caccini dowland fairuz jonathan harvey karim sulayman layale chaker monteverdi purcell sean shibe takemitsu tomás mendez wigmore hall ziad rahbani sunday 12 july 2026 spitalfields festival choir of the chapels royal hm tower of london carey palestrina soriano et al 8 july 2026 chapel of st peter ad vincula tower of london palestrina arr francesco soriano missa papae marcelli for eight voices in double choir interspersed with palestrina ave regina coelorum a 8 plainchant ave maris stella flor peeters t occata fugue et hymne sur ave maris stella op 28 plainchant gaudeamus omnes in domino charles tournemire introit from l orgue mystique op 57 no 35 in assumptio bmv plainchant assumpta est maria tournemire offertoire from l orgue mystique in assumptio bmv palestrina assumpta est maria a 6 daniel greenaway organ choir of the chapels royal hm tower of london colm carey director images matt abel smith from another performance by this choir this final concert from the 2026 spitalfields festival provided not only an excellent musical experience it also offered the opportunity to visit one of the tower of london s two chapels st peter ad vincula its current building dating from the 1520s although others have stood on the same site perhaps even prior to the norman conquest many are buried there including two of henry viii s wives anne boleyn and catherine howard both executed at the tower and his successor but one albeit for nine days queen jane thomas macaulay wrote of the chapel in his mid nineteenth century history of england in truth there is no sadder spot on the earth than that little cemetery death is there associated not as in westminster abbey and saint paul s with genius and virtue with public veneration and with imperishable renown not as in our humblest churches and churchyards with everything that is most endearing in social and domestic charities but with whatever is darkest in human nature and in human destiny with the savage triumph of implacable enemies with the inconstancy the ingratitude the cowardice of friends with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted fame thither have been carried through successive ages by the rude hands of gaolers without one mourner following the bleeding relics of men who had been the captains of armies the leaders of parties the oracles of senates and the ornaments of courts it depends what one means by sadness if one understands it as something qualitatively different from say tragic as opposed to the latter being an extreme version of the former then this might according to taste have truth in it at any rate this royal peculiar is an interesting unusual and enduringly strange corner of what is itself now a rather strange complex more exclusively associated in the popular imagination with imprisonment execution and death than its history warrants so much so that one can readily forget the tower was for centuries a palace in which english monarchs lived in courtly splendour eating drinking carousing ruling praying and more there was nothing especially deathly about this concert notwithstanding the tombs around us hardly unusual in church buildings it was however an unusual programme offering an arrangement for eight voices in double choir of palestrina s celebrated missa papae marcelli by one of his pupils francesco soriano colm carey director of the choir of the chapels royal hm tower of london thought it may have been the first concert performance in this country at any rate it was a rare opportunity the twofold legend that the council of trent sought to banish polyphony from services and that palestrina s mass saved it may be little more than that it has proved a hardy legend though all the way to hans pfitzner s opera and beyond the intelligibility of the liturgical text saviour of polyphony or not is the crucial thing here and it certainly endures in sapiano s version all the more so when performed with such excellence as we were treated to here palestrina s mass is written for six voices with a seventh added for the second movement of the agnus dei although he employs different combinations of voices throughout from what i have read i do not recall having heard any other music by him soriano worked basically within the tradition of palestrina with whom he studied at st john lateran whilst adopting the newer polychoral style which fits very well with what we heard here a rich toned admirably clear performance kept counterpoint and harmony in admirable balance the kyrie flowing nicely with its christe offering contrast and continuation nicely shaded without fussiness or undue anachronism palestrina s eight voice ave regina coelorum sounded perhaps a little purer though this may well have been my fancy owing to what i knew at any rate it offered another complement and contrast as well as pleasure and edification in its counterpoint no one could doubt the tridentine intelligibility of the gloria as the liturgy became wordier it was here that the arrangement revealed certain foretellings of later music if not quite monteverdi s seconda prattica then a little beyond the primo tenor intonation of the plainchant ave maris stella which many of course will recognise from monteverdi prefaced daniel greenaway s performance of a toccata fugue et hymne on that theme by flor peeters greenaway communicated i ts structure with admirable clarity not merely for itself but enabling the music that forms it to come to life it is a strangely reactionary piece like much twentieth century organ music but its echoes of hindemith were not without interest hearing the palestrina soriano mass in such a chapel gave rise to some thoughts of correspondence with english music above all that of byrd and perhaps most clearly in the credo to perform it in a chapel such as this would once have been unthinkable perhaps giving rise to a greater english exceptionalism than was ever warranted in more purely musical terms to hear it performed as if in one variegated breath form secure and revealing was a splendid gift two pieces from charles tournemire s liturgical l orgue mystique each again preceded by appropriate plainchant showed a markedly different aspect to the organ in general the chapel instrument in particular and its playing here moreover the composer s elaboration of plainsong seemed considerably more rooted in the immanent qualities of the material if at one point i could have sworn i heard a recollection of the then new music of turandot i suspect it was coincidental or mere fancy more a reflection of having heard the opera twice in recent succession than anything else or perhaps not i must relisten returning to palestrina and soriano the sanctus did just what it should singing its praises unhurried yet flowing the benedictus likewise boasted a keen sense of inevitable rightness culminating in cries of osanna that truly lifted the soul they in turn led to the spirited ascension of palestrina s six voice motet assumpta est maria which sounded however sentimental the notion may be properly marian connecting us to the chapel s earliest pre reformation history as well as to revivals thereafter carolling harmonic surprises on the words maria virgo proved a highlight of programme and performance alike angels singing from heaven to earth and back again then building to fine rounded climaxes with an agnus dei of hymnal sincerity fitting to its place in liturgical and concert frameworks alike the programme reached a conclusion of estimable beauty posted by mark berry at 3 22 pm email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels charles tournemire choir of the chapels royal hm tower of london colm carey daniel greenaway flor peeters francesco soriano palestrina plainsong thursday 9 july 2026 die entführung aus dem serail staatsoper unter den linden 5 july 2026 images stephan rabold bassa selim bülent ceylan konstanze adela zaharia blonde serafina starke belmonte siyabonga maqungo pedrillo michael laurenz osmin david steffens new version and presentation bülent ceylan andrea moses michael höppner director andrea moses set designs raimund bauer costumes anja rabes lighting irene selka video andrea gabriel dramaturgy michael höppner detlef giese staatsopernchor berlin chorus director gerhard polifka staatskapelle berlin thomas guggeis conductor no one is perfect although mozart s music often is one of many differences between the staatsoper unter den linden s previous and current musical directors is the latter s apparent lack of interest in the operas of mozart christian thielemann s ongoing rejuvenation of the house s record in strauss s dramatic works has already offered some compensation both he and daniel barenboim have of course long since proved themselves distinguished if strikingly different wagnerians it was in his context a heartening development to see the house offer a new production of die entführung aus dem serail not i think a work barenboim ever conducted in full although he was known to offer its overture in busoni s conclusion barenboim s advocacy of his fellow adoptive berliner busoni s music is another aspect of the old regime yet to be reprised but there is time that however was before reckoning with the new version served up by director andrea moses dramaturge michael höppner and comedian bülent ceylan in what proved to be an increasingly depressing evening there were important redeeming features the singers and still more the players of the staatskapelle berlin the abiding memory alas will be of one of the most important musical works in german theatrical history having been treated with undisguised contempt by a director and dramaturge who seemed not even to have bothered to engage with it in the first place billing this as an encounter between comedy and opera immediately posed the question or rather sadly did not of what the relationship between the two might hitherto have been have there not been a few such encounters or rather more than that before it is always worth though trying to approach something on its own terms not that those terms cannot be criticised but one will better criticise if one has discovered what they might have been in that i am afraid i can at best prove only partially successful ceylan essentially set the parameters for the evening by introducing it as a comedy show entführung live the idea of him as host drifting in and out of the character of the bassa selim is not an uninteresting one something improvised might moreover have sat in fruitful conflict with the work and the more general aesthetic of vienna s nationalsingspiel if anything though the tyranny of a new script proved more of a problem ceylan initially speaking as if this were the premiere only later referring to that in the past tense whilst...
|
