Another day, another Quasimodal gig. This one, however, was a little different. For a start it took place on my birthday (woohoo!), and it wasn’t late in the evening in a dark basement – it was at 6pm in a cafe! Piedescalso is a very bizarre little café on Thomas Street in Dublin. It’s long and thin, and the walls serve as an art gallery. The emphasis is on relaxation and smiles. Simon and Alon and their unplugged guitars fit the chilled out atmosphere perfectly, and they played on and off for nearly 2 hours, mixing up their usual programme of their own songs with a few other bits and pieces. Hearing the music of Dowland and Ravenscroft accompanied by guitars in a gig setting was unusual, but it fit their programme perfectly.

Their quasimodal style was adapted to form a pastiche of Radiohead (who had played in Dublin the night before the gig), using some translated Hebrew text (of all things). Worked a treat. Whilst it was not quite like being at Croke Park or Malahide Castle, it made those of us who had missed out on Radiohead feel a little better about ourselves!

Following the gig, I joined the musicians to attend another gig at the Button Factory. A slightly random (but in places perfectly good) German electronic group called Notwist were playing, but more importantly, Simon’s housemate Sinead’s band, Half Set, were playing before them, and we went along to support. Thank you to Simon for the ticket as part of my birthday present!!

The programme was of piano trios, played by the Capuçon brothers (from Chambery, France) on violin and ‘cello, and the American born Nicholas Anderich on piano.

The concert was set in the massive conservatory of the house, on a wonderful summer’s evening – picnics in the grounds first – and opened with a trio by Franz Josef Haydn. Beautifully and passionately played, but really only a warm-up for the more meaty music of Johannes Brahms (trio in c minor), which came later. Brahms wrote this particular trio whilst at his summer retreat in Thun, Switzerland, and the music brings across the impressiveness of that location.

The second half of the concert consisted solely of Dmitri Shostakovich’s outstanding piano trio in e minor, written following the death of his closest friend Ivan Sollertinsky. The beauty of the work, charting the passage from life into death was truly exceptionally moving. The vigour and virtuosity of the performance from all three musicians could only add to the overall effect.

There were plenty of clergy at the service to welcome the new ordinands into their role as Deacons of the Church of Ireland, and the service was presided over by the Archbishop of Dublin. The Bishop of Cork was also present as the guest of one of the ordinands.

As well as the usual liturgical music, there was a piece of music for three clarinets (played in turn by the player) composed by one of the ordinands. The three-fold nature of the piece was representative of the Trinity and other aspects of Christian doctrine.

Next week we have another ordination – this time of Priests. Perhaps one of the hymns (there were FIVE in this service) could be cut, so we have a chance of getting away before night falls!

During the service the choir sang music that he had chosen for the occasion in conjunction with the Director of Music. This included Bruckner’s Locus iste, Leighton’s Collegium Magdalenae Oxoniense canticles, and Purcell’s O God, thou art my God.

During the Installation, the new Dean was given his medallion of office, and handed the silver verge to the Dean’s Verger, and was led to his stall where he is meant to sit in “quiet contemplation”. This will be difficult since it’s directly behind me in the choirstalls, and i’m rarely quiet!

Obviously at such a large event there were an huge number of visiting dignitaries, from the Church of Ireland Bishops, to representatives of the other Christian Churches (including an orthodox priest in full regalia). Both the C of I and the Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin were present, and the (excellent) sermon was given by the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Rt Revd M. Burrows, who spoke excellently on what it means to be Dean. A future Archbishop of Dublin in the pulpit perhaps?

Rather disappointingly the service was followed by a reception only involving some nibbles and tea and coffee – on such a grand occasion a glass of wine might surely have been appropriate.

]]> http://paulmthomas.com/2008/05/30/installation-and-institution/feed/ 0 paulmthomas http://paulmthomas.com/2008/05/22/quasimodal-2/ http://paulmthomas.com/2008/05/22/quasimodal-2/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 09:42:07 +0000 paulmthomas http://paulmthomas.wordpress.com/?p=35 ]]> Simon and Alon played an excellent gig in Shine in Dublin last night. Their 35 minute slot was the last of three, and by the time we’d waited for the football (being shown downstairs) to end and the music to start it was already getting quite well on in the evening, and Quasimodal finally started playing at about 23.40.

Their music draws a large influence from the modal harmonies of the music of Restoration England, and in mood generally ranges from sad, through somber and into melancholy. The poetry set is often the work of Simon’s sister, Catherine MacHale, mainly in English, but there was also an Irish text. The set also included two songs in Hebrew.

The texts and music are not all gloomy, however. Or particular note was an excellent upbeat setting of a Shakespearean sonnet, including a recorder solo in the style of the time!

All in all an excellent evening’s entertainment. I look forward to hearing more from Quasimodal.