6th to 7th June 2015 Stockholm

We love wandering through Gamla Stan whether by day or night along the narrow streets between tall buildings with certainly ancient foundations and mainly 18th C upper parts. There is the occasional tree to aid navigation and a big pump to remind one of life in former times. The shops are special too and one of them had this grotesque small  stone head in it. I tickled my fancy and I thought it the sort of carving that could be made and sold economically.
I should also say that Saturday was Sweden's national day and there were parades, proclamations and speeches, which we largely missed.

Saturday 1030 Concert Rat-catcher in Stockholm
This was a children's concert although grownups were allowed too.  The Pied piper story was modified as young children were to take part. The pied piper also played the violin and two dancers, including Daniela, who we love. The children were both rats and piped children so the rats had to be transported to Australia and then released; which is why there are so many rats in Australia today. The children were take to a deep cavern and then released when the rat-catcher got his money. The children clearly enjoyed this and tried to imitate the dancers' movements.
Noon Concert Bastard Baroque
This was half successful, best when playing more modern music and rather marred by a young man making would-be portentious statements and clearly in love with himself. In addition members of the group read from a book at intervals. This could have been done effectively. Many of performers at the Totnes Music Society do so. This did not work. The music was good and the group are very young.
We missed the 1400 talk on unknown female composers but our friend Helena said it was good. We went home to have lunch and rest.
1800 Concert Roses and Mysteries
This was a marvellous recital of Biber violin sonatas with theorbo, cello and harpsichord accompanists. This was a superb concert and probably the best of the season. A pressman was just in front of us taking pictures very obtrusively until we poked him enough to get him to leave. It is perfectly possible to work unobtrusively and the SEMF photographer does just that. We will have to buy some Biber when we get home.
2030 Concert Gesualdo Madrigals Book 6 ( Bok Sex on the concert programme)
This should have been great and was in parts. Unfortunately the singers did not blend well and the first soprano was just too loud and at times harsh. The conductor was probably at fault but clearly loved his singers. The bass was superb. The music was unfamiliar and incredibly intricate.
Again we could have attended another concert at 2300 but instead had a late supper at Castana with our group of friends and went back to sleep.
Sunday Noon Concert Heinavanker ( Runic Estonia)
Back in the 18th C splendours of the Cathedral Parish Hall we heard an amazing group of Estonian Singers performing church music, partly of native Estonian origin and partly Lutheran hymns. They had an extraordinary ensemble style and we have now bought three of their records which should indicate the impression they made on us. Alice should have had one delivered to her by now.  interestingly the male singers had their music on tablet computes while the female singers used conventional scores.
1500 Concert Nova Europa
This took place in the House of the Nobility, a very impressive building in Gamla Stan where all the walls are covered in smallish copper plaques each painted with the Arms of a Noble family. The custodian insisted on giving a lecture, mercifully short.  the group were young and the music came from South America, mainly 15th and 16th C. This was a super concert too and they played with great energy and talent. They too read at intervals but had take their material from contemporary records and the extracts were relevant and interesting.
1700 Concert NeoBarock
the previous concert overrunning we had to hurry to the Finnish concert which was basically a disaster. the leader, Par Lindh, has written music " in the Baroque style". His picture, clearly taken many years ago shows a tall willowy and "romantic" youth. He is still the same height but considerably wider, and conducts from the harpsichord where most of the players cannot see him. The first piece for oboe, violin and strings had him adding tings from a cymbal from time to time and had some very vulgar twinkling star noises from the harsichord for Christmas Night. The oboe and violin playing was good and players took their time from the oboe.
The second piece was a harpsichord solo which he played perfectly competently but which had no content that I could discern.
2100 Concert Sacred Bridges
This concert was by two groups; Sarband and Ave of sacred music from Judaism and Islam. It was mainly a service and we were asked not to applaud. During part of the time a whirling dervish rotated on a platform. When the concert finished, we all applauded and the dervish basically ran away. We felt he was at best made very uncomfortable by the applause. He, at least, was not performing but worshipping.
The music came from a great variety of sources including a polish man turned Muslim, Eastern christian, 4th C Syrian, Sephardic Jewish.
The concert was continuous and built in intensity throughout. Personally I was unable to keep track of which piece was being played. It was in short a wonderful and impressive concert.
We'd never seen a dervish before. He followed a set routine of movement, bowing beforehand, pausing with arms folded, beginning to rotate and gradually extending his arms. He turned with head on one side, eyes closed and one could see a knee come up high under his skirt as he moved.  Rate of rotation 30 rpm. ( I am after all a scientist). I would have liked to have heard and watched it again. It was so strange and complex I could not take it all in in one go.
After that, and feeling a bit flat now that the Festival was over, we moved off to a Tapas bar for supper with our friends. Duncan had two full days of consulting work still to do so he had to work on Monday and we needed to rest.