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REVIEW: A Musical Offering @ BREMF

BACH: A MUSICAL OFFERING

It is said that a young J S Bach walked 400 miles just to meet the famed musician and composer Dieterich Buxtehude, whose music had a profound effect on the great man.

So it was fitting for a short Sunday afternoon concert in the Brighton Early Music Festival that it should open with Buxtehude’s Sonata No 6 for harpsichord, violin and viola da gamba.

The Bach Players specialise in this period of music and they delighted us with this opening piece in the hidden gem of St Paul’s Church in West Street Brighton. It’s a minimalist piece with short bright tunes on one instrument then mirrored by one of the others. At times it bounced along like an energetic court dance and at other times its deep, melancholic chords took sudden dramatic turns with unexpected pauses.

The main work was Bach’s late work A Musical Offering, based on a tune given to him to improvise by King Frederick II King of Prussia and its opening dates from 1747 with the rest of the piece being added much later.

Full details of the event can be seen here

Silas Wollston left his harpsichord keyboard to unpick the mysterious fun of the piece – it’s a kind of cryptic musical crossword puzzle , where Bach gives clues that need to be unravelled. Indeed there is no full score for the work – just single short tune  lines which the performers or arrangers then need to fill out.

The music is varied and encompasses several canons and a sonata as well as a fugue form, with tunes returning backwards or at half speed and where the instruments talk to each other and to us in a kind of musical statement, argument and conclusion.

It has humour, passionate sighs, haunts little jigs and a final peaceful resolution that makes it an outstanding piece.

All the players excelled in their own way and had a genuine chemistry between them – Nicolette Moonen leading with her violin, contrasted by the deep tones of Reiko Ichise on the viola da gamba and Marion Moonen on the flute – which was not today’s metallic instrument but a much more recorder-like sound.

BREMF continues until 10 November – more information or to book tickets here:

Allsorts of Love: LGBT+ Youth Project Celebrates 20 Years of Service

Allsorts of Love: LGBT+ Youth Project Celebrates 20 Years of Service

20 Days of 20 Years is a countdown to Allsorts Youth Project’s annual general meeting, celebrating all of the achievements that Allsorts has made since its creation in 1999.

Allsorts Youth Project is a Sussex-based charity that listens to, supports and connects children and young people (under 26) who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT+) or unsure of their gender identity/sexual orientation.

With a vision to see a world in which all LGBT+ children and young people are free to thrive, Allsorts challenges exclusion, predjudice & discrimination by providing specialist youth services, social spaces & one-to-one support, and by training the wider community and professionals to create safer and more inclusive spaces for all LGBT+ people.

An Allsorts Young Person said   “I don’t feel like I’m alone anymore. The people here are very kind, and I always feel welcome. It felt like I was from a different planet before, but I’ve found my place here.”

Between the 7th-26th November, Allsorts Youth Project will be highlighting a selection of their proudest achievements each day on Twitter & Facebook.

This year alone, Allsorts has released its first youth-led podcast, seen success in its expansion to Worthing, Chichester & Horsham, and launched its first specialist service for LGBT+ children & young people who identify as BAMER (black, asian, minority ethnic and refugees).

Additionally, co-founder Jess Wood MBE will be retiring and has handed the reins over to the newly appointed CEO, Katie Vincent.

Katie says, “My task is clear, to build on the foundations of our reputation & reach, and expand our services. Jess’ creativity, spirit and energy is something that has constantly inspired me and will continue to drive the project & our mission forward.”

If you would like to celebrate Allsorts Youth Project’s 20th Birthday with them, you can follow the 20 Days of 20 Years countdown on Facebook (/allsortsyouthproject) & Twitter (@allsortsyouth).

To donate, text 20YEARS and the amount you would like to donate (20YEARS 5) to 70085.

For more infomation on how you can support Allsorts Youth Project, get in touch: info@allsortsyouth.org.uk

Mayor steps down temporarily during election period

Mayor steps down temporarily during election period
The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Councillor Alexandra Phillips, is stepping back from all mayoral duties during the forthcoming General Election period.
This is because she is standing as a political candidate in the election, which will take place on Thursday 12 December.
Councillor Phillips said: “I believe strongly that the role of the Mayor has to be above and outside politics. There must never be any perception that the office of the Mayor is being used for political gain. So as I am standing in the General Election I believe it’s only right that I should step back entirely from my mayoral role during the election period. I would also like to make it clear that I will not be claiming my financial allowance for the Mayoral role during this period.”
Councillor Phillips’ last day of mayoral duties before the election will be on Thursday 7 November.
The council is currently making alternative arrangements for the mayoral duties to be covered during the election period.

REVIEW: BOOKS The Little Book of LGBT Terms

The Little Book of LGBT Terms

Harriet Dyer

Language is one of the key paths to awareness, acceptance and empowerment but this book admits that it can be confusing. The book sets itself up as a pocket-sized easy-to-use dictionary introducing some of the most essential terminology surrounding gender, sexuality and LGBTQIA+ identity. Presented in simple to understand ways, with examples of usage and (all important) context, it shows how and why this language is developing and used across the word. If you have questions about yourself or about the terminology, or interested in learning more, this compact, fun and charming guide will help you navigate the world of infinite diversity with knowledge and kindness.

£6.99

REVIEW: Curtains @ Alexandra Theatre

Curtains

Alexandra Theatre

Birmingham

The genius of Kander and Ebb is well-known from their hits Cabaret and Chicago . This , their final collaboration, is no Fosse-infused spectacle . Curtains is a carefully crafted witty piece of  whimsy – a musical whodunnit which is really about the joys and miseries of putting  on a show.

Almost immediately a leading lady is murdered with a cyanide capsule taking what turns out to be her final bow during a  try-out in Boston pre-Broadway.

The show within this show is a dubious cowboy musical based loosely on the tale of Robin Hood, and while the cast are busy murdering the music, someone is trying to murder them.

Enter stage right the detective, the loveable smiley Lieut Cioffi played with obvious enjoyment by Jason Manford. But the cop has a second string  to his bow – as an amateur drama actor/singer and he puts as much effort into solving the problems with Robin Hood as he does into finding the murderer.

This is problematical as we end up with 3 murders plus other attempts and the plot is further complicated by a love interest between Cioffi and the leading lady’s understudy Niki , who Cioffi reminds her, is also a suspect.

Niki is beautifully sung and acted by Leah West and she’s a perfect ingenue foil to the worldly Cioffi.

The show is peppered with bouncy and hauntingly beautiful tunes , where Kander and Ebb cleverly mix romance with the joy of creating musical theatre – nowhere more evident than in the laconic singing of Andy Coxon as the composer Aaron Fox , pining for his lyricist and ex – Georgia Hendricks, played flawlessly by Carley Stinson.

But this is no one-man show. Rebecca Lock is outstanding as a feisty , hard-headed producer whose first interest is the business part of show business. With a Merman-sized voice and personality Rebecca often steals the show.

Samuel Holmes is delicious as the camp queen of a director, never short of a cutting riposte and Alan Burkitt and Emma Caffrey stop the show with a breath-taking Apache dance, worthy of more than Robin Hood can offer. In the end the murderer – or rather two murderers are revealed, but you’ll have to go see it to find out whodunnit.

Curtains is on tour and was seen at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

It plays a Christmas season at London’s Wyndhams Theatre from 13 December.

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