Welcome all to ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐น๐น๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ playlists.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ฉ – ๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ก๐๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ
Charles remains blunt yet pointyโฆ
Last week I made several points; and Iโm sure you did too. I thought that would have been enough for the time being, but it seems there are yet more to uncover. Letโs call this an unofficial โpart twoโ, as I seem to like ordering things by number these days. Let us say that last week was unfinished business. Last week I spoke of 2024 being my new found discovery of classical music. Better late than never, as they say. Saturday evening was a special little treat for my mother, my girlfriend and myself. We went to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Londonโs Royal Festival Hall. The programme comprised an overture by Verdi, a piano concerto by Rachmaninov (yes, THAT piano concerto), and finally, the piรจce de rรฉsistance: The Planets by Holst. The whole concert was wondrous and very special indeed. Basically flawless, but in a good way. It was organic and very real indeed. Jupiter (if you are familiar with The Planets) had me watery-eyed and tingly all over. Despite the hallโs vast size (capable of holding 2,700 people – and it was jam-packed), the sound was surprisingly dry. Although a purist might not go for this lack of humidity (reverb), I found it refreshing. Refreshing because most concerts and almost all traditional recordings of a symphony orchestra are full of the sound of the room. Everything usually lingers in the air quite a time after it has been played. But not in the case of the Royal Festival Hall. This meant that there was more clarity and precision in the sound. While this might not be ideal for Verdi and Rachmaninov, it was certainly most welcome for Holst. You see, The Planets is often very rhythmic and tight. There are many spiccato notes which might be lost in a large hall that actually sounds like a large hall. For those who might be unaware, here is a brief rundown of three articulations for strings. Staccato is a brief bow of the string. Staccatissimo is an even briefer one. While spiccato (the briefest of all) is more of a bounce – as soon as the bow has hit the string, it is back up in the air. And it is THIS articulation that might have been somewhat lost in a wetter room. Cue the sprinkler jokesโฆ
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