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Colin's sayings

Gateacre play day - 1 december 2001

Fantasia 111 - Orlando Gibbons

'If you've heard these things before and have forgotten them, I forgive you'

'There's a series of lovely entries round about measssurrre 99'

'You're full of doubt, and misery is bound to come'

'The rest of you can have a little sleep, except the descants'

'We're trying to get these little quaver groups happy and smiling'

There's a very important A flat in the Treble 2s'

'I'm feeling very sad' (sung to the music)

'You're agreeing what a thoroughly miserable life we're living'

'I'm full of hope. It won't be hope for long. Always the same with Gibbons'

'We're almost at the end of Colin talking about "little bits" '

'The rising scale of hope'

'One of Walter Bergman's sayings " It helps to all play the same piece of music'

Brade's Paduana and Galliard

'You all know about Mr. Brade don't you? He came from Nottingham. He was a violinist'

'You can almost see the Crown Prince of Bavaria hopping around to it'

'This is full of hemeolas. Oh the joy of hemeolas!'

'The mortgage is paid off and the kids are through university. I've been talking about it for 20 years. There's only a few lessons left folks'

'Oh the joy in heaven. The prodigal son!'

Byrd - Four penitential motets for 5 voices

'When you've got quaver movements, you must make sure you come through the texture'

'William Byrd was the first composer to put his own emotions into religious words and music'

'It's this falling phrase that's - urrggh! - a sigh'

'It's too cheerful. It's desolate. You are riven in little pieces'

'There's an even more creepy bit - it says so in the intro'

'Smile at it , it's only a blob after all'

'Pat, it's a sad thing when the vodka has to come out at this stage in the proceedings'

'You're making a lovely sound. It's a pleasure to listen to you.'

Staeps - Sieben Flotentanze

'Tibia = Roman flute, Schalmy = old clarinet; Czatzan = Hungarian folk flute, Syrinx = pan pipes, Dolzflote = recorder; Sambuca = middle eastern type , Tambour = mediaeval pipe.'

'the descants and the trebles will show us how it's done, haha!'

'Here's another of Colin's old saws - a slur is the sign of an accent - de-um, de-um'

'I'm gradually giving up this recorder lark'

'5/4 is 12, 123 - Rim- sky, Kor-se-koff'

'There's no need for any more area of distorted horror'

'There's not a group around the globe that can remember to do that'

'There are two types of pieces. Those for players, which are totally insufferable to listen to; those that are designed and work for an audience and make them cheer. Sambuca is for an audience'

'For those who don't know me. I've been accused over the years of making everyone play too fast'

collected by Judith Railton - Wirral Recorder Orchestra