Dull and overcast day, with showers. But as luck would have it, I managed without getting wet.
Bullingdon'd in both directions, although I can't now be sure of the details as I have managed to get myself locked out of my account in the course of it telling me to change my password - although why this particular password needs to be very secure is beyond me.
Second complaint is that the main danger to cyclists in London seems to be other cyclists. On this day I had to do with two young lady cyclists, neither of whom had to seem to have any road sense at all. That is to say in heavy but slow moving traffic with plenty of other cyclists about. Unfortunately one of two was going the same way as I was. The traffic did seem unusually heavy and I have to confess to one offence myself, turning right off Oxford Street westbound somewhere I should not have, in the vicinity of Marylebone Lane - something I have yet to get the hang of despite having made a similar turn several times over the past few months. Got off on this occasion with nothing more serious than being shouted at by a taxi driver.
Being a few minutes early, I then turned into the Methodist Church at Hinde Street, which probably should not have been open but had only been rather carelessly locked up. Very handsome building inside, in very good decorative condition. Main space large without pillars, suggesting that the roof was held up by steel beams. No altar, rather a fine pulpit with curved flights of stairs both left and right. Two minor failings in the detailing. First, the arch over the pulpit was a little too flat. Second, the spacing of the columns holding up the galleries to the side was not quite right. with the alternation of columns and bosses not quite working out. But definitely another option for Project Proust, last noticed at reference 1.
Outside I was puzzled by the crosses worked into some of the granite kerb stones in Bentinck Street. Marking property owned by the Church Commissioners did not seem to work - so who could one ask about such a thing?
Still a few minutes early, so I took a beverage at the Coach Makers. Empty at this time of day on a Monday, but that did not stop them playing loud and ugly music. Flower arrangement, bar staff and beverage rather better. Another large space, so probably another roof held up by steel beams.
Puzzled there about the hanging of the art tiles on the outside of Debenhams. I had thought that each tile - maybe five or six inches square - was hanging on a couple of pegs and swinging free, but from the shimmering effect it was clear that their swinging on their pegs was coupled in some way; independent swinging would not do it. Was the fact that all the pegs were stuck into some resonant substrate enough to do the trick - or did the tiles need to be connected in some way? A quick google this afternoon failed to provide the answer: perhaps it is an intellectual and artistic secret - but see reference 3 for an early notice.
The Vivaldi was put on by the very engaging Gli Incogniti, led by Amandine Beyer on the violin. A string quartet with extras such as a harpsichord and a theorbo. There was talk of a positive organ - a small, portable organ pumped with one hand and played with the other according to wikipedia - but that must have been a mistake. For one number there was also a special violin, from an original design by Vivaldi, which had a sort of rasping tone, a tone which made me think of the violin casing working a bit loose and vibrating in places that it should not, but I don't think that that was how it was done. Much tuning action in the course of the proceedings and I wondered whether their tuning pre-dated equal temperament.
Very lightly introduced by the BBC producer - much better than the song & dance they go in for at St. Luke's - an introduction which went no further than to tell us that the viola player had made her first appearance at the Wigmore Hall, some years previously, selling ice creams.
The chap next to me was swatting up on his Ulysses for the Bloomsday coming up a few days later. But, unusually for a concertgoer, he declined to be drawn and just stuck his nose further into his book. Penguin edition I think.
Some interesting notes were provided, from which I learned, for example, that Vivaldi was a full time school teacher and that the original function of a symphony was to calm down the rowdy Italian opera audience before the opera proper started.
No fewer than 10 microphones, from which I think we had a bit of feedback from time to time.
In one or two places I felt that the first violin was struggling a bit, but overall a very entertaining concert. Light, cheerful and undemanding - while still including some very fine passages. I was reminded of some of the contemporary Tartini lurking on my own shelves. I shall certainly go again should occasion arise.
Lunched from Upper Crust at Waterloo. Not a bad roll, but not impressed that they are into messing about with vouchers and coupons - all a bit tiresome when one is in a queue and hoping to catch an imminent train. Half Way House calling!
PS: have now got through to the Bullingdon Control Centre and sorted my access out - and I am pleased to report that the operator who did the sorting out lived in London and was sitting in Enfield - not in Glasgow, Belfast or anywhere else even further afield.
Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/project-proust-1.html.
Reference 2: http://www.gliincogniti.com/en/home.html.
Reference 3: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/razumovsky.html.
Group search term: whb.
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