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| (© Ken Drew) |
Following the opening performance of this year's Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music last week, in which the debut recital of a specially commissioned piece by Paul Taylor was played by Jon Bradley on the Civic Centre's carillon, as noted last week for Part II I arrived in the quadrangle just before kick-off at 3:00pm.
The weather was much brighter and drier - typical 'spring' weather (such is the British weather this year!) with just a few passing white clouds against an alluring blue sky. I found the five flying swans, an artwork frozen in time above the rectangular lake (pond?). A moment after 3:00pm two things happened. The bells of the carillon struck up, and a cyclist quickly parked up, dismounted and lay in anticipation of another relaxing hour of unique and spellbinding music unfolding.
Last week's circumnavigation around the outside of the Civic Centre had brought new sights to my attention, and the sounds of the carillon performance were mostly evident but occasionally lost against the hubbub of the city centre traffic and passers-by (yes, people still do their voice-calls 'on-the-fly' using hands-free apparently). Hrumph. But it was a pleasant enough tour as the bells chimed away. This week in the quadrangle, those extraneous sounds were effectively eliminated, so the chimes rang out, lightly bouncing off the four walls of the quad space. The only interlopers were those pedestrians who knew where they were going, since the two entrances/exits to the quad are in opposite corners, but still just concealed enough to make this an occasional thoroughfare.
The music, being more distinct, rang
out clearly as did the 'form' and the 'flow' of the piece, with occasional
rests (well earned, given the manual effort required to play the instrument).
Yes, it was quite serene, and nicely backed by the distant vision of the bell
tower of the Civic Centre set against the blue sky. Looking around, there were
both passers-by-ers and visitors-for-the-duration. Several 'workers'
(people with a lanyard proudly displaying their allegiance/identity) wandered
through with things to do, but a group of three wandered through and sat for
the rest of the performance. As did a couple who nabbed a seat close the the
far-off trees, opposite the swans. I did briefly wonder whether their thoughts
were lost in relaxation, or given the proximity of the sycamore to them, lost
in sadness for one of its relatives. Either way, the music floated over
the space providing a quite relaxing atmosphere.
At around half way through the hour,
I spied a chap in a kilt carrying bagpipes on the 'public side' of the Civic
Centre. Time for a brief wander, to check the acoustics once again, and to see
who else was around. Within two minutes he also struck up with some music. I
think none of us would be surprised as to how far the sounds of bagpipes can,
and did, travel ........ and so the bells were briefly outnumbered (!). It then
became apparent through the flash-mob of a wedding party heading towards
three awaiting white limousines that a wedding had just taken place under the
very bells playing out. The competing sounds lasted all of two minutes as I was
compelled to return to the quad and settle back down to the peace and tranquillity which I'd earlier become accustomed to. Bliss! The cyclist
was still there, the three workers, the two peeps behind the trees, and two
more (familiar) faces had appeared - music followers keen to sample the unique
performace of the carillon whilst it was on offer.
So, a very much worthwhile second visit, and the much longer uninterrupted segments I heard made more 'musical' sense I guess. Well worth it, so I hope the weather is as kind next week for the final performance of this Jazz Festival-commissioned tryptich. Ken Drew
LINKS: New Jazz and Improvised Music Link (links to the label's 18 album releases, including Interlude music created for the Festival). NFoJaIM info Link (advanced tickets highly recommended for indoor performances)
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