Tags
Alison Balsom, Crispian Steele-Perkins, Roberto Benigni, Sweet Was the Song, Tiberius, We Three Kings
It is getting a little difficult to keep up with things at this time of year – four arrangements and Sweet Was The Song on Wednesday, Sweet Was The Song again on Thursday, We Three Kings today and next Tuesday, Te Deum and Mag & Nunc in the recent past…and so on. It is good to have all that fodder in the repertoire, though, better still to have musicians who are committed to performing it, introducing it to those who maybe have not encountered it before. Sweet seems to be a particular hit with those who sing it, and is notching up a decent number of performances this year. It is by some margin the most popular of my Christmas pieces.
Other highlights of the season have included accompanying for two of the best trumpeters around – Crispian Steele-Perkins and Alison Balsom – , having dinner in some rather exalted places and being interviewed for a short film to go onto the Guardian website. I am not quite sure how I got here and still occasionally feel that I was be found out, that somebody, like Benigni when he won his Oscar, will say “this is a terrible mistake”, or maybe I should just accept that there is an entire generation of younger musicians and composers around to whom I now represent the established pro.
I have left the laptop behind on some of my travels through London, lightening the load in all senses, and, as a result, put more notes onto paper than I have done in a while, in the process, remembering how much I enjoy it, even if at times it can be a frustrating experience. I have been sketching ideas for a piece which has been mentioned recently, but not yet confirmed, but it has occurred to me that I could still get going on it on a smaller scale than the finished product, maybe put it in for a competition and even learn something along the way.
The new piece might just have something to do with this chap.
Nicholas O'Neill 