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Getting to grips with the instruments
Posted by: Stephanie Moore on 12 May 2008
Hello again.....
Here's another update on what's been going on in the Carnival of the Animals rehearsals.
As well as continuing the work that I talked about in the last entry, we‘ve also been looking at the intricate details of some of the musical instruments used as inspiration for a few of the sections in the piece.
We've had a few members of the orchestra in helping us with this. Firstly, we looked at a dismantled grand piano to get an idea of how exactly the hammers and strings function together ingeniously to create, as well as a beautiful sound, a kind of organised visual randomness (if that's possible!) and we've been trying to imitate this image. For example, standing in a line and on our own chosen counts, darting out from it to create the effect of the hammers hitting the strings. That may sound quite simple, but when you're sandwiched between two people jumping at totally different times from you it can all get very confusing! I won't describe the end result, but you'll see how Siobhan has progressed this idea in the performances at the Sadler's Wells.
Another instrument we looked at is the flute, which plays the ‘Aviary' section. We listened to the different ways a flautist can use his/her breath to create different sound qualities and dynamics. We then tried experimenting with our own breathing to see how many ways you can inhale and exhale and how your body moves and reacts to it. I have to say that there is only so long you can keep this up for before you eventually start to feel light-headed and risk fainting (don't worry, no-one actually has..... yet!). Using this as a basis, quite a comic choral quartet of birds has emerged.
So these are a couple more of the tasks we've been working on and I hope it's given you a bit of an insight into how Siobhan has been re-working the piece. It's not long to go and the cream tuxedos are being tailor-made as we speak. Now it's just a matter of rehearsing it and adding the finishing touches... I'm looking forward to seeing all the sections I haven't been involved in and finally seeing the end product on stage.
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By: Anabelle charlotte and chantelle
Thursday, 15 May 2008 08:59:57
also, how do you select the right instrument for the animal that you are for the piece? is there only one per animal? i suppose some must be obvious, like... well actually, it's really hard to say - because a flute may sound birdlike to one person and more reptilian to another - a rattle could sound exotic to one person and then not to another. do the dancers select which instrument they feel works with their animal? sorry if the questions sound stupid - they are in earnest.
By: Stephanie Moore
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 04:13:50
Hi Anabelle, Charlotte and Chantelle
Thanks for your questions. Virginia is performing at Sadler's Wells this week but I will ask her to get back to you as soon as she is back in the studio next week.
By: Anabelle Charlotte and Chantelle
Thursday, 15 May 2008 07:28:56
That sounds really interesting, fascinating, tell us more... what animal are you?