Anna Meredith; Handsfree

What surprises me is not the fact of making the instrumentalists of a youth orchestra do something "alternative."

What surprises me is the fact that the musical proposal (rhythmic and gestural) is of a disconcerting banality: things like this can be done (even better) by a class of children from the Orff-Schulwerk.

Why don't we teach some body gestures using, for example, works by Stravinsky, Webern, or Boulez? In that case, believe me, the result would be much more interesting.

If that were the case maestrofredda, why should the BBC throw money away?

The BBC is evidently chasing current tastes to gain audience.

Anyway, I reiterate: the idea is nice, but the musical aspect is very elementary.

maestrosfredda wrote:

I am surprised by the fact that the musical proposal (rhythmic and gestural) is of a disconcerting banality: things like this can be done (even better) by a class of Orff-Schulwerk children.

Dear maestrofredda, could you point to a video of these non-banal Orff-Schulwerk practitioners?

Carl Orff was one of the greatest music educators of the twentieth century. His teaching method placed great importance on rhythmic education and improvisation, for which he used simple music, intended, obviously, for children. An example (the first one I found):

There are many videos on YouTube with practical examples, but they are often advertisements for schools, so I am not pointing them out, because that is not the subject of our discussion.

The problem with this BBC video is that young instrumentalists are used who, I imagine, are selected from among the best in circulation, to make them do things that are extremely simple and (forgive me if I repeat it) "banal" compared to their level, which could precisely be done by Schulwerk children.

Why not use the idea for things that are musically and rhythmically more refined?

Open content (youtube)

maestrosfredda wrote:

Why not use the idea for things that are musically, rhythmically more refined?

... perhaps because it wouldn't have an audience?

I believe that wherever money is involved, all choices are made according to market laws... And let's not forget that the BBC is the BBC precisely because there aren't idiots working there, especially when it comes to spending money. (Let's not draw parallels with Italian television, because that's a completely different story). There is a discipline called OR (Operations Research). It serves to optimize resources, essentially: maximum yield with minimum expenditure... Consequently, it is useless to ask many questions about why one solution was chosen over another; most likely, choosing children would have implied further investments. When there is an orchestra available, why spend more money if I can use that one. Now I'm closing because I have to go help my girlfriend cook, otherwise she'll blow up at me!

Good work in the kitchen, Simone! (that is an art too).

Recently I listened to a very beautiful piece by a contemporary composer, for percussion ensemble: lively rhythms, very varied and well-intertwined; a vocal intervention by the instrumentalists is also planned. I will do a search on YouTube and, if I find it, I will gladly let you know.

Ok then let's wait...

maestrosfredda wrote:

Recently I listened to a very beautiful piece by a contemporary composer, for percussion ensemble: lively rhythms, very varied and well-intertwined; a vocal intervention by the instrumentalists is also planned. I am doing some research on YouTube and, if I find it, I will gladly point it out to you.

The piece is "Sizzle" by Nathan Daughtrey: just to exemplify a musical idea that is certainly engaging and non-academic, but, in my opinion, more interesting than Meredith's. Anyway, it's an opinion, don't take it the wrong way!

Open content (youtube)