miðvikudagur, maí 23, 2007

morning practice

Many mornings on my way to work, walking down the final cobblestoned hill to Ingólfstorg (the path that freezes over into a kind of ice-slide in the winter), I hear a brass player working his way up and down the scales, major and minor. It's usually very quiet in that area of town, and the smooth brassy tone carries its way on the wind, working a half-block radius among the corrugated-steel houses and old streets of that little quarter.

Just now, on the way to the post box to mail a letter, I took a slightly different route and ended up walking right past the player's house, past the open window. I heard the rich tones of what I think is a trombone or euphonium floating out. But today, instead of scales the player was working on a melody that is all to familiar to me (and to some IR regulars as well): Ravel's Bolero. It gave me goosebumps: it was beautifully and perfectly played, and all that was missing was the driving and incessant percussion.

8 Comments:

Blogger KEITH HAYWARD said...

Boléro - great piece of music, although I don't recommend the 2nd clarinet part. Firstly you have to sit next to the person with the big solo feeling jealous and secondly you spend the best part of 10 mins going Dum du-du-du dum du-du-du dum dum on the same note!

24.5.07  
Anonymous Nafnlaus said...

During my morning commutes into work, from Watertown into Boston near Fenway, I listen to 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio and often hear Bolero. Sometimes sadly it is interrupted by the piercing horn of a Boston cabby!

25.5.07  
Blogger Adam said...

...look only at the candle...

1.6.07  
Blogger DVM said...

Whose turn is it to flip the tape?

13.6.07  
Anonymous Nafnlaus said...

Apparently there's nothing on the other side of said tape. Either that, or nothing happens in the summer in Iceland. Everybody, stay inside!

28.6.07  
Anonymous Nafnlaus said...

So, you have disappeared intyo the haze of summer holidays.

Where are you, what have you been up to?

Is all OK? Are you having fun in the sun?

Details, please.

Pamm

3.7.07  
Anonymous Nafnlaus said...

...so tell us who she is ;)

Gréta

5.7.07  
Blogger JB said...

Gréta, I won't say who she is, only that she's a really great woman. But, you guessed right. :-)

11.7.07  

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